why do you like xplorer2?

[nikos]

a few months ago we had a little fun with your voting on what feature you wanted the most to be added in xplorer2

i'd like to canvass your opinions once more but this time i'd like to find out what you like most among the existing features. No poll, just put a free-form list of your killer features of the program (but keep it short)

my personal favorites: (clearly i don't use the program to its limits )

1. i can do many things with x2 without having to think too much!

2. the program "behaves" without exhibiting nasty annoying quirks

3. there are very few things it can't do once i get my head round to it, using hyperfilters and scrap containers

[profess]

Hey everyone,

Xplorer2, well what can I say?  I love it because:

1) It makes using my PC a lot simpler

2) I can get to random information (at work, where the filing system is all over the place), find it, manipulate it, open it, email it etc - with ease.  Good ol' Explorer takes a long time to find and sieve through information.  This can be done quickly in Xplorer2 - much to everyone's amazement.  I haven't told them it's the tool I use and not me that's quick!

3) Filtering

4) Colour / Color coding

5) Dual pane and tabs

6) Preview pane

7) Lock Viewer (home - I do use this so thanks for implementing)

If only I could customise my colleagues as simply as in Xplorer2...

[narayan]

I love it because-

1. Every part of its GUI provides rapid access to a huge number of functions. I have enhanced them even further using freeware utilities mentioned in the user manual. That means complete control at my fingertips.

2. Genuinely functional GUI: No flashiness at all.

3. I can use x2 like a console (I keep it on always; and launch the other programs from it after selecting the correct file(s) from x2). The larger your collection of files is, the more the advantage you get from x2.

4. I know what exciting features are coming in future!

[Brig]

Well, Nikos, your three apply to me too.  More specifically, I'd add:

1. Dual panes and tabs.

2. Easy navigation, especially now with the entire folder structure available through the paths in the title bars.

3. Great searching, fast and easy.

4. Scrap panes and the ability to flatten multiple folders.

5. Lots of other smaller stuff (color coding, filtering, etc.).

And, frankly, I kind of like the way it looks, always have. It ain't pretty, but that's as it should be--it's a tool. You wouldn't put lace on a chainsaw or gold leaf on a shovel.

Thanks for x2.

[Mr.Pleasant]

Some of the 'big' things:

• * Scrap containers and all you can do with it (flat browsing! cida files!). x2 was way ahead of the flock, and I don't see any Smart or virtual folder coming near the scraps.
  * Portability
  * Searching, in particular searching in archived files, in general searching with all these criteria.
  * Script wizard
  * Mirror browsing/Compare
  * Folder groups

Also the small conveniences, that you slowly take for granted: Alt+C (Copy Names), Ctrl+D (subfolder size), x2 starts where you left it, general usability when it comes to keyboard usage.

For the general idea: with x2 I can go through the file system inside out, upside down, and get information about it in so many different ways.

I completely agree with Brig: I like the way it looks, as form follows function.

[Robert2]

• Dual pane + tabs
  
  Folder groups + Command-line launch with Folder Groups
  
  Folder Settings
  
  Sync Wizard
  
  Visual Filter
  
  Bookmarks
  
  Text search through files
  
  Customization
  
  A happy combination of function and style

[nikos]

You wouldn't put lace on a chainsaw

well put!

[wasker]

Personally I love x2's integration with system and that it doesn't come with Explorer's UI limitations attached. X2's UI is perfectly usable, customizable and fast. Maybe someone misses Office 2003's fanciness in x2, but I think that x2's respect to Windows UI styles is virtue (although I don't share Nikos' appreciation to lowercase captions -- these should follow Windows UI guidelines).

So: rich functionality + usability + well-done UI =

[jdtoomb]

Customized folder views, the search function, and most important to me:

Dual pane + tabs.

[FrizzleFry]

Dual pane + tabs
search
edit/view command (which does not depend on file association)
built-in command line

[ZoNi]

dual panes, tabs, GUI similar to Windows Explorer, search, preview window...

most of other functions are "overkill" for me since I rarely use any of them...

[fgagnon]

I like so much about xplorer² that it is hard to pick favorites -- very subjective, and changes from time to time depending on recent tasks accomplished.
Similar to asking which blade I like best on my SAK.  
Answer: The one I'm using for the present task.

So instead of 'seconding' all of the above, I thought of times I was 'on' someone else's computer without x2.  
Here are the file manager features I felt most crippled not having:
1. A search function that really works.
2. Robust transfers
3. Dual panes (for ease of comparisons & transfers)
4. Scraps
5. Filters

[longfellow]

Well, x2 is just simple and functional --- it gets the job done and it's a pleasure to use.

Feature-wise:

1. Dual pane (Far superior to single pane, IMO.)

2. Bookmarks & Filters (Quickly & easily navigate my file system.)

3. Search & Scrap (Finds what I want --- even when I'm not sure what I'm looking for.)

4. Built-in command line & friendly Console2 (All the functionality of scripting with none of the hassles.)

x2 gets bonus marks for preserving my sort order between sessions (unlike another file manager, whose name need not be mentioned); also for not having a stupid animated character to help me search.

While there are a lot of x2 features I don't use, I've never felt that x2 is bloated. Rather --- like fgagnon's SAK --- there's just another set of tools waiting for when the need arises. I like that.

And, like Nikos in the first post, I have the sense that x2 can do whatever I need it to -- as long as I can wrap my head around it.  :)

[paNET]

It is helping me to improve the daily productivity of my activity and it is doing  this in a way I can customize. Some of the features that I'm using all the time are:

1. Mini Scrap that I'm using like a Bookmark list from Firefox together with dual panes, tabs and Column Sets,
2. Keyboard shortcuts for my defined Bookmarks,
3. Toolbar customization to keep the Folder Groups and Custom Categories at "one click distance",
4. Filter and Color Coding,
5. Browse Flat, Scrap Panes, .cida files and Compare in Scrap Panes (here you need to make some improvements),
6. Folder Junction is a very useful feature and Breadcrumb expanding paths in the path bar is really amazing.

Anyway, even if I'm very satisfied with X2, I'm waiting for a "Why you don't like xplorer2" thread  

[fgagnon]

PaNET,
(@ ... don't like ... thread)
After answering user questions, helping each other discussions, and providing an announcement forum for new releases, etc. ... the main function of the board is for users to air their suggestions/preferences/peeves/dislikes.  Constructively, of course.  

You are free to start your own thread anytime you have a suggestion of how to make x2 better (or less annoying).  ;)