The extra padding adds additional spaces between the items list which can increase the scroll especially when you have lots of folders and files, and may not be able to fit on a single view pane without a long scroll to the bottom. If you’re not using a touchscreen device, and have lots of folders in a view pane, you can restore the classic layout and enable compact mode. The compact mode fits a lot of items in a single view pane, by removing the extra padding and spaces between items in File Explorer. Although many new features have been added to Windows 11, the compact view isn’t new. It was initially introduced in Windows 10. To get started with enabling compact mode in Windows 11, follow the steps below:
How to turn on File Explorer compact view in Windows 11
As mentioned above, File Explorer compact mode allows for more items to fit in a small area as compared to the default layout. Here is a screenshot of File Explorer’s default layout To enable compact mode, click on the ellipse (three dots in the toolbar menu), then select Options. On the View tab, under Advanced settings, select “Decrease space between items (compact view)“. Once enabled, the result should be instant. Now File Explorer should reverse to the classic layout without the extra padding.
How to disable File Explorer compact view in Windows 11
If you change your mind about using the classic layout in File Explorer, you can reverse the changes and go back to its default layout in Windows 11. To do that, reverse the steps above by clicking on the ellipse (three dots) and selecting Options. Then uncheck the box for On the View tab, under Advanced settings, select “Decrease space between items (compact view)“. That’s it! Conclusion: This post showed you how to enable or disable compact view in File Explorer. If you find any error above, please use the comment form below to report.
