Did the best files app on Windows 11 just beat Microsoft’s File Explorer again?

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  • Files, an alternative to File Explorer, just received a preview update.
  • The update improves the Details Pane and adds new features.
  • More changes were teased by the Files developer for the next update.

As an analyst with over two decades of experience in the tech industry, I’ve seen my fair share of file explorers come and go. However, it’s rare to find one that truly stands out from the crowd like Files does. The recent preview update to version 3.8.1 brings some much-needed improvements to this already impressive app.

On Windows PCs, File Explorer serves as the standard for managing files, but it’s not the most visually appealing application in this regard. Instead, the accolade of best-looking file manager belongs to a third-party app called Files, which can be found on both Windows 11 and Windows 10 systems. Recently, Files has been updated to version 3.8.1, with one significant improvement being the inclusion of storage information displayed in the details pane when viewing a drive. Additionally, there are various other modifications and bug fixes incorporated into this new version of Files.

You might find that the ‘Details pane’ in the Files app on your Windows 11 system resembles the standard File Explorer experience. Personally, I appreciate the layout design in the Files app more, but I noticed that the File Explorer provides information about the percentage of used space in a selected drive. To help decide which one you prefer, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below!

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https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/juxtapose/latest/watch?v=index.html

In the latest version 3.8.1, some updates have been made. Now, you can choose a specific name for newly created shortcuts and also make Files your default application on Windows for opening .gz archive files.

What’s on the way to Files in 2025?

In the latest updates about Files, there’s been an announcement for the release of version 3.8.1, but what’s even more intriguing is what’s planned for the future. I had a chat with Yair, the mastermind behind Files, to get a sneak peek into 2025’s developments. One of the most significant improvements we can expect is a performance upgrade. Files is soon going to leverage AOT (Ahead-of-Time) compilation, which means faster operation for the app.

As an analyst, I am thrilled to share that our commitment to balancing stability and performance remains unwavering in the year 2025. Overcoming the present challenges, I am eagerly anticipating the enhanced performance boost that the implementation of Native AOT will deliver, as promised by Yair.

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Enabling AOT will take some time since libraries need to be migrated.

Support for natively compiled applications, which was recently introduced, is still quite novel. In fact, Microsoft highlighted it back in September during their announcement of Windows App SDK 1.6. This method of compiling code ahead of time minimizes the memory consumption and start-up time of an application as Microsoft put it: “It allows for reduced memory usage and faster app startup.

We’re thrilled to share the potent features of Native Ahead-of-Time compilation with developers via the Windows App SDK! Our Contoso Camera app demo showed a 50% decrease in startup time, an approximately 8 times smaller package size when utilizing a framework package and about twice as small a package size when employing the Windows App SDK in self-contained mode. Although your outcomes could differ, we strongly recommend experimenting with Native AOT for your app if it suits your needs!

Moving ahead, Yair announced that instead of sharing release notes directly, they would now publish previews on their blog to uphold transparency and better inform users about their advancements. Furthermore, the layout of the release notes in the Files app, starting from version 3.8.1, has been enhanced to make it more appealing.

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Below are the changes shared in the most recent blog post:

Files v3.8.1: What’s new

  • Details pane
    • Added storage information when viewing drive details in the Details Pane.
  • Shortcut files
    • Added support for assigning a custom name when creating a new shortcut.
  • Properties windows
    • Added support for changing the ‘compress’ attribute from the properties window.
  • Taskbar
    • Removed the number of open tabs from being displayed in the Windows Taskbar.
  • Archives
    • Added support for setting Files as the default app on Windows for opening gz archives.
  • Drag & drop
    • Improved the behavior so that Files is no longer brought to the foreground when dragging items to another application.
  • Details Layout
    • Modifying which columns are enabled in the Settings will now automatically update existing tabs. Previously, this setting only applied to tabs opened after the change.
  • Release Notes
    • The Release Notes dialog was updated to display changelogs directly from the Files website.
    • Added a new action to open the Release Notes dialog. Previously, the dialog was only accessible during the session immediately following an update.

Files v3.8.1: Fixes

  • Address Bar
    • Fixed an issue where the address bar flyouts sometimes displayed duplicate items.
  • Tabs
    • Fixed an issue where tabs weren’t placed in the correct order when dragged from other windows.
  • Actions
    • Fixed an issue with the ‘Run with PowerShell’ action not working for files with spaces in their names.

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2024-12-10 20:09