Files vs Windows 11 File Explorer: Dual-Pane View, Tags and Command Palette

Explorer is improving, and nobody disputes that​

Even the author is generous to Microsoft. He credits Explorer with tabs, wider archive-format support, a better Details pane and context menu, and the ability to browse phone storage for devices paired through Managed Devices. His complaint is about the gaps that remain. He names native dual-pane view, deep customization, and keyboard-driven actions.

The article is also candid about the limits of the comparison. Mishra concedes that Files "is not the fastest". Claims such as "bigger text", "less bland" or "less confusing" are his impressions, not benchmarks. This piece treats them that way.

What Files is, and where it stands​

Files describes itself as a modern file manager. Its GitHub repository lists MIT and MPL-2.0 licenses in the project metadata, and the project says it is built and maintained by the open-source community. The project asks users to support it by buying it from the Microsoft Store or by sponsoring it on GitHub if they use the classic installer. XDA's page lists the Store version at $10. So "free" means the source and installer are free to use, and the paid Store listing is a way to fund the developers. Neowin has made the same point about the Store listing: it is paid so that willing users can show monetary support.

On versions, the official Files blog shows the v4.2 announcement dated July 5, 2026. The blog's post list, as indexed in search, also shows Files v4.3.3 and several v4.3.x posts that come after v4.2. So v4.2 is not the newest release. Features described below come from the v4.2-era documentation and may have changed in later builds.

The features that matter, checked against the docs​

Dual-pane view. Explorer has no native side-by-side pane view, so the usual workaround is to snap two windows. Files supports dual pane. Per the v4.2 announcement, you can drag a tab to the left or right edge of the file area for a vertical split, or to the top or bottom for a horizontal split. When dual pane is active, an "Open in other pane" action sends the selected folder to the other pane. You can reach it from the right-click menu or the Command Palette, and you can assign a shortcut under Settings > Actions. Mishra notes that OneCommander and File Pilot offer more flexible multi-pane layouts, so Files isn't the ceiling here.

Tags. Files lets you put one or more tags on a file or folder. You can do this from the right-click "edit tags" menu, the Details Pane, a customizable toolbar button, or by dragging items onto a tag in the sidebar. Tags are created and colored under Settings > Tags. To find tagged items, click the tag in the sidebar or type tag:Photos in search. Multiple tags are separated with commas, for example tag:Photos,Important. Deleting a tag doesn't delete the files.

The caveats matter. The documentation says tags are stored in NTFS alternate data streams. That means they:

• only work on NTFS-formatted drives,
• may not work with every cloud storage provider,
• and don't follow you to another PC automatically. Moving the tag list requires exporting and importing settings (Settings > Advanced > Export and Import).

The upside of alternate data streams, per the project, is that tagged items can move between locations without losing tags, even without using Files. If your workflow lives on exFAT USB sticks or in a finicky sync client, test before you rely on tags.

Columns view. Files shows nested folders as successive columns, which keeps parent levels visible. The default shortcut in the Command Palette docs is Ctrl+Shift+5. The v4.2 release also added a Tree View sidebar, an expandable hierarchy for deep directories, which is a different fix for the same problem.

Command Palette. Ctrl+Shift+P opens it, or you can use the Omnibar. The docs say Files supports over 150 actions, many with default shortcuts, and you can rebind them under Settings > Actions. One detail refines the article. "Empty recycle bin" is a listed action, but the documentation shows no default key binding for it. You reach it by searching the palette, which is what Mishra describes. The palette also lists actions such as Ctrl+W or Ctrl+F4 for close tab, Shift+Delete for permanent delete, and Git commands like fetch, pull and push.

Details and preview. Mishra says Files puts details and preview behind one button, while Explorer needs a trip to the View menu. The Files docs list a single Info Pane with Details and Preview tabs. That fits his description of switching between them. His claim about how Explorer behaves is his own observation, and the Files documentation can't confirm it.

Other v4.2 changes worth knowing​

The v4.2 notes include several small changes that help in daily use:

• an Open With toolbar flyout, added through Customize toolbar,
• file extensions always visible while renaming, even if hidden elsewhere,
• right-click on a breadcrumb to open a folder in a new tab, window or pane,
• Ctrl+scroll that cycles through layouts after the smallest or largest size,
• more reliable tab restoration under "Continue where you left off",
• and a Network page banner that warns when Windows Network Discovery is off, because some network locations may not appear.

The last item is a reminder that Files sits on top of Windows settings and doesn't override them.

Replacement or companion?​

"Replaced" overstates it a little. The project's own site calls Files a modern file explorer. It is an app you install and open, not a swap of the Windows shell. Explorer still handles the desktop, the shell and the "Show in folder" hand-offs from other apps. Most users who like Files will run it alongside Explorer.

Anyone trying it should weigh a few points:

1. Subjective judgments. Whether Files looks nicer or reads more clearly is a matter of taste. Try it for a week.
2. Tag limits. Check that your drives and cloud provider work with NTFS alternate data streams.
3. Community support. It's a community project with an active repository, not a Microsoft-backed product. In managed environments, IT admins will want to vet it before approving installs.
4. Speed. The author says it isn't the fastest. Measure it on your own hardware and folders.

The bottom line​

The strongest case for Files isn't looks. It is a short list of things Explorer lacks natively: dual-pane, tags, columns, and an action palette you can rebind. Microsoft has been closing gaps, and tabs arrived years after third-party managers had them. Whether the remaining ones close is up to Microsoft. For power users who want those features today, the docs back up the main claims. They also show the limits to check before you commit.