File Explorer in Windows 11 Dev Channel

With the Windows 11 Dev Channel receiving a slew of new features in recent releases, we thought now would be a good time to resume our "Closer Look" series, where we discuss specific features in dedicated articles.

So far, we have looked at the Start Menu, Task Manager, and the App folder in Snap Layouts in the Windows 11 Dev Channel. Today, we will discuss enhancements in File Explorer. It’s important to note that our screenshots are from build 22563, which was released to the Dev Channel yesterday, but some of the features we’re discussing are in the latest build, as well as the previous build, 22557.

When it comes to the latest enhancements to File Explorer in the Windows 11 Dev Channel, we have some noteworthy changes to discuss. Build 22557 adds the ability to pin individual files to quick access by using the right-click context menu, as shown in the screenshot above. Previously, only folders could be pinned.

Once you have pinned a file, you will be able to see it in the Pinned Files section of Quick Access, as shown in the screenshot above.

Personally, I can't believe this feature wasn't available in operating systems before, and I never even realized having such a feature would be so useful. I personally have a lot of use cases for this, especially on my work machine, considering I have to download a lot of files, and it makes sense to pin important files to quick access for added convenience.

That said, it seems impossible for pinned files to appear in the Quick Access pane on the left, which is a bit disappointing. I really hope Microsoft considers giving people the option to pin at least a limited number of files to the left pane as well.

Another feature introduced in build 22557 is the OneDrive button in the upper right corner of File Explorer. It's important to note that this button only appears if you have integrated OneDrive into File Explorer and are currently in the OneDrive directory. Since it doesn't appear all the time, I don't find it intrusive at all.

This button provides you with some information and several options. It shows your sync status and storage capacity utilization. It also allows you to manage storage, view the directory online and modify some settings. Clicking on the first two options will open your web browser, and I'm happy to confirm that Microsoft is respecting your default browser configuration here and not forcing you to open Edge.

However, the last option - Settings - opens the legacy OneDrive settings UI (screenshot above). It does have some trappings of the Windows 11 design language, such as rounded corners, but it's clearly a legacy interface. I really hope Microsoft updates this to be fully consistent with Windows 11.

Another nifty feature introduced in Dev Channel build 22557 is the ability to see previews of items in a folder. This happens when you set the folder view to almost anything except lists or details. An example with an oversized icon can be seen above. Personally, I don't see much use for it, it seems more like an aesthetic preference.

Build 22557 also adds a new feature that allows you to share files directly through Outlook without opening a dedicated application, provided you have installed Microsoft through the Microsoft Store Office Outlook desktop integrated application. As you can see from the screenshot above, this can be a very handy feature for active Outlook users, but for me, clicking on relevant options too often caused the context menu to crash. I'm not sure if this is the case for everyone, but that's why I'm using Microsoft's screenshots to show potential capabilities, rather than my own non-existent screenshots. This is one thing I will definitely submit in the Feedback Hub.

Finally, some other backend changes were also introduced for File Explorer yesterday in the latest version 22563. The first is that Quick Access searches now include content from OneDrive, Downloads, and any indexed location. Another is that files shared to you from another OneDrive will now also display thumbnails and work with OneDrive sharing. Sounds good on paper, but it doesn't fit my usual use case, so I can't talk too much about their benefits.

All in all, it’s great to see the File Explorer enhancements Microsoft has been focusing on with recent Dev Channel releases. Its implementation is obviously not perfect yet (looking at you, the Outlook sharing context menu keeps crashing), but some instability is expected with Dev Channel builds. I'd love to see Microsoft make more user experience improvements to pinned files in Quick Access, and maybe Microsoft should make OneDrive settings a more native part of File Explorer for people using the service.

However, it's important to note that Dev Channel builds are not tied to a specific Windows version, so Microsoft may bring these features to a generally available version of Windows 11, but if the company discovers issues with the utility, design, or more related issues, it is also possible to stop development of them entirely.

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