Windows 11’s December Patch Tuesday Update Improves File Explorer’s Dark Mode

Microsoft has just released the December Patch Tuesday update for Windows 11 versions 25H2 and 24H2, which brings various improvements to File Explorer. Dark mode is finally more consistent, and the app’s context menu has been simplified to make common actions like Share, Copy, and Move easier to access.

Today’s KB5072033 update also fixes a bug in the preview update released on December 1 that made the dark version of File Explorer briefly flash white when users navigated between pages. There are also various new features for Copilot+ PC users in this update. The Xbox Full Screen Experience (FSE), which first debuted on the ROG Xbox Ally, is also becoming available on more gaming handhelds.

Here are the main new features included in the December Patch Tuesday update:

AI Agent in Settings (Copilot+ PCs only): The search results menu now shows more results, there are inline recommended settings for making changes more quickly, and dialogs will appear explaining when you can’t adjust a setting further.

Click to Do (Copilot+ PCs only): The Click to Do context menu has been streamlined so that it’s easier to access the Copy, Save, Share, and Open options, and large images and tables on-screen now trigger the context menu automatically.

Windows Studio Effects (Copilot+ PCs only): You can now use Windows Studio Effects with secondary USB webcams.

Windows Search (Copilot+ PCs only): You can now find the photos that AI categorized in the Photos app using Windows Search with semantic search.

File Explorer: File Explorer now offers a more consistent dark mode experience, and Microsoft fixed a bug in the December preview update that caused the app in dark mode to briefly flash white when users navigated between pages. This update also introduces a streamlined context menu and various other fixes.

Settings app: A Virtual Workspaces setting was added to Advanced Settings. The Mobile Devices settings page now lets you manage your mobile devices without needing new windows. And the About page has been redesigned.

Widgets board: You can choose a default dashboard in Widget Board settings, and dashboard icons in the Widget navigation bar now show numbers that correspond to the number of alerts from that dashboard.

Taskbar: You can now share an open app window with Copilot directly from the taskbar, and animations for app groups on the taskbar have been updated.

Desktop Spotlight: There are two new items in the Desktop Spotlight context menu: Learn more about this background and Next desktop background.

Windows Share: You can now share multiple files using the Drag Tray, and you can disable the Drag Tray.

Xbox Full Screen Experience (FSE) improvements: The FSE is now available on more Windows 11 gaming handhelds. Windows Insiders can also test it on any Windows 11 PC (https://www.thurrott.com/games/329938/xbox-full-screen-experience-is-now-available-for-dev-and-beta-insiders)

On the security front, Microsoft fixed 56 security flaws this month, including an elevation of privilege vulnerability that’s currently being exploited by attackers. The security experts at the Zero Day Initiative have shared the full list of CVEs for the month of December. Lastly, due to reduced activity during the holiday season, Microsoft won’t be releasing an optional preview update later this month.