Windows update changed folder navigation and you can no longer see the filepath, how to change it back?

Question

Standard win 11 64 bit.

This happened right after a windows update about a month ago.

I really don't like this change, everything that is at the top of this menu screen is overly inflated like word perfect which is a lot of stuff that your basic home users don't need for basic folder/file navigation, all the stuff at the top is now basically everything that you could already access with a simple Right Click of the mouse. Why anyone would need all this when you're just trying to navigate through your basic folders is unknown to me.

((I do not want this^))

Any way to change it back to look like the below? I don't care if I need to uninstall the update, this is extremely inconvenient. Now the only way to navigate that I'm aware of , is to use alt left or right to move up or down a single navigation step. Which is very annoying if I want to just move to a new folder entirely.

((I want it like this again.^))

This was simple, easy, and you could move back and forth between folders using that navigation bar in addition to simply copy/pasting the file path for quick use like if you needed the filepath for modding a game installation folder.

Answer 1

Okay so I believe I've narrowed down the problem to a program called StarttoBack which is a program used to change the windows layout to be more in line with its previous versions as I strongly hated the conflated and inflated look and functionality of Win 11's design choices. Ironically, it must have pushed an update around the same time windows pushed one so I erroneously perceived the windows update to be the culprit since, often, it is. Lol.

Answer 2

Thank you for your swift reply Emily.

Below is a screenshot of the information you requested.

Since you have expressed this is not a normal layout for windows 11, I am curious if there is another program on my computer that is responsible for changing the layout. I did use a program that reverted my Win 11 layout to be more in-line with older versions of windows due to my extreme dislike for the basic windows 11 layouts and functionality in general.

Answer 3

Thank you for the update. I was suspecting third party UI tool and was thinking of suggesting a clean boot to narrow that down, but looks like you beat me to it.

Answer 4

Hello, this is Emily.

For the full path, you can go to File Explorer > Options > View tab, there's a check box for "display the full path in title bar". Make sure t hat box is checked.

As for t he layout and interface, I am surprised to see what you have because that's not what it should look like for the latest Windows 11. Mine is not like that at all.

Can you type winver in the search on the taskbar and press enter to launch a pop up window. When it is launched, can you show me the screenshot. I need to be able to read the Windows 11 version/build number. Thanks!