Introduction

From XYwiki

Welcome to the wiki help system dedicated to XYplorer!

The XYwiki is a place for you to find help and information about XYplorer and how to make the most of it. It is done using MediaWiki, and allows every XYfanatic to take part in improving the XYplorer online documentation.

We hope you'll find all the answers you need regarding XY in here. Otherwise, feel free to visit the XYplorer Beta Club(user forum) where you'll meet Donald Lessau (the program author himself) and a team of XYfanatics, able and eager to help.

A note to newbies that might feel discouraged or overwhelmed by the sheer size of this wiki: XYplorer development has always focused on intuitive, user-friendly interface design. In other words: You do not have to read this manual to get going! But it will help you to get going faster, easier, and smarter!

What is XYplorer ?

XYplorer is a multi-tabbed file manager featuring a powerful file search, versatile preview facilities, a highly customizable interface, and an array of unique ways to efficiently automate frequently recurring tasks. It's extremely fast and light, it's innovative, and it's fun!

The program design follows a Keep It Simple philosophy: its interface has been kept as simple and intuitive as possible, and does not confront you with an overload of buttons, toolbars, or menus. Form followed function, yet while being maximally efficient, it is still attractive to look at. Also, since it closely adheres to the look, feel, and standards from Windows Explorer, you'll need no time at all to start working, and only a few minutes to start working better. With time you'll discover more and more innovative features and will experience how XYplorer's usability helps you to manage your files with ease and efficiency.

XYplorer is a portable file manager. It does not require any installation, stores all data in the program's folder, and running it does not change your system or registry. There are some unique features designed for this portable use, such as PFA (Portable File Associations) and POM (Portable Openwith Menu) which can also be used together to get additional options in how files are opened.

XYplorer is a tool rather than a toy, and targets power users and computer professionals who are looking for an Explorer replacement that deserves its name. Contrary to many other Explorer replacements, XYplorer is very small, very fast, and uses very little memory resources. But don't be fooled, there's a lot of power under the hood...

XYplorer is Written and Copyright © 2000-08 Donald Lessau. All rights reserved.

The different parts of XYplorer

Just like in Explorer, the main window of XY is divided into two components: the Tree on the left, and the List on the right. But in addition to those, XYplorer also has a few other revolutionary features, such as the Catalog and the Panel.