blog: new xplorer2 beta 2.4.0.7

[nikos]

here's the comment area for todays blog post found at
http://zabkat.com/blog/replace-explorer-2.5.htm

note this is beta (alpha really ) so only the brave should apply. Let me know of any problems you discover, thanks!

[Kilmatead]

For those interested, the Changelog stands at:

* [P] docking panes have context menu (right click on titlebar) for various operations (dock/float/hide etc)

* custom drive icons are read from AUTORUN.INF files (if present for removable drives)

* corrected PDF text extraction for windows 8.1

* repaired removable media EJECT command from shell context menu

* picture thumbnails extracted from phones and cameras (thumbnail view and draft QV tab)

* running the professional version in parallel to ultimate doesn't disable desktop search

* various small bugs fixed

* [P] robust copy correctly handles file symbolic links (copies the link not the file). Sadly like all symlink operations you must be running as full administrator otherwise you get a funny error message.

* [P] registry setting nUnbufferedCopyMB (default=1GB) sets a size limit above which robust copy is done without buffering. That supposedly fixes problems where your RAM is clogged by extremely huge file copying.

* [P] When robust delete dialog encounters some reparse point (e.g. folder junction or symbolic link) only deletes the reparse information, without touching the target folder. This makes the "confirm folder junctions" checkbox in the dialog rather irrelevant.

* More consistent handling of symbolic links, now you can see previews of them (text or pics) and even search for text in them (in the actual file target)

* New files inserted in a pane (e.g. pasted or dropped) are marked (selected). This lets you see which files were newly added. This feature is controlled by local registry setting variable nMarkNewFileMS which is the time (in milliseconds) xplorer² waits after a file operation is initiated to mark added files. Set this to 0 to disable this new marking feature. If a pane contains a prior selection (>=2 selected items) then this feature is suppressed.

* Global registry value szSystemPropsList is a comma separated list of system properties to extend the file column and search attribute system. See here for the list of available properties: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library ... s.85).aspx Some of them are already available as shell folder columns but some are only available through this route. Requires windows VISTA or later.

* in explorer replacement mode, "Open containing folder" menu command from 3rd party programs (e.g. Google Chrome, Firefox) will correctly open and select items in xplorer². This is by far the most time consuming (wasted?) feature added in xplorer² in terms of development resources, enjoy!

* When you opt to replace windows explorer with xplorer² during installation, you get more folder types handled (including "virtuals" like MyComputer). Installer allows you to replace explorer for the current user or for all users with a tickbox. xplorer² is configured to automatically run when you boot up windows (silently).

* In the rare occasions when xplorer² cannot read a special folder (e.g. some items in control panel), you get the option to read it with windows explorer instead.

[Kilmatead]

For those interested in playing with szSystemPropsList (which is rather neat), it's a means of adding [X] columns to explorer which are not ordinarily available. Given that these are a little obscure and funky, the normal search/filter rule-definition's may struggle a bit with the information returned, but a little experimentation will see you through.

As a simple example, if you wanted (for whatever reason) a column which represented whether MP3 files were VBR or not (not to actually display the bitrate, that's easily done otherways), but to use as a boolean type to find all VBR files, regardless of bitrate, you'd append something like "System.Audio.IsVariableBitRate" to the existing value in Tools -> Advanced Options -> Global (Tab) -> General -> System Property List so the result would look like:

System.FileFRN, System.Audio.IsVariableBitRate

(This is the registry value in HKCU\Software\ZabaraKatranemia Plc\xplorer2_UC.global\szSystemPropsList for those curious.)

Essentially you would then (after restarting x2) find a new column available in the <Alt+K> columns list (at the end) which would be called "System.Audio.IsVariableBitRate [X]", which would return a 0 for CBR files and -1 for VBR files. This column is also thusly available when defining extended search/filter rules.

Granted, this is not the most exciting example, but it's only meant to be a description to get people started.

As in the changelog above, please see MSDN Windows Properties for more detailed information about all properties available.

For entertainment (and for those wondering), the default property that Nikos provides is suitably obscure and nerd-like: System.FileFRN returns the actual ID of the filesystem object itself, which would probably not be of much use to most users unless you drank too much coffee at breakfast and are just dying to take a PIDL on the side the road. But this is enough for most people to hit the ground running.

[Tuxman]

Ah, a new toy! Let's see if I can make it crash.

[nikos]

FileFRN is the ultimate file geek information, and it also has some use, e.g. hard links of the same file have the same FileFRN

[Tuxman]

You mean, "informational use" contradicts "geek"?

[benoit]

Hi,
I use x2 from long long time ago and still use 2x sometimes...
This morning I tested windows explorer replacement and I notice some strange behavior (bugs?)
- menu bar is not present by default - need to reenable it with settings dialog box
- use big icons - ok why not - tried to reduce them, icon is reduce but not space from left to right
- external editor does not work only in x2solo - i use notepad++ in options menu but it always use internal editor.

Hope this will help you

[gkarasik]

Hi,

I think this is a great product, and I appreciate the work and imagination and creativity that have gone into it. I bought a copy of Xplorer2 Pro and am using it on my personal machine, and the new version sounds terrific. However I installed a trial copy on a client's Win7 PC and just removed it. He hated it. He's very dependent on shortcuts that he drags from Windows Explorer. His desktop is filled with them. They comprise not only individual files but also shortcuts to subdirectories and whole drives. Xplorer2 Pro's way of dealing with drive and subdirectory shortcuts completely threw him. I would buy a lot of copies if I could drag a drive or subdirectory shortcut to the desktop that would behave like a Windows Explorer shortcut behaves--double-click on it and open a window directly into the subdirectory the shortcut points to. Is that in your plans?

GaryK

[RightPaddock]

@gkarasik - how do you create the shortcuts

If I right button drag a file, folder or drive out of xplorer2 to the desktop, then when I drop it, select Create Shortcut then I get a regular well behaved shortcut

Is there another way ?

RP

[gkarasik]

Hi,

Yes! That works. Thanks very much!

[gkarasik]

@gkarasik - how do you create the shortcuts

If I right button drag a file, folder or drive out of xplorer2 to the desktop, then when I drop it, select Create Shortcut then I get a regular well behaved shortcut

Is there another way ?

RP

I tried that, but it seems to create a shortcut that opens in Windows Explorer, not in Xplorer2. Am I doing something wrong?

[nikos]

I am not sure I understand you fully but if the desktop shortcut is to a FOLDER and you have xplorer2 set as the explorer replacement, then it should open in xplorer2. Another way is to drag-drop the shortcut onto xplorer2's addressbar

[gkarasik]

Thanks. I was misreading the signs: Because of the other bug I reported--where I could not restore the "use xplorer2 as a Windows Explorer replacement" once I'd removed it, the shortcuts were in fact opening in Windows Explorer.

GaryK

[gkarasik]

Hi,

One "feature" of Windows Explorer that I like is if I copy a file in a directory into that same directory, it is renamed "Copy of ...." and then "Copy of ..... 2" etc. Is it possible to do that in xplorer2? If not, could you consider adding that?

GaryK

[Kilmatead]

If you drag & drop files within x2 then explorer is commissioned to do the copying anyway, so that already happens (replete with same dialog).

If you are using the built-in robust-copy (<F5>) when the "file conflict" dialog pops up, in the middle of it there is an edit line which allows you to rename the object (manually) before continuing the copy. This does not (unfortunately) automatically provide the incremental suffix (Nikos was rather lazy that day), but it does allow you to select a more specific name rather than having a generic one forced upon you. At any rate, it's better than stopping and starting over.

Or, to actually get what you want, there is an option under Edit -> "Copy to..." (Options) which allows you to "always rename target" - however, this removes the interference of the conflict-dialog completely so you are less aware that a rename had taken place than you ordinarily would be.