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.