12 Tips for Customizing File Explorer in Windows 11

1. Multiple file selection

Windows has many ways to quickly select multiple files. For example, holding down the Ctrl button, specify the desired documents. You can also select a range of files: hold down Shift and click the first and last document or folder in the list. Finally, you can select all documents at once by pressing Ctrl + A.

But there is a less obvious way - checkboxes in the "Explorer". Open it and choose View → Show → Item Flags. Then hover over the file. A checkbox will appear next to it and you can select multiple documents by checking the checkboxes next to them.

2. Moving the Recycle Bin

Usually in Windows, the Recycle Bin is located on the desktop. This is inconvenient because to access it every time you need to close or minimize all windows.

Instead, you can add "Trash" to File Explorer's side navigation bar. There you can open it or simply drag documents and folders into it directly from the window file manager, which, you see, is much more convenient.

There are two ways to add "Recycle Bin" to "Explorer". First, drag it to the Quick Access Toolbar, where your folders are. And she will stay there.

Second option: right-click on an empty space in the File Explorer panel and select the "Show all folders" option. After that, you will see that "Cart" has appeared among the items.

3. Customizing the compact view

If you feel like there's too much free space between files in your File Explorer, you can fix this by turning on the compact view. Click "View" and select the "Compact View" option.

The extra space between the files will disappear, and they will be located closer to each other. This is useful on smaller screens such as tablets and 13-inch laptops. Keep in mind that the compact view only works if your folders are displayed in a list or table view.

4. Hiding recent folders and files

If you find File Explorer's Quick Access Area cluttered with junk files and folders, you can hide recently used items.

To do this, click on the three dots on the top bar of File Explorer and select Options. In the window that appears, uncheck the options "Show recently used files" and "Show frequently used folders in quick access." Click OK to save your changes.

Now the recently used files and folders will not be displayed in the quick access section. And there is a definite plus in this: none of the strangers will not be able to see what documents you worked with in your absence.

5. Adding folders to the navigation bar

By default, the standard "Documents", "Music" and other options are fixed to the "Explorer" panel. But you can also drop your own folders there to have access to them all the time.

Right-click on the folder you want to pin in File Explorer. In the context menu that appears, select the "Pin to Quick Access Toolbar" option.

Now the selected folder will always be displayed in the sidebar. In addition, you can pin folders by simply dragging them to the panel with the mouse.

If you need to unpin a folder, right-click on it and choose Remove from Quick Access Toolbar.

6. Adding "Libraries" to the navigation bar

"Libraries" in Windows is a collection of your main folders such as Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos. To add it to the navigation bar in File Explorer, right-click anywhere in the left pane and select the Show Libraries option from the context menu.

After that, the Libraries folder will be added to the navigation bar, allowing you to quickly access your directories.

7. Bulk file renaming

Bulk renaming files can be a tedious task, especially if you have a lot of them. This usually involves right-clicking each document, selecting the Rename option, typing in a new name, and pressing Enter.

However, there is an easier way. Instead of pressing the "Enter" key after renaming the file, you can press the "Tab" key. This will highlight the next document and jump directly to its title.

8. Rotate images

If you need to turn some images at the same time, there is a convenient way to do it. Just select all the pictures you want by holding down the Shift or Ctrl key, then right-click on one of them and select "Rotate Left" or "Rotate Right". And no tedious manual work.

9. Changing the image of a folder

By default, Explorer chooses the first image in the folder as the image for the folder icon. But you may want to change it. To do this, right-click on the folder you want to change, then select the "Properties" option. In the window that opens, go to tab "Settings" and find the "Folder Pictures" section. There you will see the "Choose file" button.

Click this button and find the image you want - it doesn't have to be in the folder you're editing. Click "Open". After selecting the image, click "OK" to close the properties window and apply the changes.

The selected image will now be used as the new thumbnail for the folder.

10. Replacing the folder icon

Similarly, you can replace the folder icon. Right-click on it and select "Properties" from the context menu. In the window that opens, go to the "Settings" tab and click on the "Change Icon" button.

Then you can stop at the icons offered by the system, or click on the "Browse" button and select your own image, which will be used as the folder icon. In the second case, make sure it has the .ico (icon format) extension.

Or after clicking on the "Browse" button, you can specify an EXE file or a shortcut to any program you have installed. So for the folder you can select the icon of this applications.

After selecting the desired icon, click "OK" in all open windows to apply the changes.

11. Using the Share option

With Windows 11, Microsoft has made it easier to share files directly from File Explorer. Right-click on any file you want to share and select the Share option located at the top of the context menu. After that, options will appear to share the document with nearby devices, your contacts, or through the appropriate application.

12. Replacing the start folder

By default, "Explorer" at startup shows "Quick Access". This may not be very convenient if you prefer to work not with standard Windows 11 folders, but with disks. But the start directory can easily be changed to "This PC".

To do this, in the top menu of the "Explorer" click on the icon with three dots. Select "Options" from the drop-down menu. In the window that appears, find the "Open File Explorer For" section and select "This computer». Click OK to save your changes.

Now every time you open File Explorer, it will automatically open the This PC section instead of Quick Access.