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Feature: Add a widget for network drives
Is your feature request related to a problem? The files app makes it less easy and clear to distinguish between network drives and local drives compared to file explorer. Currently in the stable release network drives get a different icon but does not help much regarding clear separation.
Describe the solution Windows File explorer clearly separates both types of drives with a section on "This PC". However it also does not do it on the pane. It would be nice for Files to have a sub category on the pane for Network drives, like it is done for Cloud drives.
Here's how File Explorer separates drives in This PC:
Notice the separation isn't present on the side pane either here.
Describe alternatives you've considered An alternative solution to providing another category would be using colors to distinguish the icons better from each other. Classic File Explorer has a green hue primarily on network share drives making it easier to distinguish.
Scope
| Capability | Priority |
|---|---|
| This proposal will allow end users to distinguish network drives from local drivers more easily | Must |
| This proposal will allow end users to have different categories for network drives than local drives | Should |
| This proposal will allow end users to have different coloring to help distinguish network attached drives from local drives | Could |
Requirements
- Added Network Locations widget to the home page
- Add setting to enable/disable (off by default?)
- Stop showing network locations in the drives widget
System Information
- OS Version: Windows 10 Insider Preview [10.0.21382.1 (co_release.210511-1416)]
- App version: v1.5.0.0
Additional comment N/A
Yes I am afraid it is still an issue. They need to be clearly separated like in explorer.
Do you think the widget sohuld be turned off by default?
If the user has a network drive they will probably expect it to be shown and if there is none then it won't show anyway.
In my original issue I mentioned splitting network drives into the cloud drive category as well, on the side pane. It is diverging from normal explorer but would also be much nicer. The current home tab in files also feels more like home in file explorer and not this pc. This pc is also a normal shell location. It should be possible to navigate to it as well and display it with categorization?
the issue was more about this pc and the pane than a widget for home. I think we are diverging from the original intent here, I dont recall talking about widgets
This pc is also a normal shell location. It should be possible to navigate to it as well and display it with categorization?
Technically you can, but it's slow and not a very good experience.
the issue was more about this pc and the pane than a widget for home. I think we are diverging from the original intent here, I dont recall talking about widgets
I may have misunderstood the screenshots you were showing in File Explorer, my apologies. I still think we can solve the "This PC" aspect by adding more widgets to the home page and letting you choose which ones to display.
It is a good compromise if we can't implement the real shell location. I wonder however what could be done about the pane, I am lost currently due to the issue being edited a fee times. It is possible another issue overlaps now with this one
@gus33000 in more recent versions of Files, there is a dedicated sidebar section for Network drives. I know we're tracking some issues where this isn't working properly but can you confirm if the section is there?