Jump to content

Explorer replacements...


smallhagrid

Recommended Posts

I've tried ALOT of these things over time because I really like this sort of stuff - and there's been a few truly worthy of note.

The best ones (for me, IMO...) are dual-pane vertical with folder trees and with the abilities to save & reopen sessions, have tabs, and to shut off alot of the excess visual clutter that so many default to.

Explorer itself comes close when it has QTtab bar added to it, but since windows explorer itself is prone to crash it is not the best solution, sadly.

xplorer² ( http://zabkat.com/ ) is very good. (payware)

Free Commander ( http://www.freecommander.com/ ) is quite good even though it has not been updated since 2009, freeware too.

I think the very best one I've found is ShellLess Explorer ( http://www.shelllessworks.com/products/shellless-explorer.html ) and it is also payware.

It's latest version was 1.5.4 build 836 from 08/26/2011 - and it appears that the author's site is in neglect because it is partly broken.

I've been able to use it because I found Portable ShellLess Explorer 1.20b build 0122 someplace and it's very cool.

Sadly, because it is a portable it's also not quite working 100%.

I've looked all around for the full release of it and lots of places had posts for ShellLess.Explorer.1.2.0b.Build.0122.rar, but their links are all dead by now.

I wonder if anyone around here also likes this explorer replacement alot and might be kind enough to share it here ??

Edited by smallhagrid
Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Replies 22
  • Views 2.7k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • smallhagrid

    7

  • ns870152

    2

  • Paft

    2

  • mlauzon

    1

Thanks.

I have tried that one and it is not as good (for me) as those I've mentioned.

(I've really got quite a collection of explorer replacements and try any new one that comes along whenever I hear of it...)

Link to comment
Share on other sites


I'm using xplorer² after testing loads recently. I like Opus and xyplorer. These are my top3.

Better Explorer still in beta I liked a lot but it kept crashing, so waiting for a more stable release.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


I do use FreeCommander and Xplorer² alot of the time.

Dopus, xyplorer, Q-Dir and about a dozen others are all not quite what I prefer to use.

(This is also why I ask if anyone has a full ShellLess Explorer to share - because it has all the features I really want in such a thing...)

Didn't hear of FreeCommander XE before ( http://freecommander.com/fc_beta_en.htm ), but grabbing it in a minute here as it looks VERY good.

Thanks for the heads-up on that one !!

Better Explorer is too much like the 'new' mangled explorer in veeester/7/8 - and anyways it is not for XP so that one is 100% out for me.

As mentioned before:

The best ones (for me, IMO...) are dual-pane vertical with folder trees and with the abilities to save & reopen sessions, have tabs, and to shut off alot of the excess visual clutter that so many default to.

Thanks for the great replies Folks !!

Link to comment
Share on other sites


I am using Xyplorer since a couple of years but in recent months it's hanging/lagging a lot. if you go on to click a file it takes several seconds to register a click. the delay is similar for switching directories too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


XYplorer is the best imo. Although I stopped using it because I rarely used the features, so I use Clover these days.

Edited by Paft
Link to comment
Share on other sites


Better Explorer still in beta I liked a lot but it kept crashing, so waiting for a more stable release.

I tried that a few months ago, like you I'm waiting for a stable, because when I tried it, it still needed a lot of work.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


An interesting bunch of replies - thanks !!

Looks like nobody except for me is interested in ShellLess Explorerat all.

I emailed the dev and got no reply, and since it's site is also broken it's starting to look like abandonware...

That's too bad because it really seems to be very good.

I got & tried FreeCommander XE - but it's not as good yet as the prior FreeCommander, so I'll wait & try it again when it's closer to being finished.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • 4 weeks later...

Total Commander beats them all - it just celebrated its 20th anniversary these days; now thats what I call active development.

http://ghisler.com/ - the 8.50 final version is coming pretty soon, most likely it is going to be released by the end of the year...

Edited by blstr
Link to comment
Share on other sites


I tried TC and it was just not what is best for me.

For me it is not about getting lots & lots of fancy extra functions.

Mostly my problems with explorer replacements are that they are not really better than the original - but instead add all sorts of clutter that I'll never use and don't even want to look at.

As said earlier - the best ones (for me...) are dual-pane vertical with folder trees kind of like 2 full explorers in one window.

I also love ones that have the abilities to save & reopen sessions - have tabs; and of course the ability to shut off alot of the excess visual clutter that is useless to me.

I'm very disappointed that ShellLess Explorer seems to have died.

Worse still there's no fixed version of it around nor could I find medicine for it's last version - and that's a shame because it is a real good one that does just what I like best.

I wish it would come back to life somehow...!

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • 5 months later...
smallhagrid

Well - after all this time a little update on this topic...

I think I've tried about all that exist except for one - Konverter FM in the last XP compatible version.

(It used to be around with the meds for it, but the last link I can find was at Filetram and it was dead anyhow.)

It's new versions (5.x ?) no longer run on XP.

Lately I tried AB Commander again and it is very good except that it's meds don't work 100%.

So after all this time I go between windows explorer with QT Tabbar added, AB Commander, Free Commander and every once in a while I even use Xplorer2.

I was very disappointed in the latest version of Multi Commander that just came out - it crashed so hard that it caused a reboot - so that one got deleted.

Edited by smallhagrid
Link to comment
Share on other sites


smallhagrid

Hi Paft.

I tried Clover and found that I liked the way QT Tabbar does it better.

Yes, I also tried XYPlorer and it was one of the just OK ones - not bad for me, and also not the greatest for me.

My preferences lean towards a file manager that hes 2 whole, narrow explorers side by side, each including a tree and it's own set of tabs - and not much else really - that is why I didn't care for alot of those I've tried...they had too much visual clutter & features.

Seems to me the only 2 I've never been able to get my hands on are the older Konverter FM and Shellless Explorer.

I even went all the way through the file managers listed/tagged at the Portable Freeware site.

That was kind of fun too - but it showed me nothing I hadn't already seen or tried.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...