Like any other modern operating system, Windows 11 ships with a file browser called File Explorer. It can be launched either by clicking on its icon on the taskbar or using the Windows logo + E keyboard shortcut.
With default installation settings, the Windows 11 File Explorer displays a sidebar on the left side of the File Explorer. Microsoft calls this sidebar the navigation pane.
The navigation pane, or the sidebar, lets you quickly access various pinned folders, This PC, and other drives. When installed, the sidebar also displays cloud storage drives like OneDrive, Google Drive, and iCloud.
The File Explorer navigation pane or sidebar is very helpful for quickly navigating across the File Explorer. Although the File Explorer shows the sidebar by default, it might go missing if you have accidentally disabled it.
If the File Explorer sidebar is missing from your Windows 11 installation, you can restore it with a few clicks.
This guide shows you how to restore or enable the File Explorer sidebar or navigation pane.
Add sidebar or navigation pane to File Explorer in Windows 11
Step 1: Open the File Explorer using search, clicking on its taskbar icon or Windows logo + E hotkey.
Step 2: Once the File Explorer is open, click View in the toolbar (refer to the picture below), click Show, and then click the Navigation pane option to add the navigation pane or sidebar to the File Explorer immediately. That’s it!
From now on, File Explorer will continue to show the sidebar even after restarting your Windows 11 PC.
Tip: To make the most out of the File Explorer sidebar, you may pin your favorite folders to it so that you can access them quickly and easily. Right-click on a folder and then click Pin to Quick Access to add a folder to the sidebar.
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