Windows File Explorer - Spawn New Window

Recent versions of Windows OS changed the behavior of how the Start Menu spawns applications.

Specifically: If an app is already open, clicking its Start Menu entry will pull the open app to foreground, instead of opening a new window.

For things like File Explorer, this can be annoying, if you intended to open a new window.

And, this is especially annoying when working in RDP sessions, where you cannot use the Win-E to force a new explorer window.

The Fix for File Explorer

To fix this for File Explorer, requires a registry update.

For Current User

To fix this behavior for the current user, you can perform a registry key update, by downloading and clicking on the following file:

FileExplorer_NewWindow- CurrentUser.reg

Your user will get the updated functionality, once you log out and back in.

For Default User

To make the fix for any new users, you can perform a registry key update, by downloading and clicking on the following file:

FileExplorer_NewWindow- Default.reg

Any new users that logs into the machine will get the updated functionality.

NOTE: This doesn't affect existing users.

For All Users

To fix the issue for all users (current and new), you can run the following powershell.

We've created a wrapper cmd file that opens and runs the powershell for you, to make it easier.

To run it, download both of these files:

Fix-FileExplorer_SeparateWindow.cmd

Set-ExplorerSeparateProcess-AllUsers.ps1

Once downloaded, open a command line window with Administrative privileges.

Then, navigate to the folder where you downloaded the above files, and run the cmd file: Fix-FileExplorer_SeparateWindow.cmd

It will open a powershell window, and update registry keys for the default and all existing users.

NOTE: Any existing users will need to log out and back in, to get the updated functionality.