After three years, Microsoft is fixing a File Explorer annoyance
Microsoft is adding explanatory labels to the icons within File Explorer, now describing what they do rather than forcing you to parse them like unknown hieroglyphs.
Microsoft released Build 26058 in the Windows 11 Canary and Dev Channels on Wednesday, meaning that, technically, you may never see this change released to your PC. Other features being added include a change to the Widgets menu, a change to the lock screen, and some accessibility improvements.
A long-overdue change in File Explorer
Hearken back to my 2021 review of Windows 11. Windows 11 adds a row of shortcut icons to File Explorer that, even after using the OS for weeks, don’t effectively communicate their purpose. I can figure out that the ‘scissors’ icon means ‘cut’ and that the ‘garbage can’ icon means ‘delete,’ but I have trouble recognizing which icon represents ‘rename,’ ‘paste,’ and ‘share,’ without specifically thinking about which icon represents which function.”
Since then, of course, I’ve figured it out. Adding one-word descriptions just solves the problem.
Microsoft is also testing tweaks to the Widgets board. If you miss a notification within Widgets (do people really look for notifications within Widgets?) you’ll see a small badge on the Taskbar. Microsoft is also dividing the Widgets menu via a new navigation pane on the left. Microsoft is adding more detailed information to the Windows lock screen.
Naturally, Microsoft is asking you for feedback on these, to see how they could be further improved.
Finally, Microsoft is making some tweaks to its accessibility features. The most interesting change is a “crosshairs” of sorts that will better show where the mouse is in Windows 11.
