Windows 11 Explorer alternative


LesFerch said:
@Fabler2 and @hdmi Perhaps I gave the wrong impression. It's just a 67KB portable executable that launches Explorer via the Control Panel. I'm not asking for a long term commitment, but just a quick test to confirm it works on computers other than my own. It's literally a quick download and double-click. Should take less than a minute.
Click to expand...
Most probably the .exe is fine but Defender is complaining so it has been removed 🤷‍♂️

Will leave it removed.

DewmybNOAO.png
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home & Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen™ 7 7730U
    Motherboard
    M1605YA
    Memory
    15.0GB Dual-Channel DDR4 @ 1596MHz (22-22-22-52)
    Graphics Card(s)
    512MB ATI AMD Radeon Graphics (ASUStek Computer Inc)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (1920x1200@60Hz) - P1 PLUS (1920x1080@59Hz)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1200
    Hard Drives
    953GB Western Digital WD
    PSU
    45 Watts
    Mouse
    Lenovo Bluetooth.
    Internet Speed
    500 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ACER NITRO
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5800H / 3.2 GHz
    Motherboard
    CZ Scala_CAS (FP6)
    Memory
    32 GB DDR4 SDRAM 3200 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 6 GB GDDR6 SDRAM
    Sound Card
    Realtek Audio. NVIDIA High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" LED backlight 1920 x 1080 (Full HD) 144 Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 (Full HD)
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2TB NVMe M.2
    PSU
    180 Watt, 19.5 V
    Mouse
    Lenovo Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    500 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Strix
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook
Fabler2 said:
Most probably the .exe is fine but Defender is complaining so it has been removed 🤷‍♂️
Click to expand...

Yes, that's a false positive, but I'm not seeing any issues with Defender on any of my test machines. Are your definitions up to date?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10/11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home & Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen™ 7 7730U
    Motherboard
    M1605YA
    Memory
    15.0GB Dual-Channel DDR4 @ 1596MHz (22-22-22-52)
    Graphics Card(s)
    512MB ATI AMD Radeon Graphics (ASUStek Computer Inc)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (1920x1200@60Hz) - P1 PLUS (1920x1080@59Hz)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1200
    Hard Drives
    953GB Western Digital WD
    PSU
    45 Watts
    Mouse
    Lenovo Bluetooth.
    Internet Speed
    500 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ACER NITRO
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5800H / 3.2 GHz
    Motherboard
    CZ Scala_CAS (FP6)
    Memory
    32 GB DDR4 SDRAM 3200 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 6 GB GDDR6 SDRAM
    Sound Card
    Realtek Audio. NVIDIA High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" LED backlight 1920 x 1080 (Full HD) 144 Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 (Full HD)
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2TB NVMe M.2
    PSU
    180 Watt, 19.5 V
    Mouse
    Lenovo Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    500 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
What's the difference between Win10 Explorer and Win11 Explorer? At least in Win11 22H2 there is no difference.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Anixx said:
What's the difference between Win10 Explorer and Win11 Explorer? At least in Win11 22H2 there is no difference.
Click to expand...
You should see many interface differences and there are also functional differences, such as setting the folder type for an entire folder tree does not work on the Win11 Explorer.

Can you post a screenshot of each from your machine?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10/11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer
LesFerch said:
You should see many interface differences and there are also functional differences, such as setting the folder type for an entire folder tree does not work on the Win11 Explorer.

Can you post a screenshot of each from your machine?
Click to expand...
I never used Windows 10, but the Explorer in Windows 11 is roughly the same as in Windows 8.1
I really do not know what is meant by "setting folder type". I would like to know what is meant.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Here's a screenshot of the Windows 11 Explorer:
1694884460497.png

Here's a screenshot of the Windows 10 Explorer on Windows 11 accessed via the Control Panel:
1694884551120.png

Here's the dialog where you can set the folder type (aka folder kind):
1694884796099.png

The option "Also apply this template to all subfolders" does not work on the Windows 11 Explorer. On a USB drive (that does NOT mount as a "local disk") the subfolders will remain as type "General items". And on a "local disk" such as C:, you can not override the automatically selected folder type (which resets every time you open a folder causing performance issues on some folders).

And for those who say "it works for me on Windows 11", that's because you have a mod, such as StartAllBack or Explorer Patcher, installed that makes Windows 11 use the Windows 10 Explorer code.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10/11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer
Fabler2 said:
Yes.
Click to expand...
Is Smart App Control turned on? It's off on all my machines, grayed out, and apparently can't be enabled without reinstalling Windows:
1694885386160.png

Edit: Please let me know if that option is on, but my understanding is that this should only block unsigned Exes. My Exe is signed with a valid certificate, so the block on your machine is really bugging me. It falsely claims a trojan which I have only seen before with very old definitions. Very strange.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10/11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer
LesFerch said:
Is Smart App Control turned on? It's off on all my machines, grayed out, and apparently can't be enabled without reinstalling Windows:


Edit: Please let me know if that option is on, but my understanding is that this should only block unsigned Exes. My Exe is signed with a valid certificate, so the block on your machine is really bugging me. It falsely claims a trojan which I have only seen before with very old definitions. Very strange.
Click to expand...
It's off.

1694890563382.png1694890659401.png
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home & Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen™ 7 7730U
    Motherboard
    M1605YA
    Memory
    15.0GB Dual-Channel DDR4 @ 1596MHz (22-22-22-52)
    Graphics Card(s)
    512MB ATI AMD Radeon Graphics (ASUStek Computer Inc)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (1920x1200@60Hz) - P1 PLUS (1920x1080@59Hz)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1200
    Hard Drives
    953GB Western Digital WD
    PSU
    45 Watts
    Mouse
    Lenovo Bluetooth.
    Internet Speed
    500 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ACER NITRO
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5800H / 3.2 GHz
    Motherboard
    CZ Scala_CAS (FP6)
    Memory
    32 GB DDR4 SDRAM 3200 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 6 GB GDDR6 SDRAM
    Sound Card
    Realtek Audio. NVIDIA High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" LED backlight 1920 x 1080 (Full HD) 144 Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 (Full HD)
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2TB NVMe M.2
    PSU
    180 Watt, 19.5 V
    Mouse
    Lenovo Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    500 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
LesFerch said:
And on a "local disk" such as C:, you can not override the automatically selected folder type (which resets every time you open a folder causing performance issues on some folders).
Click to expand...
I wonder why this function is needed? I can set the view options in any folder and it gets remembered, I never used that "folder type" thing.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Anixx said:
I wonder why this function is needed? I can set the view options in any folder and it gets remembered, I never used that "folder type" thing.
Click to expand...
Let's say you have a folder with dozens of subfolders. You cannot set a view for an entire folder tree, so, if you want the same view for all those subfolders, you would have to set them one at a time.

However, you can set the folder type for an entire folder tree (on Windows 10) and that will apply the same view to all of those folders. That's what does not work with an unmodified Win11 Explorer.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10/11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer
Anixx said:
The only difference is command bar style, which is switched by a checkbox in Explorer Patcher or in registry.
Click to expand...
As I mentioned, there are functional differences as well (that may not matter to you). Another one is the ability to work with the "offline files and folders" feature.

Also note that when you use a tool, such as EP, to change the command bar to the Windows 10 style ribbon, it switches you to the Windows 10 Explorer code. That's why the option to set the folder type for a whole tree works again after using EP or StartAllBack.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10/11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer
LesFerch said:
Also note that when you use a tool, such as EP, to change the command bar to the Windows 10 style ribbon, it switches you to the Windows 10 Explorer code. That's why the option to set the folder type for a whole tree works again after using EP or StartAllBack.
Click to expand...
Hmm. I think command bar and folder type features should not influence each other. EP does not switch to use "old code" systemwide, it switches on and off certain features.
Maybe it is aware about folder type bug and fixes it, I do not know, but it is not because it switches all the explorer to "old code".
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
In most cases, depending on the software, it has nothing to do with switching/swapping code..., it's simply loading an alternative shell, or stylesheet by way of a guest dll...

0005218.png

Heck, you can still drum up the old UWP File Explorer from the bowels of Windows..., of course, it's probably governed by an app manifest but, it's mounted via Explorer...

0005217.png
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Strix
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook
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