Solved How to change File Explorer behavior on the Taskbar


K

kiwiaz

Well-known member
Local time
7:03 AM
Posts
88
OS
Win11
In a previous installation, whenever I clicked the File Explorer icon on the task bar, a new instance of file explorer would open. Now, if a file explorer window is already open, clicking the task bar icon just changes focus to the running instance. This is a royal pain in the tuckus for simple operations like dragging files from one folder to another. Although I can right click on the icon and select File Explorer, old habits die hard and this is an inconvenience.

How can I revert that behavior?
 
Windows Build/Version
22H2

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Win11Ryzen 7 7700X32GB DDR5 G.SkillRTX 4060
OS
Win11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Custom
CPU
Ryzen 7 7700X
Motherboard
Gigabyte B-650 Aorus Elite AX
Memory
32GB DDR5 G.Skill
Graphics Card(s)
RTX 4060
Sound Card
On-board
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell U2518 Dell U3223
Screen Resolution
3840x2160
Hard Drives
1TB M.2 AData, Samsung 860 EVO, WD 5000AADS, WD10EZEX
PSU
EVGA 850
Cooling
AK400
Keyboard
Logi MXKeys
Mouse
Logi MX Master 3
Internet Speed
200 Mbps
Browser
Firefox, Vivaldi, Brave
kiwiaz said:
In a previous installation, whenever I clicked the File Explorer icon on the task bar, a new instance of file explorer would open. Now, if a file explorer window is already open, clicking the task bar icon just changes focus to the running instance. This is a royal pain in the tuckus for simple operations like dragging files from one folder to another. Although I can right click on the icon and select File Explorer, old habits die hard and this is an inconvenience.

How can I revert that behavior?
Click to expand...
I don't have a direct answer on how to revert the behavior, but a 3rd party replacement for file explorer "Files App" has dual pane functionality. If you would like more details about the app, visit the link below.

Files • Home

Building the best file manager for Windows.
files.community files.community
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 ProfessionalIntel Core i5-940032GBIntegrated Intel UHD Graphics 630
OS
Windows 11 Professional
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Microcenter B677
CPU
Intel Core i5-9400
Motherboard
ASRock H310CM-HDV/M.2
Memory
32GB
Graphics Card(s)
Integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630
Sound Card
Intel Kaby Lake - High Definition Audio / cAVS (Audio, Voice, Speech) [A0]
Monitor(s) Displays
LG Model: GSM59F1
Screen Resolution
2560x1080
Case
Lian Li 205M
Antivirus
Kaspersky AV
Sir_George said:
I don't have a direct answer on how to revert the behavior, but a 3rd party replacement for file explorer "Files App" has dual pane functionality. If you would like more details about the app, visit the link below.

Files • Home

Building the best file manager for Windows.
files.community files.community
Click to expand...
Thanks @Sir_George
Besides dual pane mode, what benefits does "Files" confer to distinguish itself from the default explorer? For example, I looked at Replace File Explorer, but I didn't really find an explanation of extra functions.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Win11Ryzen 7 7700X32GB DDR5 G.SkillRTX 4060
OS
Win11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Custom
CPU
Ryzen 7 7700X
Motherboard
Gigabyte B-650 Aorus Elite AX
Memory
32GB DDR5 G.Skill
Graphics Card(s)
RTX 4060
Sound Card
On-board
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell U2518 Dell U3223
Screen Resolution
3840x2160
Hard Drives
1TB M.2 AData, Samsung 860 EVO, WD 5000AADS, WD10EZEX
PSU
EVGA 850
Cooling
AK400
Keyboard
Logi MXKeys
Mouse
Logi MX Master 3
Internet Speed
200 Mbps
Browser
Firefox, Vivaldi, Brave
kiwiaz said:
Thanks @Sir_George
Besides dual pane mode, what benefits does "Files" confer to distinguish itself from the default explorer? For example, I looked at Replace File Explorer, but I didn't really find an explanation of extra functions.
Click to expand...
Rather than me trying to explain the benefits, visit the link below for a more in depth review.

 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 ProfessionalIntel Core i5-940032GBIntegrated Intel UHD Graphics 630
OS
Windows 11 Professional
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Microcenter B677
CPU
Intel Core i5-9400
Motherboard
ASRock H310CM-HDV/M.2
Memory
32GB
Graphics Card(s)
Integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630
Sound Card
Intel Kaby Lake - High Definition Audio / cAVS (Audio, Voice, Speech) [A0]
Monitor(s) Displays
LG Model: GSM59F1
Screen Resolution
2560x1080
Case
Lian Li 205M
Antivirus
Kaspersky AV
If you have the new File Explorer open and want another file explorer window open, you can click the + sign above the address bar to the right to open a New Tab.
Or you can Right click the File Explorer Icon in the task bar and select File Explorer to have 2 separate File Explorer Windows open.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro Insider 64 bit 25H2 26200.5742Intel Core i7 9700K 3.6016 GBnVidia GEForce RTX 2060 Super
OS
Windows 11 Pro Insider 64 bit 25H2 26200.5742
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Gigabyte Z390 UD
CPU
Intel Core i7 9700K 3.60
Motherboard
Gigabyte Z390 UD
Memory
16 GB
Graphics Card(s)
nVidia GEForce RTX 2060 Super
Sound Card
onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
Two 27" Dell 4K monitors
Screen Resolution
3840 x 2160
Hard Drives
M.2 NVME SSD, 500 GB; Two 2TB Mechanical HDD's
PSU
850w PSU
Case
Cyberpower PC
Cooling
Water cooled
Keyboard
Backlit Cyberpower gaming keyboard
Mouse
Backlit Cyberpower gaming mouse
Internet Speed
1 GB mbps
Browser
Brave
Antivirus
Windows Security
@Spunk (y)

The +tab was one I hadn't considered. Thanks for that. Why didn't I do that years ago? :fpalm
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Win11Ryzen 7 7700X32GB DDR5 G.SkillRTX 4060
OS
Win11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Custom
CPU
Ryzen 7 7700X
Motherboard
Gigabyte B-650 Aorus Elite AX
Memory
32GB DDR5 G.Skill
Graphics Card(s)
RTX 4060
Sound Card
On-board
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell U2518 Dell U3223
Screen Resolution
3840x2160
Hard Drives
1TB M.2 AData, Samsung 860 EVO, WD 5000AADS, WD10EZEX
PSU
EVGA 850
Cooling
AK400
Keyboard
Logi MXKeys
Mouse
Logi MX Master 3
Internet Speed
200 Mbps
Browser
Firefox, Vivaldi, Brave
You didn't do that years ago because explorer didn't have tabs then. Over the years I've gotten so accustomed to working in 2 instances of explorer I still do it because I forget about tabs. I open a second instance of explorer with Win+E keys. Then I use snap to have the windows side by side. It's hard to break old habits, I guess.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two Other systems

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.9168i9-10900 10 core 20 threads32 gbnone-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.9168
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    2x1tb Solidigm m.2 nvme /External drives 512gb Samsung m.2 sata+2tb Kingston m2.nvme
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    #1 Edge #2 Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26200.9168AMD Ryzen 7 6800U32 gbintegrated
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26200.9168
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Beelink Mini PC SER5
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 6800U
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics card(s)
    integrated
    Sound Card
    integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Crucial nvme
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    still too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
  • System 3 is non compliant Dell 9020 i7-4770/24gb ram Win11 PRO 26200.9168
Hold shift when clicking explorer in the taskbar for classic behavior 😉
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

PE
OS
PE
The reason why you haven't done this for years, is because Tabs in File Explorer is a recent addon from Microsoft.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro Insider 64 bit 25H2 26200.5742Intel Core i7 9700K 3.6016 GBnVidia GEForce RTX 2060 Super
OS
Windows 11 Pro Insider 64 bit 25H2 26200.5742
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Gigabyte Z390 UD
CPU
Intel Core i7 9700K 3.60
Motherboard
Gigabyte Z390 UD
Memory
16 GB
Graphics Card(s)
nVidia GEForce RTX 2060 Super
Sound Card
onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
Two 27" Dell 4K monitors
Screen Resolution
3840 x 2160
Hard Drives
M.2 NVME SSD, 500 GB; Two 2TB Mechanical HDD's
PSU
850w PSU
Case
Cyberpower PC
Cooling
Water cooled
Keyboard
Backlit Cyberpower gaming keyboard
Mouse
Backlit Cyberpower gaming mouse
Internet Speed
1 GB mbps
Browser
Brave
Antivirus
Windows Security
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

How to change file explorer Icon Size?
Replies
5
Views
7K
glasskuter
glasskuter

Latest Support Threads

Latest Tutorials

Back
Top Bottom