ExplorerPatcher is a versatile and free tool that allows you to tweak and enhance the Windows Explorer. It comes with a range of useful features, including the ability to add new context menu items, change file name colors, and enable hidden features.
Feature summary
- Choose between Windows 11 or Windows 10 taskbar (with labels support, small icons and lots of customization).
- Disable Windows 11 context menu and command bar in File Explorer and more.
- Open Start to All apps by default, choose number of frequent apps to show, display on active monitor and more.
- Choose between the Windows 11, Windows 10 and Windows NT Alt-Tab window switcher with customization.
Lots of quality of life improvements for the shell, like:
- Skin tray menus to match Windows style, make them behave like flyouts and center them relative to the icon.
- Choose action when left and/or right clicking the network icon.
- Revert to the Windows 7 search box in File Explorer, or disable Windows Search altogether.
- Disable immersive menus and use mitigations that help you run the real classic theme without glitches.
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Discover the program"s full range of features by reading this wiki article.
ExplorerPatcher 26100.4946.69.6 changelog:
Tested on OS builds 26100.4946, 26100.5074, 26200.5751, and 26220.6682.
TIP: Windows Defender no longer flags ExplorerPatcher. It is no longer needed to configure Defender exclusions. Enjoy!
Changelog:
ExplorerPatcher receives a major stability update packed with fixes and refinements.
- Weather data now loads correctly after Google’s API changes, and the missing icon issue has been resolved.
- Start11 properly hides the Recommended section on newer Windows 11 builds.
- Start10 is smoother too, with fixes for animation patching and menu opening issues on x64 and ARM64.
- File Explorer sees major reliability gains — crashes in Home and Gallery views are gone.
- The title bar returns on newer builds, and address bar visuals are no longer broken.
- Explorer behavior with menus, tabs, and ribbons is more consistent across versions.
- Taskbar improvements restore toolbar functionality and enhance quick launch handling.
- Under the hood, SlimDetours replaces the old hooking library for better performance and compatibility.
- Overall, this update makes ExplorerPatcher faster, more reliable, and better aligned with the latest Windows builds. A detailed change log is available here.
Please consult the README for more details.
Download: ExplorerPatcher 26100.4946.69.6 | ARM64 | ~11.0 MB (Open Source)
View: ExplorerPatcher Home Page | Features | Screenshot
