Windows 11 Explorer alternative

Anixx · Sep 19, 2023

LesFerch said:
Different embedding command lines correspond to different Explorer process modes.

The one shown in the screenshot (and below) is what you get when Explorer is started in Windows 10 mode (i.e. Control Panel):

C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe /factory,{5BD95610-9434-43C2-886C-57852CC8A120} -Embedding

The one below is what you get when you provide a folder name on the command line (i.e. a new Explorer file manager process without the desktop and taskbar):

C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe /factory,{75dff2b7-6936-4c06-a8bb-676a7b00b24b} -Embedding

An odd thing is that if you kill all Explorer processes and run one of those embedding command lines, the Explorer process starts, but no window is displayed.

Is there a line to start Explorer in Vista mode?

hdmi · Sep 19, 2023

Anixx said:
Is there a line to start Explorer in Vista mode?

It needs an OS/2 Warp mode TBH...

LesFerch · Sep 19, 2023

hdmi said:
You can reduce the delay a little bit further still. Like so:
[see #80]

Thanks for the code. I spent a lot of time analyzing and testing it. In theory, it looks like only matching window titles that are under the explorer process should be faster, but I couldn't detect any improvement. I even tried with over 200 open windows. In the end, I modified my code to do only a 100ms delay at the end of the attempt instead of a 500ms delay at the start. I think it should be as fast as your code now (although I couldn't see any difference with the previous iteration).

Other than that delay change, I just cleaned up my code to remove the repetitive bits. It's only 77 lines now.

I played around with the idea of blocking input while doing the sendkeys, because a mouse click or keystroke at that point can break it. However, the blockinput method seems to only work on 32 bit. I found some long and complicated alternative code, but decided to give up on the idea figuring that it wasn't worth the risk.

hdmi · Sep 21, 2023

LesFerch said:
Thanks for the code. I spent a lot of time analyzing and testing it. In theory, it looks like only matching window titles that are under the explorer process should be faster, but I couldn't detect any improvement. I even tried with over 200 open windows. In the end, I modified my code to do only a 100ms delay at the end of the attempt instead of a 500ms delay at the start. I think it should be as fast as your code now (although I couldn't see any difference with the previous iteration).

Other than that delay change, I just cleaned up my code to remove the repetitive bits. It's only 77 lines now.

I played around with the idea of blocking input while doing the sendkeys, because a mouse click or keystroke at that point can break it. However, the blockinput method seems to only work on 32 bit. I found some long and complicated alternative code, but decided to give up on the idea figuring that it wasn't worth the risk.

Checking if the name of the process equals explorer doesn't help to reduce the delay. Rather, it helps to mitigate the potential risk of bringing the wrong window to the foreground before proceeding with the SendKeys action.

So, the main difference is that the event handler only matches window titles of those specific windows that have not already been opened, as the OnWindowOpened event handler only gets executed each time when a window opens─which triggers the WindowOpenedEvent event. Whereas your code just starts looking for the window titles right away. (Even, if the window hasn't opened yet, in which case it could potentially cause unnecessary overhead especially in situations where it often tends to take a few moments before the window opens so that, as a result of this it opens even slower still.)

I just noticed a mistake in my code BTW. The program was exiting even if the window that opened doesn't match. Here is a small correction:

Code:

using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Threading;
using System.Windows.Automation;
using System.Windows.Forms;

class Program
{
    private static string Folder;

    private static void OnWindowOpened(object src, AutomationEventArgs e)
    {
        try
        {
            var elem = src as AutomationElement;
            Process proc = Process.GetProcessById(elem.Current.ProcessId);
            if (elem != null && proc.ProcessName == "explorer")
            {
                WindowPattern windowPattern = null;
                windowPattern = elem.GetCurrentPattern(WindowPattern.Pattern) as WindowPattern;
                if (windowPattern.WaitForInputIdle(4000))
                {
                    Thread.Sleep(200);
                    for (int i=10; i>0; i--)
                    {
                        Thread.Sleep(100);
                        if (Array.Exists(new string[] { "Administrative Tools",
                                                        "Control Panel\\All Control Panel Items\\Administrative Tools",
                                                        "Windows Tools",
                                                        "Control Panel\\All Control Panel Items\\Windows Tools" },
                                         element => element == elem.Current.Name))
                        {
                            SetForegroundWindow((IntPtr)elem.Current.NativeWindowHandle);
                            SendKeys.SendWait("^{l}" + Folder + "{Enter}");
                            Process.GetCurrentProcess().Kill();
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        catch (Exception)
        {
            Process.GetCurrentProcess().Kill();
        }
    }

    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        if (args.Length > 0)
        {
            Folder = args[0];

            // Fix issue where argument is quoted and ends with backslash
            if (Folder.EndsWith("\""))
            {
                Folder = Folder.Remove(Folder.Length - 1) + "\\";
            }
        }
        else
        {
            Folder = "C:";
        }

        System.Windows.Automation.Automation.AddAutomationEventHandler(
            WindowPattern.WindowOpenedEvent,
            AutomationElement.RootElement,
            TreeScope.Children,
            OnWindowOpened);

        ProcessStartInfo startInfo = new ProcessStartInfo
        {
            FileName = "control.exe",
            Arguments = "admintools",
            RedirectStandardOutput = false,
            RedirectStandardError = false,
            UseShellExecute = true,
            CreateNoWindow = false
        };

        Process process = new Process
        {
            StartInfo = startInfo
        };

        process.Start();

        // Wait
        Thread.Sleep(10000);
    }
    [DllImport("user32.dll")]
    private static extern bool SetForegroundWindow(IntPtr hWnd);
}

As for blocking user input. Never do this without the user's consent. The user should be made aware that a program/script is running with the specific goal of performing the kind of actions that involve UI Automation techniques. But I think it's fairly safe to assume that those who intend to use this small program are those who are already familiar with that particular notion.

LesFerch · Sep 21, 2023

hdmi said:
Checking if the name of the process equals explorer doesn't help to reduce the delay. Rather, it helps to mitigate the potential risk of bringing the wrong window to the foreground before proceeding with the SendKeys action.

So, the main difference is that the event handler only matches window titles of those specific windows that have not already been opened, as the OnWindowOpened event handler only gets executed each time when a window opens─which triggers the WindowOpenedEvent event. Whereas your code just starts looking for the window titles right away. (Even, if the window hasn't opened yet, in which case it could potentially cause unnecessary overhead especially in situations where it often tends to take a few moments before the window opens so that, as a result of this it opens even slower still.)

I just noticed a mistake in my code BTW. The program was exiting even if the window that opened doesn't match.
As for blocking user input. Never do this without the user's consent. The user should be made aware that a program/script is running with the specific goal of performing the kind of actions that involve UI Automation techniques. But I think it's fairly safe to assume that those who intend to use this small program are those who are already familiar with that particular notion.

Thanks again. Your kung fu is at a considerably higher level than mine. I probably would not have spotted the minor mistake, which reinforces for me to avoid using any code I don't fully understand. I'll definitely keep your code in my collection for reference and educational purposes.

I've now updated my code to optionally use the clipboard to paste the path into the address bar. I wish there were a way to just make sendkeys.sendwait send quicker, but that looks like too much of a deep dive. In researching the issue, it looked possible to use sendkeys.send (after adding a message loop to the code), but I had no success with that.

Anyhow, I think I have it at a good enough state at this point and it's now been cleared with the Windows Defender team, so there's another reason to stop and leave it alone.

hdmi · Sep 21, 2023

LesFerch said:
Thanks again. Your kung fu is at a considerably higher level than mine. I probably would not have spotted the minor mistake, which reinforces for me to avoid using any code I don't fully understand. I'll definitely keep your code in my collection for reference and educational purposes.

I've now updated my code to optionally use the clipboard to paste the path into the address bar. I wish there were a way to just make sendkeys.sendwait send quicker, but that looks like too much of a deep dive. In researching the issue, it looked possible to use sendkeys.send (after adding a message loop to the code), but I had no success with that.

Anyhow, I think I have it at a good enough state at this point and it's now been cleared with the Windows Defender team, so there's another reason to stop and leave it alone.

I just found out that it occasionally still fails in such a way that an additional File Explorer window opens with a warning sound as a result of the SendKeys acting a little bit too soon. So, I inserted a 250ms delay, and that appears to be OK.

I also found another way to put the path into the address bar. Here is the code:

Code:

using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.IO;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Threading;
using System.Windows.Automation;
using System.Windows.Forms;

class Program
{
    private static string Folder;
    private static IntPtr fld;
    private static uint psfgaoOut;

    private static void OnWindowOpened(object src, AutomationEventArgs e)
    {
        try
        {
            var elem = src as AutomationElement;
            Process proc = Process.GetProcessById(elem.Current.ProcessId);
            if (elem != null && proc.ProcessName == "explorer")
            {
                WindowPattern windowPattern = null;
                windowPattern = elem.GetCurrentPattern(WindowPattern.Pattern) as WindowPattern;
                if (windowPattern.WaitForInputIdle(4000))
                {
                    Thread.Sleep(200);
                    for (int i=10; i>0; i--)
                    {
                        Thread.Sleep(100);
                        if (Array.Exists(new string[] { "Administrative Tools",
                                                        "Control Panel\\All Control Panel Items\\Administrative Tools",
                                                        "Windows Tools",
                                                        "Control Panel\\All Control Panel Items\\Windows Tools" },
                                         element => element == elem.Current.Name))
                        {
                            SetForegroundWindow((IntPtr)elem.Current.NativeWindowHandle);
                            Thread.Sleep(250);
                            SendKeys.SendWait("^{l}\\{Enter}");
                            SHOpenFolderAndSelectItems(fld, 0, new IntPtr[] {}, 0);
                            SendKeys.SendWait("{Enter}");
                            Process.GetCurrentProcess().Kill();
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        catch (Exception)
        {
            Process.GetCurrentProcess().Kill();
        }
    }

    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        if (args.Length > 0)
        {
            Folder = args[0];

            // Fix issue where argument is quoted and ends with backslash
            if (Folder.EndsWith("\""))
            {
                Folder = Folder.Remove(Folder.Length - 1) + "\\";
            }

            SHParseDisplayName(Path.GetFullPath(Folder), IntPtr.Zero, out fld, 0, out psfgaoOut);
            if (fld == IntPtr.Zero)
            {
                Process.GetCurrentProcess().Kill();
            }
        }
        else
        {
            fld = IntPtr.Zero;
        }

        System.Windows.Automation.Automation.AddAutomationEventHandler(
            WindowPattern.WindowOpenedEvent,
            AutomationElement.RootElement,
            TreeScope.Children,
            OnWindowOpened);

        ProcessStartInfo startInfo = new ProcessStartInfo
        {
            FileName = "control.exe",
            Arguments = "admintools",
            RedirectStandardOutput = false,
            RedirectStandardError = false,
            UseShellExecute = true,
            CreateNoWindow = false
        };

        Process process = new Process
        {
            StartInfo = startInfo
        };

        process.Start();

        // Wait
        Thread.Sleep(10000);
    }
    [DllImport("user32.dll")]
    private static extern bool SetForegroundWindow(IntPtr hWnd);

    [DllImport("shell32.dll")]
    private static extern int SHOpenFolderAndSelectItems(IntPtr pidlFolder, uint cidl, [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPArray)] IntPtr[] apidl, uint dwFlags);

    [DllImport("shell32.dll")]
    private static extern void SHParseDisplayName([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string name, IntPtr bindingContext, out IntPtr pidl, uint sfgaoIn, out uint psfgaoOut);
}

LesFerch · Sep 21, 2023

hdmi said:
I also found another way to put the path into the address bar.

Very cool! That's way beyond anything I could figure out.

There is one weird thing [revised]...

I sometimes get 2 windows (whether I run it on Windows 10 or Windows 11). Try this:

OldExplorer C:\

Or this:

OldExplorer D:\

hdmi · Sep 22, 2023

LesFerch said:
Very cool! That's way beyond anything I could figure out.

There is one weird thing [revised]...

I sometimes get 2 windows (whether I run it on Windows 10 or Windows 11). Try this:

OldExplorer C:\

Or this:

OldExplorer D:\

OK, I think I got it now... this one starts by removing any trailing combination of doublequotes and/or backslashes, and also removing any leading doublequotes. (If this produces an empty string, it just navigates to the system root by putting a simple backslash in the address bar.)

Next, it checks if the result ends with a colon, in which case it tacks on a trailing backslash to make root folders always end with a backslash.

Leading backslashes are never removed so as to avoid destroying local folderpaths that start with the \\?\ prefix and UNC network paths. These paths can't be parsed to a pointer to an item identifier list (PIDL), though. Therefore, putting such a path in the address bar is done with the SendKeys which is slower, but that still appears to work.

Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts, and/or if you found more bugs... lol

Code:

using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.IO;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Threading;
using System.Windows.Automation;
using System.Windows.Forms;

class Program
{
    private static string Folder = "";
    private static IntPtr fld;
    private static uint psfgaoOut;

    private static void OnWindowOpened(object src, AutomationEventArgs e)
    {
        try
        {
            var elem = src as AutomationElement;
            Process proc = Process.GetProcessById(elem.Current.ProcessId);
            if (elem != null && proc.ProcessName == "explorer")
            {
                WindowPattern windowPattern = null;
                windowPattern = elem.GetCurrentPattern(WindowPattern.Pattern) as WindowPattern;
                if (windowPattern.WaitForInputIdle(4000))
                {
                    Thread.Sleep(200);
                    for (int i=10; i>0; i--)
                    {
                        Thread.Sleep(100);
                        if (Array.Exists(new string[] { "Administrative Tools",
                                                        "Control Panel\\All Control Panel Items\\Administrative Tools",
                                                        "Windows Tools",
                                                        "Control Panel\\All Control Panel Items\\Windows Tools" },
                                         element => element == elem.Current.Name))
                        {
                            SetForegroundWindow((IntPtr)elem.Current.NativeWindowHandle);
                            Thread.Sleep(250);
                            if (Folder != "")
                            {
                                if (fld != IntPtr.Zero)
                                {
                                    SendKeys.SendWait("^{l}\\{Enter}");
                                    SHOpenFolderAndSelectItems(fld, 0, new IntPtr[] {}, 0);
                                    SendKeys.SendWait("{Enter}");
                                }
                                else
                                {
                                    SendKeys.SendWait("^{l}" + Folder + "{Enter}");
                                }
                            }
                            else
                            {
                                SendKeys.SendWait("^{l}\\{Enter}");
                            }
                            Process.GetCurrentProcess().Kill();
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        catch
        {
            Process.GetCurrentProcess().Kill();
        }
    }

    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        if (args.Length > 0)
        {
            Folder = args[0].TrimEnd(new [] {'\\', '\"'}).TrimStart(new [] {'\"'});
            if (Folder.EndsWith(":"))
            {
                Folder = Folder + "\\";
            }

            try
            {
                if (new DirectoryInfo(Folder).Parent != null)
                {
                    SHParseDisplayName(Path.GetFullPath(Folder), IntPtr.Zero, out fld, 0, out psfgaoOut);
                    if (fld == IntPtr.Zero)
                    {
                        Process.GetCurrentProcess().Kill();
                    }
                }
            }
            catch
            {
            }
        }

        System.Windows.Automation.Automation.AddAutomationEventHandler(
            WindowPattern.WindowOpenedEvent,
            AutomationElement.RootElement,
            TreeScope.Children,
            OnWindowOpened);

        ProcessStartInfo startInfo = new ProcessStartInfo
        {
            FileName = "control.exe",
            Arguments = "admintools",
            RedirectStandardOutput = false,
            RedirectStandardError = false,
            UseShellExecute = true,
            CreateNoWindow = false
        };

        Process process = new Process
        {
            StartInfo = startInfo
        };

        process.Start();

        // Wait
        Thread.Sleep(10000);
    }
    [DllImport("user32.dll")]
    private static extern bool SetForegroundWindow(IntPtr hWnd);

    [DllImport("shell32.dll")]
    private static extern int SHOpenFolderAndSelectItems(IntPtr pidlFolder, uint cidl, [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPArray)] IntPtr[] apidl, uint dwFlags);

    [DllImport("shell32.dll")]
    private static extern void SHParseDisplayName([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string name, IntPtr bindingContext, out IntPtr pidl, uint sfgaoIn, out uint psfgaoOut);
}

abactuon · Sep 22, 2023

Far Commander

Kees · Sep 22, 2023

That looks a lot like Norton Commander (1986-1998):

Norton Commander - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I see such a program as totally useless in a modern Windows environment.

Edit: Somewhere lower in the linked page you can read that Far Manager is based on... Norton Commander.

LesFerch · Sep 23, 2023

hdmi said:
OK, I think I got it now...

I'm still getting two windows, in some cases, with your code. Try this:

oldexplorer %appdata%

Almighty1 · Sep 23, 2023

If it were up to me, I would hope there was a file explorer replacement that would be the Windows 10/11 with updated features ofcourse equivalent of list.com/fv.com by Vernon Buerg during the DOS days in the 1980s and 1990s. Not sure how many here have used it.

Kees · Sep 24, 2023

Almighty1 said:
list.com/fv.com

My F-Secure program advices me not to visit this site!

Edit: If I use this adress in my protected VirtualBox environment, there's appearing this adress:

https://www6.list.com/?template=ARROW_3&tdfs=1&s_token=1695550806.0166180000&uuid=1695550806.0166180000&term=List%20of%20Software%20Services&term=List%20Help%20Desk%20Software&term=Generate%20List%20Of%20Leads&searchbox=0&showDomain=1&backfill=0

And that's a dead link

hdmi · Sep 27, 2023

LesFerch said:
I'm still getting two windows, in some cases, with your code. Try this:

oldexplorer %appdata%

Thanks. Yes, that seems to be the case with %userprofile% and any of its subfolders also. I doubt there is any serious interest in this particular subject so, I won't be providing a fix.

LesFerch · Sep 27, 2023

hdmi said:
Thanks. Yes, that seems to be the case with %userprofile% and any of its subfolders also. I doubt there is any serious interest in this particular subject so, I won't be providing a fix.

No problem. I'm satisfied with the version I've posted. Thanks.

Windows 11 Explorer alternative

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