Windows File Explorer is a program that is very integral to Windows operations. Here, you see different files, folders displayed in a hierarchy. The program lets you easily copy, move, rename, and search for files and folders. For example, you can open a folder that contains a file you want to copy or move, and then drag the file to another folder or drive. File Explorer is a File manager. It finds immense use in daily operations, ranging from opening files to transferring them to a different location such as a USB drive.
The Explorer is divided into the following areas:
- Navigation Pane – Seen on the left-hand side, the navigation pane lists all the folders, library items and network connections
- Details Pane – provides details such as creation& modification date, size, etc. about files selected in the explorer.
- Preview Pane – The Preview pane gives a sneak preview of media and document files.
Explorer Navigation Pane missing in Windows 11/10
Sometimes, your Windows Explorer may not display the left-side Navigation Pane or Sidebar properly or may appear all grayed out – a possible reason could be file or registry corruption. What do you do under such circumstances? Well, you may try this:
- Run System File Checker
- Re-register the shdocvw.dll file
- Check the Navigation pane setting.
1] Run System File Checker
Run sfc /scannow to run the system file checker.
2] Re-register the shdocvw.dll file
You may need to re-register the shdocvw.dll file which is used by Windows to add some basic file operations. The shdocvw.dll file is a system file that helps perform the navigation, history maintenance, favorites maintenance, HTML parsing, etc. So see if re-registering this dll file helps you resolve the issue.
Open an elevated command prompt, type the following and hit Enter:
regsvr32 /i shdocvw
After the command successfully runs, restart your computer. Your Explorer should now display the left folder pane properly.
3] Check the Navigation pane setting
In Windows 11, to check, if you have by mistake unchecked the option to show the Navigation Pane, click on View > Show.
Select Navigation pane there if it is unchecked.
If you are using Windows 10/8, you may want to check if you have by mistake unchecked the option to show the Navigation Pane.
Open File Explorer > View tab > Navigation pane > Ensure that the option to show Navigation pane is checked.
I hope something helps!
How to get Navigation pane back in File Explorer?
To restore the navigation pane in Windows File Explorer, open File Explorer, click the “View” tab on the ribbon, and select “Navigation Pane” from the dropdown. Ensure that the “Navigation Pane” is checked and that all desired options are enabled to make the pane visible.
How do I get the Preview pane back in File Explorer?
To restore the preview pane in File Explorer, open the application and select the View tab. In the upper menu, locate the Panes section and click on the Preview Pane button. This will enable the preview pane on the right side of the File Explorer window, allowing file previews.
