Explorer with excessive spacing between folders

That’s what I read also.

gifty7474 said:

This is in 'compact view' mode too.

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LesFerch said:

I mean it has nothing to do with the excessive spacing in the Navigation pane. I think the OP confirmed that compact mode was already on, so my money is on Solidworks PDM.

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Remember that I too have this issue. I do not have Solidworks.

Mine is a pristine clean install.

hsehestedt said:

Remember that I too have this issue. I do not have Solidworks.

Mine is a pristine clean install.

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Isn't yours stuck in tablet mode in both left and right panes? I think the OP's right pane is in compact mode and only the Navigation pane is spread out.

gifty7474 said:

view. It does reduce spacing in the right hand pane, but the left still has crazy spacing.

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This Screenshot only shows pinned quick access folders, what about the rest of the left pane tree?

I’d like to see the rest of the left pane. Also wondering why the Op hasn’t updated specs and OS version.


I have just run around in Google and noticed images very similar to the OP’s. Wide Quick Access spacing with the right pane unaffected.
Report was that it started with the September Cumulative Update Preview for Windows 11 Version 23H2 for x64-based Systems (KB5043145)
Could of been the OP but I don’t think so as they mentioned that to fix, uninstalling this update worked. But that’s as far as the thread went.

What happens if you make the left pane wider, drag it to the right a bit?

Recent threads on the exact issue:



Explorer locations and quick access enlarged

glasskuter said:

Using compact view does help, but it does not seem to help as much as it did in 23h2. Even with compact view set to on, unless my short term memory is gone, I think the space between lines is wider than in 23h2. From the looks of your screenshot, I don't think you have compact view on. Click VIEW on toolbar, select SHOW>check Compact View.

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Gee, the things you learn on Eleven Forum; I had never heard of 'Compact View'. Selected it and like it!

Ok! Updated my system info. And yes, I do have Solidworks 2023 and EPDM installed, my work machine. I guess I'll try the 23H2 release and see if that fixes it! Screen shot below of the whole list.

Oh, and also, explorer keeps crashing..., can't figure that one out either...

gifty7474 said:

Ok! Updated my system info. And yes, I do have Solidworks 2023 and EPDM installed, my work machine. I guess I'll try the 23H2 release and see if that fixes it! Screen shot below of the whole list.

Oh, and also, explorer keeps crashing..., can't figure that one out either...

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If you can't get the Windows 11 Explorer working correctly with SolidWorks, the workaround is to use the old Windows 10 style Explorer. Here's a quick and easy way to switch:

Firstly, follow Option Three in this tutorial here:

Secondly, download latest Open-Shell from here:
Open-Shell has a separate component named Classic Explorer. When you install Open-Shell, make sure that this Classic Explorer component will also be installed. After finishing the install, you should now be able to open File Explorer, then choose View, click on Options, and place a checkmark in front of Classic Explorer Bar. Like so:



Doing this will add a toolbar, but you can always choose to hide it again if that's what you prefer, by simply removing the checkmark shown in the picture above. By default, this toolbar has an Open-Shell icon on it. Clicking on it opens the Settings for Classic Explorer window panel. On the first tab (Navigation Pane), there's an option named Tree item spacing. That's the one that you're after. Ivo Beltchev decided to add it to ClassicShell, the predecessor of Open-Shell, a year or two before Windows 8 officially came out. It's been right there waiting for you all this time.

Ghot said:

Isn't there something in Settings, about tablet mode?

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antspants said:

I thought they removed the ability to disable tablet mode. There are some settings as far as I know but not to disable it?

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There is no Tablet Mode in Windows 11, that was only for Windows 10. There is a tablet optimised taskbar, and file explorer switches out of compact view (if you had it set) when you turn a laptop into a tablet. That's about it.... You should only see this option if you have a 2-in-1 convertible or a detachable keyboard.

hdmi said:

Firstly, follow Option Three in this tutorial here:

Restore Classic File Explorer with Ribbon in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to restore the classic File Explorer with Ribbon for your account or all users in Windows 11. File Explorer in Windows 10 has a ribbon, tabs, and a title bar with color. The ribbon includes common tasks, such as copying and moving, creating new folders, emailing...

www.elevenforum.com

Secondly, download latest Open-Shell from here:

Releases · Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu

Classic Shell Reborn. Contribute to Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

Open-Shell has a separate component named Classic Explorer. When you install Open-Shell, make sure that this Classic Explorer component will also be installed. After finishing the install, you should now be able to open File Explorer, then choose View, click on Options, and place a checkmark in front of Classic Explorer Bar. Like so:

Doing this will add a toolbar, but you can always choose to hide it again if that's what you prefer, by simply removing the checkmark shown in the picture above. By default, this toolbar has an Open-Shell icon on it. Clicking on it opens the Settings for Classic Explorer window panel. On the first tab (Navigation Pane), there's an option named Tree item spacing. That's the one that you're after. Ivo Beltchev decided to add it to ClassicShell, the predecessor of Open-Shell, a year or two before Windows 8 officially came out. It's been right there waiting for you all this time.

View attachment 114635

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Amazing, this solved it! Thank youuuuu. Not a simple process, but love the option of customizing the space between folders. Awesome.

gifty7474 said:

Amazing, this solved it! Thank youuuuu. Not a simple process, but love the option of customizing the space between folders. Awesome.

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Was the space between items in the Nav pane still large after switching to the old Explorer? Was Open Shell a requirement or a nice to have?

LesFerch said:

Was the space between items in the Nav pane still large after switching to the old Explorer? Was Open Shell a requirement or a nice to have?

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Space can be 'tweaked' with open shell. I played around, and ended up with -4 for my setting. You can make it so small you can't read it . . I think openshell is a must here.

LesFerch said:

Was Open Shell a requirement or a nice to have?

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Cult software like this always has been, and will always continue to be, a requirement.

gifty7474 said:

Space can be 'tweaked' with open shell. I played around, and ended up with -4 for my setting. You can make it so small you can't read it . . I think openshell is a must here.

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I get that, but what I specifically wanted to know is if the Nav pane spacing returned to normal after changing Explorer. I'm trying to avoid installing Solidworks just to find out.

gifty7474 said:

Space can be 'tweaked' with open shell. I played around, and ended up with -4 for my setting. You can make it so small you can't read it . . I think openshell is a must here.

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If you also use Explorer Patcher, there are two minor bugs which hopefully be solved in some future version of Explorer Patcher. One is that the search icon and the task view icon might occasionally disappear from the taskbar (you see a blank space there). To get them back make any change, such as disable the task view icon and enable it again or switch to search box and back to search icon. The other bug is that the custom color of the taskbar defined in Open Shell will revert to the default taskbar color when you click on the search icon. Closing the search window might return the custom color but not always. I use "taskbar style" "Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher)", if that matters to see the custom taskbar color. If I choose either "Windows 11" or plain "Windows 10", the custom color is ignored and I see the default taskbar color.

spapakons said:

If you also use Explorer Patcher, there are two minor bugs which hopefully be solved in some future version of Explorer Patcher. One is that the search icon and the task view icon might occasionally disappear from the taskbar (you see a blank space there). To get them back make any change, such as disable the task view icon and enable it again or switch to search box and back to search icon. The other bug is that the custom color of the taskbar defined in Open Shell will revert to the default taskbar color when you click on the search icon. Closing the search window might return the custom color but not always. I use "taskbar style" "Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher)", if that matters to see the custom taskbar color. If I choose either "Windows 11" or plain "Windows 10", the custom color is ignored and I see the default taskbar color.

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On my laptop these 2 different bugs that you describe seem like they're just 2 different symptoms of the same bug, as I haven't seen them occur separate from each other. This bug only occurs when both Open-Shell and ExplorerPatcher's "Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher)" taskbar style are being used. To completely avoid this bug and both of its 2 different symptoms, I only have to either keep the Search button disabled or make sure that the lightness of the taskbar's background always appears darker than some certain threshold.

This lightness may also be determined by more numerous factors than just Open-Shell's taskbar background color setting alone, as Open-Shell also has an option to make it transparent, that, when enabled, lets you adjust the opacity thereof, and that, in conjunction with your dektop background, also has a direct impact on how light/dark the taskbar's background will be like.

On a side note, my taskbar always appears dark enough so this bug's symptoms don't occur for me, but also I don't need the Search icon next to my Start button. I just stick to using 1/ the search bar of Open-Shell's Windows 7 start menu style and 2/ Everything (from voidtools.com) and 3/ TAMAHO SystemTrayMenu (from GitHub). It's a really very powerful combination of search tools. PowerToys also has one, but I don't use it. For fast access to Everything, I changed a few settings on the Controls tab of Open-Shell. Like this:



Another bug is that Open-Shell's ability to let you pick a taskbar texture is half broken, also when the "Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher)" is enabled in ExplorerPatcher latest pre-release version (22621.3880.66.7). Specifically, the texture is missing on the Pinned area of the taskbar. Additionally, "Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher)" also causes Open-Shell's taskbar text color setting to be ignored.

At least for me, this sums up all of those specific bugs/symptoms that, specifically, only occur when using both Open-Shell and ExplorerPatcher's "Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher)".

I will just wait for some newer Explorer Patcher version that fixes it. If not, I can live with them. I don't use the search so often.