Author Topic: xplorer², a powerful windows file manager and explorer replacement / alternative (Read 117080 times)

mitzevo · « **Reply #25 on:** August 15, 2007, 10:57 AM »

One feature that I have gotten very used to is double clicking on an empty area in a pane to take you up a dir (in that pane).. I find myself doing it every where now (not in x², places like save dialog boxes, etc.)

(tip: turn off "full row selection" from the options, now double click any where, except on a file name, to go up a dir!)

Another cool feature is pressing CTRL + D to get all directory sizes in detail view.. very fast!

P.S., My personal taste is a bit of the mouse and a bit of the keyboard, but I'm not hard on any "way" of traversing/navigating a computer

Dirhael · « **Reply #26 on:** August 15, 2007, 11:37 AM »

Well today I tried TC.. I wasn't impressed.. The interface resembles Win 3.1 - some thing historical.
Sure, it has a lot of followers, and is probably very fast and powerful, but still, not my cup of hot chocolate..

I had a quick look at the options/functions/features of TC.. x² seems to cover most of them that I saw

TC looks pretty awful compared to x², but of course never judge a book by its cover.. nor a program by it's interface (in most cases..)

Check the following post to see how x², DOpus and TC compare with a few things:
xplorer² blog: objectively superior file manager?
-mitzevo (August 15, 2007, 03:01 AM)

Hey, don't you come here calling my TC awful!

...seriously though, it's an acquired taste. I've always loved it for its power, which applications like X^2 and indeed most other file managers never even comes close to. Where's all that power you ask? In the plugins of course. I don't think there's anything besides making me a cup of coffee that there isn't a plugin for. It's not my primary file manager, as I do prefer to use Dopus most of the time. When I need some special tasks done however, it really is the right tool for the task. It is also a keyboard users dream come true which is nice

So, back to the ugly thing, here's my custom setup and I don't think it looks all that bad...

mitzevo · « **Reply #27 on:** August 15, 2007, 11:55 AM »

Ok - much better looking, probably the vista aspect ..

but wth am I talking about.. looks.. lol, its about power! TC has a lot of power and is one of *the* best file managers for Windows.. taking that in, I'm sorry about my remarks on TC.. I obviously haven't gotten personal with it, but that was my first impression..

Dirhael · « **Reply #28 on:** August 15, 2007, 12:22 PM »

Ok - much better looking, probably the vista aspect .. but wth am I talking about.. looks.. lol, its about power! TC has a lot of power and is one of *the* best file managers for Windows.. taking that in, I'm sorry about my remarks on TC.. I obviously haven't gotten personal with it, but that was my first impression..

-mitzevo (August 15, 2007, 11:55 AM)

No I know, it really doesn't give a good first impression with the stock settings. It's powerful even without plugins, but most functions are hidden out of sight until you start using it for a while and check the menus etc. It also doesn't help that it's configured with a ugly MS sans serif bold font by default...in fact, that's the very first thing I change after I install it as I think it's hideous!
That said, you can be thankful that you didn't install the pre-7 versions, as they looked awful without tweaking the interface (IMO at least)

mitzevo · « **Reply #29 on:** August 15, 2007, 01:17 PM »

I did change the font on at 3rd boot I think it was

I've heard alot of people say that they switched from DOpus to a "smaller" or "lighter" file manager such as XYplorer and Xplorer² because DOpus had too many features or some thing..

I tried DOpus (just to have a quick look), and it's pretty nice. Clean interface, nice icons/toolbars/etc, a lot of working space and options. Of course that's just the "looks".. but it's all I can say for now.. I don't plan on using it.. but from first impressions, it's wicked.. a bit too pricey though

- what I'm trying to say is, the GUI is streamlined, and looks good!

Xplorer², is all that I need though. For me, I feel also DOpus is too much for my needs, and x² will do just fine

allen · « **Reply #30 on:** August 15, 2007, 02:36 PM »

x2 is a great explorer replacement, I used it prior to switching to XYplorer. It's lack of portability bugged me and I found XY's default shortcuts (and menu organization) to be more intuitive -- a few other features XY has make it a better fit to me. But X2 is a great package. And, of course, there's no one complain about it having dual panes.

kalos · « **Reply #31 on:** August 16, 2007, 05:54 AM »

can you tell me please whats the best Windows Explorer replacement? but I want to fully integrate it (replace explorer.exe)

f0dder · « **Reply #32 on:** August 16, 2007, 06:43 AM »

FWIW, xplorer² standard version runs just fine off a thumbdrive - but it does use the registry for settings, so you're going to get the default settings. Not perfect, but better than nothing - I still think he should invest the (very small, if the rest of his code is sane) amount of time it would take to do a registry-or-xml-config scheme.

urlwolf · « **Reply #33 on:** August 16, 2007, 06:56 AM »

TC can be run off an USB drive too.

Darwin · « **Reply #34 on:** August 16, 2007, 09:18 AM »

Both TC 7.1 and xplorer² look great. I'm resisting the urge to reinstall the trial for TC and to install the trial for xplorer² that I downloaded... I have no need of another File Manager and yet, for some reason, I find them oddly compelling.

Armando · « **Reply #35 on:** August 16, 2007, 09:33 PM »

I find them oddly compelling.
-Darwin (August 16, 2007, 09:18 AM)

Darwin · « **Reply #36 on:** August 16, 2007, 10:15 PM »

I find them oddly compelling.
-Darwin (August 16, 2007, 09:18 AM)

-Armando (August 16, 2007, 09:33 PM)

Perhaps others find me compellingly odd?

Armando · « **Reply #37 on:** August 16, 2007, 11:23 PM »

or even compelling oddly?

Darwin · « **Reply #38 on:** August 17, 2007, 12:21 AM »

mitzevo · « **Reply #39 on:** August 17, 2007, 08:32 AM »

Darwin, it just means you have too much time on your hands

edit: ok looks like both of you have a big piece of the pie; keep it on topic pls..

Armando · « **Reply #40 on:** August 17, 2007, 10:06 AM »

YES AND I MIGHT HAEV 2!1!1!111 LOL TAHTS Y IMM TRYNG ANGLISH-2-12-YEAR-OLD-AOLAR TRANSLA2R AND HAVNG A LOK AT TEH LOLCAT BIBLA TRANSLATION!!1!!1!11 OMG LOL D3AR!!!111! LOL

Ok...enough!

edit : Definitely, wrong topic...
Sorry, I got carried away.

Lashiec · « **Reply #41 on:** August 17, 2007, 01:17 PM »

You should post about those two links in the Living Room, Armando. They're seriously something

</offtopic>

JaneDC · « **Reply #42 on:** August 19, 2007, 03:11 PM »

well, before this thread turns into the living room

theres a portable version of the pro

http://zabkat.com/x2port.htm

you have to pay for it though. wish it was like with tc.

i bought tc and x2, but im using x2 90percent of the time.

787 · « **Reply #43 on:** August 28, 2007, 04:47 PM »

Nice but I've been using Win/TotalCommander http://www.ghisler.com/ for years (since the late 90's) and I find it superior to my needs.
It's especially handy now since the advent of digital cameras and the cryptic file naming methods they employ.
I use the multi rename function to rename and numerically sequence photos. (Very fast.)
But that's not all it does, there's lots, so best you try it rather than I gaff on here.
It's not a big install and won’t splatter files all over your drive like most windows apps so is easy to remove if you don't want it.
Also it's free (the nag prompt at start up is nothing to complain about)

Darwin · « **Reply #44 on:** August 28, 2007, 06:21 PM »

Do you mean that Total Commander is free if you are willing to tolerate the nag screen? If so what you are really saying is that it is easy to use beyond the end of your trial period if you are willing to put up with the nag prompt... If you like it enough to use, throw the developer some money to keep development going!

787 · « **Reply #45 on:** August 28, 2007, 07:23 PM »

No thanks, I comply with the T&C for personal use and the prompt is only a 1 button press so it's not all that annoying.
(Unlike some other so called shareware I've seen.)
A friend did pay some money as he uses it in his business.
I'm sure that after surviving some 10+ years and over 25mil downloads that the developer must have gotten something out of it. $:-\$

Darwin · « **Reply #46 on:** August 28, 2007, 07:30 PM »

Hmmm... I thought it was shareware. Interesting, I'll take another look.

Josh · « **Reply #47 on:** August 28, 2007, 07:34 PM »

You are right, it is shareware

Total Commander is a Shareware program. This means that you can test it for a period of 30 days. After testing the program, you must either order the full version, or delete the program from your harddisk.
-Totalcommander homepage

While the developer surely has been compensated, by leaving the program on your pc past the 30 day trial (since you claim to have used it since the 90s) you are violating the TOS and not giving the author any reason to continue development.

787 · « **Reply #48 on:** August 28, 2007, 07:42 PM »

Yes that is the current version T&C, not the one in my older version.
Either way, shareware is an "honesty" commitment and there are no obligations, legal or otherwise.
I'll leave it at that as this topic is drifting off Windows exploder.

Darwin · « **Reply #49 on:** August 28, 2007, 07:50 PM »

Yes that is the current version T&C, not the one in my older version.
Either way, shareware is an "honesty" commitment and there are no obligations, legal or otherwise.
I'll leave it at that as this topic is drifting off Windows exploder.
-787 (August 28, 2007, 07:42 PM)

Fine, but you directed everyone to the website featuring the current installer (which IS shareware) - why claim that it is free for personal use when this is no longer the case? As for shareware being an honesty commitment, I wonder how you'd feel if your employer used the same attitude WRT paying your wages?