For years, Microsoft has wrestled with modernizing the File Explorer app on Windows. Over the last few years, we've seen Microsoft slowly introduce modern UI elements across the File Explorer interface. Areas like the top of the app, Home page, and details pane have been modernized with WinUI 3, but the rest of the app has pretty much remained untouched.
This means that the File Explorer experience right now is very fragmented, being shared between decades-old interface design and modern WinUI design. Well, it looks like Microsoft is slowly moving to fix that, as evidence that the company is planning to modernize a pretty major aspect of the File Explorer has now appeared.
First spotted by Phantomofearth on Bluesky, the latest Windows 11 preview build includes a hidden modernized File Properties window that appears when you open properties on a file in the Recycle Bin. This is the only window that's been discovered so far, but it's clear that Microsoft is planning to modernize the entire File Properties dialog soon.
This move matches Microsoft's commitment to bring WinUI to more areas of the Windows Shell. The company confirmed plans to bring WinUI to the Start menu and in-box apps and experiences earlier this year, in an effort to streamline performance and design consistency across the entire Windows UI.
One of Windows 11's biggest criticisms amongst users is that the interface is very fragmented. In apps like File Explorer, it's very easy to come across a popup or window that hasn't been modernized like the rest of Windows 11, in some cases even missing support for dark mode. Moving these interfaces to WinUI should make them appear more consistent and support dark mode.
Microsoft has also confirmed plans to improve the performance of WinUI itself, which is why it's confident that moving more of the Windows Shell over to WinUI should result in a faster overall experience. These improvements are part of the company's ongoing Windows K2 effort, which is focused on fixing Windows 11's biggest issues.
The modernized File Properties on Windows 11 are yet to be announced, but now that the first signs of this work are now appearing in preview builds, it's unlikely to be much more of a wait before we hear more about Microsoft's plans for modernizing more areas of the File Explorer.
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