Windows 10 continues to enjoy overwhelming popularity as an operating system, not least because many users prefer its features and designs to Windows 11.
In addition to the changed taskbar, Start menu, and many other new features, many users also don’t like the new File Explorer in Windows 11. Fortunately, there is a simple trick to bring back the old design from Windows 10.
Further reading: How to make Windows 11 look like Windows 10
How to get the Windows 10 File Explorer in Windows 11
This simple trick does not require you to make any complicated changes to registry entries or anything else. In fact, it’s so simple that a Reddit user called The_Blank_Spot discovered it more or less by accident.
To open the old File Explorer, all you have to do is go to your PC’s Control Panel and then switch to System and Security. There, select Windows Tools, which will automatically display the Windows File Explorer interface.
If you now leave the Windows Tools area again and click on any drive or folder in the left-hand window area, you will see the old File Explorer again. The new File Explorer from Windows 11 opens in parallel, allowing you to easily compare the two versions.
You can also the classic File Explorer first, and then its Windows 11 counterpart by right-clicking on the File Explorer icon in the taskbar. This procedure does not affect the stability of your system, nor does it completely replace the modern File Explorer in Windows 11.
It is currently not entirely clear in which Windows 11 versions this procedure works. Some users have commented that the trick did not work for them in Windows 11 Pro 23H2, although we’re seeing it on an updated laptop with Windows 11 Home installed. However, it could also be a hidden legacy system in Windows 11 that has been retained in favor of better functionality.
Why the old File Explorer is better
All well and good, but why would you even want to go back to the classic File Explorer? There’s an equally simple reason.
Microsoft introduced a controversial change with Windows 11’s big 2023 update and abolished an important function of File Explorer. Since then, it has no longer been possible to drag and drop files into the address bar.
Many users sorely miss this option and could now get a piece of the old File Explorer back with the trick described here.
Further reading: Windows 11 power tip – How to use the old task manager
This article originally appeared on our sister publication PC-WELT and was translated and localized from German.
Author: Laura Pippig, Staff Writer, PC-WELT
Laura is an enthusiastic gamer as well as a movie and TV fan. After studying communication science, she went straight into a job at PCMagazin and Connect Living. Since then, she has been writing about everything to do with PCs and technology topics, and has been a permanent editor at our German sister site PC-WELT since May 2024.