- A new menu has been spotted when you drag-and-drop files in Windows 11
- Currently only available in a (very) early version of an upcoming Windows 11 update
- Could it be enough to convince Windows 10 users to upgrade?
Microsoft is struggling to convince some people to upgrade to Windows 11 – but a new feature that’s currently being tested out could make people change their minds.
The feature is known as ‘Drag Tray’, and as Tom’s Hardware points out, it will appear when the user selects and drags a file in File Explorer, offering quick options to send the file via email, or to your smartphone.
The Drag Tray was spotted by X user phantomofearth in an early version of an upcoming Windows 11 update, known as Insider Preview Build 22635.4805.
Microsoft is experimenting with a new file sharing UI in Windows 11: the “Drag Tray”. When dragging a file, the tray shows up at the top of the screen with a drag here to share hint and lists a few apps. Has a more options button to open the share sheet. (hidden, Beta 22635.4805) pic.twitter.com/LXpkTwKZu2January 24, 2025
As you can see from the video, dragging a file from File Explorer and dropping it on an icon of an app within the Drag Tray will open up the app and automatically attach the file. It looks pretty slick, and being able to drag and drop a file from your Windows 11 PC to your smartphone could prove to be incredibly helpful.
However, judging by the video, it looks like this feature will work best with Microsoft’s own apps – it uses the Phone Link app to send files to your phone, and either Outlook or Mail to send the file via an email attachment.
This shouldn’t be too surprising, as it’s obviously easier for Microsoft to integrate new features like this with its own apps, but if you use a different email client, such as Thunderbird, then you might not get the best experience. All is not lost, however, as in the video, we can see a ‘More options’ button, which looks like it’ll allow you to choose other apps.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that this is just a short video clip without much context – so we don’t know if you’re able to choose and rearrange the apps that are displayed in the Drag Tray, or if third-party apps appear if you have them installed, and they are simply not in the video as the user only uses Microsoft apps.
When will we get it?
Another important consideration is that this looks like it’s a very early glimpse of the Drag Tray feature, and that means the finished product could look and behave a lot differently from what we see here – and that also means more apps could be supported.
It certainly looks like it could be a very useful addition to Windows 11, and if it works well, it could convince people still using Windows 10 to upgrade to the newer operating system. This is a key aim for Microsoft, as there are still a significant number of Windows 10 users who don’t want to switch, but after October 14, 2025, the company will stop supporting Windows 10 with free updates, and that could leave Windows 10 holdouts in a tricky situation.
Adding cool new features like this to Windows 11 is a much better way to convince people to move to the operating system than some of Microsoft’s more heavy-handed attempts in the past.
However, we don’t currently know when we can expect Drag Tray to arrive. As Tom’s Hardware points out, Microsoft didn’t even mention Drag Tray in its release notes for the update, and it’s currently only found by using a third-party app called ViVeTool.
This suggests that the feature is very early in development, so don’t expect it any time soon. Presumably, Microsoft will continue to work on the feature and release it to Windows Insiders for testing over the coming months, where people who have signed up to be Insiders can test it out and report back if there are any bugs or issues.
Assuming that all goes to plan, then Microsoft could roll out Drag Tray to all Windows 11 users in the future. How long that will take is anyone’s guess, and there’s also the risk that the company doesn’t continue to work on it, and quietly drops the feature altogether.
That would be a shame, as adding new features like this to make Windows 11 easier to use is the best way Microsoft can convince people to upgrade from Windows 10 – and it’ll also benefit those of us who are already using Windows 11.
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matthew.hanson@futurenet.com (Matt Hanson)
