What you need to know
- Files, a third-party file explorer on Windows 11, recently received an update that adds a new orientation option when using dual-window mode.
- The app can now display dual windows either horizontally or vertically.
- The update also adds some other small features and a long list of bug fixes.
Third-party file explorer Files just received an update that makes dual-pane mode more versatile. The app can now display dual-pane both vertically and horizontally. Previously, the app could only display dual-pane side-by-side. The update brings Files to version 3.6 and includes several fixes and a few other new features, such as adding an “Actions” menu to the app’s title bar.
Dual pane mode creates two panes within files that you can navigate. It looks and works similarly to split-screen mode in Microsoft Edge. Dual pane mode has the advantage of not having to deal with duplicate versions of navigation items or switching between tabs.
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Before the last update, Files only supported horizontal orientation when using dual-pane mode. Of course, that was already one more orientation than Microsoft’s official Windows 11 File Explorer, which doesn’t have dual-pane mode. You can somewhat replicate dual-pane mode by opening two instances of File Explorer, but it’s not as elegant a solution.
The developer of Files describes all the app’s new features and bug fixes in detail on the release page of the app’s GitHub list.
Files v3.6: What’s new
- Added support for changing window orientation in dual-window mode
- An Actions menu has been added to the title bar
- Customize folder locations with unique background images
- Malay localization added
- Optimized sorting performance when loading large folders
- The sidebar toggle button has been moved to the address toolbar.
- A keyboard shortcut to toggle toolbar visibility has been added.
Ctrl+Shift+B - Added a keyboard shortcut to move focus between windows in dual pane mode.
Ctrl+Shift+Right - Added support for clicking links when previewing Markdown files
- An action to toggle the dot files setting has been added
Files v3.6: What was fixed
- Fixed an issue where the tab title was blank when a folder was opened in a new tab.
- Fixed an issue where dragging or opening multiple items used the wrong sort mode.
- Fixed an issue where Run with PowerShell did not display a window.
- Fixed an issue where the home page would open when Files was launched with custom arguments.
- Fixed an issue where resizing the layout didn’t work when adaptive layout was enabled.
- Fixed an issue where quick search filtering was not cleared when navigating to another folder.
- Fixed an issue where non-cached windows sometimes had the wrong theme.
- Fixed an issue where settings were not exported in the correct format.
- Fixed an issue where double-tapping to rename was too sensitive
- Fixed an issue where opening via hover function was too sensitive
- Fixed an issue where the cursor was not inline when resizing columns in detail view.
- Fixed an issue where online files were downloaded when loading tooltips.
- Fixed an issue where the navigation button had the wrong foreground when disabled
- Fixed an issue where arguments were not passed when shortcuts were run as administrator.
- Fixed an issue with compressing and extracting archives on ARM64 devices
- Fixed an issue where a warning about WSL was displayed on startup
- The position of the New Item flyout has been corrected.
- Fixed a crash that sometimes occurred when updating files
- Fixed a crash that occurred when entering invalid parameters on the command line.
- Fixed a crash that sometimes occurred when adding items to the jump list
- Fixed ArgumentNullException in DefaultSettingsSerializer.ReadFromFile
- Fixed ArgumentNullException in SortingHelper.OrderFileList
- Fixed ArgumentException in PinnedFoldersManager
- Fixed ArgumentException in PathNormalization.NormalizePath
- Fixed TypeInitializationException in UIHelpers
- Fixed DirectoryNotFoundException when pinning items to the Start menu
- FileNotFoundException fixed in Recycle Bin Watcher
- Fixed NullReferenceException in DriveItem.LoadThumbnailAsync
- Fixed NullReferenceException in SystemTrayIcon.OnQuitClicked
- Fixed NullReferenceException in RecycleBinLocationItem.RefreshSpaceUsed
- Fixed NullReferenceException in DrivesWidgetViewModel.NavigateToPath
- Fixed InvalidOperationException in SideloadUpdateService.CheckForUpdatesAsync
- Fixed COMException in MainWindow.EnsureWindowIsInitialized
- Fixed COMException in SidebarItem.ItemGrid_Drop
