I think this is something Microsoft has been asking for all along, to improve the File Explorer interface. And today we learn that a preview build of Windows 11 indicates that the company is again looking into the possibility of adding tabs to File Explorer, which, as I said, is one of the most requested features.
Yesterday, Microsoft released a new build of Windows 11 on its Insider channel, which includes a number of fixes, some cosmetic changes, and a new video editing tool that is said to fill the void left by the discontinuation of Movie Maker.
The new OS version, however, has some features that won’t reach end-users anytime soon.
The good news is that Rafael Rivera, one of the developers behind volume control app EarTrumpet, says Microsoft is reportedly implementing tabs in the File Explorer. His findings have been confirmed by several others who regularly discover things hidden in these test versions.
As others have already found out. Running "vivetool addconfig 34370472 2" and launch an Explorer window, you get tabs! pic.twitter.com/xFrzAnTLcl
— Xeno (@XenoPanther) March 9, 2022
This new feature is one of several that the company has been testing since February. As some of you may recall, this isn’t the first time Microsoft has tried this concept. In 2017, Microsoft began testing the idea of adding tabs to all Windows 10 apps, including File Explorer, with a feature called “Sets.”
Windows 11 will have tabs in File Explorer
The company eventually shelved the project to focus more on migrating its Edge browser to the Chromium engine. With Windows 11, the company started to modernize File Explorer again by simplifying the interface, and now it looks like it might add tabs in the next big update for Windows 11.
If Microsoft really wants to integrate these tabs into Windows 11’s File Explorer, it probably won’t be long before we get the official announcement.