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Vista File Explorer = PooPoo


hoak

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Does anyone else find the Vista File Explorer to be an awkward, poorly laid out and ugly file browser? IMHO this is a giant leap backward from what has been offered since Windows 9x - Server 2003...

Granted we can still use switches to force improvements on the layout, you still end up with something that's a gross waste of screen real estate (actually the entire UI has this problem), ugly, and forces the display of a lot of useless features you have to maneuver around.

I've long since uninstalled my copy of Vista and given the DVD to a friend, but have since wondered if the Windows 9x or Windows XP explorer.exe could be used on Vista if renamed to something like FileManager.exe?

:blink:

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I don't have Vista nor do I intend to get it but I have looked at screenshots etc... and I got the impression that there is a sort of new layer that fairly well masks/hides the logical filesystem structure and I thought I could not manage my files very well/easily with this system. Is this a wrong impression ?

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If you have a 3 gig plus processor, 2 gig plus of memory, new mother board, powerful video card, and all up to date hard and software vista will be ok, other wise stay away from it.

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If you have a 3 gig plus processor, 2 gig plus of memory, new mother board, powerful video card, and all up to date hard and software vista will be ok, other wise stay away from it.
One of my systems has 1GB of RAM, a 1.8GHz CPU (Athlon XP 2500+), a Radeon 9600 graphics card, and an old abit NF7-S2 motherboard. That system works fine under Vista. Admittedly, it was almost top-of-the-line three years ago when I built it, but it is a far cry less powerful than today's best systems.

Where Vista wants hardware is in the amount of memory installed (512MB is barely functioning, 768MB is usable, 1GB is decent, & 2GB maximizes performance) and the video card installed (forget pre-DX9 graphics adapters, as they will not be up to par for Vista). While top-of-the-line is not needed, trying to use an old Pentium III and 128MB of RAM on a Trident Blade is not going to cut it.

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I've long since uninstalled my copy of Vista and given the DVD to a friend, but have since wondered if the Windows 9x or Windows XP explorer.exe could be used on Vista if renamed to something like FileManager.exe?
In short, no. The previos editions of explorer are dar more than the simple executable - numerous resources spread throughout the OS make them up. No version of the explorr interface from a previous edition of Windows can be brought over to a newer version of the OS.
I don't have Vista nor do I intend to get it but I have looked at screenshots etc... and I got the impression that there is a sort of new layer that fairly well masks/hides the logical filesystem structure and I thought I could not manage my files very well/easily with this system. Is this a wrong impression ?
Yes, your impression is erroneous.

The Vista Windows Explorer interface retains all of the capabilities of the XP & 2003 versions, but adds a number of useful features to make your use of it easier. While it may appear unusual and confusing at first glance, it is not as strange as it first appears.

The screen is divided into two main areas, a left-side navigation pane and a right-side contents pane. Both panes

The contents pane is not much different from what has been seen before: it displays the contents of the folder you are currently looking at and is able to display the data in a Detail view, as a List, as Tiles, or as thumbnails. Where it differs from Vista is that it's thumbnail view can be scaled in size, ranging very small to very large, while it's detail view has different default columns selected depending ont he type of data being viewed.

The left-hand Navigation pane is similarly enhanced over that used in older versions of Windows. While the navigation pane does display and use a directory tree (just as earlier OS's use), it adds a Favorite Links section which gives one click access to the folders you most frequently use. By default, the two functions are given equal amounts of space to work in, with he Favorite Links at the top and th Directory Tree below. Fortunately, it is easy to adjust the amount of space for each component (simply drag the bar which seperates them up or down) or to switch quickly to displaying either one by itself (click the little up/down arrorw next to that bar).

A third pane is not turned on by default. This pane, caled the Preview pane, shows you the contents of the currently selected file without needing to launch anoher aplication. This works with various common file formats and is extensible through plugins to handle newer ones. Unless you are using a widescreen display, however, the use of all three panes does take up too much space. However, it is a very useful feature for those who have lots of documents they are constantly having to look through. As with the other panes, this can be resized at will.

Above the main pane areas is a bar which holds a list of common tasks. In the older version of explorer, if you closed the navigation bar, you were presented with a list of contect sensitive actions you could take in its place. This bar does the same thing, but is visible at all times - eliminating the need to close the navigation bar just to do something.

Above this is where the menubar appears. In order to conserve space, however, the menubar normally does not display. Tapping the Alt key, however, instanty displays it and you can set it o lways on through the standard Windows Exolorer properties dialohg

Above the menubar is the URL/Address Bar. As with previous instances, you can type any path into this box to go straight to it. Unlike previous editions, however, the path in the address bar doubles as a set of navigation links, allowing you to click on any compoent to quickly go to parent, grandparent, and sibling directories without having to deal with the directory tree.

To the right of the Address bar is a quick search box. Typing anything into this box will perform a search based on the folder you are currently viewing. This search box can accept filenames, file sizes, dates, or even complex query commands. More interestingly, after a search has been created, you can save it too your Favorite Links portion of the Navigation bar so you can access it again quickly. This can be extremely useful, as the saved search is dynamically and automatically updated as you create, rename, delete, and move files. (For example, you can save a search for pictures that will allow you to quickly get an updated list of all pictures on your system.)

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I like the breadcrumbs feature that makes it easy to navigate from folder to folder.

I like that you can add your own places to the side panel.

I miss the status bar of XP, which exists in Vista but it doesn't show the total size of the folder you are view. You now have to select all the files to view the size of all the files.

Explorer is also buggy in the way it handles the views. I can't seem to get the views to stick no matter what I try.

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  • 2 weeks later...
No version of the explorr interface from a previous edition of Windows can be brought over to a newer version of the OS.

That's not entirely true. The Explorer.exe files were interchangable on the 9x systems. Explorer from XP works in 2003. I don't use Vista anymore so I cannot say whether Explorer from XP works on it or not. It may work as a file browser but most likely not as the desktop.

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[...]I miss the status bar of XP, which exists in Vista but it doesn't show the total size of the folder you are view. You now have to select all the files to view the size of all the files.[...]

Actually just point your mouse over the folder and you'll see its size ;)

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Actually just point your mouse over the folder and you'll see its size

I know that. But what I'm saying is suppose in Folder X, you have Folders Y and Z and files A, B, C, D. Then status bar should show the total size of A, B, C, and D like in XP. Forget folders Y and Z. In Vista, you have to select A, B, C, and D to show their total size in status bar.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I found the new explorer in Vista awkward at best.

I do like the rename feature without having to type in the extension.

My "issues" with the new explorer are:

It always opens in a minimized mode,

Always opens in the same directory, the start menu folder,

Never opens in the root directory,

Always expands folders automatically when you spend more than a second over them,

And, when explorer opens it always shows the full opened tree of the users menu vs a short concise view of the main folders.

Shall I go on?

I haven't found a way to make it open in full screen mode, open in the root directory or keep all folders closed until I click them.

I'm sure there are workarounds to this, but I'm not familiar enough with what search term to use to find these workarounds.

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I agree Butch, my chief beef though is the Explorer File Manager UI is such a bloated screen real estate wasting turd, and lacks configurability to remove/hide those wasty ugly features I don't need and that make basic file navigation inefficient..

I'm sure all the id*t features are great for people unfamiliar with file browsers, that have poor eye-hand coordination, low vision, or that are severely mentally impaired -- but for some of us familiar with navigating OS file systems; it's a huge waste of screen space, inefficient to use (requiring redundant mouse clicks and excessive window management) -- and is aesthetically ugly to anyone that values and appreciates design form that follows function.

Some of these issues prevail over the Vista GUI design as a whole (or more likely -- lack of design and engineering); and using the Vista interface leaves me with the impression that it was thrown together by something like a conference room full of UI Artists that hated each other that were were turned loose to do as they will so long as tehy please a Special Olympics Medal Winner as their target User and/or team Manager.

Making applications more accessible to physically and mentally impaired Users is a worty aim, but when it comes at the expense of utility, performance, and just basic functional efficacy -- it's not an improvement -- and I know I'm not the only person that thinks the Vista UI looks like a G-String on a fat hairy man, ergo "eye sore", i.e. The Emperor's New Clothes...

:blink:

Edited by hoak
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