This article will help you get the new File Explorer with tabs in Windows 11.
Windows 11 Insider Build 25136, released by Microsoft like the Dev Channel, brings tabs to File Explorer. However, the tab is still in the beta stage and will be rolled out to more users in the future. File Explorer’s tabs feature allows users to open different folders and drives in various tabs within a single File Explorer window, similar to opening different web pages in a browser.
In addition to tabs, Windows 11 Insider Build 25136 also redesigned the layout of the left navigation pane in the tabbed File Explorer. The new layout makes it easier to access fixed library folders (Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, etc.) and common folders. While the Windows Libraries folder has been removed from the PC, in Build 25136 the Windows Libraries and Common Folders have separate sections in the left navigation panel.
File Explorer tabs are only available on Windows 11 Insider Preview build 25136 and later. But if you want to use a tabbed file explorer now, you can enable it with the help of a third-party tool called ViveTool. Next, this article will show you how to enable tabs in File Explorer on Windows 11.
Enable File Explorer Tabs in Windows 11 Build 25136
Make sure your PC has been updated to Windows 11 build 25136 or later.
Open ViveTool’s GitHub page: github.com/thebookisclosed/ViVe/releases, and click the “ViveTool-vx.x.x.zip” link to download the zip file.
Right click the zip file and select “Extract All…”.
In the Extract window, select a destination folder and click the Extract button.
Right click on the extracted folder and select the “Copy as Path” option.
Search for “cmd” in Windows Search and select the “Run as administrator” option.
Please type cd, space, paste the copied path to the extracted folder.
Run the following command to enable tabs for File Explorer:
vivetool addconfig 37634385 2
After successfully executing the command, restart your PC and your file explorer will have tabs and a new left navigation pane.
As mentioned above, File Explorer’s tabs function like a browser, by opening any folder in a new tab within the same window. Use some of the keyboard shortcuts you might use in the new File Explorer:
Ctrl+T – open new tab
Ctrl+W – closes the current tab
Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab – Switch between tabs.
Disable File Explorer’s Tabs in Windows 11
You can also choose to disable File Explorer’s tabs feature if you don’t want to use it.
Open and run a command prompt as administrator, type and execute the following command:
vivetool.exe delconfig 37634385
If your version is lower than 25136, please enter this to execute the following command to disable the file explorer tabs:
vivetool delconfig 34370472
It’s easy to enable or disable File Explorer with tabs in Windows 11 build 25136 by using vivetool. If you want to try the new File Explorer with tabs, you can enable it by reading the details steps above.
