
Today's Windows 1909 cumulative update fixes some of the bugs that made File Explorer search unusable since the November 2019 Update was released, but there is still more room for improvement.
With the release of Windows 10 1909, otherwise known as the November 2019 Update, Microsoft integrated Windows Search into File Explorer.
Since then, users have been reporting brief freezes and hanging issues in File Explorer, the search field becoming inaccessible, and not being able to right-click and paste text into the search field.
Today, Microsoft released the Windows 10 Cumulative Update KB4532695 and with it comes some, but not all, of the fixes for various issues users have been having.
What's been fixed
The most important fix in BleepingComputer's tests is that File Explorer no longer briefly freezes and the search field does not become unresponsive. Both of these issues previously made File Explorer and its search function frustrating to use.
This update also lets you right-click in the search field and paste text like you were able to do in previous versions of Windows 10.

Some issues remain
It is great that some of the bigger bugs have been fixed, but there is still room for improvement.
For example, when search results appear in the Windows Search drop-down box, you still are unable to delete ones that are repetitive or unwanted. This was a hoped-for addition that unfortunately did not make it into the build.

Another issue reported by Rafael Rivera, but that does not occur in our tests, is that you may need to click twice in the search field to move the carat.
Unfortunately, it's still a crummy experience.
— Rafael Rivera (@WithinRafael) January 28, 2020
For example, it takes two clicks at times to reset the caret position, stopping you dead in your tracks. pic.twitter.com/qGVJfovaCM
Finally, Rivera also reports that the search field is just a 'facade' and you need to left-click on it for it to become active so you can right-click on it.
Comments
TanyaC - 1 week ago
I hope they roll that out to 1809.. I haven't upgraded to 1909 specifically because of the multitude of bugs still in 1903/1909.
There are other bugs in explorer too. It crashes when you right click certain files on optical media, just to name one.
forum11 - 1 week ago
I wish MS would stop trying to change the UI so often. They keep attempting to turn the OS into something most people don't want, while breaking things people do want/need, and then take months to years to fix the core functionality they broke in their haste to release some new way to funnel users to Bing.
The joke is on all of us still expecting something different from Microsoft.
santiagosrevenge - 1 day ago
and hitting enter after adding the search string does not execute the search. The arrow to the right of the search box must be clicked.