On Monday, Microsoft unveiled the redesigned Windows Explorer user interface, which uses the ribbon approach like the Office-style user interface and offers many benefits to the end user.

Channel	Publish Date	Thumbnail & View Count	Actions
CNET	2011-08-30 16:45:45	14,246 Views	View on YouTube View Channel

Loaded: Windows 8 Explorer gets the Ribbon

This is not as big a surprise as many Microsoft demonstration videos and leaks, it has been circulating on the Internet for several months, showing parts of the redesigned Explorer. But now it's official: the software maker plans to integrate the ribbon style into the entire Windows Explorer interface to make it easier and faster for the user to complete the required tasks. There are over 200 commands in Windows Explorer, but only 10 of these commands account for 81.8% of the total usage – if you want to know, they are: Paste, Properties, Copy, Delete, Rename, Refresh, Cut, New Menu, Command Bar and New.

Essentially, Microsoft's goal is to optimize Explorer for administrative tasks by uncovering hidden commands that many users may not even know exist; create a streamlined command experience by bringing the most commonly used commands to the forefront of the interface so users don't have to spend extra time finding them; grouping commands in predictable places based on context; and displaying relevant information exactly when the user needs it. And third, by retaining Explorer functionality and bringing back relevant and requested features from good old Windows XP – WOW!

"We evaluated several UI command options, including enhanced versions of the Vista/Windows 7 command bar, Windows 95/Windows XP-style toolbars and menus, several entirely new UI approaches, and the Office-style Ribbon menu. Of these, the Ribbon approach offered advantages consistent with our goals," says Microsoft program manager Alex Simons in the article in the new Building Windows 8 blog.