Customize Windows 11 File Explorer in Simple Steps

November 12, 2024 Matt Mills How to 0

And if you’re unhappy with Windows 11’s File Explorer, you’re notalone. It’s missing a lot but riskier third party solutions abound. Then we’ll show you how to do this without risk by using a program called OneCommander and how to fix issues that might arise.

Note: First you need to make sure to create a system restore point before you start to protect your system.

customized Windows 11 File Explorer

Step 1: Download and install OneCommander.

The OneCommander is a handy, lightweight file manager. Here’s how to start:

  1. You can find OneCommander on its official website and download it.
  2. Locate the Installation Path – Typically found at “C:/Program Files/OneCommander.” Right click the icon and choose Properties for confirmation.
  3. Find the OneCommander.exe file, right click on it and Copy as path.

Step 2: Modify the Windows Registry

Using registry we can make OneCommander default to open drives and directories. Here’s how:

  1. Click on Start – Type regedit – Do not hit Enter – Click Start – Click on Regedit.
  2. Navigate to the Shell Key
    Go to: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell
  3. Then, right click shell, choose New > Key, and name it open.
  4. Create new Key command in right click the key.
  5. Set the OneCommander Path
  6. Follow this: double click (Default) inside the command folder.
  7. Paste the path from Step 3, followed by “%1” (e.g., “C:”Powershell.exe” -argumentlist compilerparams -Pararameter OneCommander.exe to(onecmd.exe)” “%1”]).
  8. Repeat for Directory Shell
  9. Navigate to: Directory\shell\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
  10. Repeat the steps again to make an open and command and paste the path.
  11. For drives and directories, OneCommander will be opened now by default.

Step 3: WIN + E keyboard shortcut redirect

You can also change the Win + E shortcut to open OneCommander:

  1. Install AutoHotKey – Then download this tool to create your own custom hotkeys.
  2. Create a New Script
  3. Open Notepad and add this line: #C:\Program Files\OneCommander\OneCommander.exe unless that line is already present in your script entry, in which case replace it with that.
  4. FileManager.ahk (or an ending in .ahk).
  5. Put the Place Script into Startup Folder
  6. Copy the script file and paste it here: Microsoft \Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\%AppData%\Roaming
  7. Double click the Script, allow it to run on startup.
  8. This means that now, pressing Win + E will open OneCommander, rather than the default File Explorer.

Tip: If you don’t like the OneCommander, just replace it with the path of the file manager you want.

Final Thoughts

Customizing File Explorer in Windows 11 isn’t too hard, but the payoff isn’t that great. You will get a better file manager tailored to your needs.