1.0 release

Share any ideas you have on improving Explorer++
xpclient
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed May 06, 2009 6:32 pm

1.0 release

Post by xpclient »

Firstly, thanks for FINALLY releasing 1.0 :) It is a giant step forward in the right direction. May I give some suggestions: + = :-) , - = Suggestion/feature request

+ The search function is wicked fast!! But:
1. Search should not open in a new window but as a side pane like XP's search button does and show results in Explorer++ namespace or new tab. Users (personally I) hate opening new window for search.
2. The "search directory" text box should accept environment variable paths. like %windir% and common locations like All local drives, individual drives and libraries.
3. A basic "containing text" field to search inside plain text readable formats.
4. Option to clear search location history.
5. Hitting Enter should start search whether the focus is anywhere else or not and Esc should close/cancel and close search.
6. Sometimes right clicking on a file in search results crashes Explorer++ (can't repro every time)
7. Basic UI to search by date, type (not extension) and size like XP. I guess these must be already on your to do list and understand that'll require some more time.

+ Customize colors feature rocks!
- Full row selection in List view *has to be* optional. We need white space to unselect and right click.
- Undo/Redo (Redo only in Vista and later) in context menu/right click menu that appears when right clicking a white space. A toolbar button for Undo like XP Explorer.
- Dunno about other OSes, on Windows 7, I can't save the toolbar position of the Drives toolbar. After unlocking, moving the Drives toolbar to the same line as the Main/Standard toolbar and locking thereafter does not make it stick. Upon next restart of Explorer++, Drives toolbar returns to original position.
- Left pane/tree view is cluttered/non user customizable presently. Can you make it more customizable like always show Computer, Drives and libraries but allow users to show/hide other items like desktop folders, Control Panel, HomeGroup, Recycle Bin, user folder, Network and other namespace extensions. Only show or hide them in the left pane. Include checkboxes for what to show, what to hide in Tools-> Options on a separate Tree view/navigation pane tab.
- Like File-> Set Attributes, can you also include File->Set permissions with custom UI to take ownership and set permissions on multiple files/batch operation? Currently, in XP this can be done but in Vista/Windows 7, there is no Security tab when multiple files are selected to one can't set permissions from the GUI
- BUG: I can only explain this with an example. In List View, go to C:\Program Files and enter any folder inside program files whose fileename is short and then come out of that folder. The C:\Program Files list view is also now narrowed.
- When grouping, the headers should be expandible/collapsible like introduced in Windows 7 Explorer
- Warn/confirm like XP's Explorer when opening lots of files, that is, when is several files are selected and we accidentally hit Enter.
- "Simple folder view" feature of XP which autoexpands folders in left pane/tree view with 1 click, auto collapseses it when clicking another folder and expands that.
- Need checkbox selection for list view, details view at least
- Dragging the icon besides the path in the address bar to an empty area to create a shortcut
- Wildcard select box and filter box should be always visible text fields like the address bar instead of menu items, similar to how Vista's Explorer has the search box so e.g. we can hit a keyboard shortcut to move the focus to that wildcard select box or filter box to enter *.doc. 2 separate text fields, one for selection, one for filtering.
- The Sort bar (Name, Type, Size) should appear in any view (like Vista) where clicking on the header sorts by that criteria
- Needs a "Remove Properties" menu item similar to one in Vista/Windows 7's Organize menu.
- Was really really expecting large main toolbar buttons (24 x 24 icon) with text labels like Explorer in XP or IE6. Using small buttons on high resolutions is getting really difficult
- No Map network drive and Disconnnect network drive buttons
- Delay when entering UNC path in the address bar like \\ComputerName\User but no delay when browsing the same share if assigned a drive letter using Explorer
- Typing "Pictures", "Music", "Documents", "Videos" into the address bar does not go to the respective folder/library like Explorer goes to.
- Details pane (Display window) at the bottom needs to show lot more info/metadata since plenty of space is available and relevant to the file type e.g.Bitrate, framerate, dimensions, length for video; artist, album, genre, title for music, date taken, tags, resolution, camera model for images; for documents - author etc. The details pane needs to be able to edit metadata as well but I guess that will be difficult to implement.
+ Tiles view = very nice. However when sorting, Tiles view should show information by which you sort like Date modified if you sort by that.
- Right click -> View menu should include "Align to grid/Line up icons" function besides Auto Arrange
+ F2 rename enhancement=uber cool
+ Folder sizes now calculated correctly
- Group By should also work in List view
- When creating copies of files in the same folder/overwriting in different folder, pasted files do not appear correctly. They need to be refreshed before they can be worked with again. Please fix this.
- The cut, copy, delete, properties, copy to, move to buttons remain grayed out when a folder in the left pane/tree view is selected
- One of the best enhancements that can be done is to make Explorer++ remember individual folder views (like Explorer's "Rememeber all view settings" option). Other folders should follow the "Default View" setting.
- I know Windows Explorer does not show/extract icons for 16-bit apps any more in Vista and later but can Explorer++ do this?
- More desktop.ini functionality like custom folder background (full set of desktop.ini parameters in this article: http://www.xs4all.nl/~hwiegman/desktopini.html)

Thanks so much, I am very pleased and satisfied with this release. Explorer++ is the best file manager around (non-bloated, clean UI yet full-featured, closest to Windows Explorer) yet awesome features like tabbed browsing.
Last edited by xpclient on Sat Jan 02, 2010 6:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
David Erceg
Site Admin
Posts: 933
Joined: Sat Apr 18, 2009 1:46 am

Re: 1.0 release

Post by David Erceg »

Awesome, thanks for the suggestions :D
Sirlaughalot
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Jul 15, 2010 7:49 pm

Re: 1.0 release

Post by Sirlaughalot »

I'd have to agree that adding in a lot of the win7 functionality should be a focus for the next update.

E++ is the first file manager which has all the functionality I've ever wanted and if I found it 6 months ago when I was on my winxp machine I would have switched over. However I've been spoiled by the win7 picture management features, specifically tags.

I tried to make it so E++ is my default manager and I would edit picture metadata with win7 explorer however it kept opening up each individual folder in E++ instead of win7 explorer.

I'll keep my eye on this for the future. Good luck ;)
David Erceg
Site Admin
Posts: 933
Joined: Sat Apr 18, 2009 1:46 am

Re: 1.0 release

Post by David Erceg »

Thanks Sirlaughalot!
ajs
Posts: 409
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2010 6:37 pm

Re: 1.0 release

Post by ajs »

xpclient wrote:Firstly, thanks for FINALLY releasing 1.0 :) It is a giant step forward in the right direction. May I give some suggestions: + = :-) , - = Suggestion/feature request

+ The search function is wicked fast!! But:
1. Search should not open in a new window but as a side pane like XP's search button does and show results in Explorer++ namespace or new tab. Users (personally I) hate opening new window for search.
2. The "search directory" text box should accept environment variable paths. like %windir% and common locations like All local drives, individual drives and libraries.
3. A basic "containing text" field to search inside plain text readable formats.
4. Option to clear search location history.
5. Hitting Enter should start search whether the focus is anywhere else or not and Esc should close/cancel and close search.
6. Sometimes right clicking on a file in search results crashes Explorer++ (can't repro every time)
7. Basic UI to search by date, type (not extension) and size like XP. I guess these must be already on your to do list and understand that'll require some more time.

+ Customize colors feature rocks!
- Full row selection in List view *has to be* optional. We need white space to unselect and right click.
- Undo/Redo (Redo only in Vista and later) in context menu/right click menu that appears when right clicking a white space. A toolbar button for Undo like XP Explorer.
- Dunno about other OSes, on Windows 7, I can't save the toolbar position of the Drives toolbar. After unlocking, moving the Drives toolbar to the same line as the Main/Standard toolbar and locking thereafter does not make it stick. Upon next restart of Explorer++, Drives toolbar returns to original position.
- Left pane/tree view is cluttered/non user customizable presently. Can you make it more customizable like always show Computer, Drives and libraries but allow users to show/hide other items like desktop folders, Control Panel, HomeGroup, Recycle Bin, user folder, Network and other namespace extensions. Only show or hide them in the left pane. Include checkboxes for what to show, what to hide in Tools-> Options on a separate Tree view/navigation pane tab.
- Like File-> Set Attributes, can you also include File->Set permissions with custom UI to take ownership and set permissions on multiple files/batch operation? Currently, in XP this can be done but in Vista/Windows 7, there is no Security tab when multiple files are selected to one can't set permissions from the GUI
- BUG: I can only explain this with an example. In List View, go to C:\Program Files and enter any folder inside program files whose fileename is short and then come out of that folder. The C:\Program Files list view is also now narrowed.
- When grouping, the headers should be expandible/collapsible like introduced in Windows 7 Explorer
- Warn/confirm like XP's Explorer when opening lots of files, that is, when is several files are selected and we accidentally hit Enter.
- "Simple folder view" feature of XP which autoexpands folders in left pane/tree view with 1 click, auto collapseses it when clicking another folder and expands that.
- Need checkbox selection for list view, details view at least
- Dragging the icon besides the path in the address bar to an empty area to create a shortcut
- Wildcard select box and filter box should be always visible text fields like the address bar instead of menu items, similar to how Vista's Explorer has the search box so e.g. we can hit a keyboard shortcut to move the focus to that wildcard select box or filter box to enter *.doc. 2 separate text fields, one for selection, one for filtering.
- The Sort bar (Name, Type, Size) should appear in any view (like Vista) where clicking on the header sorts by that criteria
- Needs a "Remove Properties" menu item similar to one in Vista/Windows 7's Organize menu.
- Was really really expecting large main toolbar buttons (24 x 24 icon) with text labels like Explorer in XP or IE6. Using small buttons on high resolutions is getting really difficult
- No Map network drive and Disconnnect network drive buttons
- Delay when entering UNC path in the address bar like \\ComputerName\User but no delay when browsing the same share if assigned a drive letter using Explorer
- Typing "Pictures", "Music", "Documents", "Videos" into the address bar does not go to the respective folder/library like Explorer goes to.
- Details pane (Display window) at the bottom needs to show lot more info/metadata since plenty of space is available and relevant to the file type e.g.Bitrate, framerate, dimensions, length for video; artist, album, genre, title for music, date taken, tags, resolution, camera model for images; for documents - author etc. The details pane needs to be able to edit metadata as well but I guess that will be difficult to implement.
+ Tiles view = very nice. However when sorting, Tiles view should show information by which you sort like Date modified if you sort by that.
- Right click -> View menu should include "Align to grid/Line up icons" function besides Auto Arrange
+ F2 rename enhancement=uber cool
+ Folder sizes now calculated correctly
- Group By should also work in List view
- When creating copies of files in the same folder/overwriting in different folder, pasted files do not appear correctly. They need to be refreshed before they can be worked with again. Please fix this.
- The cut, copy, delete, properties, copy to, move to buttons remain grayed out when a folder in the left pane/tree view is selected
- One of the best enhancements that can be done is to make Explorer++ remember individual folder views (like Explorer's "Rememeber all view settings" option). Other folders should follow the "Default View" setting.
- I know Windows Explorer does not show/extract icons for 16-bit apps any more in Vista and later but can Explorer++ do this?
- More desktop.ini functionality like custom folder background (full set of desktop.ini parameters in this article: http://www.xs4all.nl/~hwiegman/desktopini.html)

Thanks so much, I am very pleased and satisfied with this release. Explorer++ is the best file manager around (non-bloated, clean UI yet full-featured, closest to Windows Explorer) yet awesome features like tabbed browsing.
wow! I missed this post before. as i also said in another post, the search functionality of E++ is still poor compared to WinXP search (not Win7, winXP).
David Erceg
Site Admin
Posts: 933
Joined: Sat Apr 18, 2009 1:46 am

Re: 1.0 release

Post by David Erceg »

As I've been working recently on a few features that are mentioned in this thread, I thought it would be good to give an update on which features have been implemented/will be implemented:
  • Dunno about other OSes, on Windows 7, I can't save the toolbar position of the Drives toolbar. After unlocking, moving the Drives toolbar to the same line as the Main/Standard toolbar and locking thereafter does not make it stick. Upon next restart of Explorer++, Drives toolbar returns to original position.
    Fixed.
  • BUG: I can only explain this with an example. In List View, go to C:\Program Files and enter any folder inside program files whose fileename is short and then come out of that folder. The C:\Program Files list view is also now narrowed.
    Fixed.
  • When grouping, the headers should be expandible/collapsible like introduced in Windows 7 Explorer.
    Implemented recently.
  • Warn/confirm like XP's Explorer when opening lots of files, that is, when is several files are selected and we accidentally hit Enter.
    I'm tossing up between doing this and doing what Windows 7 does (just not opening the files at all). I'm leaning towards the Win 7 method at the moment.
  • Need checkbox selection for list view, details view at least.
    Implemented a while back in the development version.
  • Dragging the icon besides the path in the address bar to an empty area to create a shortcut.
    Implemented recently (though still needs some work).
  • Was really really expecting large main toolbar buttons (24 x 24 icon) with text labels like Explorer in XP or IE6. Using small buttons on high resolutions is getting really difficult.
    Partially implemented in development version.
  • Delay when entering UNC path in the address bar like \\ComputerName\User but no delay when browsing the same share if assigned a drive letter using Explorer.
    Fixed in development version.
  • Typing "Pictures", "Music", "Documents", "Videos" into the address bar does not go to the respective folder/library like Explorer goes to.
    Implemented recently.
  • When creating copies of files in the same folder/overwriting in different folder, pasted files do not appear correctly. They need to be refreshed before they can be worked with again. Please fix this.
    Should be working in 1.1.
  • The cut, copy, delete, properties, copy to, move to buttons remain grayed out when a folder in the left pane/tree view is selected.
    Fixed some time ago.
  • One of the best enhancements that can be done is to make Explorer++ remember individual folder views (like Explorer's "Rememeber all view settings" option). Other folders should follow the "Default View" setting.
    Literally working on it now.
ajs
Posts: 409
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2010 6:37 pm

Re: 1.0 release

Post by ajs »

David Erceg wrote: [*]Warn/confirm like XP's Explorer when opening lots of files, that is, when is several files are selected and we accidentally hit Enter.
I'm tossing up between doing this and doing what Windows 7 does (just not opening the files at all). I'm leaning towards the Win 7 method at the moment.
Hi David,
first of all, once again thanks for the effort you put into developing E++. It gets better every single day.
Regarding the issue quoted above, maybe you can consider adding an option to select between the two possibilities. Some users may like the first option (like me) some others may like the second one.
eNdEmiOn
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2012 5:41 am

Re: 1.0 release

Post by eNdEmiOn »

One of the best enhancements that can be done is to make Explorer++ remember individual folder views (like Explorer's "Rememeber all view settings" option). Other folders should follow the "Default View" setting.
Literally working on it now.
Thought I'd check back here after 2 years when it was "literally being worked on". Still I don't see this essential feature in the latest release. When will it finally be implemented and make this tool actually a viable alternative for Windows Explorer (which even with classic shell enhancements still sucks in win 7)!?
coolrat33
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2011 3:17 pm

Re: 1.0 release

Post by coolrat33 »

Explorer++ is amazing and I use it daily.
Is it still being developed?
neminem
Posts: 43
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 3:51 am

Re: 1.0 release

Post by neminem »

coolrat33 wrote:Is it still being developed?
I keep checking the forums daily just in case I get a nice surprise, but it sure doesn't seem like it. There was a time when David would come by answering questions several times a week, which he hasn't for many months. And there haven't been any real behavioral changes committed to the code repository since last December. (These forums say that David has still been logging into them every few days, but I dunno what he's doing there... last time someone asked a question like "hey David, are you still alive?", he didn't respond to it...)

It's still the best file manager I've seen, despite the handful of bugs/missing important features, but it saddens me that there aren't any completely perfect ones. Or at least none that are still useable and maintained (XP's native one was rather close :p).

Hey, it was released under the GPL, right? I'm idly curious what would come out of forking it into a repository anyone who asked could have write access to. ;)
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