cool features: top 5

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nikos
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cool features: top 5

Post by nikos »

i'm trying to create a new section in the website that will hilight quick and useful x2 features that will appeal to many users. You know to attract the attention of people in a hurry

i am thinking of short sweet easy to understand stuff, like the breadcrumbs, rename that selects the filename part only, going up-a-level selecting the folder you came out from, the quick search, the mini scrap (perhaps)

what would be your favorite small and simple tricks with xplorer2?
Demetris
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Post by Demetris »

1. Robust Copy/Move + Queues

People move around large amounts of data, and this is great for one's peace of mind.

2. Colour coding

Have filenames appear in specified colours according to criteria. E.g., show in blue all files modified in the last 48 hours, and in darker blue all files modified in the last week.

3. Show files according to quick filters

luke suggested this already.

4. Scrap containers

Great for mass editing/viewing, again according to criteria.

5. Browse flat

Flatten a multi-level folder hierarchy to view all files in one container.

6. Archives

Handle all your files and archives (zip, rar, 7z etc.) from within one program <-- just teasing nikos :-P

PS. For robust transfers I would use the phrase "smart and robust moving and copying" -- they are more than just robust. :-)
pj
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Most Useful Features

Post by pj »

Nikos,

I'm not a power user like many of the people in forums, but here are my most used / useful features that make x2 the only program that starts up every time my computer is turned on.  These are not in order, just listed as I thought about them:

1. Dual panes with multiple tabs - I multi-task all day long, and having the ability to keep many, many folders open at once is **WONDERFUL**!!! It is much more compact than multiple instances of Explorer.

2. Flatten - I'm not the most organized person when it comes to all the millions of files on my computer (yes, I said "millions" - maybe Google desktop IS an option). The ability to take a look at ALL the files in one of the copies of My Documents in one list, when I don't know what terms to give Search has made life so much easier.

3. Robust Copy / Move - Suggestion - drop the "robust" and call it "smart".  The term "robust" doesn't grok with everyone (kudos to the first person that remembers where the term "grok" comes from:) ).

4. Color coding by filetype - What more needs to be said.

5. Quick filter (ctrl-H/alt-H) - use it all the time, especially when I'm working in the scrap of the flattened folder containing junctions to all the locations of music files.  

6. Bookmarks - Just wish I could put some of those into the Save and Save As dialogs of my Office suite - the icons that are on the left side of the dialog window, with such "useful" items as "My Recent Files".

7. Folder Junctions - having them integrated makes them useful. Without the support in x2, I'd never consider using them.

8. Help file - many "professional" programs don't have as complete a reference as narayan maintains!

Well, there my top 8.

Thanks again for all your efforts!

Sincerely,
PJ in (cloudy and 60) Florida[/i]
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Post by Mr.Pleasant »

If it's about the little tricks, I'd think that this is my list:
1. Alt+c, for copying the path of the selected file(s);
2. Quick Bookmark, for browsing through your file system and returning in one instant;
3. Subfolder Size (ctrl+D) to get an idea what in the folders without opening them one by one;
4. Mirror browsing, for simultaneously browsing (and comparing) through similar folder structures;
5. Browse Flat, enough said about that by previous posters.
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Post by sethr »

Hello,

This is my first post to the board. I am definitely no longer a power user, but
x2 is a necessity for me because I am shifting files around daily.

Therefore my features are:

1. Dual pane with tabs

2. copy/move dialog that allows for quick selection of options

3. bookmarks - I find it easiest to have two tabs in each of two panes and switch from there

4. keyboard and mouse shortcuts for everything

5. background color change for active and inactive pane

pj:

grok comes from the book Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein.  Contrary to popular usage, Mr. Heinlein meant the entire book as a satire, and it is my understanding that he was somewhat surprised by the popular reaction at the time, although he sold many copies of his book.

SethR
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Cool Features: Top 5

Post by BobMan »

This is my first post also, and I am a power user who has compared systematically all of the Windows Explorer replacements and found this to be by far the best!

Here is my (admittedly odd) top 5 list:

(1) the great preview capacity (unlike many explorer replacements, this reads more formats correctly and easily allows for cut-and-paste);

(2) the presence of vital extended file information and the remembering of previous folders (I love finding out information quickly about files and navigating back to a previously-examined folder through an array of subfolders and finding what I went through before nicely highlighted);

(3) the customizability of look and feel (many explorer replacements force a really complex multifaceted interface on you, whereas I like to keep the interface relatively clean and simple, and no explorer replacement has a cleaner and more efficient look than this one);

(4) the really comprehensive, clear, and high-quality manual (if you cannot figure something out, the answer is always here), which is a stark contrast to the skimpy readme files and help links offered by competitors; and

(5) the active and intelligent support community (including those contributing to this forum) and the regular updates and well-documented improvements offered (without charging paid users new registration fees).

Nikos, you are doing a fantastic job!

Bob
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Post by johngalt »

@pj - Thank you, Mr. Valentine!

I have to agree with the regarding of robust into something better - call it Smart, intelligent, whatever - and highlight that fact that you can *pause* copy / move operations on the fly....a big help for Vista users who are having issues with such operations rendering their systems partially / totally unusable during the operation....

Hmmm, more later - I have an eclipse to view....
Image

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Phinix
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Grokin it, slowly.

Post by Phinix »

I must be the dumbest smart person around here because I grok my ultimate goal but the path to it seem a little fuzzy.

I came across this program on the Ultimate boot disc and I must say the help files were truly inspiring, however, my language skills are slightly limited so I have yet to make all the fine modification that appear to be possible.

Any help would truly be appreciated. Now that I am all rested up from a four day thinkathon I should be able to follow along, for now I am going to go take another look through the user manuals.

My Favorite features include Flat Browsing, Robust Transfers, and the built in ADO capabilities.

Thanks for a great program Nikos, It will make finding and organizing my resources so much easier as I begin to teach myself about linux.
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Re: Most Useful Features

Post by WimdeLange »

pj wrote:The term "robust" doesn't grok with everyone (kudos to the first person that remembers where the term "grok" comes from:) ).
"Stranger in a strange land" from Heinlein?

1) Dual pane
2) First letter searching
3) fast
4) coloring of filenames
5) Alt-D for showing the usage of the files in a directory structure

Nikos, a suggestion. Now there is this skin possibility too. Maybe it is time to add several examples to the distribution? Some skin examples and some coloring examples. Maybe a shooting gallery too? (My term for excessive use of colors)
Groetjes,
  Wim de Lange
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Post by wasker »

Dual pane, seamless shell extensions integration, search, keyboard combos like F3, F4, Alt-C or Ctrl-D (or sorting modes, or changing drive letters, which both are huge!!!), robust file transfers.
Last edited by wasker on 2008 Feb 21, 20:15, edited 1 time in total.
I'm using Xplorer2 - the only file manager that does not suck. Actually, it rocks!
wasker
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Post by wasker »

...and I really hope to get robust delete some time...
I'm using Xplorer2 - the only file manager that does not suck. Actually, it rocks!
james_k
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Post by james_k »

1) Dual Pane
2) Search
3) Robust Copy (queued!)
4) Paste special - folder structure
5) Synchronizing
My 5 favorites - there's a lot more I find cool in x2

First on my wish list: Undo..

All-in-all: a big "Thank you" to Nikos
Brig
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Post by Brig »

My faves:

1. Panes & tabs (with breadcrumbs and history)

The most obvious distinctions and improvements. Invaluable. This is what makes heavy-duty, professional file management possible.

2. Scrap containers / Browse flat

Invaluable. Makes working with existing file structures easy.

3. Search & integration with Editor2

Great search capabilities, particularly because of regular expressions. And the integration with Editor2 makes it, again, invaluable.

4. Color coding

A surprisingly useful feature. It may seem like a bell or a whistle, but it has become a feature I rely on. When I look at open and save dialogs I'm always momentarily shocked that the color coding is missing.

5. Extended file information / Info bar

I really like having certain non-vital file information on the info bar--saves column real estate.

There are more of course. Maybe I'll post another 5 later.

Thanks a million Nikos.

Brig
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Post by Michaelm »

1. Dual pane  <<->> A file manager without dual panes is just a browser.
2. CTRL + D   <<->>  Quickly get those subfolder sizes.
3. Browse flat  <<->> To easily select a bunch of files.
4. CTRL + M   <<->> Mirror browsing is very handy too.
5. Check Duplicates <<->> Very useful for heavy downloaders.
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Ray
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Post by Ray »

Here's a trick I use if I want to sort folders in a very specific order - people generally prefix names with _ for folders they want to see at the top but here's an alternative, "cleaner" method - don't remember if it's been covered in  the help manual, it's possible.

Make comment column visible, comment the folders with a series of numbers 01, 02, 03 depending on the order you want them sorted, sort on comments (optionally hide comments column now), save folder layout. It's little tricks like these that makes working with X2 so much fun.
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