Microsoft Tweaks Windows Explorer for Windows 8

Before anyone says "I hate ribbon", simple answer is DONT USE IT, whilst you are at it go back to using DOS.

I hate it.. Yes i prefer DOS!!! FTW!!!

I hate ribbon IU, the right click context menu has EVERYTHING without moving the mouse to the top of the screen for every step. How about a tabbed browser? Can't they copy Nautilus or Xbrowser and be happy?

I like Windows 7 because its pretty minimal, don't start wasting screen area with garbage that can't be removed. If I'm browsing through 1000's of pics I want them to cover the as much screen area as possible, not the toolbars at the top!

Great, the space-waster.

I would like to point out that the W7 Explorer Window in the comparison screen shot is in "Libraries" mode with the "Documents Library" heading and what seems to be the large Details Pane/meta-info bar at the bottom. The "normal" folders mode and medium to small Details Pane would hold a lot more files than the W8 Explorer Window.

Edit:
I'd like to add that the only commands on the Command Bar that I use frequently are "New Folder" and the "Views" button. I put the "Move to" and "Copy to" commands on the right-click menu so nearly everything I need is easy to get to from the right-click menu

I really like the idea of the ribbon at Windows 8 (from what I see at the screenshot).

I hope that can be turned off.

Windows 7 that looks like my Microsoft Word/Excel/Powerpoint/Access. Epic win(dows 8)

It can be collapsed:

Absolutely!

I think ribbon isn't a bad idea at all, just one which take getting used to, and once you are there everything is pretty much routine/easy.

" we wanted users to feel like the commands were in a reliable place and easy to access"

So they changed the whole damn layout, Derpedy derpa derpa derp....

Of course it can be minimised... Isn't anyone using a newish version of Office... Who even needs right click context menu's when you can use shortcut keys for every one of the explorer commands in Windows 8..
I like it!!

Looks nice, but who would select a file and then go to the ribbon and copy(or whatever) it?

Ill be willing to give it a shot.

"Provides keyboard shortcuts for every command in the ribbon, something many people have been asking for."

this.

where's the goddman tabbed browsing?

I don't see anything useful for me in the video :| i never use the tool bar to copy and paste for example, i rather use shortcuts or use right click.

And for path, i believe in winxp explorer all i have to do is just copy from the textbox under the title menu, no need to do those steps in the video :|

and for the ribbon, i used ms office in the past, but since they use the ribbon thing, i really got confuse with ms office, so i move to libre office now. they said the ribbon thing is more intuitive, i tried use them for sometime, to me it's suck.

hell, now they want to put it in the explorer, they really want me to stop using microsoft product :|

I wish software and hardware makers provide better support for linux (i get used to Ubuntu), so i can really leave microsoft products completely.

I have a funny feeling this is going to be a very successful OS, especially amongst people who're not very tech-savvy. There will still be people who'll say OS X is a "different experience" and BS like that, but i think Win 8 will be a Lion-tamer. 7's already taken care of the Snow Leopard

I personally like a non-ribbon explorer (like in Win 7). Otherwise the rest of the stuff is good.

im useing xp, now lets go to my documents, on a 1920x1200 monitor, im able to see 59 and 1/2 files in detailed view, and im able to see the folder size of folders. if i want ANYTHING advanced, i use either the drop down menus on top, or right click.

heres hoping its completely removable. that being said, was there any need to change it from xp? i mean seriously, ANY NEED?

The only thing that pisses me off more and more in Windows is its increasing focus on "sharing" and such. I don't want to "share" anything with anybody, damn it! Remove that wretched word and I'll be fine.

Oh yeah, and I hope I can get rid of tabbed browsing and bring back the top menu (File/View/Edit/Tools/etc) instead of these big buttons. Seriously, this looks like Office 2007... I don't like this. The Ribbon can go and rm -rf itself...

The problem with ALL modern software products is that they try to add something new and unwanted before there's any kind of stability achieved. Ubuntu became a very stable OS at 10.10, then they threw in Unity and plymouth in 11.04 and look, it's full of bugs AGAIN. Same here; what was wrong with Win7 looks? Why can't they just freakin' STOP for once?!

If at all, MS should finally port Compiz to Windows... I just discovered even more kick-ass effects there, and Win7 has nothing similar to offer, a shame. Why can't MS get their heads out of their a$$es and make a solid, stable OS that will destroy all opponents once and for all? Win7 was great, now improve it instead of introducing new flashy garbage! Improve loading times or something...

Chrome gets it. Keep the menu stuff small, but convenient. Let the main browser window be the center of attention.

Mozilla and Microsoft just don't seem to get it. Most people don't want almost a 5th of their browser junked up with buttons and menus and other annoying things.

Thank JEBUS for Chrome!

Yeah.

1) DX11
2) Better (REALLY better) design & interface. XP starts to look like $h!t on 17''+ screens.
3) Better file structure (Libraries = win) and no Autorun (EPIC win) with one click
4) Better security
5) A ton of other small pleasant surprises that make it a much better OS to work with than XP
6) A proper x64 version

Of course, now you're gonna whine about how it could be all implemented in XP... sure, they'd just have to take the entire OS apart and waste double the time making sure there're no compatibility issues.

If you're not a gamer and you're not upgrading, stay with XP, by all means, it's a great OS. (BTW, that should also shut up everyone who complains that their 7-year old machine doesn't run Windows "smoothly", thus making Windows "bloatware" or a "resource sucker".) Otherwise, I'll take 7 over it any day.

Correct in case of Win8. Wrong in case of Firefox: I need all these "annoying buttons", mind you. I nearly threw up when I first saw Mozilla copying that horrible interface with 1 button in the corner: good thing you can easily get the menu bar back. So, according to Chrome, I must press the stupid button every time I want to take a look at the menus? Like hell!

The ribbon is microsoft's failed attempt at making a palette system more accessible. Don't make it the most prominent feature in Windows Explorer!

I miss file manager from Windows 3.1. You could move\sort\and do all kinds of file management with it.

Microsoft abandon it when Windows 95 and ever since then file management has been a pain.

Personally, I wish they would go back to the dual-drive capable "dos shell" file manager they had in DOS 4.0. You could copy between drives or folders without having two windows open, or having to take your focus off the source folder and move it to the destination folder. IMHO, all subsequent M$ file managers have been much less than optimal when they removed this aspect of the dos shell file manager.

IMHO, M$ often de-features it's software but manages to convince users the removal of those very useful features actually makes the package better.

Total Commander for you. Me, I'm waaaay faster with multiple windows.

Problem is there are people who like ribbon, who like the Metro UI and like the classic interface.

Having ribbon in W8 is not "instead of" it is "as well as", you pick which one you prefer, surely free choice is the great communicator?

I have, its call PowerShell now

Please do not bring this crap to Ubuntu

I hope not. I hate having to say things to users like "Click the copy button on top of the screen, but if it isn't there, then...". Everything should be the same. I'm sure it can be hidden just like in office, so you can see more stuff on the screen at once.




I actually think the ribbon makes much more sense in the Explorer UI than in Office. It didn't bother me as much in Office as it does others, but since you don't really need to customize the menus as much in Explorer as in Office, it makes sense. If you watch the video you realize how much easier it is for average users to figure out how do do things with ribbon vs. the menu interface, and keyboard shortcuts and quick access toolbar customization will be king for power users like us.




I don't quite get what has you so upset over the sharing thing.

Windows' UI was pretty much unchanged since Windows 95. They made some changes in Vista and tweaked them in 7, but for you to act like they changed them just as you were getting used to them--I'd say 16 years is long enough. Also, hating the ribbon because it looks like Office 2007 is not a reason. I'm still trying to understand why so many people hate the ribbon in office. Once you get the hang of it it is actually easier to find what you're looking for on it.

My initial reaction was also "what the #*!¤=¤", but thinking about it, it really gives you the best of both worlds.
When I am at the keyboard i almost always use shortcut keys and sometimes right-clicks to access some commands. I just have to hide the ribbon (or collapse it).

But there are times when I am more laidback where I have to shift position to get to the keyboard. These times I use only the mouse and there are certain things that can't be done with right-clicking, like "select all" (CTRL+A).
These things can now be done with just one click on the ribbon.
Also, the ribbon have some big icons that is an advantage if you sit a bit away from the screen.
Good thing for us who mix intense "at the keyboard" sessions with more lazy laid-back ones....

Plus, the ribbon can be hidden when I'm using keyboard shortcuts and it takes up less space (as shown) than the explorer in Windows 7 anyway.

A big win for most users!