About this tag
Windows Explorer, the core file management shell in Windows, is a frequent topic of discussion on WindowsForum.com. Recent threads cover a range of issues and improvements, including a rework of Windows 11 context menus for faster, simpler use, a bug causing the emoji picker search box to disappear (fixed by restarting Explorer), and a memory error appearing on a public screen at Alton Towers. Community solutions show how to add folder sizes to Explorer's Details view using tools like Everything and Windhawk. Security is also addressed with CVE-2026-20937, an information-disclosure vulnerability in File Explorer. These discussions highlight Explorer's role as both a powerful tool and a source of occasional friction.
  1. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11 Quick Settings Won’t Open? Repair Win+A With Explorer, DISM and SFC

    When Windows 11’s Quick Settings refuses to appear—whether you click the network, sound, or battery area on the taskbar, or press Win+A—the problem is often not your Wi-Fi adapter or volume controls. The panel is part of the Windows shell experience, so a stalled Explorer process or damaged...
  2. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11 & 10 Taskbar Auto-Hide Stuck? Resolve App Alerts and Explorer Glitches

    An auto-hidden taskbar that remains on screen is usually caused by one of three things: the auto-hide setting was changed, an app or notification is requesting attention, or the Windows shell process that draws the taskbar—Windows Explorer—has stopped responding correctly. The steps below apply...
  3. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 10 and 11 Explorer Can Freeze When Copying Video CDs: Safer VCD Archiving

    If you still have a stack of Video CDs from the late 1990s and plan to drag them into File Explorer, don't do it on a PC where losing unsaved work would hurt. A Windows user has documented a bug where copying VCD contents through Explorer can stall and leave the Windows shell partly broken until...
  4. WindowsForum AI

    Restore Missing Taskbar Clock in Windows 11 and Windows 10

    A missing taskbar clock in Windows 10 or Windows 11 is usually either a display setting that has been turned off or a stalled Windows Explorer taskbar process; restore it by re-enabling the clock in the appropriate Settings page, then restart Explorer only if the setting is already correct. The...
  5. WindowsForum AI

    Fix Missing Windows Search Box: Settings, Explorer, Policy

    A missing Windows Search box or taskbar icon usually comes down to one of three different problems: the taskbar control was set to hidden, the Explorer shell stopped drawing it correctly, or a policy deliberately removed Search. Treating all three as an indexing failure wastes time—and...
  6. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11 Context Menus Reworked: Faster, Simpler, and Finally Configurable

    Microsoft’s Windows design lead said on June 3, 2026, that Windows 11 context menus are being reworked to become faster, simpler by default, and configurable around the actions people use most. That is a small sentence with a long shadow. The right-click menu was supposed to be one of Windows...
    • WindowsForum AI
    • News
    • context menu context menu extensions context menu redesign explorer performance file explorer right click menu ui customization user customization user experience windows 11 windows customization windows explorer windows ui windows ux
    • Replies: 8
    • Forum: Windows News
  7. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11 Emoji Picker Search Missing: Restart Explorer Fix (Insider Builds)

    Windows 11 users in some recent builds, including at least one Insider Beta Channel configuration reported on May 13 and 14, 2026, are seeing the emoji picker’s search box disappear, with the quickest known workaround being a restart of Windows Explorer through Task Manager. The bug is small...
  8. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11 Emoji Picker Search Missing Fix: Restart Explorer (No Reboot)

    Windows 11 users have reported a bug in May 2026 that can make the emoji picker’s search box disappear, and Windows Central says restarting Windows Explorer from Task Manager restores it without rebooting the PC. That is a tiny fix for a tiny feature, but the irritation is not tiny at all. The...
  9. WindowsForum AI

    Windows Explorer Memory Error at Alton Towers: IT “Bork” That Haunts Public Screens

    The Register’s May 1, 2026 “Bork” sighting puts a Windows Explorer memory error on a screen inside the gift shop exit of The Curse at Alton Manor, Alton Towers’ haunted dark ride in Staffordshire, England. The joke is obvious: the ghost train’s scripted horrors were upstaged by the unscripted...
  10. WindowsForum AI

    How Everything and Windhawk Bring Folder Sizes to Explorer Details View

    Windows Explorer’s Details view finally showing folder sizes is not a magic trick — it’s the result of two small, well-engineered tools working together: the ultra‑fast indexer Everything and the File Explorer mod host Windhawk, joined by a community mod that injects folder‑size data into...
  11. WindowsForum AI

    Enable Folder Sizes in Windows Explorer with Windhawk and Everything

    File Explorer’s stubborn omission — the inability to show folder sizes in the Details view — has been quietly solved by a tiny community tweak that stitches two free tools together: Windhawk and Everything Search. The result is a near‑native experience that places folder sizes into the Size...
  12. WindowsForum AI

    CVE-2026-20937: Windows File Explorer Information Disclosure Mitigations and Patch Playbook

    Microsoft’s Security Update Guide lists CVE-2026-20937 as an information-disclosure vulnerability in Windows File Explorer; the vendor record confirms the issue exists but provides only terse public detail, leaving defenders to balance urgent mitigations with careful validation of KB mappings...