Microsoft said it would change its File Explorer in an upcoming update, removing many little-used features. Faced with criticism, the Redmond firm announces to backtrack.
Modifying anything on Windows 11 is a real headache for Microsoft. Each change impacts the lives of millions of users and must therefore be done sparingly, or even reconsider decisions. That’s what happened with File Explorer.
The Redmond firm has thus returned to the removal of many features within the explorer. Announced during Preview Build 23481, these deletions were met with discontent from many followers who used them every day. Microsoft listened to the remarks and announced to keep them.
Microsoft backtracks and won’t remove these crucial File Explorer options
The purpose of these deletions was to make the interface clearer, to offer fewer “useless” options. Various options were affected, such as displaying icons instead of thumbnails, displaying file format information in folder tips, or hiding protected files. Note that they were not going to completely disappear, since they were still accessible via the registry keys. They will be ultimately preserved. It remains to be seen how this will be done. Microsoft could leave them as is or make them available via a dedicated menu.
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Note that these deletions have not been deployed on “classic” versions of Windows 11, but only for Dev Channel Insiders. This way, Microsoft can test its adjustments with a small audience and backtrack when necessary. This is the case here.
In addition to the restoration of these options, Microsoft announced the arrival of various small things, like a “Focus” Widget that allows you to mute notifications for a given time, or even the possibility of displaying two distinct icons of the taskbar within the same application.
New features that were to arrive for the general public in the coming weeks or months.