xplorer² online help: Introduction

xplorer²

Exponential growth to file management productivity

Introduction

Whether you work with documents in your office or school, or collect photos as an amateur, you will have lots of files. Windows explorer is a basic file manager that will soon annoy you with its inconsistencies and limitations. If you deal with many files and folders you need a heavy duty file manager like xplorer², which will help you be productive, with almost every kind of file you possess:

Find your files wherever they may be (hard disk, network, cloud storage or mobile phone)
Work in large folders with many files, using focused filtering and file selection methods
Quickly preview most file type contents (text, image, audio/video)
Browse many folders simultaneously with dual panes, folder tabs and Miller columns
Manage multiple files in one go (copy, delete, rename, change dates and attributes)
Check for file modifications, synchronize folders and perform safety backups
Maintain a tidy organized file system clean of duplicate files and wasted space

If you have worked with windows explorer, then you will feel immediately at home with xplorer² as it supports the same tree/view folder browsing, view modes like details and thumbnails, mouse drag drop and context menu operations. The more advanced xplorer² features will require some learning curve, but the interface is simple and consistent, and there's plenty of help and support, both inside the program and online.

xplorer² integrates fully with Windows Shell model, so it can browse in all locations, even within "virtual" folders like compressed archives and SFTP. It can utilize more than 300 system file properties and integrates with any shell extensions you install to see more properties, icon overlays, document previews and so on.

With its small size (around 3 MB) and low system resource use, advanced multi-threaded multi-window design for speed and efficiency, customization, a clean minimalist interface and keyboard shortcuts for most frequently used commands, we trust you won't be disappointed for choosing xplorer² for your file management needs. In fact chances are you'll never look back to explorer or any other file manager!

How to use this guide

xplorer² does many things for you so unavoidably its operation manual is huge. Understandably you don't want to read the entire help file from start to end — it is recommended to read the overview chapter at minimum though. See the table of contents below for the basic organization in chapters and sections. Use the search function of your browser (usually pressing <CTRL+F> keys) to search for a keyword — ideally search for the exact menu command name you are interested in — or see the menu index in the appendix.

This HTML document has many internal cross references and links that jump to other parts of information, possibly far away from what you were reading. To come back where you were (before clicking on any anchor), use your browser's Back button or press <Alt+LeftArrow> keys.

At major section boundaries, you will find links to jump to the previous and next sections, and the table of Contents .

Each section begins with a quick overview of the subject at hand, followed by more in-depth information. Various popouts are sprinkled all over the place with extra information or warnings. Most sections include further reading articles and demo videos, which you recognize by these symbols:

Extra information and tips for increased productivity

warning Warnings whenever an operation is potentially dangerous or confusing

Advanced information for expert users, which may be ignored by most

video Links to demo videos, which may be more to your liking if you prefer video explanations to reading manuals

Instructions often refer to commands in the menu bar and are shown in bold print, including the menu "full path", the names of all main and submenus you need to open to access the command. Menu paths are separated by > symbols. E.g. File > New tab means you open File from the main menu and find New tab somewhere in it.

Some explanations include keyboard shortcuts you press to invoke a command, as an alternative to using the menu. Keyboard shortcuts are placed in angle brackets and can combine more than one keys, e.g. <CTRL+C> means you must press CTRL and C keys together.

Most of the information herein regards the professional xplorer² edition. A few advanced commands are only available in ultimate edition and are clearly marked as such with icon. Note that many features are missing from the free lite version. Such commands are marked with [P] in the lite version menu system

Font too small to read? Press CTRL+NUMPLUS keys to make it bigger

Scrap containers
Populating scrap panes | Managing collections | Mini scrap

Search for files and folders
Windows Desktop Search

Automation of DOS (and windows) commands
$-Tokens | Command output redirection | Automatic script generation | User commands | Optional command line arguments

User interface automation
Macro commands | Programmable columns

User Interface customization
Keyboard customization | Toolbar customization | xplorer² context menu | Program options | Window layouts

Installation and registration
Ultimate edition | Program registration | Suspected bugs | Troubleshooting

Appendix
Keyboard shortcuts | Stock properties | editor² | Sample UI macros | All menu commands

xplorer²

Introduction

How to use this guide

TABLE OF CONTENTS