Windows File explorer -- time for a new one

Hi folks
Windows file explorer seems so much rubbish these days

This one on my Test Linux machine is a zillion times better for doing anything -- moving, deleting, editing, comparing two files, checking what's in A but not in B and whats in B and not in A etc etc.


Ok the colour / theme might not be so pretty but functionality is brilliant.

C'mon Windows --that old file explorer has been around since "Pontius was a Pilot (Pilate)" !! surely time for a change - instead of silly things like emojis etc.

And please let it use the proper Win API -- the current one uses the old Win API which gives only up to 266 chars for path, directory, file name length as well in spite of windows supporting internally longer sets. Hoes up long file names when retrieving files from NAS server with long names --shows them as Dos 8.3 format --no use whatsoever.

Windows is good in lots of ways but surely time for File Explorer --R.I.P

Cheers
jimbo

lol, I've been complaining about how rubbish Windows File Explorer is since NT4/Windows95 era. Under which rock have you been living? Either that or you're a very patient man.

Hey Guys, try out a little portable app called Explorer++ Explorer++ - Features

The trouble with all those File Explorer replacement apps is, that you can't use undo (CTRL Z), when you make a mistake.
For instance if you accidently move a file or folder into some (other) folder and you dont know what folder it was.
In May 2023 I tested these apps:

• explorer++_1.3.5_x64
• FreeCommanderXE-32-public_portable
• MultiCommander_x64_Portable_(5.0.0.1888)

As far as I could find, CTRL Z does not function and for me that's much worse than accepting the poor layout of Windows File Explorer.

SlicEnDicE said:

lol, I've been complaining about how rubbish Windows File Explorer is since NT4/Windows95 era. Under which rock have you been living? Either that or you're a very patient man.

Click to expand...

Hi there

Maybe we "Scandi's or Nordic's are way ahead of the game currently.!!

I was in London recently going to Paris on a Eurostar train -- I breezed through passport control via EU electronc gates while my 2 brit colleagues were stuck in passport control for around 50 mins --and St. Pancras station isn't the most horrendous passport control site eiither and and a lot of the Brits love the "Scandi Noir" programs on their TV on Sat nights instead of stupid Quiz programs even a 7 year old could answer. Good one for example Icelandic TV show "Black sands"-- was popular even om BBC4


so even Chav Brexit Brits aren't quite yet "Beyond the Pale" -- although it will still take a few years yet to undo all the B/S on that island that's been done over the last few years.

Brexit -- believe me --Iceland is not an EU member nor has the Euro been adopted - although readily accepted - but a deal as with schengen, EEA membership and a strong NATO commitment shows what can be done, We might be tiny but we aren't going backwards.

Cheers
jimbo

Kees said:

The trouble with all those File Explorer replacement apps is, that you can't use undo (CTRL Z), when you make a mistake.
For instance if you accidently move a file or folder into some (other) folder and you dont know what folder it was.
In May 2023 I tested these apps:

• explorer++_1.3.5_x64
• FreeCommanderXE-32-public_portable
• MultiCommander_x64_Portable_(5.0.0.1888)

As far as I could find, CTRL Z does not function and for me that's much worse than accepting the poor layout of Windows File Explorer.

Click to expand...

then why not use one and just add undo move to your context menu... if its not there already... or map that command to control z with a keymapper (even powertoys can do that)

Kees said:

As far as I could find, CTRL Z does not function and for me that's much worse than accepting the poor layout of Windows File Explorer.

Click to expand...

It all depends on how one uses his computer as to what works best for them. I'm embarrassed to say it but I've never used CTRL Z in my life. Honestly, I don't remember a time I found myself in a situation I really needed to. I'm pretty careful, but if I do screw up I just manually fix it. Out of an old habit, most times I'm working with multiple instances of explorer or Explorer++. Snap layouts and tabs have been a godsend so if I do mess up I can spot it right away. The only undo redo I use is in Word which has the functions built in. When one is old school it's hard to change habit.

Wait until you get older. Because of my age, mistakes happen more than I like!
My hands simply don't always do what my brains tell them to do...

dacrone said:

then why not use one and just add undo move to your context menu... if its not there already... or map that command to control z with a keymapper (even powertoys can do that)

Click to expand...

I just did a quick test in explorer++ (in my VirtualBox Win11): it's not already in the context menu and I would not know how to add that. Can search for that of course (and certainly will find a way).
Besides that: if you have a habit of at least 30 years of CTRL Z, you can't change it just like that.

Keymapper: maybe an idea, but would have to look into it.
May be I will do that some day.

Edit: Did another quick test: in Explorer++ there is a 'undo' in the menu, but it does not function if you move or delete a file.
You simply can't click that menu entry.
So a keyboard mapping won't help, I think...

This will do for me, I stay with build-in File Explorer and hope the next version 23H2 will bring some changes.

Edit 2:
Undo does function if you (for instance) change the name of a folder. Via the menu and via CNTR Z.
But when moving or deleting files it does not!