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update
January 11, 2022
As early as 2019, Microsoft modified the search box in Windows File Explorer to allow users to search their OneDrive cloud storage and local files at the same time. Microsoft also updated the recent files section in Explorer and added support for Office.com entries.
While adding these functions, Windows Explorer becomes slower, especially when users try to search their local files, the search box may even become unresponsive. However, Microsoft still seems to plan to give users more control over their results in the "Quick Access View" of File Explorer.
A new change in the early preview version will allow users to turn off Office.com integration in the file browser. According to a new entry in the Group Policy Editor, users can disable files from Office.com in the operating system, and the file manager will stop including cloud files in the quick access view.
In addition, when the integration of Office.com is turned off, users will also prevent File Explorer from making network requests to Microsoft's services to retrieve the most recent cloud file data. This can reduce the use of background data and resources, and improve the overall experience of Windows.
Interestingly, this change will also apply to the recommended section of the start menu. When this feature is disabled, the start menu will stop obtaining Office files. It is worth noting that Office integration includes personal and Microsoft 365 accounts, so this change will benefit all users.
Upcoming changes in File Explorer in Windows 11
As we pointed out in previous reports, File Explorer has become slower in Windows 11. When you right-click on a file or folder, the context menu that appears will be slower and slower than expected. In Windows 11, Microsoft changed the way the context menu works, prioritizing the most commonly used options. Slow performance or slow animation is one of the annoying problems of File Explorer.
In some cases, users have observed a 1/2 second delay because the menu will try to resize when clicking anywhere in the Explorer window. In addition to bug fixes, Microsoft also introduced new keyboard shortcuts that allow users to quickly copy the path of a file or folder. Now, the user needs to right-click an item and select "Copy as Path" to copy its location.