El Windows 11 File Explorer It's one of the essential tools on any PC, yet we often use only a fraction of its potential, ignoring its tricks. If you're one of those who thinks File Explorer is simply a window for viewing folders, get ready to discover a world of possibilities.
In this article we reveal to you The best tricks and secrets to get the most out of File Explorer in Windows 11From customizing views to advanced tab management, search filters, efficient folder management, and much more. Whether you're a new user or an experienced user, you'll find useful insights and features you probably didn't know about.
Personalization and adjustments for a unique experience
Windows 11 sets default settings for File Explorer, but this doesn't mean you should settle for what comes standard. Many aspects can be adapted to your daily needs, streamlining tasks and improving privacyHere are some of the most interesting customizations:
Change the Explorer startup folder
By default, File Explorer opens displaying the 'Home' view, where the Quick Access, Favorites, and Recent Items categories appear. If you prefer the first window when you open Explorer to be another one – for example, 'This PC' or your personal folder – you can change it by following a few simple steps from the Options from the menu (accessed through the three dots on the top bar). Thus, You will save time every time you search for your most common files.
Clear the list of recent files and folders for added privacy
Showing recently used items can be useful, But it also poses a privacy risk if you share your computer. From the 'Folder Options' menu, you can uncheck the options that show both recently opened files and frequently used folders. This way, your activity will remain out of prying eyes..
Navigation, preview, and details panels: activate only what you need
Windows 11 File Explorer includes additional panels These allow you to view the folder structure (browsing), a quick preview of the contents (preview), or detailed information about any file without having to open its properties. You can activate or deactivate each of these from the 'View' menu in the top bar, adapting the workspace to your preferences. For example, if you frequently work with images, The preview will save you countless clicks.
Open folders and files with a single click
Tired of double-clicking? Windows 11 lets you open files and folders by selecting them once.. From the Options menu, enable the 'Single Click to Open' feature. You can also decide whether the file/folder name is always underlined or only when you hover over it. This small change streamlines everyday tasks.
Select multiple files easily with checkboxes
If you frequently move or copy groups of files, enable the checkbox option. Thus, each element will have a box next to its name that you can check, facilitating multiple selection visually and without holding down the Ctrl or Shift keys.
Customize your folder icons
Do you want to distinguish your folders at a glance? Right-click any folder, select "Properties," and then "Customize." From there, you can change the icon to one of many designs, from classic styles from other versions of Windows to updated images. It's a simple way to organize yourself visually and find what you're looking for faster..
Pin your favorite folders to Quick Access or the Start menu
Always have the folders you use frequently at hand: Right-click on a folder and select 'Pin to Quick Access' or, if you prefer, 'Pin to Start', creating shortcuts in both the Explorer side panel and the Windows Start menu.
Switch to dark mode in File Explorer
If you prefer to work with dark backgrounds to reduce eye strain, you can configure dark mode for the entire system, including the File Explorer window, from 'Settings' > 'Personalization' > 'Colors'.
Take advantage of tabs for efficient navigation
One of the great additions of Windows 11 is the Managing tabs within File ExplorerMuch like you already do in web browsers, you can now open multiple different folders in the same window and quickly switch between them.
- Opening a new tab is as simple as pressing Ctrl + T or clicking the '+' symbol.
- Quickly close tabs: Use Ctrl + W or click the 'X' on the tab.
- You can jump between open tabs using Ctrl + Tab and Ctrl + Shift + Tab, or simply by clicking on the one you want.
- Reorder tabs by dragging them, and move or copy files between them by dragging the desired document from one tab to another (hold Ctrl if you want to copy instead of move).
This system facilitates working with multiple open folders, reduces desktop clutter and streamlines the management of large volumes of files.
Master the views: adapt the Explorer to each task
Different File Explorer views Transform the way you view your documents, images, and folders. Depending on the type of files and tasks you're working on, you can switch between several options:
- Very large or large icons: Perfect for photos or videos, as they show thumbnails and visual details.
- Medium or small icons: They achieve a balance between visual information and screen space, useful for laptops or long lists.
- List view: displays only the name, ideal for a quick review or folders with many items.
- Details view: It presents information such as status, type, modification date, and size in columns. Essential for document management or when you need to filter/sort by attributes.
- Tile and content view: They provide a mix of thumbnails and key details (date, time, or metadata) for organized media files or libraries.
You can change views from the 'View' menu or by using keyboard shortcuts., allowing you to customize the presentation of files based on the time and type of content. If you frequently work with images, the gallery view is especially useful, showing all your photos sorted by date and making it easy to edit metadata or open them directly in the Windows Photos app.
Discover the power of multi-column sorting
Did you know you can organize your files by multiple criteria at once? Although this feature has existed since older versions of Windows, it remains unknown to many. Multi-column sorting allows you to combine up to four different criteria, for example: sorting first by file type, then by modification date, followed by size and name.
- Activate the 'Details' view from the 'View' menu.
- Click on the column you are interested in (for example, 'Type').
- Hold down the Shift key and click on other columns to add more sort levels.
This technique is extremely useful for large collections of mixed files., such as music libraries, photo folders, or professional documents, since you'll find what you're looking for much faster and your data will be perfectly organized.
Optimize file searches with advanced filters and operators
More tricks of the Windows 11 File Explorer: The search box It's not limited to file names. You can use a wide variety of operators and filters to locate exactly what you need, saving time and increasing the accuracy of your searches.
- Boolean operators: Use NOT or – to exclude terms, OR for alternative searches, quotes for exact phrases, and parentheses for flexible searches in any order.
- General filters: Specify date (date:today, date:this month), size (size:large), type (class:image, ext:pdf), location (folder:Documents), etc.
- Specific filters according to file type: Search for slides by number of sheets (slides: 5), images by dimensions (width: 1024, height: 768), songs by year (year: 2023), or even by artist or music genre.
Thanks to these commands, you will locate files within large volumes of data in seconds., without having to remember the exact name or navigate through dozens of folders manually.
Quick access, favorites and shortcuts
One of the keys to improving efficiency in Windows 11 is to always have your most used files and folders at hand. Pin any directory to 'Quick Access' from the left panel with a right click and choose 'Pin to Quick Access'. You can do the same with 'Pin to Start' if you prefer to access it from the Windows main menu.
Do you want to mark specific files as favorites? Use the "Add to Favorites" context menu option. This will display them directly in the "Home" section of Explorer, not just for folders, but for any type of file.
View hidden files and extensions
Sometimes hidden files may be necessary to troubleshoot problems., remove program remnants, or configure advanced settings. From the View menu, go to Show and activate the Hidden Items option. Hidden files will appear with semi-translucent icons. You can also enable the display of file extensions to quickly identify the type of document you're working with.
Advanced compressed file management
Windows 11 File Explorer is able to handle ZIP, RAR, 7z and other formats no need to install third-party applicationsYou can compress any folder using the context menu ('Send To > Compressed Folder') and open compressed files with a double-click, browse their contents, and copy anything you need out of them directly.
As you can see, knowing these Windows 11 File Explorer tricks will bring you many advantages in your daily use of your computer. So take note of them all.