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xplorer² Quick Start Guide
File exploring reinvented: Feel like home miles away from home
xplorer² is a program with vast context and a great number of advanced commands, that will no doubt cause problems or questions for users sooner or later. We want to believe that the program is rather intuitive and users can troubleshoot themselves with simple reasoning and extrapolation from familiar circumstances, but there is no magical one-size-fits-all unfortunately.
The quickest route to solving your problems is to do-it-yourself! No hanging around waiting for support from the author. Sometimes the solution will be close at hand, in the help texts of commands as they appear on the status bar, or described in the tooltips of input fields in dialog windows.
For more substantial issues there are quite a few useful resources you can use for self-help:
buttons for demos.
We made an effort to write all this information about the program and we strongly believe you will benefit no end by reading the available documentation in full - at least this "bitesize" guide. You will learn many tricks and explore the available commands to increase your productivity using xplorer².
Still if reading manuals is not your thing you can skim across the documentation, searching for keywords (using your browser's Edit | Find on this page command) that describe your query or problem. Then follow hyperlinks to related information, if necessary.
If you fail to find what you need using the documentation, you've got these further options:
If you think you've discovered a bug, please ask yourself a few questions before seeking support:
Thank you!
xplorer² will run in a basic trim on all win32 platforms (95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP/2003/Vista/Windows 7/8/10), however a subset of its features depend on windows services that may or may not be available on all PCs. In most cases you can get full functionality by installing a recent version of Internet Explorer.
| Feature | Requirements |
|---|---|
| Toolbars | Windows 95 with Internet Explorer v.3 or better |
| Thumbnails | Windows 98 or NT4 with Active Desktop update |
| File comments | Windows NT4 (NTFS formatted partitions) |
| FTP | Internet Explorer v.3 |
| Zip folders | Windows ME or Windows XP (for windows 2000 please see FAQ B4) |
| Audio/Video preview | Windows Media Player v.6 |
| Column handlers | Windows 2000 for extended file information |
| Text filters | Windows 2000 or later. For PDF see FAQ D3 |
| Arrange in groups | Windows XP |
| Ribbon toolbar | Windows Vista |
The companion text viewer application editor² requires richedit control version 3 (riched20.dll 5.30.xxx or better) which may not be present on systems pre-2000. However this is not an issue since you can associate any external editor with xplorer².
This table summarizes the main differences between windows explorer (2000) and alternative file managers from Zabkat's stable: the old 2xExplorer and xplorer². The table shows at a glance the increased functionality available in the pro version too.
Note that the "lite" version is free for private and academic use only. For any other use including commercial, government, military etc, you must purchase a licence for xplorer² pro. See licence.txt for more information.
| Feature | windows explorer | 2x Explorer | xplorer² lite | xplorer² pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-area shell namespace access |  | | | |
| Shell integrated with drag/drop, context menu etc | | | | |
| Automatic sensing of changes in all folders (networked etc) | |  | | |
| Multithreaded & multi-window operation | | | | |
| Folder tree panel | | | | |
| Bookmark and quicklaunch panel (mini-scrap) | | | | |
| Dual pane mode (browse 2 folders in one window) | | | | |
| Tabbed interface | | | | |
| Docking and floating panes | | | | |
| Save and restore tabs (folder groups) | | | | |
| Keyboard shortcuts and overall usability | | | | |
| Path autocompletion | | | | |
| Filtering of item visibility | | | | |
| Filtering on arbitrary criteria (hyperfilters) | | | | |
| Fuzzy filename matching | | | | |
| Selection engine for precision marking of files | | | | |
| Selection with arbitrary criteria (hyperfilters) | | | | |
| Extended filesystem information columns (comments etc) | | | | |
| Even more columns (checksum, 8.3 name etc) | | | | |
| Column handler support for vista & windows 7/8/10 | | | | |
| Multi-column sort (using shift+column click) | | | | |
| Show in (collapsible) groups | | | | |
| User defined groups | | | | |
| Individual folder settings | | | | |
| Custom/skinned system icons (drives etc) | | | | |
| Extended icon overlays (e.g. TortoiseSVN) | | | | |
| Color coding of filenames | | | | |
| Window layout saving and management | | | | |
| Export folder information as text (for printing etc) | | | | |
| Extract plain text from office/PDF/WPD/ODT documents | | | | |
| Robust background file transfers with optional filters | | | | |
| Robust deletion with error control and filters | | | | |
| Hard links (NTFS) | | | | |
| Folder junctions, symbolic links (NTFS) | | | | |
| Mass renaming | | | | |
| Mass tag/comment management | | | | |
| Change file dates (touch) | | | | |
| Find text in files | | | | |
| Search for multiple keywords with boolean context | | | | |
| Search for text in office and PDF/WPD/ODT documents using filters | | | | |
| Search for contained text and filenames using regular expressions | | | | |
| Customizable info bars (status bar for each pane) | | | | |
| Context sensitive file information (details) pane | | | | |
| Unicode, UTF-8 & file encoding aware | | | | |
| Unicode version available | | | | |
| Split/Merge/Shred | | | | |
| Text/RTF/Hex preview | | | | |
| Exact preview of ActiveX documents (office etc) | | | | |
| Text editor | | | | |
| Graphics preview | | | | |
| Thumbnail view mode (using fast system cache) | | | | |
| Mini- and densely packed thumbnails | | | | |
| Multimedia preview (audio & video) | | | | |
| Find files with arbitrary criteria | | | | |
| Search within archives, FTP, webfolders (webDAV) etc | | | | |
| Refine previous search | | | | |
| Scrap containers (simultaneous management of many folders) | | | | |
| Folder synchronization | | | | |
| Deep synchronization (including subfolders) | | | | |
| Script wizard for DOS & win32 text commands | | | | |
| Intercept command output in user-friendly console | | | | |
| Customizable user command menu | | | | |
| Detect duplicate files & cleanup | | | | |
| Toolbar customization | | | | |
| Add extra toolbars and custom button icons | | | | |
| Toolbar skinning | | | | |
| Drivebar for easy access of local drives | | | | |
| Detailed breakdown of subfolder disk usage (statistics) | | | | |
| Calculate folder sizes in detailed view | | | | |
| Long path support for big folder names (>260 letters) | | | | |
| Total commander WLX/WDX/WCX plugins for archives, preview and attributes | | | | |
| Keyboard customization | | | | |
| Programmable user interface with macros | | | | |
| Native 64 bit executable | | | | |
| Sample reading speed for folder with 7000 items (sec) | 1.05 | 1.5 | 0.83 | 0.83 |
| Program size (KB) | 237 | 596 | 683 | 970 |
| Commands in the menu system | 48 | 100 | 154 | 229 |
The professional version can be installed and tried in full trim without obligation for the first 21 days - and a further 10 days with some extra nags. The registration dialog will pop up every time you start the program, but you do not have to buy a key immediately. Click on Continue button (see below) to proceed on a trial basis. When you are ready to order click on Secure order and follow the online instructions (or use this order page).
| NOTE: As a matter of courtesy to new users xplorer² does not ask ('nag') for a registration key during the first day you start using it. If you have a key and you want to use it immediately then start xplorer² and use Help | Activate with key menu command |
After the end of the 31-day trial period you must obtain a registration key or the program will refuse to start.
After you complete the order process, the registration key will be sent to you via email. Click on I have an unlock key button to start the external license manager. The license manager is a separate program that will run elevated to bypass any UAC problems in windows vista or later. In there you copy/paste the unlock key you received via email and click Activate button (see below). Once the key is accepted just restart xplorer². You can confirm your registration using Help | About menu command.
In some rare cases the key may not be accepted. There are a number of possible causes, explained in this FAQ. If you still have problems please ask for help including a snapshot of the exact error code.
NOTE: The professional and ultimate editions have different unlock keys. If you bought a license for xplorer² professional it can only be used if you install the professional version (and vice versa for the ultimate edition). You can check which xplorer² version you are running using Help | About menu command. If you don't have the correct version installed just get the relevant trial version from the website. You can quickly tell which license you bought from the format of the registration reference number (see the email receipt). Ultimate version keys are bigger.
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If you are using xplorer² on the move you will find that saving program settings in the windows registry is not an option. One of the main advantages of xplorer² ultimate version is its portability. Using Tools | Options you can tell xplorer² to store its settings in a file instead of the registry:
If you keep your ultimate version on a USB stick then pick the option "file in installation folder", which will save the settings in a file called X2SETTINGS.INI next to the xplorer² executable program. If you installed the ultimate version on your hard disk and still don't want to use the registry, pick the option "file in user appdata folder" (usually C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Roaming\zabkat), as the installation folder inside C:\Program Files will most likely be protected and inaccessible.
Here are the step-by-step instructions to place xplorer² ultimate in a USB stick environment. For example assuming we want to setup the portable version within F:\x2portable\ folder:
If you have problems setting this up please watch this demo video:
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NOTE: Not all your favorite settings may be reusable in different computers; e.g. some of your bookmarks may point to inexistent folders. Using environmental variables in path definitions may alleviate this problem. If you have more than one Layouts (Window menu) please open one window from each layout when you export your settings from registry to the INI file. |
xplorer² defines the environmental variable X2DIR as the full path to the folder where xplorer² is running from, e.g. F:\tools\ (trailing backslash included). You can take advantage of this when you define external commands (Customize | User commands menu). E.g. if you have another tool on your USB place it in the same folder as xplorer² and call it using %X2DIR%myTool.exe - which will be equivalent to F:\tools\myTool.exe but won't depend on the drive letter your USB stick happens to be assigned.
After you properly set up your portable edition in a removable medium like a USB stick, then you have these advantages:
To ease the way you access xplorer² from your removable media you can create an AUTORUN.INF file in your root USB drive folder, and set it to open xplorer², editing it as such:
[autorun]
open=x2portable\xplorer2_UC.exe [optional arguments]
| TIP: The ultimate edition comes in separate 32 and 64 bit versions. Thinking about portability you will be better off using the 32 bit version, as it will run on all computers - whereas the 64 bit one will be limited to those installed with 64 bit windows. |
xplorer² was developed in C++/WTL, almost singled-handedly by Nikos Bozinis. Completing the picture, shouts go out to:
Here are the people that translated the program in various languages:
During the long years of development many testers have helped with suggestions, testing and bug reports. Thanks to you all!
Big up for all the "old hands" from the forum who have helped over and above anybody else with their tireless testing and constant flow of suggestions - did I say harassment? :) - that drove xplorer² in the shape and form it is now. In alphanumerical order thanks out to: BRX, fgagnon, JRz, MKairys, Morning Star, narayan, PhilipSutton, Starsurfer and vserghi.
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