Windows 11 gets a big redesign for folders – and an exciting feature is imminent

Windows 11 just got a new preview build which brings in the much talked about revamp of File Explorer, and a number of other features besides.

File Explorer is the central pillar of the Windows 11 interface – it’s the very windows on the desktop you use to browse through folders and files – and it has undergone a full overhaul in the latest test version in the Beta channel (build 22621.2050 / 22631.2050).

Microsoft calls it a modernized File Explorer, and it comes sporting a new details pane and address bar plus search box.

When you select a file, the new details pane shows contextual info relating to that file such as a thumbnail, share status, recent activity for the file, any related files and other details.

The modernized address bar in File Explorer automatically recognizes local (on the PC) or cloud folders and shows their status as such, and for those who use OneDrive, the bar carries the storage service’s sync status to see at-a-glance (plus there’s a quota flyout).

For those signed into a Microsoft account, Quick Access folders have also been rejigged with an ‘updated experience’. And lastly, those signed into an Azure Active Directory (AAD) account (business users) will get recommended files shown in a carousel (with file thumbnails coming soon, we’re told).

Another major introduction here is the Dynamic Lighting hub that we’ve heard a lot about in the past. This provides a central place to control your peripherals with RGB lighting, so you don’t have to bloat your system with multiple third-party apps from hardware makers.

We’re told that a bunch of peripheral manufacturers have partnered with Microsoft on this, including Acer, Asus, HP, HyperX, Logitech, Razer, and Twinkly.

Elsewhere in this beta build, Windows Ink is getting pepped up so users can write into edit fields in the OS. That means you can, for example, write directly into a search box in the Windows 11 interface, with the eventual goal being you can use your stylus to write anywhere in the UI.

There’s a bunch of other bits and pieces going on here, such as a new volume mixer in Quick Settings, plus adding new natural voices for Narrator (including UK English, Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish). For the full details, see Microsoft’s blog post introducing the build.


Analysis: Happiness is a setting that doesn’t work (just yet)

Clearly, there are some big moves here. For gamers, the Dynamic Lighting hub should be a real gem, although it’s slightly late arriving for testing – we were expecting to see it debut in May.

And it’s great to see the redesigned File Explorer land, of course. This will be an ongoing piece of work, and doubtless one of the central cogs of the 23H2 update when it arrives later this year – it’s also set to introduce an image gallery view for folders (which has already been incorporated into the Beta channel earlier).

Excitingly, there’s something else here – and that’s the settings for ‘never combined’ mode in Windows 11. This is a long-awaited feature for many (ourselves included) that is now included in Taskbar behaviors (in Settings) in this preview build, but sadly, the functionality doesn’t work yet.

However, Microsoft tells us that it will be enabled in a beta build ‘soon’, so the wait is nearly over for the ability to tell Windows 11 not to stack up running instances of the same app on the taskbar. This feature must also be pretty much a dead cert for the 23H2 update, too, and we’re happy about that.

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Windows 11 update adds folders to the Start menu

Windows 11 is getting some big changes to its core interface, including folders for the Start menu (at long last).

Microsoft has announced that folders are going to grace the Start menu as of now, with an update rolling out for Windows 11 happening right off the bat (though as ever, that rollout will reach some PCs before others).

We’ve already seen how this feature works, at least in testing, as Start menu folders debuted in a preview build of Windows 11 back in February.

These app folders pretty much do what you’d expect, and mean that you’ll be able to create folders within the Start menu via an easy process. All that’s required is dragging and dropping one app icon onto another, then a folder will be created, complete with mini app icons displayed in the folder graphic to indicate what’s inside. You can also name these folders to help with organizing and seeing what’s what at a glance.

Start menu showing pinned apps organized into folders

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Other nifty features being introduced for Windows 11 with this incoming update include tabs in File Explorer, which facilitate your desktop folder windows having multiple tabs like a web browser, allowing you to keep many folders open within one window.


Analysis: A bit of a head-scratcher, but welcome nonetheless

It’s great to see folders arrive for the Start menu in Windows 11, as they are a useful tool for obvious organizational reasons, helping to keep the menu streamlined.

Indeed, the absence of this pretty basic feature in the Start menu was one of the head-scratchers about Windows 11’s interface, given that this ability was present in Windows 10 (and versions way before that, for that matter, as a fairly fundamental piece of the UI customization jigsaw). Why wasn’t it brought over with the initial launch of Windows 11, and why has it taken so long for the functionality to arrive in Microsoft’s newest OS? Well, whatever the case, it’s here now.

Indeed, it’s here right now, which is another talking point here. We’d expect these kind of interface changes, ones that are fairly big adjustments, to be bundled up in the big annual update for Windows 11 (due in the second half of the year). Mainly because it gives Microsoft lots of shiny new things to point out, in a ‘look at all this load of fresh stuff that’s arrived for our OS’ kind of way.

Still, Microsoft has been moving towards deploying new features outside of the major Windows updates, and we’ve seen, for example, monthly Windows 11 updates bring forth the likes of Android app support (in testing) plus refreshed Notepad and Media Player apps.

More flexibility in feature delivery is doubtless needed now Microsoft’s cadence has dropped from two upgrades per year to a single annual affair – and we’re certainly not complaining about getting important capabilities and introductions for Windows 11 sooner rather than later. But if big chunks of functionality are arriving before Sun Valley 2, it makes you wonder if the impact that the latter makes in terms of changes will be lessened when it turns up later in 2022.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Windows 11 update adds folders to the Start menu

Windows 11 is getting some big changes to its core interface, including folders for the Start menu (at long last).

Microsoft has announced that folders are going to grace the Start menu as of now, with an update rolling out for Windows 11 happening right off the bat (though as ever, that rollout will reach some PCs before others).

We’ve already seen how this feature works, at least in testing, as Start menu folders debuted in a preview build of Windows 11 back in February.

These app folders pretty much do what you’d expect, and mean that you’ll be able to create folders within the Start menu via an easy process. All that’s required is dragging and dropping one app icon onto another, then a folder will be created, complete with mini app icons displayed in the folder graphic to indicate what’s inside. You can also name these folders to help with organizing and seeing what’s what at a glance.

Start menu showing pinned apps organized into folders

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Other nifty features being introduced for Windows 11 with this incoming update include tabs in File Explorer, which facilitate your desktop folder windows having multiple tabs like a web browser, allowing you to keep many folders open within one window.


Analysis: A bit of a head-scratcher, but welcome nonetheless

It’s great to see folders arrive for the Start menu in Windows 11, as they are a useful tool for obvious organizational reasons, helping to keep the menu streamlined.

Indeed, the absence of this pretty basic feature in the Start menu was one of the head-scratchers about Windows 11’s interface, given that this ability was present in Windows 10 (and versions way before that, for that matter, as a fairly fundamental piece of the UI customization jigsaw). Why wasn’t it brought over with the initial launch of Windows 11, and why has it taken so long for the functionality to arrive in Microsoft’s newest OS? Well, whatever the case, it’s here now.

Indeed, it’s here right now, which is another talking point here. We’d expect these kind of interface changes, ones that are fairly big adjustments, to be bundled up in the big annual update for Windows 11 (due in the second half of the year). Mainly because it gives Microsoft lots of shiny new things to point out, in a ‘look at all this load of fresh stuff that’s arrived for our OS’ kind of way.

Still, Microsoft has been moving towards deploying new features outside of the major Windows updates, and we’ve seen, for example, monthly Windows 11 updates bring forth the likes of Android app support (in testing) plus refreshed Notepad and Media Player apps.

More flexibility in feature delivery is doubtless needed now Microsoft’s cadence has dropped from two upgrades per year to a single annual affair – and we’re certainly not complaining about getting important capabilities and introductions for Windows 11 sooner rather than later. But if big chunks of functionality are arriving before Sun Valley 2, it makes you wonder if the impact that the latter makes in terms of changes will be lessened when it turns up later in 2022.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More