"Tablet mode-like" behavior in File Explorer


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wpcoe

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Location
Mérida, México
OS
Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (OS Build 26200.8524)
I gave my old Surface Pro 6 with to my sister to use beside her desktop monitor with a USB keyboard & mouse. Set-up went well. I had "upgraded" the SP6 to Win11 Pro and installed 22H2 and more recent updates/patches.

We'd like to have the SP6 (without the keyboard) standing beside the desktop monitor as a secondary screen.

However, one annoying feature of the configuration is that when the keyboard is disconnected from the SP6, Win11 goes into some "tablet mode" on the SP6 screen whereby a checkbox appears in front of files in File Explorer and the file listings have the wide spacing between items even though those features are specifically unchecked in File Explorer options.

On the external monitor the checkboxes and wide spacing don't occur, nor do they appear on the SP6 when the keyboard is attached.

Is there some tweak or workaround to have File Explorer on the SP6 screen without checkboxes and wide spacing when the keyboard is unattached from the SP6?
 
Windows Build/Version
Win11 Pro Version 22h2 (OS Build 22621.1555)

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (OS Build 26200.8524)AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 w/Radeon 890M32GBNVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 (and IGP Radeon 890M)
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (OS Build 26200.8524)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS - ProArt PX13
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 w/Radeon 890M
    Motherboard
    AMI HN7306WU
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 (and IGP Radeon 890M)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    external 24" Dell P2415Q
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160 on external Dell, 2880 x 1800 on laptop screen
    Hard Drives
    1TB WD SSD
    Browser
    Vivaldi, Brave, Edge
    Antivirus
    Avast (free version)

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro, 21H2 (Build 22000.376)i7-8650U16 GBiGPU (Intel® UHD Graphics 620)
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro, 21H2 (Build 22000.376)
    Computer type
    Tablet
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Pro 6
    CPU
    i7-8650U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    iGPU (Intel® UHD Graphics 620)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell P2415Q
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160 on external Dell, 2736 x 1824 on SP6 screen
    Hard Drives
    512GB PCIe Gen 3 x2 SSD
    Browser
    Vivaldi, Comodo Dragon, Edge
    Antivirus
    Avast (free edition)
There’s no manual way to enable or disable the tablet mode in Windows 11. Instead, the system is created to be intuitive, automatically switching two modes once you detach the keyboard or flip the device. Simply put, Windows is seeing it as a tablet when the keyboard is detached.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.8655i9-10900 10 core 20 threads32 gbnone-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.8655
    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 26200.8457AMD Ryzen 7 6800U32 gbintegrated
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26200.8457
    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
    Other Info
    System 3 is non compliant Dell 9020 i7-4770/24gb ram Win11 PRO 26200.8457
I do not think garlin's suggestion will work in 11 but guess it's worth a try. I ran across one obscure post that had your exact issue. You might try it. He said "Personalization-Taskbar Behaviors - UNCHECK Optimize taskbar for touch interacations - THIS SOLVED IT FOR ME!"
that thread here disable tablet mode in windows 11 - Microsoft Q&A
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.8655i9-10900 10 core 20 threads32 gbnone-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.8655
    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 26200.8457AMD Ryzen 7 6800U32 gbintegrated
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26200.8457
    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
    Other Info
    System 3 is non compliant Dell 9020 i7-4770/24gb ram Win11 PRO 26200.8457
wpcoe said:
a checkbox appears in front of files in File Explorer and the file listings have the wide spacing between items even though those features are specifically unchecked in File Explorer options.
Click to expand...

glasskuter said:
I ran across one obscure post that had your exact issue. You might try it. He said "Personalization-Taskbar Behaviors - UNCHECK Optimize taskbar for touch interacations - THIS SOLVED IT FOR ME!"
Click to expand...
Unfortunately that doesn't seem to work for my Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1 convertible. It only changes the behaviour of the taskbar, File Explorer continues to ignore the settings in Options when used as a tablet. :(
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two Other systems

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to mechanical deterioration this PC has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.

    In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround.
    Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Dev, and Canary builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
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