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File Explorer may finally get tabs in Windows 11
Windows 11 might be the best Windows ever if this happens.
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The exponential growth of personal computing in the 1990s was a very exciting time. Windows 95 changed the way we navigated PCs. It created an ecosystem that while always evolving, would remain fundamentally consistent throughout its lifespan.
Sure, we can’t purchase a Windows laptop without a heap of bloatware now. But at least Windows ME is a thing of the past.
The point is, even if you are an Apple fan, one of the five nerds using Linux, or a schoolchild forced into Chrome OS, Windows owns a worldwide market share for primary computing OS (not including smartphones).
That means you’ve probably used it enough to have a list of things you like, things you don’t like, and things you’d like to see changed.
If you had put freaking tabs in File Explorer on your wish list as many of us who use Windows for work functions all day long do, then there is good news.
Windows is apparently about to do exactly that, albeit in Windows 11, which you probably haven’t upgraded to yet because you are getting some message that says your computer can’t handle it. Whatever. Don’t tell me what my computer can or cannot handle. It can take any OS like a champ.
READ MORE: Ads are coming to File Explorer in Windows 11
Regardless, Windows Central is reporting that hidden within the latest Windows 11 preview build is a tabbed interface for File Explorer.
This is great news for productivity, even though multiple tabs will likely affect computer memory just as much as multiple instances of File Explorer being open.
Multiple File Explorer tabs in one instance are sexier than the amount of Pornhub tabs Josiah has open right now as he’s editing this.
This isn’t the first time Microsoft has experimented with more tabs
Windows almost rolled out a similar File Explorer enhancement once before with its “Sets” UX. But that added tabs to every Windows app window, which was a bit of overkill.
Windows smartly shelved that one, but along with it at the time, File Explorer tabs got benched as well.
While not all of us will be able to upgrade to Windows 11 by the time this feature rolls out, it’s at least something to look forward to when we finally get around to upgrading our aging motherboard.
READ MORE: Windows 11 update makes switching default browsers a breeze
If you’re horny for new Windows features, then you can spend the next few months edging with your Chrome tabs because Microsoft’s next feature update won’t come out until the second half of the year.
It’s unknown at this time if feature version 22H2 will include tabs for File Explorer as it’s still in testing. But anything is possible if you just believe.
Whether it’s in the next update or the next one after that, it doesn’t really matter. At some point, File Explorer is finally going to have tabs after all these years.
Sure, tabs weren’t something that was necessarily considered during Windows’ formative years. But as we grew into the online world, tabs were something we expected from our browsers, so why not our File Explorer?
Now, if Windows could just add tabs to Notepad, then we’ll be all set.
Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.
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