Changelog

Here's the changelog for Explorer++. You can also view the complete commit history.

Version 1.4.0[29 January 2024]

New features
  • The bookmarks system has been rewritten. The updated system has the following changes from the previous system:
  • Bookmarks are now managed in a very similar way to how they're managed in web browsers such as Chrome and Firefox. Bookmarks can be added to one of three top-level folders:
    • Bookmarks toolbar
    • Bookmarks menu
    • Other bookmarks
  • The add bookmark and manage bookmark dialogs are more functional than their equivalents in the previous version. For example, the manage bookmarks dialog allows items to be renamed directly (rather than by opening the edit bookmark dialog) and shows an appropriate context menu for bookmark folders in the treeview.
  • Bookmarks can now be copied/pasted.
  • When a bookmark is copied, the location of the bookmark is also copied as plain text. This makes it possible to paste the location into other applications.
  • Bookmarks can now be dragged and dropped between the bookmark windows.
  • Bookmarks on the bookmarks toolbar can now be arranged via drag and drop.
  • Right-clicking an item in the dropdown shown when clicking a folder on the bookmarks toolbar now shows the appropriate context menu.
  • In addition to being able to bookmark the current tab, it's also possible to bookmark all open tabs.
  • When a bookmark is displayed, the icon for the associated folder will be used (rather than a generic icon).
  • When right-clicking a bookmark folder, it's possible to open all child bookmarks in new tabs.
  • A number of issues present in the previous system are no longer relevant. For example:
    • The bookmark menu wasn't being built correctly (folders could be shown with the wrong name).
    • Selecting "Bookmark This Tab..." from the dropdown shown when clicking a folder on the bookmarks toolbar had no effect.
    • "Open" and "Open in New Tab" items would be shown when right-clicking a folder on the bookmarks toolbar, but selecting them would have no effect.
    • Neither the bookmarks toolbar nor the bookmarks menu would update when a bookmark was moved up/down.
    • The bookmarks menu wasn't updated when a bookmark was updated.
  • The bookmark description field has been removed.
  • Settings are now automatically saved every 30 seconds. This helps to prevent recent tabs or other settings from being lost if the application crashes.
  • The default icons used by the application have been updated. Additionally, a second set of Windows 10 style icons have been added. It's possible to switch between the two icon sets via Tools > Options > General > Icon theme.
  • Added partial support for high DPI displays.
  • It's now possible to reopen a recently closed tab using File > Reopen Recent Tab. The most recently closed tab can be reopened using Ctrl+Shift+T.
  • The display window can now be displayed on the right. Previously, it was always displayed at the bottom.
  • Support for the "Date Deleted" and "Original Location" recycle bin columns has been implemented.
  • A context menu is now shown when right-clicking the empty space in the tab bar.
  • When renaming a file, it's possible to move to the next item by pressing tab. Shift+tab can now be used to move to the previous item.
  • Toolbar buttons are now available for the following actions:
    • Split file
    • Merge files
    • Close tab
Bug fixes
  • The way in which column results and file icons/thumbnails are retrieved has been updated. This update brings a number of advantages:
    • Because of the way in which column result/icons/thumbnails were retrieved previously, it was possible for the application to crash if a navigation occurred while one of these items was being retrieved. Navigating to a different directory or closing a tab while results are being retrieved should now have no negative effects.
    • Column details are only retrieved for items that are visible (rather than all items).
    • Previously, it was possible for a user interface update to be done after a navigation had occurred. That is, column data for an item in a previous folder would be inserted into the listview for the current folder. This is no longer possible.
    • Previously, if an item was moved (within the listview) or deleted, it was possible for the wrong item to be updated once a column result/icon/thumbnail had been retrieved. This is no longer possible.
  • When right-clicking on the listview background in Windows 10, Explorer++ would crash. To resolve this, the OneDrive shell extension is now ignored when showing the menu. See #35.
  • tems in virtual folders (e.g. library folders) can now be renamed and deleted.
  • Items can now be copied to/moved to virtual folders (using the "Copy To Folder"/"Move To Folder" functionality).
  • New folders can now be created in virtual folders.
  • Fixed issue with date conversion. Previously, dates would be converted in the current time zone, rather than the time zone in effect at the time being converted.
  • Fixed an issue that caused taskbar thumbnails (shown on Windows 7 and above) to not always be displayed correctly. See #55.
  • When renaming a file, it's possible to press tab to put the next file into edit mode. On Windows 10, pressing tab would select the next file, but it would not go into edit mode. Fixed. See #50.
  • Previously, when creating a file via the new menu in Windows 10, the file would not be put into edit mode. Fixed. See #48.
  • The Explorer++ icon shown in the volume mixer was larger than it should have been. Fixed. See #24.
  • Under certain conditions, switching to a tab using the taskbar thumbnails would result in the wrong tab being selected. Fixed.
  • Under certain conditions, refreshing a tab via the tab right-click menu would result in the wrong tab being refreshed. Fixed.
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when switching directories.
  • When grouping items by date created/modified/accessed, the items weren't being properly sorted into their groups (as month/year boundaries weren't being handled). Fixed.
  • Previously, when a date was formatted as a friendly date, year/month boundaries weren't being taken into account. This meant that a date would only be shown as "Yesterday" if it was in the same month/year as the current date. Fixed.
  • When adding or removing a column via the listview header context menu, the sort by/group by menus wouldn't be updated. Fixed.
  • When opening the set file attributes dialog, the creation date shown was incorrect. Fixed.
  • The set file attributes dialog wasn't correctly handling the case where an attribute checkbox was indeterminate. Fixed.
  • There was an issue that meant that the group sorting direction in one tab could affect the group sorting order in other tabs. Fixed.
  • When adding the folders button to the main toolbar (either by resetting the toolbar or by adding that individual button), the state of the button wouldn't be set correctly. Even if the folders pane was shown, the button wouldn't be checked. Fixed.
  • When using the "list" view mode, right-clicking the empty space in a row would inconsistently result in the item being selected. Now, an item is only selected if you right-click its filename label.
  • Some columns were effectively skipped over when saving data to the XML config file. Additionally, if one of these columns appeared first, the application would crash when exiting. Fixed.
  • When loading from the XML config file, the initial color in the color rule dialog wasn't been loaded correctly. Fixed.
  • There was an issue that prevented labels in the treeview from being unfolded. Now, if you move the mouse over a treeview label that's only partially visible, the rest of the label will be shown in a tooltip.
  • Fixed a number of memory leaks.
Misc
  • Windows XP and Vista are no longer supported. Windows 7 is now the minimum supported version.
  • All menus are now drawn in the standard system style, rather than a custom style.
  • More detailed help information is now available when starting Explorer++ from the command line with the --help flag. Each of the available options is listed and briefly described. The names of some of the options have also been updated.
  • Starting a command prompt via the file menu opens a command prompt in the current directory. Starting an admin command prompt now does the same thing (rather than opening in the default directory).
  • The format used to display dates has been updated. Previously, the date and time were separated by a comma. Now, they're separated by a space.
  • Infotips for files/folders are now retrieved on a background thread. This stops the application from hanging when retrieving the infotip for a large folder.
  • Listview icons are now cached. This helps to avoid the flickering that can occur when refreshing a directory or going back/forward (the apparent flickering occurs as the default file/folder icons are replaced with the actual file/folder icons).
  • Due to the way in which listview items were deleted when navigating away from a folder, navigations away from large folders could be slow. This process should now be quicker.
  • The way in which the document summary fields (e.g. title, subject) are retrieved has been updated. This means that the fields should now be displayed for more file types (e.g. Word documents).
  • When selecting a file path with spaces in the application toolbar button dialog, the path is now quoted (which is necessary for paths with spaces).
  • An error message is now shown when opening an item on the application toolbar fails.
  • The columns in the select columns dialog are now sorted by name, with the current set of columns appearing at the top of the list.
  • When grouping by file extension, the application would attempt to retrieve the extension for both files and folders. Now, the extension will only be retrieved for files. Folders will be grouped together in a "Folder" group.
  • The order in which view modes are cycled (when clicking the "Views" button on the toolbar or scrolling the mouse wheel while holding ctrl) has been reversed to match the order used in Windows Explorer.
  • A third-party credits dialog has been added, which can be opened via the about dialog.

Version 1.3.5[3 February 2013]

New features
  • Added support for another drag and drop format (which is used, for example, by Outlook 2003 when copying attachments).
Bug fixes
  • The 'Open in New Tab' menu item was not always been added to the folder context menu. Fixed.
  • Previously, file times could not be set for a directory using the set file attributes dialog. Fixed.
  • A UTF-16 LE BOM is now written when pasting text (as a file).
Misc
  • Logging is now available. It can be enabled using the following command:
    explorer++.exe -enable_logging
    Information will then be saved to Explorer++.log, which will be created within the same directory as the executable.

Version 1.3.4[12 November 2011]

New features
  • Implemented the media protection column.
Bug fixes
  • If the search dialog was closed while searching, the application would crash. Fixed.
  • When clicking the 'Close' button while searching (in the search dialog), the dialog would not close until the search was finished. It could also result in a crash. Fixed.
  • Fixed multithreaded bug in the search dialog.
  • In certain areas (such as the search dialog), Unicode characters were not been converted to lowercase correctly. Fixed.

Version 1.3.3[29 October 2011]

Bug fixes
  • The media duration column was previously showing times in 100-nanosecond units. Updated to hh:mm:ss.
  • The processed search string (rather than original search string) was been stored in the search dialog. Fixed.
Misc
  • When searching using the search dialog, if the filename entered already appears in the history list, it will simply be swapped to the first position (rather than been re-entered).
  • The number of history entries stored for the filename field in the search dialog is now capped at 20.

Version 1.3.2[11 October 2011]

Bug fixes
  • Under some circumstances, a copy and paste/drag and drop operation would fail (when copying a message from Outlook 2010, for example).
  • Fixed bug in customize colors dialog (entries were not been moved up/down correctly).
  • When renaming a file in the listview with IME turned on, text was been overwritten (because the text selection was modified). Fixed.
  • Links to zip files will now be opened in an external program, if 'Open zip files in Explorer++' is unchecked.

Version 1.3.1[5 September 2011]

New features
  • The sort mode and direction are now saved in the search dialog.
Bug fixes
  • The image in the about dialog would not be shown when a translation was loaded. Fixed.
Misc
  • The help file (if present) can now be launched from the Help|Help menu. It must be named "Explorer++ Help.chm" and be in the same folder as the Explorer++ executable.
  • Updated 'Always hide the link (.lnk) extension' option to read 'Hide the link (.lnk) extension'.

Version 1.3[20 August 2011]

New features
  • The complete state of most dialogs are now saved.
  • Most dialogs can now be resized.
  • Significant improvements to split file dialog.
  • Context menu extensions are now shown on the main right-click context menu.
  • Enhanced undo functionality. Multiple rename operations (such as those performed by the mass rename dialog) can now be undone as a single set.
  • 'Delete permanently' button added to main toolbar.
  • Added 'Close Tabs to the Right' entry to the tab right-click menu.
  • The listview hover time can now be set by the user.
  • Right-clicking search dialog results now brings up the file context menu.
  • Search dialog results can now be sorted by name/path.
  • Added 'Case sensitive' option to filter dialog.
  • The folder navigation sound can now be disabled via the options dialog.
  • The search dialog can now search using regular expressions. A case insensitive flag has also been added.
  • Deleting an item in the treeview will select the parent folder prior to deletion (allowing the previously selected folder to be deleted).
  • Right-clicking on the root desktop folder in the treeview now brings up its context menu.
  • Trailing spaces are now trimmed when renaming an item in the listview/treeview.
Bug fixes
  • In Windows 7 when closing a tab, the wrong taskbar preview pane would be closed (i.e. the taskbar preview pane for another tab would be closed instead).
  • Fixed a crash that occurred when collapsing a node in the treeview.
  • When single-click activation was enabled, and an area in the listview was selected, any file under the mouse when it was released would be opened. Fixed.
  • Fixed 'Open Parent in New Tab' bug (parent of current tab would always be opened, regardless of which tab was clicked).
  • When opening a folder in a locked tab, the newly created tab was not switched to correctly (which caused directory modifications to fail, for example). Fixed.
  • Fixed toolbar bug (when a button was added or removed from a toolbar, the length of the toolbar would be reset, causing it to resize).
  • Fixed listview gridline issue (Windows XP only).
  • Under certain circumstances, translation DLL's would still be loaded, even if they did not match the current version. Fixed.
  • Filename extension is now hidden correctly (if required) in details view.
  • Size column now remains right aligned after sorting.
  • When allow multiple instances was not set, and a new instance was started, it would not restore the previous window correctly if it was minimized. Fixed.
  • Summary information stream codepage wasn't been checked. Fixed.
  • Fixed control panel handling bug.
  • Fixed drag and drop memory leak.
  • Fixed bugs in mouse wheel handler.
  • Fixed bug in options dialog (apply button not enabled when changing size selection in files and folders tab).
Misc
  • Version number now takes the form: Major.Minor.Micro.Revision.
  • Improved drag and drop interoperability.
  • File sizes are now formatted according to the current system locale.
  • When collapsing the direct parent of the current folder in the treeview, the listview selection would change to the parent. Now works when collapsing multiple levels.
  • The 'Size On Disk', 'Total Size', and 'Free Space' columns are now right aligned.
  • The current directory is now set when the directory or tab selection changes.
  • Updated 'Handle zip files' option to read 'Open zip files in Explorer++'.
  • The error message shown on a translation DLL version mismatch will now be shown in the target language (when possible).
  • The (main) right click context menu is no longer owner drawn.

Version 1.2[13 September 2010]

New features
  • Taskbar thumbnails are now shown for each tab in Windows 7 (this can be turned on/off by toggling 'Show taskbar thumbnails' in the Options dialog).
  • 'New Tab' added to Tasks jump list in Windows 7.
  • Numerous improvements to drag and drop/copy and paste.
  • Text on the clipboard can now be pasted as a file. The file will be given a name of the form: Clipboard Text ([datetime]).txt. This also applies to drag and drop.
  • Images on the clipboard can now be pasted as a file. The file will be given a name of the form: Clipboard Image ([datetime]).bmp. This also applies to drag and drop.
  • The contents of the address bar can now be dragged and dropped.
  • Large toolbar icons added.
  • Files can now be dropped onto existing application toolbar buttons. This will open the dropped files in that application.
  • 'Automatically synchronize treeview with main pane' option added; this setting controls whether or not the treeview will automatically stay in sync with the listview whilst browsing.
  • 'Automatically expand nodes on selection' option added; if this setting is enabled treeview nodes will automatically expand when they are selected.
  • Shift+Mousewheel down and shift+mousewheel up can now be used to browse backwards and forwards, respectively.
  • The tab bar can now be hidden when there is only one tab.
  • The tab bar can now be shown at the bottom of the listview.
  • A navigation sound is now played when entering a folder.
  • The current folder is now selected when navigating up.
  • Listview groups can now be collapsed (Vista and later).
  • Listview checkboxes can now be turned on by selecting 'Use check boxes to select items' in the Options dialog.
  • Closing the last tab will now close the main window (provided the corresponding option is selected in the Options dialog).
  • Items can now be rearranged in details view.
  • It is now possible to show file sizes in one of: Bytes/KB/MB/GB/TB/PB.
  • Ctrl+Backspace can now be used to browse to the root of a tab.
  • Shift+Double Click will now open the selected folder in a new window.
  • "Desktop", "Pictures", "Music", "Videos" and "Documents" are all now valid address bar shortcuts.
Bug fixes
  • Several dialogs weren't closing when Escape was pressed. Fixed.
  • Fixed 'Copy Universal File Paths' bug.
  • Previously, if 'Hide file extensions' was checked, the display names of both files and folders would be altered. Fixed so that only files names are altered.
  • When 'Single-click to open an item' was selected, navigation up would occur on a single click, instead of a double click. Fixed.
  • Fixed directory modification bug.
  • Fixed set file attributes dialog bug (file dates weren't been saved correctly).
  • Fixed treeview rename bug (child items not updated).
  • Fixed treeview sort bug.
  • Fixed toolbar positioning bug.
  • Fixed custom infotips bug.
Misc
  • All settings are now saved to the registry (or XML file) when 'Ok' or 'Apply' is clicked in the Options dialog.
  • The treeview no longer syncs with network/UNC paths.
  • Copied data now remains on the clipboard after Explorer++ exits.
  • Search dialog now turns patterns of the form '???' into '*???*' before searching.
  • Main window now obeys startup position information (e.g. minimized/maximized, etc).
  • Wildcard select/deselect is now case insensitive.
  • Can now scroll listview/treeview, even when it does not have focus.
  • The options dialog is now modeless.
  • Handle zip files set to false by default.

Version 1.1[5 April 2010]

New features
  • Explorer++ can now replace Windows Explorer for all folders (Vista and later only).
  • New drag and drop type supported (this will now allow files to be dropped from Outlook and url's from a web browser's address bar).
  • Column widths are now saved and restored for all tabs.
  • Added 'Save Column Layout as Default' under the 'View' menu which will save the current tabs column layout as the default.
  • Items in the treeview can now be dragged and dropped using right click.
  • Folder sizes can now be disabled on removable and network drives.
  • The privilege level can now be shown in the title bar by 'Show privilege level in title bar' in the Options dialog.
  • The extended right click menu is now shown when shift is held down and an item is right-clicked.
  • Locked tabs now display a lock icon, rather than the normal folder icon.
  • Double clicking in a tabs whitespace will now navigate to the parent folder.
  • Middle click can now be used to open items in the treeview in a new tab.
  • Middle click can now be used to open items on the bookmarks toolbar in a new tab.
  • Middle click can now be used to open items on the drives toolbar in a new tab.
Bug fixes
  • All items in the treeview are now sorted correctly.
  • Icons for the treeview are now gathered in a background thread.
  • Icon overlays are now shown in the treeview.
  • When .lnk extensions were hidden, and a file with the .lnk extension was renamed, it would lose its extension. Fixed.
  • When items were renamed, no icon overlay would be set. Fixed.
  • Under certain conditions (for example, when .lnk extensions were hidden in Windows Explorer), and a file of that type was renamed, its extension would be hidden in details view in the 'Name' column. Fixed.
  • When the system font size for menus was changed, the custom menus would be sized incorrectly. Fixed.
  • When the treeview had focus, the file action buttons on the main toolbar (cut, copy, past, delete, etc) would be incorrectly disabled. Fixed.
  • When a tab was locked (lock tab and address), it would not be possible to open a new tab. Fixed.
  • Fixed toolbar bug.
  • Fixed search bug.
  • Fixed drives toolbar issue.
Misc
  • Explorer++ will now only load translation DLL's that match the version of the main executable.
  • Updated About dialog and image.
  • Added menu image for Edit->Paste Shortcut.

Version 1.0[23 November 2009]

New features
  • It is now possible to search for files using Tools->Search.
  • Custom coloring rules can now be applied to the listview (i.e. an items text color can be set based on its filename and/or attributes).
  • Items can now be dragged using the right mouse button (listview only).
  • Tiles view now shows basic file information.
  • New tabs can now be created by double clicking in the blank space to the right of the last tab.
  • Explorer++ can now be restricted to only running one instance by deselecting 'Allow multiple instances' in the options dialog.
  • 'Large Icons' and 'Extra Large Icons' view modes added (vista and later).
  • It is now possible to browse through tabs by moving the mouse over the tab window, and scrolling with the mouse wheel.
  • Various media metadata columns added (Album, Duration, Composer, etc).
  • Columns can now be rearranged by dragging and dropping them in place.
  • Folder sizes are now included when sorting by size.
  • Universal file paths can now be copied by selecting File->Copy Universal File Paths.
  • New items can now be inserted in their sorted position by selecting 'Insert new items in their sorted position' in the options dialog.
  • System files can now be hidden by selecting 'Hide protected operating system files' within the options dialog.
  • The link (.lnk) file extension can now be hidden by selecting 'Always hide the link (.lnk) extension'.
  • Single click activation mode can now be used by selecting 'Single-click to open an item (point to select)' in the options dialog.
  • Zip files may be opened externally by deselecting 'Handle zip files' within the options dialog.
  • All tabs can now be forced to have the same width by selecting 'Force all tabs to have the same width' in the options dialog.
  • Double clicking a tab will now close it (provided 'Double click to close a tab' is selected in the options dialog).
  • Ctrl+double clicking a folder will now cause it to open in a new tab.
  • Alt+Home will now browse to the default tab folder.
  • In rename mode, F2 will now cycle between selecting an items filename, extension and filename and extension.
  • Ctrl+1...8 will now select the specified tab (between the first and eighth tab).
  • Ctrl+9 will now select the last tab.
  • In rename mode, tab will now select the next item and place it into rename mode.
  • Application toolbar buttons can now have their names hidden (so that only the icon is visible on the toolbar).
  • Right-clicking on the folder icon in the display window will now show the context menu for the selected files (or the normal right-click menu if no items are selected).
  • Ctrl+Scroll will now cycle through each of the view modes within the listview.
  • Ctrl+Pg Up and Ctrl+Pg Down as well as Ctrl+] and Ctrl+[ can now be used to select the previous and next tabs, respectively.
  • Alt+double click will now show an items properties.
Bug fixes
  • When creating a file/folder in details mode, the item would be selected, but immediately taken out of rename mode. Fixed.
  • Improved listview grouping.
  • Fixed several drag and drop bugs.
  • Improved drag and drop item repositioning.
  • Fixed cut/copy bug.
  • Fixed 'Open In New Tab' treeview bug.
  • File->Set file attributes now works for the treeview as well.
  • Folders with a total size greater than 4GB would have their size shown incorrectly when the 'Show folder sizes' option was enabled.
  • The icon modifier shown when dragging and dropping now matches the action that will take place when the item is dropped.
  • Previously, if file was been pasted into a tab, and the directory of that tab was changed, the files would continue to be added. Fixed.
  • When creating a new tab, its directory would not always be monitored. Fixed.
  • Items would not always be correctly ghosted when they were cut. Fixed.
  • When creating a new folder using the 'New Folder' button on the main toolbar, the item would not be put into rename mode if the current directory was a directory root. Fixed.
  • The 'Open new tabs next to the current one' option was not been correctly read back from the registry, causing it to lose its value between sessions. Fixed.
  • The bookmarks toolbar would not be updated when a bookmark was renamed. Fixed.
  • Fixed double click bug.
  • When switching folders, the column header in details view was not been updated.
  • When entering a folder with an ampersand (&) in its name, the ampersand would be incorrectly translated into an underscore. Fixed.
  • Fixed new menu bug.
  • Improved mass rename dialog.
Misc
  • Explorer++ will now save a minidump file in the event of a crash. This file is saved to %TEMP%.
  • Explorer++ can now be set as the default file manager by using the command: explorer++.exe -set_as_default
  • Explorer++ can now be removed as the default file manager by using the command: explorer++.exe -remove_as_default
  • Most dialogs are now centered initially, and will save various state information when closed.
  • Options dialog partially redesigned.
  • Items can now be copied, cut and pasted to/from the treeview using Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X and Ctrl+V, respectively.
  • Chevrons are now shown when toolbar buttons do not have enough room to be shown.
  • Columns (in details view) are no longer resized automatically when changing folders or refreshing.
  • Separate 'Group By' menu added, as appears in Vista onwards.
  • If a files name is only partially shown within the listview, it will be added to the files infotip.
  • There is now a confirmation dialog shown when deleting an application button.
  • Various new details shown on display window.
  • Previews on the display window will not be shown if the display window is inactive.
  • Ctrl+R can now be used to refresh a folder.
  • Ctrl+L can now be used to select the address bar.
  • Ctrl+E can now be used to duplicate a tab.
  • Left click drag and drop is now cancelled when the user clicks the right mouse button.
  • Tools > Show drive information removed.

Version 0.9.5.4[31 May 2009]

New features
  • Explorer++ can now be used in place of Explorer for filesystem folders by selecting 'Replace Explorer for filesystem folders' in the 'Options' dialog (requires Administrator privileges).
  • The positions of the main toolbars are now saved and restored between sessions.
  • Folders can now be dragged onto the bookmarks toolbar directly.
  • Files can now be dragged onto the applications toolbar directly.
  • Icons are automatically updated when a file association changes.
  • Any file that can be previewed in Explorer can now be previewed in Explorer++.
  • Pasted files are now selected upon creation (provided no other files are selected).
  • The apps key can now be used to show the main context menu.
  • Enabled drag and drop modifier keys for the tree view.
  • Right clicking the listview header in details mode will now bring up a context menu, which allows columns to be easily turned on and off.
  • The user's name can now be shown in the main title bar.
  • The 'Move Up' and 'Move Down' buttons in the 'Organize Bookmarks' dialog now work.
  • File previews in the display window can now be turned on or off using the 'Show file previews in display window' setting in the 'Options' dialog.
  • F6 and Shift+F6 can now be used to cycle through each window.
  • Ctrl+Enter will now open the selected folder in a new tab.
  • Ctrl+F4 can now be used to close the current tab.
  • Ctrl+Shift+P will now copy the current folders path to the clipboard.
Bug fixes
  • When a new file was created, it would not always be put into rename mode automatically [Windows XP only].
  • Previously, the right click context menu would not be shown for some items. Fixed.
  • Fixed listview positioning bug.
  • If file extensions were hidden, and a filename started with a dot, no text would be shown for that item.
  • If file extensions were hidden in Explorer, they would be hidden in Explorer++ as well, regardless of settings. Fixed.
  • Drives are now added/removed correctly from the listview, treeview and drives toolbar.
  • If a cd/dvd was inserted/removed, the entire drive would be added/removed, even though the physical device had not changed. Fixed.
  • Files are now sorted using natural sort order (e.g. file2.txt comes before file19.txt).
  • If the folders pane had focus, and an item was selected, the file associated menus (such as properties) would be disabled incorrectly. Fixed.
  • Fixed several memory leaks.
  • Improved synchronization in details mode.
  • Improvements made to thumbnails mode.
  • Fixed window size issue.
  • Fixed address bar path issue.
  • Fixed thumbnail image positioning error.
  • Fixed back/forward menu bug.
  • Fixed directory monitoring bug.
  • In details mode, if the first column was removed and then added again, the other columns would not be shifted correctly.
  • Items on the "Send to" context submenu may not have worked correctly. Fixed.
  • Fixed drag and drop bug.
Misc
  • The format of the time and date fields now follows the system time and date format.
  • Clicking the views button on the main toolbar now cycles between the various views, rather than showing the drop-down menu.
  • A small delay has been added to the time between when a file is dragged over a tab, and focus is switched to that tab.
  • There is now a confirmation dialog shown when deleting a bookmark.
  • In empty folders viewed in details mode, each column now has its width set to a default value.

Version 0.9.3.2[24 March 2009]

New features
  • An application toolbar has been added, which allows quick access to any program.
  • Drag and drop modifier keys (Ctrl+Shift, Ctrl, Shift, Alt) now work.
  • Explorer++ is now compatible with paths containing embedded environment variables, such as %systemroot%.
  • The tab control can now be extended across the entire window.
  • Full row selection in details mode can now be turned on or off.
Bug fixes
  • Removable drives can now be ejected and removed safely while Explorer++ is running.
  • Drives are now inserted and removed from the drives toolbar dynamically, as they are connected and disconnected from the system.
  • If file extensions were hidden, and a file was renamed, the extension would be dropped.
  • When renaming a file within the listview, if the proposed filename ended with a trailing space or period, the rename operation would appear to succeed, even though it had not (as filenames cannot end with a trailing space or period).
  • When a folder was put into rename mode, if its name contained a period, everything before the period would be selected (as for files).
  • Corrected folder system infotip bug.
  • Previously, if files were dragged into Explorer++, and the auto arrange listview style was on, the files would not be repositioned.
  • Fixed drag and drop selection bug.
  • Fixed drag and drop position bug.
  • Fixed several drag and drop memory leaks.
  • When loading from a configuration file, the correct language selection would show up in the 'Options' dialog, but the default language would be used for the UI (regardless of the language that was loaded).
  • The "Show In Groups" option was not been saved to the XML file. Fixed.
  • The 'Move Up', 'Move Down', 'Enable' and 'Disable' buttons now work within the 'Set Default Columns' dialog.
  • Fixed listview focus issue.
  • The background of the listview was previously been set to white, regardless of the system background color.
Misc
  • The languages shown in the 'Options' dialog are now generated dynamically, based on any translation DLL's within the same directory as Explorer++.
  • The normal rename/replace dialog is now shown when a collision is encountered during a copy/move operation.
  • The main windows can now be cycled through in reverse using Shift+Tab.
  • The size column in details view is now right-aligned.
  • Removed the 'Back' text from the toolbar back button.
  • The 'Filter Results...' menu item under View|Filter has been changed to 'Set Filter...'.

Version 0.9.2.1[15 February 2009]

New features
  • Each tab now has an icon attached to it (the folder icon from the tabs' current directory).
  • The default directory for new tabs can now be set from within the 'Default Settings' pane of the 'Options' dialog.
  • Explorer++ is now compatible with application command buttons and keys, such as the back and forward buttons found on some mice and keyboards.
  • Infotips can now be turned off, set to the system ones (i.e. the ones used by Windows Explorer), or be set to custom (for now, this simply sets the infotip to be the files modification date).
  • Tab lock state and custom name are now saved between sessions.
Bug fixes
  • Fixed several directory monitoring bugs.
  • Shortcuts that pointed to a website (via a URL) would previously not be opened within the default browser. Fixed.
  • When two files were selected, whose individual sizes were less than 4GB, but whose combined size was greater than 4GB, the combined size would not be shown correctly. Fixed.
  • When a file size was between 1000 and 1024 of the specified unit (bytes, KB, MB, etc), the fourth character would not be shown, causing the size to appear to be incorrect. Fixed.
  • Fixed a paste file bug.
  • If a file that could not be cut (such as a virtual item) was cut anyway using Ctrl+X, the item would be ghosted whether or not it was actually placed on the clipboard. Fixed.
  • The address bar would not scroll horizontally. Fixed.
  • Fixed tab highlight bug.
  • Because of a timing problem, it was possible that when Explorer++ was opened, the first icon(s) shown may not have been correct. Fixed.
Misc
  • Ctrl+N can now be used to create a new folder.
  • On a rename operation, if a files new name contains an invalid character [\/:*?"<>|], an error dialog will be shown.
  • When an item is put into rename mode by clicking on it twice, only the files name (and not the files extension, if any), will be selected.
  • An error message is now shown when attempting to open a shortcut that points to a non-existent item.
  • Items on the 'Go' menu now have their names taken directly from the operating system. This means, for example, that the 'My Computer' item will be shown as 'My Computer' on XP, but 'Computer' on Vista.
  • Added an error message for the situation when a new folder could not be created.
  • A slight change to the bookmarks key means that bookmarks saved in previous versions will not have their paths loaded in this version (this only affects bookmarks saved to the registry).

Version 0.9.0.8[3 February 2009]

New features
  • Sort by File System now works.
  • Folders created using the 'New Folder' toolbar button or menu item are now automatically selected for rename when they are created.
Bug fixes
  • Fixed rebar positioning error that occurred when using the "Windows Classic" theme.

Version 0.9.0.6[31 January 2009]

Bug fixes
  • Fixed overflow bug.
Misc
  • Any previous registry settings can now be cleared using the command:
    explorer++.exe -clear_settings
    This command should be used if either version Alpha 1 or Alpha 2 have previously been run.

Version 0.9.0.0[30 January 2009]

New features
  • Explorer++ is now built as a Unicode executable.
  • Explorer++ can now save its settings to an XML preference file (config.xml). Explorer++ will attempt to load its settings in the following order:
    1. config.xml (this file must be in the same directory as Explorer++)
    2. the registry
    If neither of these options are available, Explorer++ will switch to using its internal defaults. To save to the config file initially, check the 'Save preferences to XML file' in the 'Options' dialog.
  • Significantly upgraded bookmarks system.
  • Icon overlays (such as those used by TortoiseSVN) are now supported.
  • Items that are created using the shell 'New' menu are now automatically selected and put into rename mode on creation.
  • A file rename operation can now be undone by selection 'Edit|Undo'.
  • Folder sizes are now shown in details view.
  • A drives toolbar is now available, which allows for quick access to any drive.
  • Bands on the rebar can now be repositioned.
  • Tabs can now be renamed, by right clicking on them and selecting 'Rename Tab...'.
  • 'Lock Tab and Address' now works. This option, when selected, will block any directory changes from occurring within the current tab.
  • Folder shortcuts are now opened within Explorer++.
  • When in thumbnails view, image thumbnails are now gathered independently of the main thread.
  • Added 'Open Parent in New Tab' menu item to tab context menu.
  • Added 'Bookmark Tab' toolbar button.
  • Added 'New Tab' toolbar button.
  • Added 'Show Command Prompt' toolbar button.
  • Added 'Organize Bookmarks' toolbar button.
  • Added option to disable treeview delay.
  • 'Show In Groups' now works when sorting by camera model.
  • 'Show In Groups' now works when sorting by date taken.
  • 'Show In Groups' now works when sorting by image width.
  • 'Show In Groups' now works when sorting by image height.
  • 'Show In Groups' now works when sorting by file extension.
  • 'Show In Groups' now works when sorting by file system.
  • 'Show In Groups' now works when sorting by network adapter status.
Bug fixes
  • All columns could previously be deselected, causing the program to crash. Fixed.
  • Fixed several small memory leaks that occurred in thumbnails view.
  • When at the root of the namespace (i.e. the desktop), refreshing the tab would change the path to the real desktop. Fixed.
  • When at the root of the namespace (i.e. the desktop), the 'New' menu item would not appear on the right click context menu. Fixed.
  • Fixed a problem that occurred when cutting items.
  • Fixed a drag and drop issue that caused an item dragged between tabs not to be moved.
  • When dragging and dropping an item between tabs, the item count in the destination tab and item selection count in the source tab would become corrupted. Fixed.
  • When creating a new tab without the 'auto arrange' style, auto arrange would be set anyway. Fixed.
  • Fixed selection bug.
  • When items (such as executable files) are opened from within Explorer++, their start directory is now set to the directory they reside within.
  • Fixed several small memory leaks that occurred when closing a tab.
  • Improved synchronization between threads.
Misc
  • The menu selection color is now alpha blended.
  • Drives in the treeview are now sorted by drive letter, rather than drive name.
  • Pressing the space bar will now cause whichever item in the listview has focus to be selected. If not item has focus, the first item is selected.
  • Paths specified on the command line no longer need a trailing backslash. For example, the commands:
    explorer++.exe C:\
    and
    explorer++.exe C:
    will both open the C:\ directory in its own tab.
  • A command line usage message can now be shown by typing: explorer++.exe /?
  • Slight changes have been made to the structure of the registry keys used to save program settings. These changes mean that tabs saved in previous versions of Explorer++ will not load in this version.

Version Alpha 2

26 September 2008

New features
  • The language to use can now be selected in the 'Options' dialog, in the 'Language' tab. The language Explorer++ uses is based on the following (in order of importance):
    1. Any language specified on the command line.
    2. Any language saved from a previous session (using the above method).
    3. The system default language.
  • Files can now be dragged and dropped onto the treeview control.
  • 'Copy File Paths' can now be used on items in the treeview.
  • 'Cut' and 'Copy' can now be used to copy and move items from the treeview.
  • The 'Back' and 'Forward' buttons on the main toolbar now show what folder is back/forward in their infotip.
  • 'Show In Groups' now works when sorting by title.
  • 'Show In Groups' now works when sorting by subject.
  • 'Show In Groups' now works when sorting by author.
  • 'Show In Groups' now works when sorting by keywords.
Bug fixes
  • Fixed bug that would cause directory monitoring to stop working under certain circumstances.
  • Fixed listview drag and drop bug.
  • Fixed bug that arose when sorting items by comment.
  • Fixed 'Merge Files' cancel bug.
  • Fixed 'Split File' cancel bug.
  • Fixed small 'Show In Groups' bug.
  • Fixed toolbar show/hide bug.
Misc
  • A small delay has now been added to the treeview, meaning that when a different folder is selected, it is not browsed to immediately.

2 September 2008

New features
  • 'Show In Groups' now works when sorting by attributes.
  • 'Show In Groups' now works when sorting by file owner.
  • 'Show In Groups' now works when sorting by file creation date.
  • 'Show In Groups' now works when sorting by date of last access.
  • 'Show In Groups' now works when sorting by short name.
  • 'Show In Groups' now works when sorting by product name.
  • 'Show In Groups' now works when sorting by company name.
  • 'Show In Groups' now works when sorting by file description.
  • 'Show In Groups' now works when sorting by file version.
  • 'Show In Groups' now works when sorting by product version.
Bug fixes
  • When closing a tab, directory monitoring would sometimes be stopped for a different tab. Fixed.
  • Fixed toolbar bug that would sometimes cause the program to crash on exit.
  • When the column representing the current sort mode is deselected, the sort mode is automatically changed to the first available one.
Misc
  • Drives in 'My Computer' are now sorted according to drive letter when sorting by name.

21 August 2008

New features
  • Confirmation when closing multiple tabs can now be requested when the 'Ask for confirmation before closing all tabs' option is selected.
  • The main toolbar can now be customized by selecting 'Customize...' on the toolbar context menu or on the 'View|Toolbar' menu.
  • Added an error message for the situation when a file cannot be renamed.
  • Alt+D will now shift focus to the address bar.
  • F4 will now show the drop down for the address bar.
  • Ctrl+B can now be used to access the 'Organize Bookmarks' dialog.
  • The tab button can now be used to switch between the main item pane, the folders pane and the address bar.
  • Gridlines in details view can now be toggled on or off via the 'Show gridlines in details view' option within the 'Options' dialog.
Bug fixes
  • Fixed 'Remove' button within the 'Destroy Files' dialog.
  • Fixed 'Remove' button within the 'Merge Files' dialog.
  • Fixed bug when moving columns up/down in column selection dialog.
  • Fixed several other small bugs within column selection dialog.
  • The 'Auto Arrange', 'Show In Groups' and 'Sort Ascending' default options are now saved and loaded.
Misc
  • Default output file when merging is now 'output.txt'.
  • Menu mnemonic characters are now underlined on the main menu after the alt key is used to select the menu.
  • Description of column items are now shown in the 'Select Columns' dialog.

10 August 2008

New features
  • The right click context menu is now owner drawn.
Bug fixes
  • Fixed bug that would cause the 'Sort By' submenu to be drawn incorrectly.
  • Fixed position of the 'hide folders pane' button.
  • Fixed bug relating to the 'Address Bar' item on the toolbars menu.

20 July 2008

New features
  • Files can now be merged using 'Actions|Merge Files...'.
Bug fixes
  • Fixed 'Go' button bug.
  • The paste button on the main toolbar is now enabled automatically when there are files on the clipboard, and disabled automatically when there are none.

13 July 2008

New features
  • Added 'Autosize Columns' to the 'View' menu, which will resize listview columns to fit in the text of all items.
  • Files can now be dragged and dropped between tabs.
  • Added a main toolbar context menu.
  • The main menus as well as the main toolbar context menu are now owner drawn. Various items on the main menus now have pictures shown alongside the menu text.
  • More main toolbar buttons added.
Bug fixes
  • Improvements made to drag and drop handling.
Misc
  • Aesthetic changes made to the About dialog.
  • Build date/time is now shown in the About dialog.

7 July 2008

New features
  • Menu help strings are now shown for items on the shell context menus.
  • Added 'Bookmark Folder...' and 'Copy Folder Path' to right click context menu.
  • When browsing into a folder, the path of the folder been loaded is now shown in the status bar (i.e. if browsing into the 'C:\' folder, the text in the status bar will read 'Loading C:\...').
  • Added 'Duplicate Tab' to right click menu for tabs, which will open a duplicate of the specified tab in a new tab.
  • Added 'Lock Tab' to right click menu for tabs to prevent a tab been closed.
  • Tabs can now be bookmarked using the keyboard shortcut 'Ctrl + D'.
  • Files can now be split using 'Actions|Split File...'.
  • Files can now be permanently deleted using 'Actions|Destroy Files...'.
  • If 'Show Folder Sizes' is activated in the 'Tools|Options' dialog, folder sizes will now be shown in the display window when a folder is selected.
Bug fixes
  • Fixed 'Refresh Tab' on tab right click menu so that it refreshes the specified tab instead of the one that currently has focus.
  • Thumbnail images are now shown in the correct position when items are sorted in groups.
  • Small bug fixed relating to showing items in groups when sorting by name.
  • Menu help now shows for items on the context menu for individual tabs.

3 July 2008

New features
  • Thumbnails view can now be set as the default view in the 'Default Settings' page of the 'Tools|Options' dialog.
Bug fixes
  • Bookmarks can now be rearranged and have their properties (name, location, description) changed.
  • Tabs now update when relevant settings in the 'Tools|Options' dialog have been applied.
  • Fixed treeview sorting bug.
  • Folders created are now inserted into their correct position in the treeview automatically.
  • Some improvements made to 'Tools|Show Drive Information'.
Misc
  • New tabs can be opened with middle click even if the listview window does not have focus.

1 July 2008

New features
  • Thumbnails view has been added to the 'View' menu. As this is the first implementation of thumbnails view, it may still contain some bugs.
  • Added 'File|Copy Column Text', which will copy the currently selected items' column text to the clipboard.
  • 'File|Copy Paths' can now copy the full paths of multiple items.
Bug fixes
  • Fixed tab swapping bug.
  • Fixed column sorting bug.
  • Fixed file size bug that arose when files in a directory were deleted then created.

29 June 2008

New features
  • Virtual folders can now be opened from the command line simply by supplying their name:
    e.g. explorer++.exe "control panel"
    will open the Control Panel.
Bug fixes
  • Improvements made to sorting by column.
  • Fixed bug relating to directories opened via the command line.
  • Fixed bug relating to columns not showing up for the printers folder.
  • Folder specific columns added for the 'My Network Places' folder.
  • Additional virtual folders (Recycle Bin, Printers, Network Connections and My Network Places) now have their active columns saved and loaded.
  • Fixed bug where program would sometimes stop responding after the columns for a folder had been changed.
Misc
  • 'My Network Places' on the 'Go' menu has been changed to read 'Network' on Windows Vista.
  • The items shown on the 'Sort By' menu for a particular tab now depend on the columns that are active for that tab.
  • Menu help messages added for items on the 'Sort By' menu.

Version Alpha 1

26 June 2008

New features
  • The display window font can now be changed (via 'View|Change Display Colours').
  • 'Open in New Tab' added to right click menu for treeview items.
Bug fixes
  • Fixed combobox keyboard input bug.
  • Image previews in the display window now adjust their width (to maintain the correct aspect ratio) as the display window is vertically resized.

25 June 2008

New features
  • Additional settings added to default options dialog (auto arrange, show in groups and sort ascending).
  • The program can now be launched from the command line with a set of directory arguments:
    explorer++.exe dir1 dir2 ... dirN
    where dir1 to dirN are the directories to open. Each directory will be opened in its own tab.
Bug fixes
  • Newline characters which are embedded in comments for an item in details view have been replaced with a space.
  • Virtual folders now have their friendly name shown in the title bar when the program is configured to show full directory paths.
  • Fixed drag selection bug.
Misc
  • The display window can no longer be resized to zero height.

16 June 2008

Bug fixes
  • Minor internal bugs fixed.

10 June 2008

Bug fixes
  • Greater amount of internal error checking added.
Misc
  • New tabs opened with the middle mouse button are no longer switched to automatically.

8 June 2008

New features
  • Tabs can now be closed with the middle mouse click button.
  • Folders can now be opened in a new tab by clicking on them with the middle mouse button.
Bug fixes
  • Fixed slight bug with tab selection when a tab is closed.
  • Sometimes when a folder was created, it would be inserted into the treeview twice. Fixed.
  • Fixed slight problem involved with swapping tabs.
Misc
  • Changed main window title from 'Explorer++ - Current directory' to 'Current directory - Explorer++'.
  • Display window can now be vertically resized.

6 June 2008

Bug fixes
  • Greater amount of error checking added to treeview control.
  • Minor treeview collapse selection bug fixed.
  • Bug associated with setting column data in details view fixed.
  • In options dialog, in the default settings tab, setting the details radio button had no effect on the state of the apply button. Fixed.
  • Fixed small bug where program could crash as a tab is closed (would only happen under very specific circumstances).

5 June 2008

Bug fixes
  • Display window now redraws its gradient background as the main window is resized.
  • For items in the my computer folder which have no comment, no comment text is shown in details view (previously a random series of characters was shown for an item with no comment).

4 June 2008

Bug fixes
  • Fixed treeview updating bug relating to folder renaming.
  • Minor sorting bug fixed.
  • Fixed bug relating to the collapse state of treeview items when a folder is deleted.
  • Slight alteration made so that the copying files dialog is now shown during a paste files operation.
  • Changed copy and cut on context menu so that they are handled internally, rather than by the shell.

3 June 2008

New features
  • Added 'Open in New Tab' to right click menu for folders.
Bug fixes
  • Fixed bug where delete file permanently on File menu was only sending files to recycle bin.
  • Preview images were only been shown for images with a lower case extension. Fixed to be case insensitive.
  • Fixed thread synchronization bug, which would sometimes cause the program to hang.

2 June 2008

Bug fixes
  • Fixed small bug relating to directory monitoring/updating.
  • Fixed problem with options not been applied in 'Tools' > 'Options' general tab.
  • Slight modification made to 'Tools' > 'Show drive information' meaning it may no longer crash. Information shown may be incorrect though.

1 June 2008

* INITIAL RELEASE *

About Explorer++

Explorer++ is a small and fast file manager for Windows. With tabs, bookmarks and advanced file operations, it allows you to be much more productive!

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