Windows 11’s refreshed File Explorer gets tabs, favorites, and a new homepage

Microsoft is bringing tabs to the File Explorer in Windows 11 soon, alongside a refreshed design that makes it easier to quickly access folders or find favorite files. The highly requested tabs feature was first spotted in Windows 11 test builds last month, and now Microsoft is making it official at a hybrid work event for Windows 11 today.

The updated File Explorer design includes tabs to navigate multiple folders in a single window and the ability to move tabs around. Microsoft first started testing tabs in Windows 10 apps, under a feature named Sets. This included support for tabs inside File Explorer, but Microsoft eventually canceled the project and never shipped it to Windows 10 users.

Microsoft is also adding a new File Explorer homepage that includes the typical Quick Access folders, recent documents, and a new favorites option. You’ll soon be able to right-click a file to add it to favorites, and it will appear pinned on the homepage of File Explorer. There are even improved sharing options for files, with an updated share dialog that lets you send to recent contacts or apps like Teams, Outlook, and OneDrive.

It’s not clear when we’ll see this updated File Explorer, though. Microsoft is simply teasing it as part of a number of Windows 11 improvements that are on the way, and the company hasn’t committed to a release date yet. Like many of Microsoft’s new Windows 11 features, the refreshed File Explorer could arrive in a monthly update to the operating system.