Earlier this year, Microsoft announced many new features coming to Windows 11 as part of the 2022 update. The new features include the ability to perform certain actions by directly selecting the texts within apps like Teams and tabs support in Explorer. The new tabbed File Explorer is available for testing, but most users are still waiting to give it a try.
The ‘tabs’ integration is one of the most significant feature updates to File Explorer in years. The interface of File Explorer has largely remained unchanged since the release of Windows 8. With Windows 11’s next update, Microsoft is adding tabs and a new home view to File Explorer.
While tabs integration lets you easily work on multiple folders and directories, File Explorer’s new home view allows you to view your recently used files, including documents and pictures from OneDrive. We’ve been able to use the feature with a third-party tool called ‘ViveTool’, but it’s apparently not available for many users in the Insider program.
This has changed and Microsoft has now started pushing tabs to everyone in the Windows Insider Program, as the company is preparing the feature for the fall 2022 release.
However, it’s yet to officially arrive for anyone in the production channel.
Reports have suggested that Windows 11 version 22H2 will land in the last week of September 2022, with a wider rollout scheduled for October-November. At the moment, it appears that File Explorer with tabs won’t be included in the final version of the next feature update.
In fact, tabs support is currently missing in the RTM build of Windows 11 22H2. So what’s going on? It appears that Microsoft is planning to turn on the tabs integration in File Explorer via upcoming cumulative updates, following the release of Windows 11’s version 22H2 in September.
This means File Explorer tabs support will arrive at a later date, possibly in October or November.
Recent changes to the File Explorer
Meanwhile, Microsoft has fixed several File Explorer glitches, as well taskbar bugs in the latest preview build. For example, the company fixed an issue where folders were suddenly duplicated in File Explorer.
Another bug has been fixed users could drag the left-half of the File Explorer title bar via mouse or touch. A bug has been fixed where selecting folders and using the context menu option to open them in a tab wouldn’t work.
These fixes alongside the File Explorer tab are now available for users enrolled in the Dev channel.
