Tabbed File Explorer is a feature that allows users to open multiple folders and files in a single window with multiple tabs, making it easier to navigate between them. It’s a more efficient way of managing files and folders, especially for power users who frequently work with multiple files and folders simultaneously.
To enable tabs for File Explorer on Windows 11, you can download the latest update to Windows 11 and tabs will be enabled by default.
Here is a screenshot of the old method of using multiple file explorer windows:


and here is a screenshot of the new tabbed File Explorer:


As you can see, users had to open multiple windows of File Explorer in order to work with multiple folders and files, which could be cumbersome and inefficient. Tabbed File Explorer streamlines this process and makes it more user-friendly.

As you can see, there are multiple tabs open, each representing a different folder or file that the user is currently working on. The user can switch between tabs by clicking on them or using keyboard shortcuts.
Here are some keyboard shortcuts for navigating Tabbed File Explorer and File Explorer in general in Windows 10:
- Ctrl + T: Open a new tab.
- Ctrl + W: Close the current tab.
- Ctrl + Tab: Switch to the next tab.
- Ctrl + Shift + Tab: Switch to the previous tab.
- Ctrl + 1, 2, 3, etc.: Switch to a specific tab by number. For example, Ctrl + 1 will switch to the first tab, Ctrl + 2 will switch to the second tab, and so on.
- Ctrl + N: Open a new File Explorer window.
- Ctrl + Shift + N: Create a new folder in the current directory.
- Alt + D: Select the address bar.
- F4: Display the address bar dropdown.
- F6: Cycle through the different File Explorer panes, including the navigation pane, the file list, and the details pane.
- Ctrl + F: Open the search box.
- Ctrl + Shift + E: Show or hide the navigation pane.
- Ctrl + Shift + F: Show or hide the preview pane.
I hope this helps.