lite v3.0 released

[nikos]

the free lite version gets up to speed with version 3.0, including the optional ribbon toolbar and some other improvements, see here for more information:
www.zabkat.com/blog/xplorer2_v3-ribbon.htm
for a list of all changes see all the items that are NOT marked with [P] in the changelog
to get it, use HELP > CHECK FOR UPDATES menu from within your old xplorer2 lite

[Kilmatead]

While the changelog suggests that the new stock column "Characters [S]" is available from the <ALT+K> dialog, that does not appear to actually be true.

And for those using an x64 OS, please note that the 7zNSE extension for browsing into 7z/RAR archives will not function within x2 Lite "as installed" - you will have to manually extract the x86 SevenZipFolder/7z DLL's from the 7zNSE installer itself (as there are two of each with the same names, extract the smaller ones as they are the 32-bit files, or just download these) and register SevenZipFolder.dll explicitly using C:\Windows\SysWOW64\regsvr32.exe. (One must use the 32-bit [SysWOW64] variant to register a 32-bit dll, otherwise the gods become unhappy.) Windows does not seem to have a problem having two DLL's of the same name registered concurrently as long as they are in different locations and do not share the same architecture.

After that, 7zNSE will function properly in both x86 and x64 file-managers interchangeably when on x64 systems. Please blame Nikos for his careless cruelty and typical inattention to detail regarding these matters.

The 7zNSE Config programme will function normally, and apply its settings unilaterally no matter which file-manager bit-type is currently in use.

[Kilmatead]

And for those who only want to see the changes that actually apply to the Lite version and not any others, just read the following which has the [P] and stuff removed.

[3.0.0.4] 5 May 15 ----------------

* corrected some dialog glitches in high DPI screen resolution
* better colaboration with new compressed folder NSE plugin (see http://zabkat.com/blog/compressed-folde ... ension.htm) !!! Please see preceding post above !!!

[3.0.0.2] 30 Jan 15 ----------------

* In explorer replacement mode you should see less messages "There was a problem sending the command to the program" when opening folders outside xplorer². Please note you should NOT force xplorer² in administrative mode otherwise this message will be seen almost every time.

* Bookmarks menu includes an item "Explorer Favorites" which takes you to the folder that you see in the tree of your windows explorer

* editor² Search > Match tag menu command handles XML tag names with a dot (.) correctly e.g. <DropDownGallery.MenuLayout> will match its closing </DropDownGallery.MenuLayout> tag

* Large toolbar skin included in all distributions so that the ribbon looks nice. 5 new icons were added so your old skin files may need updating.

* View > Ribbon menu command can replace (toggle) the traditional menubar with a modern Ribbon user interface. Requires windows Vista or later. Think of it as a plain menu mode for the less initiated. To get the menu back turn off the ribbon from its "file" (leftmost, dark blue) tab. Showing the ribbon hides the main toolbar too but you can have other toolbars showing with bookmarks, custom commands etc. Make sure you watch the demo video about the ribbon in HELP > HOW DO I? menu command.

* The <F2> mass rename dialog has a new special token "File attribute" which can be any available file property as seen in detailed view mode. This way you can use ID3 tags and all the rest of it to rename files.

* In explorer replacement mode xplorer² adds itself in the autoplay list for "generic content" so you can open your USB sticks with xplorer² through autoplay.

* Goto > Find Target menu command also works for normal items (ie. those that are not links or junctions), and will get the REAL path of the item if it happens to be redirected by various reparse points. For example, say that the folder junction c:\test\junction points to W:\dir. If you browse a file in c:\test\junction\SUBDIR\FILE then hitting <Ctrl+L> on it will jump to the real file located at W:\dir\SUBDIR\FILE.

* Volume mount points (kind of junctions to root drives created by MOUNTVOL command line tool) are correctly handled by CTRL+L command

* Folder tree will make sure the selected item is visible when you browse using the keyboard. You can scroll the tree left/right using <Ctrl+arrow keys>.

* Addressbar autofilter gets a [X] button that clears the filter quickly for those mouse oriented, and shows all the files

* in explorer replacement mode, WIN+E key (if enabled from Tools > Advanced options menu command) will properly bring xplorer² window to the front

* View will not scroll away to show the focus in large changing folders (e.g. downloads) as long as you CLEAR the option "Automatically re-sort contents after moving/copying etc" found in Tools > Options menu, Window page. Another way to make the view lock where you are looking is to click on one of the items you see. To show the selected items after that press <ALT+down arrow> key.

* New stock column "Characters" available from <ALT+K> dialog, counting the number of characters in pathnames. This helps identify long filenames that could be an issue copying e.g to CDROMs. Above 260 characters problems begin in all cases so try using small file and folder names.

* various combo boxes (except those doing paths) get new autocompletion mode through a drop-down list instead of having to press the up-arrow key

* Actions > Shred menu command renames the file to gibberish before deleting it. Makes it even harder to identify!

* Better protection for unlocking files before cutting/moving items. Now the only way you can't delete files in xplorer² must come from an external fault (e.g. buggy codec)

* proper HTML thumbnails shown and also good offline HTML preview with the Native tab. For windows XP you just need a registry hack: http://forum.zabkat.com/viewtopic.php?t=1730

* Tools > Options menu, Window page has a new option to sort folders after files (at the end)

* symbolic links with relative targets are correctly handled (<Ctrl+L> find target command etc)

* registry property nInfotipDurationMS controls the time (in millisec, 5000=5 sec) infotips remain in view — if enabled from Tools > Options > Window. Increase this value if your infotips contain a lot of information and you want to see them for longer.

* When you click on [?] buttons to see dialog help, any previous IE help window is reused to show the quickstart guide

* All Organize dialogs (e.g. Bookmarks) have a right click context menu to manage the lists (on top of the toolbar buttons); and a new toolbar skin.

[Tuxman]

Every time I check, it's harder to find the lite download. Commercial stuff!

[Kilmatead]

That's why the Download Mirrors page was created, to store all the sundry stuff, but most of all to flummox you personally.

It is curious that it has all but vanished from the main site itself - Nikos probably figures people tend to download it from other promotional sites as trials more than anything else, and only rarely reference his links via the "Check for Updates" palaver.

[Tuxman]

Lifetime ultimaters are unlikely flummoxed by obscured free downloads. We're curious people though.

[nikos]

if you check the links right down on the main website you'll find the lite version too

[Kilmatead]

if you check the links right down on the main website you'll find the lite version too

If you say so... but look at it this way: any user browsing the main site wouldn't have a clue that a "lite" version even exists, unless they accidentally end up on the download mirrors page or accidentally run into the "features comparison" chart, neither of which is easily done "accidentally".

Plenty of obligatory "free trial" ya-ya's splattered everywhere, but no sign of a lite version, not even on the first page of the downloads tab.

Granted, this is not really important - you don't gain anything from promoting the lite version, but I found a long time ago that it's actually easier to find it by googling than it is by going directly to your own site.

And was I right or wrong about the "Characters [S]" column not being implemented? It shows up fine in other versions, but not in Lite. I notice that Width [S] and Height [S] are missing too, but there was never any mention of them in the changelog anyway. At least the "Infotip [S]" column is denoted with a [P].

[nikos]

lite version is missing a few columns by design, another small limitation

[Kilmatead]

That's what I figured - but you know us overly-anal types and our OCD fascination with changelog etiquette.