Another Example of Windows 11 Leaving Power Users Behind (Premium)

Many seem to be excited about tabs coming to File Explorer in Windows 11 22H2. But it’s the other changes to File Explorer that I’m concerned about: Microsoft is also making fairly major changes to File Explorer’s navigation bar and what used to be called Quick access, and I’m not sure it even understands the ramifications of what it’s doing.

This one is going to be a bit hard to explain. But it impacts me personally, given how I configure File Explorer, and it’s something I’ll need to understand and document fully for the Windows 11 Field Guide. So I’ll see if I can muddle through it in a way that will make sense.

In the initial version of Windows 11 (21H2), Microsoft upgraded File Explorer with a new look and feel, but it kept the configuration mostly the same as it was in Windows 10, with a default Quick access view and a Quick access entry at the top of the navigation pane to match. And, as before, you could change the default view to This PC if you wanted.

With Windows 11 22H2, Microsoft is making further changes. The Quick access view has been renamed to Home, and it’s still the default view, but it now displays a new Favorites section for pinned files and folders. And, in the navigation pane, the Quick access section has likewise been renamed to Home, which makes sense. (And there’s also a new option to set OneDrive as the default view.)

By default, Quick access/Home in the navigation bar displays six shortcuts---for the Desktop, Downloads, Documents, Pictures, Music, and Videos folders---and these folders also appear in the Quick access section in the Quick access/Home view, above Favorites (new to 22H2) and Recent. And also by default, File Explorer will dynamically add folders to Quick access/Home in the navigation bar, and files and folders to the Quick access/Home default view as you use the PC.

Some people like this behavior, I’m sure. Others, like me, do not. And so, one of the first things I do when I bring up a new Windows 11 PC is to customize File Explorer to my needs. I make the following changes (via Folder options, accessed via See more [“…”] > Options > General):

I change the default view to This PC.
I disable the options “Show recently used files” and “Show frequently used folders” (and, in 22H2, “Show files from Office.com”).

I also customize the Quick access/Home section of File Explorer’s navigation pane like so:

I remove the shortcuts to the Documents, Pictures, Music, and Videos folders, because I do not use these folders. (I leave the shortcuts to Desktop and Download because I do use these folders.)
I add shortcuts to folders I use regularly like Book (for the Windows 11 Field Guide), To-do (articles I’m currently working on), and a folder representing the current month (2022-07 as I write this) because this is where I move (archive) documents and other files I’m done with.

One of the many things that is probably not obvio...

Gain unlimited access to Premium articles.

With technology shaping our everyday lives, how could we not dig deeper?

Thurrott Premium delivers an honest and thorough perspective about the technologies we use and rely on everyday. Discover deeper content as a Premium member.

Tagged with

Share post

Please check our Community Guidelines before commenting

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Thurrott © 2024 Thurrott LLC