Replace all windows explorer windows!

[admin]

I'm currently not planning anything in that direction.

[teroteki]

Hello,
Has this situation changed at all? Are there any plans to introduce XYplorer Save/Open system dialogs?
I've just spent a few hours configuring XY, and it's perfect!
It does everything I need it to do and more! I'm even willing to over look the fact that it's x86 only :)

I was all ready to get my pro licence and then I realised there was no way to use XY in applications.

This completely baffles me! Why create a file manager.. that you can only use 50% of the time?

I cannot understand the point of setting up colours, tags, comments, line numbers, blowup zoom and all the other great features XY offers, and then not actually being able to use them when you NEED them?!

I hate the Win7 Explorer - this is why I am looking for a replacement file manager.
If I was happy with Explorer.. why would I even be trying XYplorer?

So yea, any updates?

[admin]

50% of the time spent opening files inside other apps? I spend near 0 % of my time doing this because I open my files from XY via file association...

[teroteki]

Yes, what can I say, I actually use my computer to create content? :)
I'll usually have 3-4+ applications open when I'm working.

I'll be constantly switching between them. Every time I switch application I need to save a revision of the file - Save As, (so it would be great to have access to the tags/comments/etc right there in the dialog!)
When I Open a file, I'll need to see which tag/comment/revision etc is the most appropriate one.

Basically what you're asking me to do is use TWO file managers AND Alt-Tab out of my application?
I cannot understand the logic in that? It's slower, much more confusing and it completely defeats the purpose of even using XY!



Edit:
Also, not all programs support opening files through explorer association;
Video - Importing 1000s of images in sequences has to be done in the application
3D - Applying a texture/map has to be done inside the application
Audio - Importing sounds/presets has to be done inside the application
Zbrush - Loading tools has to be done inside the application
etc.

[j_c_hallgren]

I'll usually have 3-4+ applications open when I'm working.

I'll be constantly switching between them. Every time I switch application I need to save a revision of the file - Save As, (so it would be great to have access to the tags/comments/etc right there in the dialog!)

Hi and welcome to the XY forums!

There's sometime about what you said that has me wondering: Do you thus have thousands of files created from this method? Because if you say that every time you switch appl, you do a "Save As" so that could easily create dozens/hundreds of files if you switch as often as it appears you do..because the only time I need the Save dialog is the rare time when I'm creating a copy from within the appl...and after that, it's just a plain save.

Basically what you're asking me to do is use TWO file managers AND Alt-Tab out of my application?

The Open/Save dialog is more accurately described as a small subset of Win Explorer and thus most people don't consider it to be a file manager...I certainly do not.

[teroteki]

Hi and welcome to the XY forums!

Hi and thanks :)

Yes, most of the applications I use are 3D/Paint/Video programs - they generally tend to be quite unstable!
Crashes and hangs can cause the files to become corrupted. The only solution is to Save As and create many iterations. Working in iterations also has many positive benefits :)
An average project for me (a 3D model for example) can easily have 500 files and 20 folders.
Browsing this mess needs the colour tagging and other organisational features XY offers!

The Open/Save dialog is more accurately described as a small subset of Win Explorer and thus most people don't consider it to be a file manager...I certainly do not.

Well, it Copies, Pastes, Renames, Creates New, Views Thumbs, Sorts by and Deletes.. it's a file manager! Just not a very good one ;)

[admin]

Well, I don't know of a way to replace the common dialogs. What other file managers can do this?

[j_c_hallgren]

Well, I don't know of a way to replace the common dialogs. What other file managers can do this?

I think I've read here before that DO can do this...that's the only one I recall...another possible one is x2 but I think only for the paid vers maybe.

[teroteki]

I've just finished trying 6 different file managers (XYplorer was my favourite! :)
and none of them are able to replace the Common Dialogs :\

My current setup at the moment is:
- Registry hacks to disable explorer Fullrow Select (doesn't work in all Common Dialogs) and the directory UI spacing is odd depending on the application/folder
- Folder Marker context menu app to color-code and organize folders (doesn't always work because they only have x64 in beta) and it litters the place with desktop.ini's
- ClassicShell to apply an 'Up' directory button to windows explorer (randomly works in some Common Dialogs)
- Hacked ShellStyle.dll to disable that awful 'Organize Bar'/Folder Band ribbon thing. What a pointless 'feature'
- Places Utility to modify the places bar entries

What a complete mess.
XYplorer completely solves ALL of this!

No one else on earth has made a real explorer replacement.
The market place is wide open. Something to think about...

[admin]

I've just finished trying 6 different file managers (XYplorer was my favourite!
and none of them are able to replace the Common Dialogs :\

My current setup at the moment is:
- Registry hacks to disable explorer Fullrow Select (doesn't work in all Common Dialogs) and the directory UI spacing is odd depending on the application/folder
- Folder Marker context menu app to color-code and organize folders (doesn't always work because they only have x64 in beta) and it litters the place with desktop.ini's
- ClassicShell to apply an 'Up' directory button to windows explorer (randomly works in some Common Dialogs)
- Hacked ShellStyle.dll to disable that awful 'Organize Bar'/Folder Band ribbon thing. What a pointless 'feature'
- Places Utility to modify the places bar entries

What a complete mess.
XYplorer completely solves ALL of this!

No one else on earth has made a real explorer replacement.
The market place is wide open. Something to think about...

Just to make sure: What you are talking about is not a file manager feature but a system feature. Whatever makes this possible (if it is possible) has to be done in the system registry, not in the file manager. All the file manager can possibly do is modify the registry for you. At least that's my current understanding of it.

[mwb1100]

The market place is wide open. Something to think about...

There are several utilities that specifically provide enhancements to the file open/save dialogs. As far as I know, they typically deal with the stock Explorer dialog and often also work with the custom dialogs in MS Office, but other programs that use a custom dialog might not be supported. I don't think any of these would be considered a file manager in addition to extending the file open/save dialogs.

- Handy Folders, Direct Folders, PS Hot Folders, FileBox Extender

I don't know if this is an area that XY should branch into - I could see arguments both ways. If nothing else, it sure seems like an area that would need a significant effort to work properly in a wide range of scenarios. FileBox Extender is GPL open source (another opensource project is FlashFolder). I wonder if it could be morphed into something that 'wraps' an XY instance. Probably not easily; my understanding is that FileBox Extender used to be commercial, closed source and was open-sourced because the developer thought it was not worthwhile to keep it compatible with continual OS and Office changes.

As far as having to manually keep track of various versions of files, teroteki, you might want to consider a utility that manages this more automatically (in addition to dedicated versioning utilities, several backup programs offer a similar feature):

- FileHamster, History Explorer, AJC Active Backup

Note that neither of these lists is by any means comprehensive, nor are the lists an endorsement of the software (in many cases, I have not even downloaded the software). They are just examples of programs that claim to provide the features being discussed.

[teroteki]

mwb1100 thanks for those suggestions! I'll definitely look into them :)

I remember using various shell changers/enhancers with Win98/XP but it's only since I've been using Win7 that I've really started to resent the OS/UI :(
Everything seems so hard-coded and locked down.

Had a play with Vanga Rengi Mangaro and it hooks/wraps over the Win7 dialogs. Only seems to work with certain applications though. So it is possible.

Yes.. looking into this subject more, it appears that this is quite complex.
I have no clue about programming, APIs or com32dlg.dll so I'm not able to comment how difficult it would be from a technical standpoint.
I just found that navigating those dialogs was an awkward-unfriendly-rubbish experience!
Needed a solution and XYplorer was it :)

It's a bit like;
resenting Outlook Express, so you develop, code and create a new program called Thunderbird, but when you click a mailto: link, it opens up Outlook Express :p

I guess it's all relative really - I would find having a GLOBALLY unified file management system much more useful than say, Mouse Down Blow Up 2.0 or Thumbnails Deluxe.
If I actually needed to preview and manage images that much, chances are that I'd already own a dedicated application for the task (Adobe Bridge, IfranView, Lightroom, Picasa, MysticThumbs etc.)

Ahh well, I'll just sit tight and wait.
Might be a few years, but I'm sure Windows Explorer will get tabs, multi-planes, keyboard shortcuts and color-tags one day :)

[admin]

Might be a few years, but I'm sure Windows Explorer will get tabs, multi-planes, keyboard shortcuts and color-tags one day

See you back then in a few years...

[j_c_hallgren]

Yes.. looking into this subject more, it appears that this is quite complex.
I have no clue about programming, APIs or com32dlg.dll so I'm not able to comment how difficult it would be from a technical standpoint.
I just found that navigating those dialogs was an awkward-unfriendly-rubbish experience!

Exactly! Had it been more possible, it would likely already been done!

I guess it's all relative really - I would find having a GLOBALLY unified file management system much more useful than say, Mouse Down Blow Up 2.0 or Thumbnails Deluxe.
If I actually needed to preview and manage images that much, chances are that I'd already own a dedicated application for the task (Adobe Bridge, IfranView, Lightroom, Picasa, MysticThumbs etc.)

XY isn't trying to eliminate other dedicated appl's but rather make it much more efficient to locate/manage the desired file(s) without the overhead of opening those appl's, ok? I use MDBU to do so, for example...and many of use consider XY to already be almost a fully unified FM with the exception of the Open/Save dialog.

[chris28]

The reason for creating xy should be to replace WE fully,think twice Don.