Microsoft is Finally Bringing Tabs To File Explorer on Windows 11 (windowscentral.com) 65
Microsoft appears to be adding a tabbed interface to the top of File Explorer, as Insiders testing the latest Windows 11 preview build have discovered the feature in a hidden state. From a report: First spotted by Windows Insider Rafael Rivera on Twitter, once enabled, tabs will appear along the top of the File Explorer app, allowing users to have multiple folders open in one window. Tabs in File Explorer has been a highly requested feature among the Windows community for years at this point. Microsoft almost delivered the feature via its canceled "Sets" UX, which saw the introduction of tabs in every app window, including File Explorer. But when Sets was killed off, so was the idea of tabs in File Explorer. But now, Tabs in File Explorer appears to be making a return, and it works exactly like you'd expect. This feature is yet to be officially announced by Microsoft, and since this is currently only in the Dev Channel, it's possible that Microsoft could cancel the feature before it ships, though we think that's unlikely.
What if we just added tabs to the OS GUI? (Score:2)
How about adding tabs as a proper feature to the OS GUI?
Windows Explorer already groups tabs in the taskbar. But many apps have their own way to do tabs: Graphics programs like GIMP and Paint.net have one way to do it. "MDI" applications like office have another way. Each browser has it. Windows Terminal does too. And now file explorer does. Yes, some apps will always have their own way to do it because they need advanced-ish features. Like I expect Visual Studio and Visual Studio code, which have it
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"Windows Explorer already groups tabs in the taskbar."
Yes it does. And with the Windows 11 upgrade it became... mandatory. And I hate it. One of the first things I would do in setting up a system was change "group" to "never". I hope they reintroduce that at some point.
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You should really stick it to Microsoft and buy a third Xbox!
I despise tabs (Score:3)
I also despise pinned applications that do different things. If I click the damn icon, it should open a new window EVERY time I click the icon. Not open an existing one if one exists sometimes and other times open a new one. And the task bar should show one entry for every instance open. Basically the way it used to work before everyone started trying to design toward the fucking idiotic touch interfaces.
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You mean the taskbar grouping? They've been pushing that for the last 20 years My routine on every windows install since XP has been to right click, customize, small icons, never combine.
But they took that away in windows 11. You're stuck with the OS X wannabe taskbar which is terrible.
I'm waiting for a future release of Windows 11 where they recover some sense and may consider it. For now, I'll stick to windows 10 for my windows needs.
I'm certainly not going to pay for "third party plugins" to do something
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"I'm certainly not going to pay for "third party plugins" to do something Windows has ben doing for"
Well, that's quite unfortunate. Should there have been a viable market for such programs to make windows better, I would have pursued my endeavour to make the windows platform much more pleasant to use.
I think the greatest cause of this is the fact that for most people, Windows comes free with a new computer. Hence, why pay for an upgrade?
Meanwhile, the U.I/U.X. keeps getting worse with each version.
Sigh.
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OMIGOD I hate the way Windows makes you deal with every freaking window it has open, it just doesn't scale up to lots of open Windows. I guess that's why they call it "Windows" plural. I much prefer the macOS method of tabbing between whole applications and then "tilde" tabbing (Cmd-~) when I have the application I want. It's a much simpler and more manageable task list. Hunting and pecking for the right Explorer window on Windows is enough to drive one insane. Maybe that's why they think that tabs is
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Tabbed entries on the windows explorer window instead of separate windows would just make it harder to do things with two folders.
I make sure I set up MS Office to open spreadsheets, word documents, etc. each in its' separate window and show itself separately in the taskbar. But one thing that still annoys me is that when I open a new one, the already opened ones pop up to the top and cover whatever else I had open.
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Would you pay for such a feature?
Meaning, new windows don't cover previous ones.
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I'm still waiting for the time when I click an open email on the taskbar the email shows on the screen, not Outlook itself or, in many other cases, the click doesn't do anything and I have to click the email again.
Once Microsoft can figure out how to standardize what clicking on an icon or file does, then things can move forward.
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The best is when there is are tabs inside of tabs. So that you can't navigate to anything without multiple clicks, like some braindead DOS GUI/TUI user interface.
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Wish I could mod you up.
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I'll have to remember that trick. I always use shift+click when being forced to use a Windows interface.
Of course, I expect that middle clicking on an item in the window list of the task bar to close the application like middle clicking on a browser tab closes it. I think middle clicking on the item in Gnome closes the window, too. Interestingly, I just tested in KDE (which I'm currently running), and middle clicking on the window item in the task bar opens a new instance (same as shift+click). I wonder
Re: I despise tabs (Score:2)
The taskbar grouping has been a thing well before touch interfaces. I think it started back under Vista or Windows 7.
Either way, you can disable it. Alternatively, you can keep it and just middle click the icons to always get a new instance of the app.
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Yeah no thanks. The last thing I need is when opening 100 PDFs is the damn PDF reader to have 100 different windows.
A good start (Score:3)
But I would much rather have the option for a split view in a single window.
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OMG yes! what Windows really needs is Apple's Finder. /sarcasm
That shit show makes Windows Explorer look like a gem of good design.
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But I would much rather have the option for a split view in a single window.
Absolutely. Some 15 years ago I discovered Directory Opus and have not looked back. The windows file manager is like a child's toy in comparison. Tabs, AND split view, and shortcuts for file operations between the split view.
I miss the days when software was designed to be functional.
Panels Tabs (Score:2)
File Explorer doesn't need tabs, it needs "panels" (for lack of a better word) like the old Norton Commander file manager did 25 years ago. That would make it easy to move/copy/compare files between two folders without having two separate File Manager windows to resize/position.
Also, I'm scared people will start having hundreds of tabs left open like they do with browsers. Learn how to use bookmarks people!
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Like the old Windows 3.0 file manager.
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You can actually download it here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-u... [microsoft.com]
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Tabs are bookmarks.
Tabs are tabs. Bookmarks are bookmarks.
BTW, explorer already has bookmarks. They're in the left hand pane where you can add them.
Actual bookmarks today require manually managing a bunch of nodes in an obtuse interface.
So you say a node tree is worse for organizing than 300 tabs oriented horizontally on the same level of organization of which you can see maybe 8 at the same time? I think you're wrong.
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Bookmarks don't use up all your RAM. [howtogeek.com]
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There's still Far Manager:
https://www.farmanager.com/ [farmanager.com]
I've seen a colleague using something very similar looking with a Windows GUI, but not sure what that was.
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Since Norton Commander became unavailable I've been using Total Commander [ghisler.com], who works great and is still miles more useful than the Windows file manager. For one thing, most functionality is available via the keyboard, making it very fast (once you learn the shortcuts for common commands). I really think Microsoft should buy it and ship it as a File Manager replacement/alternative.
ooooo thsnk you MS (Score:1)
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No. Writing this from Windows 7 Ultimate.
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No. Writing this from Windows 7 Ultimate.
Yep, you need Windows 7 Ultimate Extreme, because that's not available in the plain ol' "Ultimate" version.
waste of screen space (Score:2)
One of my most common reasons to have more than one File Explorer window open is to "drag and drop". The existing idiocy of the menu bar already wastes usable space in the window, and now they're going to lose more with useless tabs.The clowns at Microsoft have spent every year of the last two decades making Windows more and more click-intensive, therefore slower to use.
Re: waste of screen space (Score:2)
I bet that theyâ(TM)ll allow drag and drop between tabs. OSX has allowed tthat I think for over two decades.
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I feel like the favorites on the left hand side is as good as tabs.
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Maybe its time to upgrade from 1024x768 gramps
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Still more clicks so a waste of time and space.
My monitor is 1920x1200. The issue is that both the favorites list and in-folder file/folder list are clipped by the silliness above them.
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yea old grump doesn't understand a UI element that's been around for more than a decade there's a little up down icon right below the close button (the red X) that shows / hides the ribbon and its a global setting
when searching on the intertubes with foxfire
hide ribbon in file explorer
results in the first hit
Hiding the ribbon in File Explorer is one of the easiest things you can do.
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One of my most common reasons to have more than one File Explorer window open is to "drag and drop".
What makes you think that drag and drop will be affected by the use of tabs? I mean sure this is Microsoft, but it's not like drag and drop doesn't work in literally every other application with tabs. You're so very quick to declare something a waste of space without even trying it. Confident form your position of ignorance.
And? (Score:3)
Wonder if drag&drop across tabs will be just as broken as in the new taskbar (which still requires a tool to even somewhat work again)...
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Can it handle 20-year old NTFS Long File Paths ? (Score:1)
Thought not.
Windows is trying to steal Apple's eye candy crown.
But people need OSes that WORK.
FIX IT YOU MORONS.
When will windows itself support tabs? (Score:2)
I'd like to group multiple DIFFERENT applications as tabs under a single window.
I don't want all of my browser tabs under one window, and all of my office tabs under a different window, and all of my explorer tabs under a third window.
I want one window, with three browser tabs, two explorer tabs, and an office tab. Then a second window, with two browser tabs, an explorer tab, and a database tab.
You know, the way humans work. This task, this window, complete with all necessary applications/files/tabs.
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To be fair, this is basically what multiple desktops is for and has been around for years already.
You put multple applications, windows, etc on a 'desktop' and then switch between multiple desktops.
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Not really. Multiple desktops effectively breaks a lot of the context between apps. Actually anything does across the screen. Desktops are useful for separating activities you're doing, not good for sorting actively in use windows.
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Desktops are useful for separating activities
vs
You know, the way humans work. This task, this window, complete with all necessary applications/files/tabs.
Do you define 'task' and 'activity' to mean something substantially different?
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Heh, yes I do.
Multiple desktops is really one step removed from multiple sign-ins. Multiple desktops is a completely different world environment. You would absolutely NEVER look at two desktops at the same time -- nor is that even possible with multiple desktops.
With multiple desktops, I might have my I'm watching netflix and playing tetris in one desktop, and have my day-job-work in another desktop, and maybe my moonlight-work in a third desktop. The idea of multiple desktops is really the exact opposit
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You seem to be glossing over the fact that at least most of these applications can run multiple windows, each with their own tab-sets. So you open the a few application instances, and put all the tabs for project A in one window, all the tabs for project B in the 2nd one, and then move the 2nd window to the 2nd desktop. Ditto the others.
You can even have some apps, e.g. your email live on all the desktops.
As someone who has tried it, I admit there are a few gotchas. Not every app behaves the way it should -
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I like your "uber window" term. And indeed, that's all that I want. A simple OS-level group multiple application windows, docked together as tabs. Minimize all together. Move as one from monitor to monitor. I don't see that as anything complicated for an OS to do -- without any playing nice by the applications within. It's nothing more than window positioning, and a fancy title bar.
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The first issue is that I think a tab interface for this is truly awful UI. I'd want to be able to see the specs and the editor and the browser, and a couple terminal windows etc, all at the same time. The last thing I'd want is for them to all be separate tabs on a single window.
So I'd want the window to be super customizable so i could divide them into panels and resize them, and maybe even detach a few panels... and now I'm basically looking at a virtual desktop in a window ...essentially like what you
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Yes. Following the conversation the GP was talking about putting different applications in tabs, without restrictions as to the number of these master-windows are on the screen. Within a tab you can still have multiple windows on a screen to when doing a task (e.g. moving a file) to support an activity (e.g. updating the revision of a word document and sorting in through the document system).
Multi-desktop breaks that. Windows support tasks. Multiple windows support activities. Multiple desktop supports sort
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Each different interface supports different actions. I.e. side by side reading, drag and drop between windows, both of which do not work well in the slightest across desktops.
How is side by side reading and drag and drop not supported with multiple desktops?
The idea behind multiple desktops is that you put both windows you want to read side by side on the same desktop, as long as all the other windows related to any tasks for that project.
The fundamental problem at issue is that if you are working on two (or more) separate projects and both projects need a you to be editing graphics files, browsers and code editors open at the same time, its is cumbersome to have a bunch of win
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How is side by side reading and drag and drop not supported with multiple desktops?
I feel like with that statement you have shown you don't know how virtual desktops work. Making the rest of your post irrelevant.
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You have a virtual desktop and you put two windows on it, side by side, you can read them side by side, and you drag and drop between the two windows. If you think virtual desktops don't support this then it is you that don't know what a virtual desktop is or how it works.
If you mean that its not trivial to drag and drop between two virtual desktops, you'd be correct, but:
a) there are ready existing workarounds (e.g. copy + paste, or just open or move the source and destination windows to the same desktop
b)
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I'm not familiar with that. Will it allow me to have one window with multiple tabs -- two excel tabs, three browser tabs, and a text editor tab?
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What about a safe/read-only view mode? (Score:1)
Will Windows Explorer ever support a safe/no-drag view mode? Or even support it if only by means of registry hacks or shell plug-ins?
Finally (Score:2)
I've been wanting this for years. Mac OS has tabs in Finder, and it's much nicer than opening new windows.
It's especially nice to be able to drag a file to the tab header to move it.
Really? (Score:2)
"Microsoft is Finally Bringing Tabs To File Explorer on Windows 11"
You mean like Nemo and Krusader and countless other Linux file managers have literally had for YEARS?
Wow, the copying, errr, I mean "innovation" never stops at Redmond, does it?