5 Easy Ways to Remove Ribbon from Windows 8 and 8.1 Explorer
If you are using Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 operating system in your computer, you might be aware of the new Ribbon UI introduced in Windows Explorer. Actually Microsoft replaced the good ol’ Command Bar (toolbar) in Windows 8/8.1 Explorer with Office 2013 style Ribbon.
Many Windows users welcomed this change, on the other hand many users were disappointed by this move. Using Command bar or classic toolbar was easier than using Ribbon in Windows Explorer and they found it a little bit difficult to click in different ribbon tabs to find their desired options.
Microsoft didn’t provide any built-in option to disable Ribbon in Windows Explorer. But there are a few ways to get rid of the Ribbon and bring old toolbar back in Windows 8/8.1 Explorer.
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We have shared many tutorials in past to remove Ribbon from Windows 8/8.1 Explorer and today in this article we are going to put them together for your convenience.
All these tricks work perfectly in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. We have tested them in many Windows 8/8.1 computers and didn’t face any problem.
So if you also want to remove Windows 8/8.1 Explorer Ribbon and want to enable the old Command Bar, follow any of these simple methods:
Table of Contents
- METHOD 1: Use Windows Explorer in Full Screen Mode
- METHOD 2: Disable Windows 8/8.1 Explorer Ribbon by Renaming DLL File
- METHOD 3: Remove Windows 8/8.1 Explorer Ribbon by Modifying DLL File
- METHOD 4: Get Rid of Windows 8/8.1 Explorer Ribbon Using Freeware
- METHOD 5: Convert Built-in Quick Access Toolbar into Classic Toolbar
METHOD 1: Use Windows Explorer in Full Screen Mode
If you don’t want to use any 3rd party software and if you don’t want to modify any system file, Registry, etc, then this is the easiest method for you to disable Ribbon in Windows 8/8.1 Explorer.
This method will not remove the Ribbon completely but you can use this trick to temporarily disable Ribbon and get old toolbar back in Windows Explorer.
You just need to press “F11” key whenever you want to get rid of Ribbon and it’ll show Windows Explorer into Full Screen mode. Now you’ll have access to old toolbar and Ribbon will no longer be visible in Windows Explorer.
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Check out following tutorial for details:
[Tip] Get Rid of Windows 8 Explorer Ribbon and Get Classic Toolbar Back
METHOD 2: Disable Windows 8/8.1 Explorer Ribbon by Renaming DLL File
This is an easy option to permanently remove Ribbon from Windows 8/8.1 Explorer. You just need to rename a DLL file “UIRibbon.dll” and it’ll completely remove Ribbon in Windows Explorer and will also restore Windows 7 style Command bar.
Check out following tutorial to get the details:
How to Disable New Ribbon UI in Windows 8 Explorer?
But this method has one drawback. If you rename the DLL file, you’ll not be able to use Paint and Wordpad programs in Windows. Since both these programs use Ribbon UI, they crash as soon as you launch them.
METHOD 3: Remove Windows 8/8.1 Explorer Ribbon by Modifying DLL File
If you use Paint and Wordpad apps and don’t want to use above mentioned method, then you can disable Windows 8/8.1 Explorer Ribbon by editing a DLL file ExplorerFrame.dll in Resource Hacker.
You just need to edit the file and remove a key section from it. It’ll permanently remove Ribbon from Windows 8/8.1 Explorer and will have no side-effects.
You can learn more about this method at following link:
The Best Method to Remove Ribbon UI from Windows 8 Explorer
METHOD 4: Get Rid of Windows 8/8.1 Explorer Ribbon Using Freeware
If you are not familiar with modifying system files, you can take help of a free software “OldNewExplorer” which can remove Ribbon from Windows 8/8.1 Explorer and can also bring many other Windows 7 style classic features back in Windows Explorer such as classical drive grouping, Details pane at bottom, etc.
You can download the software using following link:
Freeware to Bring Windows 7 Style Classic Features Back in Windows 8 Explorer
METHOD 5: Convert Built-in Quick Access Toolbar into Classic Toolbar
If you don’t want to remove Ribbon but want to have a Windows XP style classic toolbar in Windows 8/8.1 Explorer, then you can modify built-in Quick Access Toolbar in Windows Explorer to make it look and work like classic toolbar.
Check out following exclusive tutorial to learn more about this method:
Get Windows XP Style Toolbar in Windows 8 Explorer without Using Any Software
That’s all for now. If you know about any other working method to remove Ribbon from Windows 8/8.1 Explorer, feel free to share it with us. If you face any problem while using any of the above mentioned methods, please post about it in your comment. Also don’t forget to share your feedback…
Hello vg. I have accidently deleted imp files from sd card on android phone. Can i recover. Plz help.:-(
^^ You can try following:
https://www.askvg.com/recuva-download-best-free-data-recovery-software-for-windows/
Or just use Ctrl + F1 when you have windows explorer open.
😀
^^ Yeah. That and many other keyboard shortcuts are mentioned in following tutorial: 🙂
https://www.askvg.com/windows-8-hidden-secret-features-and-useful-hotkeys/
Thanx, But is there any way to remove old toolbar too
but, my quick heal total security 2015 detects the freeware- oldnewexplorer as a virus…. Any suggestions
^^ Thats a false positive. You can ignore that message and allow download.
Hi, just wondering if there is any way of removing the ribbon AND the command bar from the explorer?
[METHOD 5: Convert Built-in Quick Access Toolbar into Classic Toolbar]
i don’t want ribbon at all. not minimized, not maximized. just don’t want it because i have added quick access toolbar right in the top. i want exactly what ‘man1sh ‘ wants here –
Any idea of number of downloads of your tool?
I’m just interested in any statistics on how many people don’t like the cursed ribbon.
Any way to remove both the ribbon and command bar? So far, every website only shows how to disable one while showing the other, but never both removed.
Buenas. No me aparece la notificación de desinstalación de la usb, pero la usb se puede retirar satisfactoriamente.
I do not see the uninstall notification for the usb, but the usb can be successfully removed.
U can also use classic explorer that is included in classic shell.