The navigation pane is the far left pane in File Explorer used to find files, folders, and drives on your PC or network.
You can drag the right border of the navigation pane left and right to increase or decrease its width in File Explorer.
Starting with Windows 11 build 25136 and build 22621.160, Microsoft is introducing a refreshed layout of the left navigation pane in File Explorer which makes it easy for you to navigate to folders that matter to you. The updated organization provides easy access to your pinned and frequently used folders (Quick access) and your OneDrive cloud profiles added to Windows. OneDrive cloud profiles reflect the user’s name associated with the account. Known Windows folders which are available by default in the navigation pane are no longer displayed under This PC to keep that view focused for your PC’s drives. When you navigate to folders syncing to OneDrive such as Documents, Pictures, etc., the address bar displays the correct path to help bring clarity when your folders are on the cloud vs when they are local to you.
This tutorial will show you how to reset the width of the navigation pane in File Explorer back to default for your account in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
All drives are shown under the This PC group in the navigation pane of File Explorer by default.
Removable drives are shown as separate groups in the navigation pane of File Explorer by default in addition to being shown under the This PC group in the navigation pane.
You could Pin to Quick access the Windows C: drive to also have it under the Home group in the navigation pane.
If you like, you can add the Windows C: Drive as its own separate group to the top or bottom of the navigation pane of File Explorer for even easier and faster access.
This tutorial will show you how to add or remove the the Windows C: Drive in the navigation pane of File Explorer for your account in Windows 11.
The Recycle Bin provides a safety net when deleting files or folders. When you delete any of these items from a hard disk, Windows places it in the Recycle Bin and the Recycle Bin icon changes from empty to full.
This tutorial will show you how to add or remove Recycle Bin in the navigation pane of File Explorer for your account in Windows 11.
Removable drives are shown as separate groups in the navigation pane of File Explorer by default in addition to being shown under the This PC group in the navigation pane.
OS drives and fixed drives (ex: internal drives) will only be shown under This PC, and not separately in the navigation pane.
This tutorial will show you how to add or remove the drives showing twice in the navigation pane of File Explorer for all users in Windows 11.
The navigation pane is the far left pane in File Explorer used to find files, folders, and drives on your PC or network.
When you have a folder or drive open in File Explorer (Win+E), you can press the Ctrl + Shift + E keys to have the navigation pane expand to the current folder or drive on demand.
You can turn on Expand to current folder to have the navigation pane automatically expand to the current folder or drive as you open them in File Explorer.
This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off automatically expand to current folder in the navigation pane of File Explorer for your account in Windows 11.
The navigation pane is the far left pane in File Explorer used to find files, folders, and drives on your PC or network.
This tutorial will show you how to show or hide the navigation pane in File Explorer for your account in Windows 11.
The navigation pane is the far left pane in File Explorer used to find files, folders, and drives on your PC or network.
If you like, you can select to show all the folders on your PC in the navigation pane, including your user folder, Control Panel, Libraries, and Recycle Bin.
This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off show all folders in the navigation pane of File Explorer for your account in Windows 11.
The Windows Subsystem for Linux lets developers run a GNU/Linux environment — including most command-line tools, utilities, and applications — directly on Windows, unmodified, without the overhead of a traditional virtual machine or dualboot setup.
WSL 2 is a new version of the Windows Subsystem for Linux architecture that powers the Windows Subsystem for Linux to run ELF64 Linux binaries on Windows. Its primary goals are to increase file system performance, as well as adding full system call compatibility. This new architecture changes how these Linux binaries interact with Windows and your computer’s hardware, but still provides the same user experience as in WSL 1 (the current widely available version).
When you install WSL, it adds Linux to the navigation pane of File Explorer for access to the file systems of your installed distros.
If you like, you can remove Linux from the navigation pane of File Explorer without having to uninstall WSL.
This tutorial will show you how to add or remove Linux in the navigation pane of File Explorer for your account in Windows 11.
OneDrive is built-in to Windows 11 by default.
With OneDrive, you can sync files between your computer and the cloud, so you can get to your files from anywhere – your computer, your mobile device, and even through the OneDrive website at OneDrive.com. If you add, change, or delete a file or folder in your OneDrive folder, the file or folder is added, changed, or deleted on the OneDrive website and vice versa. You can work with your synced files directly in File Explorer and access your files even when you’re offline. Whenever you’re online, any changes that you or others make will sync automatically.
This tutorial will show you how to add or remove OneDrive in the navigation pane of File Explorer for your account in Windows 11.
Quick access in the navigation pane of File Explorer (Win+E) allows you to quickly access and view your pinned locations, frequent folders, and recent files from one location in Quick Access.
This tutorial will show you how to add or remove Quick access in the navigation pane of File Explorer for all users in Windows 11.
You can use the navigation pane in File Explorer to browse locations such as Quick access, OneDrive, Libraries, This PC, Network, and Homegroup. You can also move or copy items directly to a destination in the navigation pane.
As you open folders in the right pane of File Explorer, the navigation pane will not automatically expand to the current open folder by default.
When you expand open a folder in the navigation pane of File Explorer, this expanded state setting is saved to the registry. The next time you open File Explore, you will automatically see the last navigation pane expanded state.
While you can manually set the navigation pane expanded state to how you want, you could also reset it back to default as wanted or needed.
This tutorial will show you how to reset the navigation pane expanded state in File Explorer to default for your account in Windows 10.
The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is a new Windows 10 feature that enables you to run native Linux command-line tools directly on Windows, alongside your traditional Windows desktop and modern store apps.
Starting with Windows 10 build 18836 version 1903, Linux will be added to the navigation pane in File Explorer whenever you enable Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL).
If you like, you can remove Linux from the navigation without having to disable WSL.
This tutorial will show you how to add or remove Linux in the navigation pane of File Explorer for your account in Windows 10. When you click/tap on the Distro shortcut in Linux, it will show all currently running WSL distros.