Key Takeaways
- Microsoft sometimes hides unfinished features in Windows 11 Beta for testing purposes.
- A hidden File Explorer revamp can be enabled in Windows 11 Beta using ViveTool.
- The revamped File Explorer includes updated section layouts and a new “Shared” section.
Usually, when Microsoft adds a new feature to the Windows 11 Beta or Dev branch, it’s automatically enabled so people can test it out and find bugs to report. However, sometimes Microsoft hides some features, presumably because it’s not quite finished yet. If you have the Windows 11Beta branch installed and you feel like doing a little digging, you can now enable a hidden File Explorer revamp that isn’t visible by default.
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File Explorer on Windows 11 is getting a revamp
This feature was first spotted by PhantomOcean3 on X. If this is the first you’ve heard of them, PhantomOcean3 is very good at poking around within the test builds of Windows 11 and digging up features the Redmond giant is working on. For example, they spotted a spell checker coming to Notepad back in March. Now, they’re back again with a File Explorer discovery that adds new elements to Windows 11, including a change to how sections appear on the Home page, plus a new “shared” section.
If you’re on the Beta branch, you can use ViveTool to enable this feature. PhantomOcean3 states that the command “vivetool /enable /id:45130483” will bring the new File Explorer out of hiding. Just remember, it’s still a work in progress that’s not meant to be seen, so expect a fair share of bugs. In fact, one reply to PhantomOcean3’s post claims that there’s an issue where pinned shortcuts will duplicate themselves, so it’s perhaps best to wait for Microsoft to reveal this feature officially.