Hi there Microsoft. 

Many of my end users say they “hate SharePoint” .. but in discussing it with them, it’s clear that there is one main reason that many people much prefer using File Explorer than the browser view for managing files and folders. 

Since Windows 3.1, and for every version including the current, file explorer has always had a folder pane on the left, which allows you to expand or contract a folder tree to expose multiple subfolders – which allows a user to easily drag and drop a file or folder from one location to another. 

Sure, they can click on the 3 dots, or select the item, and then use copy/move, and browse to the new location, but … that seems cumbersome to many end-users compared to what they are used to in the Windows ui. 

We are trying to get away from using the “sync” functionality to put SharePoint sites into people’s file explorer, and encourage them to instead use the browser view of their SP site shared Documents. 

I fail to understand why Microsoft wouldn’t include a core file management functionality which has existed in its all of its gui operating systems for over 30 years, into the modern SharePoint. 

It can’t possibly be hard to add the option for a folder view panel when browsing SharePoint documents in a browser, which you can expand and contract … 

– if possible they could even access the Documents folders of multiple SharePoint sites which they have access to within the same tenant, so they can easily drag and drop files between sites’ libraries. 

Please consider giving your users this option and adding this feature. 

Thank you.

​Hi there Microsoft. Many of my end users say they “hate SharePoint” .. but in discussing it with them, it’s clear that there is one main reason that many people much prefer using File Explorer than the browser view for managing files and folders. Since Windows 3.1, and for every version including the current, file explorer has always had a folder pane on the left, which allows you to expand or contract a folder tree to expose multiple subfolders – which allows a user to easily drag and drop a file or folder from one location to another. Sure, they can click on the 3 dots, or select the item, and then use copy/move, and browse to the new location, but … that seems cumbersome to many end-users compared to what they are used to in the Windows ui. We are trying to get away from using the “sync” functionality to put SharePoint sites into people’s file explorer, and encourage them to instead use the browser view of their SP site shared Documents. I fail to understand why Microsoft wouldn’t include a core file management functionality which has existed in its all of its gui operating systems for over 30 years, into the modern SharePoint. It can’t possibly be hard to add the option for a folder view panel when browsing SharePoint documents in a browser, which you can expand and contract … – if possible they could even access the Documents folders of multiple SharePoint sites which they have access to within the same tenant, so they can easily drag and drop files between sites’ libraries. Please consider giving your users this option and adding this feature. Thank you.  Read More

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