Microsoft Is Testing File Recommendations In Explorer (theverge.com) 46
Microsoft is starting to test a system called File Recommendations in File Explorer, which does exactly what the name suggests -- when you visit the home tab, it shows specific files that you may want to open at the top. The Verge reports: In a blog post, the company says the current version is only available to some Insiders in its Dev Channel who have installed the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23403 update and will only work if you're logged in with an Azure Active Directory account (meaning that currently, this feature feels squarely aimed at business users). For those that do have it, it'll suggest cloud files that you own or that have been shared with you.
Microsoft says it plans to "monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone," so it seems as if it's aware that the feature could be controversial. Part of that may be just down to the fact that not everybody will want unexpected results in their file browser -- though based on the screenshot, you will be able to collapse the Recommended section.
Microsoft says it plans to "monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone," so it seems as if it's aware that the feature could be controversial. Part of that may be just down to the fact that not everybody will want unexpected results in their file browser -- though based on the screenshot, you will be able to collapse the Recommended section.
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Forget job description. (Score:5, Funny)
In our company, we work on what Microsoft recommends we do or should look into.
If you need more guidance on your work today, GPTManager will answer all your questions.
Re: Forget job description. (Score:5, Interesting)
The problem with all those recommendations is that you will be diverted from what your main task for the moment should be.
Don't flood people with distractions. That's what the UI shall do, and that's why I'm missing the simplicity of the Win2k desktop that was very distinct. Not an ineffective artistic experiment that Win10 is.
Re: Forget job description. (Score:5, Interesting)
"simplicity of the Win2k desktop"
When the Windows 95 shell became available for NT, I thought it was a great upgrade, and indeed, after Windows 2000 it only became steadily worse. The Classic UI tool was something I installed on everything since Windows 7, and luckily I barely had to deal with Windows 10 before I quit IT.
At home, I've been using fluxbox for ages with a custom theme and nothing but a text clock in the corner for a distraction free, blank desktop. I shudder when I see a Windows desktop now.
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Now my usage pattern may be unusual but I was very happy with Windows 10 "Recent" section and if this new "assistant" mostly does the same and tries to find some clever optimisations, I will be satisfied.
Wake Me Up When Search Works in File Explorer (Score:5, Informative)
How many times has search in File Explorer not found a file you know is present? How many times has it found a file that doesn't contain any of the search terms? How many times has it searched for hours? Microsoft has never managed to get search to work. For God's sake - f-in Mac OS Finder is able to reliably search and is fast.Command line find with grep is faster on Linux and Mac than anything in Windows except maybe find and grep in GitBash.
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What makes you think MS is indexing your files for you? It's just so they can search what they want, when they want.
Re: Wake Me Up When Search Works in File Explorer (Score:2)
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Wait File Explorer has a search?
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Exactly:
find . -type f > index.txt # makes an index, and
grep pattern index.txt # to search for files.
The other advantage of this is you can have an index of external HDDs that aren't connected, and still search them and find which drive a file is on. Windows search is embarrassingly poor by comparison.
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How many times has search in File Explorer not found a file you know is present?
How many times has search in Outlook not found an email you know is present?
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pretty much never since we moved to "the cloud" - literally years and years of email is unfindable.. but yeah.. we'll just pretend that didnt happen :)
Re: Wake Me Up When Search Works in File Explorer (Score:2)
Microsoft doesnâ(TM)t get enough flack for this. Theyâ(TM)re supposedly a search engine company yet their 40 year old flagship product has never a decent search in it- ever. And itâ(TM)s not like this is a particularly difficult problem to solve for files on the disk.
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Search in file explorer does insdeed suck. However I think Microsoft has implemented this feature for a different category of user than us. It is intended for home users, technically unsavvy users, etc. It was never intended for Enterprise users. Microsoft continues to crap on the Enterprise users that are its bread and butter. But if you want to search for "xmas letter" and it is there in the middle of your desktop, there is a very good chance it will be found in a search.
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The Search 4.0 update for XP was the exact moment that Microsoft broke it. I uninstalled the update within 5 minutes. When I had no choice but to move to Win7, which only allows the new search engine, I got myself a "real" search utility.
These days, Windows search is so broken, my non-indexed search tool can find things faster than the fully-indexed built-in Explorer garbage. Search is quite possibly the most broken thing in Windows.
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How many times has search in File Explorer not found a file you know is present? How many times has it found a file that doesn't contain any of the search terms? How many times has it searched for hours? Microsoft has never managed to get search to work. For God's sake - f-in Mac OS Finder is able to reliably search and is fast.Command line find with grep is faster on Linux and Mac than anything in Windows except maybe find and grep in GitBash.
Microsoft is trying to be 'secure' by not using the MFT and instead creating its own 'best guess' based on users 'consent' locations.
"Everything" (my choice of MFT search), will be instant for 99% of your search needs as it just uses the MFT, and just shows *everything*I which i dunno, just works: https://superuser.com/question... [superuser.com]
It's the next step. (Score:1)
Re: It's the next step. (Score:1)
I'd take 'nothing'.
Best search tools are the *nix 'find' and 'grep'.
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For the average business user, a better GUI on a slightly better search engine would be enough.
Just give them multiple boxes for the same search, broken up into the standard items - file name keyword, file content keyword, file location keyword, file type keyword, and date range. Now make it three rows, the first is for a general 'fuzzy' search, the second row is for absolute includes and the third for absolute excludes. Maybe tack another text box onto the end of each line for the truly advanced stuff for
It's like Microsoft has to pretend ignorance (Score:2)
Of what files are stored on Windows PCs, in order to do useful work with a straight face.
I'm laughing at the idea of that Chat AI being the voice to Explorer as it suggests video files to view next.
Useless (Score:5, Insightful)
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Microsoft is late to this party: Cloud storage spends weeks reminding you what you viewed/saved last month. Look at porn and it's in the 'Recent' banner for the rest of the month/week.
How is this different? (Score:3)
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This new version might not list your porn?
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I don't know, but it seems like the MRU (Most Recently Used) registry key is something that I remember clearing out back in the late 90s, and I'd be surprised if it didn't go back to Win95, and also surprised if Win 3.x programs didn't implement such a feature via .INI files.
It'd be funny (but par for the course) if this "new" feature was no more sophisticated than MRU, but I expect it to at least add *something*, like, oh... now your MRU files are reported back to MS via the ubiquitous telemetry.
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I'm using Windows 11 now, and when I open the File Explorer it shows me a list of recent files and folders. What's the difference?
Recent and future recommendations are not the same.
You recently viewed "Spicy Thai Cucumber Salad-BBC Good Food.pdf"
Based on your recent files we recommend you open "Two hot girls use cucumber.mp4"
Cloud (Score:2)
When will advertisements be added? (Score:2)
Like the Chrome URL bar?
Provide an option to turn it off (Score:3)
The start menu / app launcher in Windows 11 is crap for a number of reasons.
But the most aggravating is there is NO WAY to turn off app recommendations. Click the icon and up pops up recommends apps above the ones you pinned. There is a setting to control if you want more recommendations or less, but not an option for NONE. So that thing is constantly on, wasting space and cluttering up the UI.
I could see file explorer turning out the same way. I don't want recommendations. I program software so that's just going to be filled with random shit at any given moment. Let me turn it off.
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There's no way to remove the recommendations pane, but you can turn off recommendations. Go to "Settings > Personalisation > Start" and untick all 3 options and you won't ever get anything appear in the recommended section.
Also on Windows 11 Pro and above you can disable recommended by Group Policy: "User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar > Remove Recommended section from Start Menu" However it doesn't appear to be working currently (bug *taps nose*)
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Install Open Shell [github.io].
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stop helping me! (Score:3)
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And the only thing more annoying is that, is an incompetent OS maker trying to be helpful.
As long as I can turn it off... (Score:2)
Don't care much so long as I can turn it off
I can't stand the quick launch (that recently run list at the top of the start menu some versions of windows had)
I can't stand the way that the download folder ends up being forced into Group By even when I explicitly set it otherwise and keeps going back every time windows updates happen
or how when I tell windows NOT to use tablet mechanics for dropdowns (Having a touchscreen I don't use for touch but windows flips the direction of menu dropdowns for touch, I set
Night of the Chatbots (Score:1)
Return of Clippy.
Based on your recent history,... (Score:2)
* Hot MILFs In Love.mp4
* Oh, No, StepBro!.mp4
* Interracial Midget Orgy Volume 17.mp4
30 years of garbage (Score:2)
Windows file explorer: 30 years of garbage, worse at every new version. So, let's add some new useless UI features to make it even worse.
Too much brainstorming (Score:2)
Stop it. Go work on something useful.
Thank the Devil's Nipple Hair! (Score:1)