When did File Explorer change, and how do I change it back?

Josey Wales · May 4, 2024

Ghot said:
Yours changed.
You have the Details button at the far right and the address bar is above the view bar.

See the pics in the first post of this topic.
The top pic is dated Apr 18th, so it must have been the Apr 23rd 2024 patch that did the dirty deed. Grrrr

It was such a sly change by MS, that I didn't even notice it till today, when I did a search.

This pic is from Mar 2023... before they broke anything in File Explorer.

View attachment 95355

I suppose so, I use a Tabbed Explorer and did not even notice it. :look:

Ghot · May 4, 2024

dacrone said:
the colored titlebar at the top suggests you have some mod applied to FE though...
*the initial image in the first post does not though... so idk

The pic is post #15 is from over a year ago... before MS came up with the tabs idea.
And... you could select the color of the title bar, globally.

ALL my other title bars on Win 11 are light grey (active) and dark grey (inactive).
The active title bars can be set in Settings and the inactive title bars can be set in the registry.

ALL my Win 11 title bars are like this, except File Explorer.
For some reason MS thinks the FE title bar should be like the song: Blinded by the Light

dacrone · May 4, 2024

filemail link is the 22h2 tabbed explorer exe and dll. you'll have to boot prob into recovery and use cmd at system level to replace the existing ones tho

Ghot · May 4, 2024

dacrone said:
filemail link is the 22h2 tabbed explorer exe and dll. you'll have to boot prob into recovery and use cmd at system level to replace the existing ones tho

That sounds like it's gonna break something.
Probably not a good idea to put 22H2 parts in 23H2.

dacrone · May 4, 2024

well dont delete the originals lol. rename them to .bak in cmd before copying the new files over...

Ghot · May 4, 2024

dacrone said:
well dont delete the originals lol. rename them to .bak in cmd before copying the new files over...

Not gonna try it.

I do know HOW to do things in Windows.

Personally, I like registry edits.

dacrone · May 4, 2024

just sayin... nothing meant by it :)

also... it looks like reverting with vivetool stopped working in january(ish) after KB5034204

https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows11/comments/19fbb0b/moving_address_bar_below_the_command_bar_in

so maybe uninstall that kb and run those vivetool commands again?

OR try that Windhawk mod.. never tested it tho...
"// @description Restores the classic Explorer navigation bar to the version before the Windows 11 "Moments 4" update"

Ghot · May 4, 2024

dacrone said:
just sayin... nothing meant by it :)

also... it looks like reverting with vivetool stopped working in january(ish) after KB5034204

so maybe uninstall that kb and run those vivetool commands again?

I appreciate the assistance, but I don't remove updates either.
There, I gave you 10 cookies for the filemail link, you can relax. In about 30 mins. you'll be light purple.

I figure it this way...
if I can do it with Settings, Winaero Tweaker, Vivetool, a Brink tutorial or registry edits... I'll do it.

I think I can hear @Brink (1500 miles away), thinking about this problem. Maybe he'll come up with something.

dacrone · May 4, 2024

^ use the windhawk mod then

just tested it on 23h2 build 3447. can confirm it works for what you want. also - has a load of other nice tweaks to choose from. added to my repertoire lol

Ghot · May 4, 2024

dacrone said:
^ use the windhawk mod then

just tested it on 23h2 build 3447. can confirm it works for what you want. also - has a load of other nice tweaks to choose from. added to my repertoire lol

Nope. It's not on my list of acceptable tweaks, which I made in May 2020.
And this just happened with the Apr 23rd Cumulative Preview Update (.3527)
The top pic in the first post was taken on Apr 18th. So it didn't flip positions (for me), till .3527

dacrone · May 4, 2024

you're stuck with the new explorer ui then

Ghot · May 4, 2024

dacrone said:
you're stuck with the new explorer ui then

LOL... I do understand the consequences.
But I see that the "gangs all here", so maybe someone will come up with a tweak that's on my list of acceptable tweaks.

I don't expect this solution to be any faster than removing the damn notifications BELL, without breaking the calendar.

pseymour · May 4, 2024

Ghot said:
And this just happened with the Apr 23rd Cumulative Preview Update (.3527)
The top pic in the first post was taken on Apr 18th. So it didn't flip positions (for me), till .3527

But you can see in post 19 that it was like that in December. I have a few old builds of Win11 on-hand that I could play with to find when/if it moved.

Ghot · May 4, 2024

pseymour said:
But you can see in post 19 that it was like that in December. I have a few old builds of Win11 on-hand that I could play with to find when/if it moved.

For ME... the address bar and the menu bar flipped, Search's green progress bar went away, and the Details button on the far right appeared.... on April 23rd 2024 with the .3527 update.
The top screenshot in post #1 was taken on Apr 18th 2024.

TraderGary · May 4, 2024

Nothing has changed on my File Explorer. But then I don't use any hacks or apps to change how Windows 11 works.

hdmi · May 6, 2024

Ghot said:
It's too hard to help people with Win 11 problems if I'm running Win 10 File Explorer.

It's not that hard...

DennyZenny · May 6, 2024

My File explorer is the same as ever. And to be completely honest, the green progress bar has never worked for me at all.

LesFerch · May 6, 2024

@TraderGary and @DennyZenny you both have the relatively new App SDK based Windows Explorer, recognizable by the address/search bar being above the toolbar. IIRC, the change dates back to January 2024 for most non-Insider users. Previously the address/search bar was below the toolbar as seen in the screenshot posted by @Ghot. There are other differences as well, some ok, some not so ok.

Currently, the only mod I know of to get back the older version, without rolling back a bunch of updates, is the WindHawk mod.

The other option is to use the Windows 10 Explorer that is still built into Windows 11. There are many ways to switch to that, including ExplorerPatcher, StartAllBack, WindHawk and this reg hit:

Restore Classic File Explorer with Ribbon in Windows 11 Tutorial

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