Windows 11 File Explorer is getting tabs
Microsoft has started rolling out tabs for file explorer in the latest Windows 11 Developer Build.
The much-requested feature is now available for testing to Dev Channel Insiders in Windows 11 Dev build 22579.100.
The addition comes despite Microsoft stating the update would only serve to test the servicing pipeline and won’t come with any changes over the previous build.
The tabs appear to be enabled by default and allow users to jump between directories or folders within the same window, similar to how a browser lets users navigate between websites.
Windows Central previously reported that Microsoft hid the feature in an early preview build, and Windows Insider Rafael Rivera first uncovered it.
The screenshot below shows the feature on Rivera’s system, with tabs for Quick Access, a hard drive, and the Downloads folder shown above the toolbar.
Apple’s MacOS and various Linux distributions have had tabs in their file browsers for several years, while the Windows community has been pleading with Microsoft to roll out similar functionality.
The company previously had a go at a multi-app tabs feature with Windows 10’s Sets, which it started testing in early 2018.
Sets allowed switching between multiple apps and websites within the same window, among other functions.
However, it was pulled from preview builds only a few weeks after rollout, with Microsoft stating it was reworking the feature internally and would relaunch it in the future.
This did not happen, likely because the Sets development relied heavily on integration with the old version of the Edge browser, which has since been supplanted by a revamped Edge running on Google’s Chromium engine.
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