Windows 11 Finally Revamps the 30‑Year‑Old Property Dialog

For nearly 30 years the classic Windows property dialog – opened by right‑clicking a file and selecting “Properties” – has been based on the Windows 95‑era comctl32.dll common‑controls library, with only minor visual tweaks. In the latest Windows 11 preview, Microsoft replaces the entire shell with a WinUI 3 implementation, giving the dialog native dark‑mode support and a modern look.

The new dialog’s “General” tab now uses WinUI’s Pivot style header with an accent‑color indicator bar. The “Restore” button adopts the AccentButtonStyle, and checkboxes are rendered with WinUI 3’s rounded style, aligning the dialog with the overall Windows 11 design language.

Many third‑party utilities add their own tabs to the property dialog via the IShellPropSheetExt interface, which relies on the old HWND‑based architecture. With the dialog rebuilt in WinUI, those extensions may no longer display correctly, forcing Microsoft to devise a “reverse‑islanding” technique to embed legacy code inside the new UI, otherwise older software could lose functionality.

WinUI components have historically suffered from slow startup times, a pain point that has been highlighted in the File Explorer context‑menu experience. Microsoft acknowledges this and is working on performance optimizations for WinUI 3.

In addition to the property dialog, the classic “Run” dialog (Win+R) receives a modern overhaul. The new version must be enabled in Settings, renders about 94 ms faster than the old one, and adds a shortcut: typing ~\ jumps directly to the user’s home directory. The only current limitation is that the window cannot be freely dragged.

Other UI inconsistencies remain: the login screen’s input‑method switcher still uses a square, right‑angled design from the Windows 8 era, and the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) retains its legacy UI. Some system icons, such as folder icons, still show graphics from Windows 3.0. Core utilities like Registry Editor, Device Manager, and Disk Management continue to use outdated layouts that do not match the modern Windows 11 aesthetic.

Overall, Microsoft is gradually cleaning up these inherited UI elements, but the modernization effort is incremental. As users note, fixing old bugs often introduces new ones.