How to enable new Gallery view for File Explorer on Windows 11

Here are the steps to try an early preview of the new Gallery entry for File Explorer on Windows 11.

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@pureinfotech
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File Explorer Gallery entry

UPDATED 4/10/2023: On Windows 11 build 23430, you can enable an updated preview of the “Gallery” page for File Explorer. This new entry on the left navigation page doesn’t introduce anything visually new. Instead, it’s an integration similar to the “Photos” app.

The new entry includes a new view for pictures identical to the view available in the Photos app, showing a preview of images with larger thumbnails, hiding the file name, and using chronological sorting. On the new “Gallery” page, you can use the “Manage Locations” option from the “Collection” menu to add or remove folders with images. The default settings only show the contents of the “Pictures” folder.

If you open the “Details” pane view, the experience has also been updated. Although it’s not functional at this time, selecting a file will give you access to the “Properties” page.

File Explorer is also getting a new “Consideration” section for computers enrolled using Azure Active Directory (AAD) and a new home page, which may or may not work for everyone.

The “Gallery” entry and the other File Explorer changes are currently hidden features that you must enable manually (via @PhantomOcean3) using a third-party tool called “ViveTool” created by Rafael Rivera and Lucas on GitHub, to enable the option on your computer.

This guide will teach you the steps to turn on this new feature on Windows 11.

Enable Gallery in File Explorer on Windows 11

To enable File Explorer Gallery, use these steps:

  1. Open GitHub website.

  2. Download the ViveTool-vx.x.x.zip file to enable the Gallery entry.

  3. Double-click the zip folder to open it with File Explorer.

  4. Click the Extract all button.

    Extract ViveTool files

  5. Click the Extract button.

  6. Copy the path to the folder.

  7. Open Start.

  8. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

  9. Type the following command to navigate to the ViveTool folder and press Enter:

    cd c:\folder\path\ViveTool-v0.x.x

    In the command, remember to change the path to the folder with your path.

  10. Type the following command to enable the updated Gallery page and press Enter:

    vivetool /enable /id:41040327

  11. Type the following command to enable the updated File Explorer (XAMLFEHome) page and press Enter:

    vivetool /enable /id:41076133

  12. Type the following command to enable the WASDK File Explorer, XAMLFolderViewSupport, and MTestUx15, and press Enter:

    vivetool /enable /id:40729001,42105254,42295138

  13. Type the following command to enable the “Considerations” section for Azure Active Directory (AAD) devices and press Enter:

    vivetool /enable /id:38664959,40064642,41070380

  14. (Optional) Type the following command to enable the new Details pane for File Explorer and press Enter:

    vivetool /enable /id:38613007,42105254

  15. Restart the computer.

Once you complete the steps, File Explorer will now include a “Gallery” entry to access your pictures on Windows 11.

If you change your mind, you can revert the changes with the same instructions, but in step 10, make sure to run the vivetool /disable /id:41040327,41076133,40729001,42105254,42295138,38664959,40064642,41070380,38613007,42105254 command and then restart the device.