According to a report from Windows Central, Microsoft is working on an overhaul of the File Explorer app in Windows 11. The new File Explorer is expected to feature redesigned and more touch-friendly navigation, improved photo viewing with larger previews, keyword and color tagging to organize files, and tighter integration with Microsoft 365 and OneDrive.
The internal layout of the new interface shows a new “recommended”section of files along with existing areas for pinned and recent files, with a large preview of various documents and information about where files are located (OneDrive, SharePoint and local All download folders are listed) and information about recent file updates. The new look will also feature “more modern code”under the hood.
The report says that Microsoft wants to release the new Explorer before the end of the year. This may be part of Windows’ annual update this fall, but Microsoft is taking a “when they’re ready”approach to releasing new Windows features in the Windows 11 era – they can be released anytime or never.
File Explorer has been updated a couple of times since the release of Windows 11; Microsoft updated File Explorer with a tabbed design, along with a small batch of other additions, shortly after the release of the Windows 11 2022 update. And the app has also been updated to match the rest of the new look and feel of Windows 11 in the original version of the OS, getting rid of the old Windows 8-era ribbon user interface..
Microsoft’s ongoing drive to integrate and unify its various services still attracts the attention of government regulators from time to time, decades after the Internet Explorer antitrust case. Earlier this week, Politico reported that EU regulators were close to launching an antitrust investigation against the company over its association of Microsoft Teams with a suite of productivity apps formerly known as Office. A version of Explorer that also prioritizes and advertises OneDrive and Microsoft 365 could also draw the ire of regulators.