xplorer² LITE Changelog

What's new in xplorer² LITE 5.4.0.2

Jul 18, 2023

Bugfixes

New in xplorer² LITE 5.1.0.2 (Jan 11, 2022)

New in xplorer² LITE 5.1.0.0 (Jan 11, 2022)

[P] CLOUD ROBUST COPY. F5 copy is careful with "offline" (on demand) cloud files and it asks you to download them. Use YesToAll button if you want to go ahead and bring them all to your local PC. To disable this warning, use the old GAO2_DOWNLOADCLOUD registry tweak.
[P] ROBUST COPY WATCHDOG. If F5 file copy command detects a slow progress, then it offers you the option to skip the current problematic file and continue with the rest, or abort the lot. Useful for the odd case where network unavailability or other screw-up makes copying files get stuck.
[P] CONVERT GROUPS TO FOLDERS. Regular or custom groups (even fuzzy grouping) in scrap container collections can be converted into actual folders using TOOLS > EXTRACT GROUPS menu command.
Say you used VIEW > ARRANGE BY > SHOW IN GROUPS menu to show items alphabetically grouped using their first letter, you can then use extract groups command to create folders that contain the items of each group. You choose a top destination folder and xplorer² creates subfolders under it, one per group (the folder names match the group titles you see). You can either COPY or MOVE the original files into these subfolders.
This command can also organize items by DATE, whether you have groups or not. This is useful e.g. if you have a truckload of photos in a scrap and you want to automatically move them in subfolders according to their modification date. Depending on the dialog option you choose, you can have one folder PER YEAR, or you can have items organized by year AND MONTH (i.e. each year subfolder has 12 subfolders corresponding to months).
Usually MODIFIED date is used for automatic folder creation, but you can pick any other date you want (eg DATE TAKEN) by placing it FIRST in the details. To reorganize column order either use ALT+K command or drag-drop using the column header
[P] DUPLICATES CHECKER IMPROVEMENTS. You may have heard that I recently released a purpose-built duplicate files checker called i-DeClone (http://ideclone.com). Some of its comparison features are now available for xplorer² duplicate checker too, to wit:
TOOLS > CHECK DUPLICATES dialog has controls that allow you to ignore certain time differences (if comparing by Modification date) that may be artificial. So if you are comparing items located in FAT32 folders, up to 2 seconds difference could be an artefact and you now get the option to ignore it.
Registry setting nMinDupeSize lets you ignore very small files (those that are smaller than this limit, default=1024 bytes). Many times your hard disk contains tons of small files that make the comparison harder, but with little benefit, as these files take next to no space. If you set it to 0 (use the advanced options editor) then you disable the small file check and examine all files, as in past versions.
Checking for duplicates by CONTENT (byte by byte) takes long time if the files are huge. Registry setting nMaxDupeContentMB sets the maximum limit for exact comparison. Files bigger than this limit are examined statistically (all the bytes below nMaxDupeContentMB, then 10% at random above it). If the files are identical, then you get the same verdict at a fraction of the time. Arguably there is a small uncertainty involved, as 2 files may be different in places where xplorer² didn't examine, and they are deemed "identical" by mistake. However I believe the advantages far outweigh the small risk. If you want to be more certain, increase the cutoff limit to its maximum value of 250MB
Xplorer² is more careful when you scan your entire PC for duplicates, and excludes the same file accessed through 2 separate routes (through junctions in your Documents folder for example). So you have less of a risk of deleting pseudo-duplicates (same file with different pathname)
If you change the sort mode in duplicate results window, then restore sort by GROUP ID, the bands of background color that represent the duplicate files will reappear
When deleting lots of duplicate files, you will find that the pane refreshes better, leaving only original items behind.
BIGGER DIALOGS. In the interest of all mature/elderly users out there, all xplorer² dialogs get a slightly larger font that makes the difference, especially in higher resolution displays. The same goes for the internal viewer editor² and the advanced settings editor.
FASTER SYNC BY CONTENT. When you compare files by content (MARK > SYNC WIZARD menu command), big files are only scanned exactly up to nMaxDupeContentMB limit mentioned earlier. Any extra bytes are sampled statistically. The same advantages and disadvantages mentioned above apply here too.
MILLISECOND DATE ACCURACY. xplorer² uses exact file dates internally, but date information is presented only with 1-second accuracy (unless you opted for friendly dates). If you want to see milliseconds then add the new ".zzz" format specification in szCustomTimeFormat registry setting (available through advanced options editor):
HH:mm:ss.zzz
This will affect all dates shown, even for the programmable column functions DATETIME and DPART(date,z)
If you want to see milliseconds in FAT32 formatted drives you need to enable GAO2_PRECISEDATES registry tweak
MASS RENAME IMPROVEMENTS. The mass rename F2 dialog will automatically generate a preview how the renamed files will look like every few seconds, so you don't have to click on PREVIEW button manually. You are still advised to click on it before you do the actual rename though, as it does some extra tests that catch some subtle errors that may throw off the rename if left unchecked.
(autopreview also applies to ACTIONS > FILE PROPERTIES menu command that uses the same dialog)
Perhaps more importantly, now mass rename preserves the original SELECTION, despite files changing their names, so you can apply successive rename operations on the same set of files -- this is best implemented using macros I suppose. For example you can first add a numeric counter, then replace part of the original filename, then change the capitalization and so on.
[P] CREATE SYMBOLIC LINKS. Microsoft in their wisdom show fit to permit symlink creation only to ELEVATED processes (unless you enable the special developer mode from start menu, see https://blogs.windows.com/buildingapps/2016/12/02/symlinks-windows-10).
In the past you would have to run xplorer² elevated, but the new xplorer² bypasses this limitation using a hidden elevated copy of itself, that gets the job of creating symbolic links in the background. When you use EDIT > PASTE SPECIAL > SYMBOLIC LINK command, you get to run it elevated. Remember that running xplorer² elevated all the time isn't recommended, so this mode lets you have your cake and eat it too!
To disable this auto-elevation feature use GAO2_NOADMINSYMLINK registry tweak (=hex 0x100000)
If you want to link to files in the same partition, then use hard links instead of symbolic links, they are more robust and don't require elevation either.
[P] FIND ALL HARD LINKS. If you put a file that has one or more hard links in a scrap container (or in the miniscrap pane), then select it and press CTRL+L keys (or GOTO > FIND TARGET menu), you will see all its clones listed next to it. By definition hard links are stored in the same hard disk partition, but they can have different names yet still represent the same file content.
[U] COMPARE ITEMS PROGRAMMATICALLY. A new programmable function called PNEXT fetches the next or previous filename (full path) of an item, in the order they appear in a window. This allows you to do excel-formula-like comparisons between items, combining PNEXT with FILEPROP and FILE2 functions that operate on different items. For example:
${size} - FILEPROP(${size}, PNEXT(1))
Will calculate the size difference between an item and the one that immediately follows it in the list (the last item will be empty as there's no item following it)
${Path}=FILEPROP(${Path},PNEXT(1)) & ${Group ID}=FILEPROP(${Group ID},PNEXT(1))
In the context of duplicate results, it will show 1 (=TRUE) if items in the same group also have the same path, and 0 otherwise. Notice the use of = to compare two values and the & (AND) boolean operator to compare 2 file properties simultaneously.
If you change the sort order, programmable formulas including PNEXT will be refreshed automatically after a while. Note such expressions cannot be used for searching, as they require an ordering. But you can use it in rules to mark or filter items.
The numeric argument of PNEXT can be any number, although I cannot think of any useful application of values other than 1 and -1 (for previous item)
Remember you can turn on the programmable column right clicking on a pane's sort column header. See the documentation for more details.
[P] VIEW > ARRANGE BY > CUSTOM GROUPS dialog allows you to duplicate a category filter (use the little toolbar or the context menu), so e.g. you can create similar groupings by date, each with a different year.
Switched to unicode NSIS installer, that shows correctly in most PCs except ancient ones running windows 98. Sadly you can no longer install xplorer² on windows 98 -- to the dismay of windows historians :)
Actually I think xplorer² no longer runs on win98 as it GPFs immediately. Most of you won't care either way.
The filterbar box in the addressbar can be bigger than the path box, up to 80% of the total available width. This is useful for scrap windows where the path box is rather useless. Use nFilterBox100 registry tweak or advanced options editor to change the relative percentage.
Normally filtering using all file details (columns) is expected to be slow, so xplorer² wouldn't update the list live "as you typed" -- you had to press ENTER key in the quick filter box to see the results. Now if the pane contains not too many items, live filtering occurs, even when ALL PROPERTIES option is ticked in the filter box menu.
Fixed some addressbar paint glitches when using super large icons
Many progress dialogs (e.g. folder statistics, flattening paths) have a little clock button that can be used to temporarily pause then resume a long operation. Click CANCEL to abort altogether
Double click to the left end of the status bar to repeat the last message, whatever it was, in case you didn't get the chance to read it before it disappeared
Better handling of phone paths, more readable subfolder names
Registry tweak DPF_JUNKLOKEDTABS (=hex 0x1000000) ignores any locked tabs when restoring saved folder groups.
[P] If you have your license key saved in a text file, you can drag-drop the license file to xplorer² license manager dialog instead of copy/pasting the text key. Ssadly this does not work from email attachmens, you must first drop the attachment on the desktop.
If you create a new file or folder and you don't rename it, it is sorted properly -- if you have the option "automatically re-sort contents..." ticked (TOOLS > OPTIONS menu, Window property page).
New tips: 39c, 52a, 85a, 139a
The odd bugfix (for new Windows 11 too)

New in xplorer² LITE 5.0.0.3 (Aug 18, 2021)

New in xplorer² LITE 5.0.0.1 (Aug 18, 2021)

New in xplorer² LITE 5.0.0.0 (Aug 18, 2021)

mini website facelift with new screenshots and introductory demo videos http://zabkat.com .
Added REMOVE command in quick access list's context menu to be used for removing items from the QAL. DELETE menu does the same but it could be misinterpreted in other regular tree nodes, where delete means REAL delete of the actual folder!
Registry tree option FTCOPT_QALNODROPTARGET (=2048) prevents stuff dropped INSIDE folders in quick access list. You lose some of the shell functionality, but prevent accidental moves inside folders, when all you meant to do was insert an item in the QAL!
A pane's Miller property is persistent when you quit xplorer². The folders themselves are not saved, but upon restart "Column mode" is enabled and you can start side-by-side browsing immediately.
smarter swap panes command (GOTO menu) leaves the folders exactly as they were, view modes, locked tabs and all
new tips: 5c, 7a, 9g, 9h, 10a, 12a, 39b, 47b, 51b, 75b, 118a, 144c, 149a, 164b, 167a
OneDrive folders can be searched without GAOPT_FOLLOWJUNCTIONS advanced setting. The setting is reserved for real folder junctions. Double check it works for DropBox and other cloud drives too?
4 new demo videos in HELP > HOW DO I? menu explain the biggest of the new features (look out for NEW marker)
F1 help from dialog boxes opens the manual at the correct location if you use non-IE browsers (Chrome, Firefox etc)
lots of bugfixes and optimizations
P] FILE > BROWSE FLAT menu command improved (quicker, half time to flatten 230K files)
P] Check duplicates dialog has a CLEAR button to get rid of all the checkboxes, so you can start a new clean search
Divider bars (splitters) for dual pane should be easier to grab in high DPI. Also added advanced mainframe tweak DPF_THICKSPLITTER (=0x800000) to make the main dual pane splitter double the size, so you can tell it apart from miller column splitters, if need be.
U] new duplicate files detection algorithm, 100 times faster than original, makes big difference in large file sets -- makes checking duplicates for your entire hard disk feasible
P] new macro commands KEYDOWN/UP, similar to SENDKEY but more flexible. For example SENDKEY A is equivalent to KEYDOWN A followed by KEYUP A. This is useful e.g. if you want to simulate pressing SHIFT key while clicking on a dialog button:
KEYDOWN shift
KEYUP shift
Note these keys don't need a window context like SENDKEY, whichever window has the focus will receive the keystroke. You must match each down key with its equivalent UP, otherwise the keyboard will go funny.
Advanced registry option rgbTabHilite sets the color for highlighting the active tab and active miller pane. Available through the advanced settings editor
Advanced mainframe option DPF_TABINSERTNEXT (=0x400000) makes new tabs to open immediately after the active tab, instead of at the far end
P] MILLER COLUMNS. This is the big one, a feature ported from Mac PCs and their Finder file manager. It is like tabbed browsing, allowing you to see many neighboring folders simultaneously. Perhaps it's similar to locked tabs mode. For more details please refer to the documentation and watch the related demo video in HELP > HOW DO I? pane
Use FILE > COLUMN MODE menu command (or the toolbar/ribbon buttons) to enter miller mode. Then when you browse a folder (pressing ENTER or double-click) it opens in a new pane. If too many panes exist, a scrollbar is used to manage them. Each tab can have its own miller columns. The active folder in each set is what's used for dual pane comparisons etc. You can use left-right arrows to jump pane. You can tweak many options, including the maximum number of side-by-side folders (nMaxMillers and MIVF_xxx) using the Advanced settings editor.
If you hate xplorer² ultimate orange icon, design your favorite one, call it X2ICON.ICO and drop it in the installation folder, then yours will be used instead! For the desktop shortcut icon (if any), edit the properties (right click) and change the icon there too (copy X2ICON.ICO file path from the installation folder). This will be also used if you PIN xplorer² on the taskbar.
internal optimization) more efficient windows message routing (saves your CPU)
The quick previewer will show cloud previews for some images if they are in the thumbnail cache, regardless if they are marked "cloud only" (offline)
xplorer² will preview and show thumbnails of common image types PNG/JPG/GIF even if the windows thumbnail cache is busted
PEEK PREVIEW. Enable mouse peek from TOOLS > OPTIONS (Window page) then press both left+right mouse buttons together to see a large preview of the item under the cursor. Then let go of the mouse keys and the preview will go away! It is also available from VIEW > PEEK menu command, so you can preview the selected item with the keyboard (Alt+Q is the default key binding), then any key (except Pageup/Down) will dismiss the preview. Very handy.
The preview is similar to the DRAFT quick preview tab, so it will show images and plain text (including text extracted from DOC/PDF/XLS documents) only. Advanced options editor allows you to choose the preview size as a percent of your monitor. For text previews, the registry setting nPeekTextWidth is the maximum width of the popup preview window, for pics the size is determined by the bitmap dimensions.
Press alt+enter keys in the quickfilter box (next to addressbar) to apply the text filter on the inactive pane
P] CMENU macro instruction works for dock sites, so for example the following snippets will float then dock the quick preview panel:
from dock to float
FINDWND preview
CMENU float
reverse action (float to dock)
FINDFRAME preview
CMENU dock
new fixed icon for UPDIR (..) item has a little green arrow for better visibility, to tell it apart from other folders — it's always shown first too, regardless of the sort mode.
P] PHONE BACKUP. Copy options like "overwrite if newer else skip" work for "fake" folders like phones and tablets. So you can copy from/to such devices and your local HD in backup mode. The user interface looks the same as explorer copy, but it supports advanced options -- you set then as usual in the F5 robust copy dialog (or TOOLS > BACKUP menu command). Sorry no wildcard/filters allowed at present. For zipfolders and other compressed archives, it can only be used to get stuff OUT of them (into a regular filesystem folder)
This feature requires Windows Vista or later. Some of the less important copy options are ignored to allow backup copy to/from virtual folders, e.g. "clear readonly attribute". In silent mode only errors are logged. For windows 7 and older, phones can only be the SOURCE, not the target of the backup.
P] Robust copy through filters is much improved when only simple properties are used (name/size/date/path). If you use other more complex properties for copy filtering then you won't see any improvement.
Robust copy log when in backup mode (overwrite if newer else skip) will only include actual copy information, and exclude any files skipped or filtered
MANUAL POSITIONS. In small folders set as large icon or thumbnail mode, use ARRANGE BY > MANUALLY menu command to move items with the mouse and leave them where you like. Then use ACTIONS > FOLDER SETTINGS > SAVE menu to put them inside DESKTOP.INI (with other custom folder settings), so when
you come back to that folder you'll find the items where you left them.
Related advanced registry settings are nMaxPositions (max number of item positions to save) and CLVOPT_GRIDSNAP, which snaps icons to a grid (otherwise you can put them even one on top of the other!)
Note you can sort a manually positioned folder if you need, temporarily destroying your custom positions, but once you switch to ARRANGE BY > MANUALLY, the positions will be restored.
P] Browser view option CLVOPT_CUSTOMAUTOSAVE (see registry.txt) will automatically save any changes inside custom folders, including icon positional information. So if you have used FOLDER SETTINGS > SAVE in a folder, and later do some changes, they will be automatically saved for you.
Press F3 key to find next keyword in advanced settings editor, useful when you're trying to locate a tweak to configure
QUICKACCESS TREE. Similar to explorer's quick access list (QAL), but not identical (no pins exist). Use TOOLS > OPTIONS menu and tick it in Window property page (tree options section). It shows some frequently used folders to begin with but you can put there whatever you like using drag-drop. Thus you have your own (flat) mini-tree with folders you access the most. You can rename and delete items in the QA list without affecting the real folders. You can even put network items in there and xplorer² shouldn't be too slow starting up. Functionality almost identical to miniscrap really
The top node "Quick access" takes you to your recent folder, which holds documents you've used lately. The registry setting nFrequentQAL specifies how many folders of your top frequent folders list to add to the QAL -- but once you have more than 12 items in the list, no frequent items are inserted automatically.
WARNING: when you try to insert a new folder in the QAL be careful to drop it INBETWEEN existing folders (you will see a horizontal insertion mark), otherwise you'll end up MOVING the new folder inside the one existing in the QAL! For safety you can drag-drop new folders using the RIGHT mouse button, so if something goes wrong you can cancel the drop. Or use FTCOPT_QALNODROPTARGET advanced setting to disable drops altogether.
Editor² v2.98 supports dark mode through its options, and works better with unmarked unicode text files.
P] xplorer² text search should work with Windows experimental beta UTF8 locale setting (control panel, language for non-unicode programs). But it is a rubbish setting really, because it completely breaks ANSI programs (like xplorer² lite) which are the ones that would benefit most out of it. So unless you have a serious reason to choose the option, let it be.
P] advanced registry option GAO2_ORIENTALCP uses a robust (albeit a bit slower) method to detect unmarked unicode text files (without BOM). If you live in the far East then probably you should set it on through the advanced settings editor.
P] Everybody will need NEW unlock keys for v5.0, but many will get free replacements. To check if you are entitled for a free or discounted v5.0 key use HELP > REGISTER PROGRAM menu, or the equivalent command under LICENSE MANAGEMENT in ribbon's leftmost tab. If xplorer² cannot find your old license key (but you know where it is yourself) you can use this upgrade page http://zabkat.com/upgrade.htm .
For more information see http://zabkat.com/u_info.htm
The change compared to previous major upgrades is that ALL customers that own a v4.x key will be allowed to upgrade at a discount -- the old 2-year limit does not apply! This should allow more people to get the new version!
P] Right click on an infobar to access a menu of saved column sets (as defined in CUSTOMIZE menu), and apply the column set on the infobar
P] CAMEL CASE. Mass renaming has 2 new options, a camel that changes spaces and word breaks into capitals (e.g. "hello world-son" becomes helloWorldSon) and one to remove accents, so the German "über" will become "uber".
Once you convert a name into camel case you can't go back (undo) except using regular expressions (see below discussion in v4500)
P] ACTIONS > FILE PROPERTIES menu command can also change en-mass numeric properties, although I can't see many of them useful. Perhaps the track number # property is the only candidate. Use change templates that translate into numbers e.g. automatic counters
Various corrections to dark mode, e.g. dark checkboxes look less lame. Now you can turn dark mode on/off using the normal program options (TOOLS > OPTIONS menu, General property page)
P] FOLDER SIZE PIES. The command TOOLS > FOLDER STATISTICS will show a little pie chart of the biggest folders in your list, one for each level you browse. It should help the visual folks to see the big folders eating up your hard disk space. Drag the splitter to make the pie bigger or smaller. The folder selected in the tree pops out a "pizza slice" so you can identify it. You can also use the tooltips over the pie pieces to discover the folder names.

New in xplorer² LITE 4.5.0.1 (Nov 23, 2020)

New in xplorer² LITE 4.4.0.1 (Jun 7, 2020)

New in xplorer² LITE 4.4.0.0 (Jun 7, 2020)

Sorry we have lost some of the translations that weren't really updated for a number of versions. I hope this will persuade some of the native speakers to volunteer and take over the abandoned projects. A free xplorer² license is offered to all translators
P] TOOLS > BACKUP COPY menu copies all items (and their subfolders) from the active to the inactive pane (the backup location, e.g. a USB drive) using "overwrite if newer else skip" robust transfer option. This will only copy new and changed files, and skip those that are unchanged since the last backup. If you want to use a filter to exclude some files, use szBackupFilter registry tweak (see REGISTRY.TXT). This is not new functionality, only a convenient wrap-up of the robust copy dialog for the backup task
If using the ribbon UI, you will find this command under COPY TO button
P] ACTIONS > FILE PROPERTIES menu command sets any editable text properties (Author, Title, even Comment and Tags) for the selected items. You can both set, clear and even search and replace within existing values. The user interface is almost the same as for mass renaming; select the property of interest using the topmost drop-down list box in the dialog
If using the ribbon UI, you will find this command in WORKBENCH tab, under ATTRIBUTES button
P] The mass rename dialog has many options. You can save your favorite rename operations, including all options, search and replace strings and so on with a name, and repeat them again later. Use the PREDEFINED drop-down box to supply a name for the current options, then click SAVE button to store them. To delete a previously stored set, select it then hold down <CTRL> key while clicking on SAVE
any date $-tokens for mass rename and scripting allow date (and time) format to be specified on the spot using a : after the column name, e.g. ${Modified:yyMMdd HH:mm}. This way you can introduce sort-friendly dates in filenames as ${Date taken:yyyyMMdd}. For a description of the date/time format strings see here
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/intl/day--month--year--and-era-format-pictures
P] A registry setting (szExclusionFilter) defines a global exclusion filter for views and tree, hiding matching files and folders. It is a layout-specific setting, defined as a comma separated list of wildcards to EXCLUDE from view (alternatively it can be a saved hyperfilter name as those in FIND FILES dialog). When active, the hidden files statusbar icon will show as a reminder. Only relatively fast file properties can be used in the exclusion filter
The folder tree shows some folders twice, and some that people seldom use. You can hide folders you don't need using the tree context menu (xplorer² > HIDE THIS FOLDER) on the unwanted folders. To show all folders again right click on the tree background and tick off USE BLACKLIST menu option. Note only folders in the first few levels can be hidden
TIP: To UNhide a folder that was marked by accident, temporarily disable the blacklist, right click on the folder and use HIDE THIS FOLDER menu again. This acts like a toggle
all organize dialogs (bookmarks etc) come with a filter box to locate an entry quickly by keyword. Click on FIND NEXT button to select the next matching list item. Double-click on the item found to edit or activate it
WINDOW > FIND TAB menu will search for a tab by its (partial) path and activate it. All folder tabs are listed from both left and right panels
P] When searching for duplicates and selecting them, xplorer² arranges the sort order by date so that the OLDER file in each group remains (it is not selected), and you can delete the newer duplicates, if that's what you want. Of course if the duplicate checking parameters include date, this sorting is pointless as all files will have the same dates by construction
P] Details pane (VIEW > DETAILS PANE menu) shows document title and keywords when office documents are selected. If you know HTML you can choose exactly which file properties appear in this pane using a file called X2DETAILS.HTM, search the blog for more details
Compressed folder NSE (for 7z/RAR) updated to version 1.403: some bugfixes and upgraded to 7zip v19. For more details see
http://zabkat.com/blog/compressed-folder-shell-extension.htm
installer option to start xplorer² automatically whenever you boot in Windows (additional tasks page)
For large DPI installations, the extra large (48x48) toolbar skin is automatically used, and a 32x32 skin is used for menus; that should make them more readable
New random sort mode (VIEW > ARRANGE BY > RANDOMLY menu) for those that need spice in their folders to fight everyday boredom <g>
Ctrl+mousewheel changes thumbnail size as well as view styles, so you can easily view huge thumbnail previews
editor² switches to large toolbar skin when in high dpi
various bugfixes and efficiency improvements
new tips 9f, 64a, 64b, 64c, 111a, 111b
U] programmable column function DATE() converts strings to dates. Perhaps its most useful case is with an empty argument, which returns the current date. This can be used to calculate the file age in days e.g
DATE("") - ${Modified}
U] programmable column function EXISTS() checks the existence of its path argument and also returns the file type: 1 if it is a file, -1 if a folder, or 0 if nothing exists
U] programmable column functions FILE2 and FILEPROP can be used to compare the current item with others, e.g. for synchronization checks. FILEPROP can only fetch a single property, whereas FILE2 can execute any arbitrary expression on the second file. The example below tests if the file is newer than its namesake in E:OTHER folder
Modified} > FILEPROP(${Modified}, "E:other" + ${name})
You can have only one FILE2 but as many FILEPROP as you need in an expression. See the documentation for more details. In the future these will be used for advanced overwrite control

New in xplorer² LITE 4.3.0.1 (Nov 19, 2019)

New in xplorer² LITE 4.3.0.0 (Oct 27, 2019)

Welcome to the DARK side. Use TOOLS > ADVANCED OPTIONS menu command and turn on the fashionable dark mode (see the GLOBAL property page). It may be good for your eyes, or it may be just another fad, but you've asked for it and we delivered!
Microsoft didn't make it easy for old school desktop programs like xplorerÂ² to change window colors, so you will discover a number glitches, remnants of the default white-ish system colors here and there. In general things look best for windows 10.
You can tell which pane is active by its slightly brighter dark background. Inactive panes are pitch black. If you need more distinct identification of inactive panes, select a background color from TOOLS > OPTIONS menu, but that is liable to upset the darkness. Alternatively tick the advanced option (TOOLS > OPTIONS menu again) to "Highlight active pane's titlebar as in 2xExplorer".
[P] Mass rename with regular expressions. Finally that long term disabled "RE" tickbox in FILE > MASS RENAME dialog is available for use. This is a super advanced rename mode suitable for replacing parts of filenames with backreferences etc. Here is an example:
filename = LOG.17112006.TXT
regexp = (dd)(dd)(dddd) -> matches all digits in 3 (groups)
replace with = $3-$2-$1 -> backreferences
result name = LOG.2006-11-17.TXT -> inverted date YMD
So using group operators in (brackets) and then $1 etc back references, you can rearrange parts of the filename, or remove them altogether. Parts of the filename that aren't matched, remain the same.
To use regular expressions, tick the RE box and enter your regular expression in your WHAT TO MATCH field, then provide the replace string in the TARGET NAME TEMPLATE. Note the usual $-tokens in xplorerÂ² cannot be combined with regular expressions.
[U] MARK > FIND TEXT IN FILES (ctrl+G) has a tickbox to USE SEARCH INDEX, for super-fast content matching in the current folder. Note it cannot find special symbols or keywords that are not in the beginning of the word, as all cases of indexed search. If you need to search for exact text with symbols, untick this checkbox.
New keyboard-only command CYCLENEXT (id = 33525) can be used to jump from one pane to another. Unlike past editions where you had to remember that <CTRL+TAB> keyboard combination jumped to the folder tree pane, <SHIFT+TAB> jumped to the addressbar and so on, now a single key cycles through all open panes. The recommended binding is <F6> key, but as this is already used, use CUSTOMIZE > KEYBOARD menu command, find command 33525 in the Miscellaneous category, and assign your favorite keyboard shortcut to it. Command #33526 cycles in the opposite direction.
Sorry some native mode preview handlers eat all keyboard shortcuts, so if you get stuck in one, the only solution is to click out with the mouse. Here's a reminder of other pane navigation keyboard shortcuts:
TAB: Switch locally e.g. from the active to the inactive pane, or from the addressbar to the filter box
ESC: Jump from any pane back into the active folder pane
CTRL+ALT+LEFT: (or right arrow) Jump to previous or next tab
ALT+Q: Switch previewer modes (native/draft tab)
Advanced option GAO2_WEXPATTRS(=512) tells xplorerÂ² to use explorer-friendly file attributes. Most attribute letters are the same, but there are some differences (L==junction etc). For more information see here https://superuser.com/questions/44812/windows-explorers-file-attribute-column-values
Windows 10 version 1903 has sadly made an adverse turn in terms of managing files in very deep paths. Renaming/deleting files in deep folders works only in elevated mode (you must run xplorerÂ² as administrator or use WINDOW > ADMINISTRATOR menu command). In transition folders you will need to use CTRL+F2 to supply a deep file or folder name
xplorerÂ² should look better if you have two or more monitors with different DPI resolutions
Macro command POSITIVE can be used to test arithmetic operations whether they are positive or not.
[U] Programmable column instruction DIRCNT, similar to Contents [S] column but more flexible. You can use it to count files under a folder given a wildcard, and specify if you want to count only files, only folders or both.
[U] Programmable column instruction DATETIME formats a (file) date as you like it. For example DATETIME(${modified}, YYYY.MM.dd, "") will show the date as 2019.09.15 without any time information. This could be useful for mass renaming tasks or for general date formatting. Note you can also use the advanced settings editor if you need to customize how stock dates appear in xplorerÂ².
[U] A PREVIEW button was added in the programmable column definition dialog, that lets you test the expression on the selected item (in the active pane).
Zoom image previewer (Draft tab) takes JPG photo/picture orientation tags into account and shows correctly rotated picture previews.
[P] similar picture locator (TOOLS > FIND SIMILAR PHOTOS menu command in a scrap window) can detect pictures that are (almost) the same and differ in rotation/orientation.
$P token (selected item's folder path) now works even for empty folders
New tips 51a, 98c and 164a.
Internal editorÂ² version 2.96 with better handling of high DPI screens. If you need it in dark mode, tweak the background colors to taste from program settings (VIEW > OPTIONS menu).
All demo videos from HELP > HOW DO I? menu now shown in youtube. Quality is a bit worse but you don't need to worry about flash plugins.
various bugfixes and improvements

New in xplorer² LITE 4.2.0.1 (May 31, 2019)

New in xplorer² LITE 4.1.0.1 (Dec 6, 2018)

New in xplorer² LITE 4.0.0.2 (Jun 7, 2018)

New in xplorer² LITE 3.5.0.2 (Jan 3, 2018)

New in xplorer² LITE 3.2.0.2 (Jun 7, 2016)

New in xplorer² LITE 3.1.0.0 (Mar 19, 2016)

[P] TC column and preview plugins support (aka content WDX and lister WLX). These extend the file attributes you see in detailed view mode (searchable too), and the quickviewer preview capabilities. There are tons to download from http://totalcmd.net. The easiest way to integrate these plugins in xplorer² is to install them with TC then copy the plugin sections [ContentPlugins] and [ListerPlugins] from WINCMD.INI into a file called TCPLUGINS.INI which should be placed in shell:appdata\zabkat folder (or in the xplorer² installation folder if run from a USB). If you are running the 64 bit version of xplorer² you must use x64 versions of the plugins. Example:
[ListerPlugins]
0=C:\Users\god\Downloads\listplugsample\Debug\listplug.wlx
1=C:\Users\god\Downloads\wlx_TotalHLT_1.7b160\Highlight.wlx
[ContentPlugins]
0=C:\Users\god\Downloads\wdx_textsearch\TextSearch.wdx
NOTE: lister plugins appear in NATIVE preview mode (tab) and have precedence over windows previewers. To limit any TC plugin to certain filetypes only you can use detect strings in the initialization file, e.g.
2_detect = ext="DB" | ext="DB3" | ext="SQLITE" | ext="SQLITE3" | ext="FOSSIL"
Finally note you DO NOT need to install that other program to get the plugins working in xplorer², just download the plugins and edit the settings file manually, entering the paths to the plugins.
[P] office documents can be natively previewed in zipfolders and other virtual folders
[P] global setting szGrepExcludeTypes is a comma separated list of extensions that can be used to exclude certain document types from filter searching. Also faster IFilter text extraction lookup. Note some TC content plugins can also be used to search for text in files, in case a windows filter is not available.
Mainframe setting DPF_NOHTMLIMG (see updated advanced settings editor) turns off the small thumbnail preview in the details pane. This image isn't required if you have the quickviewer turned on for example.
Advanced registry setting QVOPT_THREADED controls whether native previewer is running in a responsive background thread. If you have problems with some document types use the advanced settings editor to turn it off.
Advanced registry setting rgbRibbonBG controls the background color theme of the ribbon toolbar. xplorer² should get this color right automatically, but if it doesn't then just select another color using the advanced settings editor.
[P] Advanced global setting GAOPT_XCOLSFGTHREAD (see registry.txt) forces all [X] file attributes that you see in detailed view mode to be extracted on the main thread. This solves problems with some buggy plugins and column handlers that would crash otherwise.
[U] When searching for filenames only (no other properties) in NTFS local folders, and if running in administrator mode, files are found very quickly using the MFT and no indexing. To get this mode working on modern windows you need to right click on xplorer² icon and pick "Run as administrator" menu command. This also works if you start searching from "My Computer" folder where all the local NTFS drives will be searched by name.
Goto > Frequent folders submenu maintains automatically a list of folders you browse frequently. These names are also added in the addressbar for easy access. Note that "frequent" is different than recent or bookmarked. It's just folders that over the long term you are visiting more often.
Window > Reopen tab menu command restores the last tab closed, kind of undo an accidental tab close.
[P] Less trial nags when xplorer² is used in explorer replacement mode (before you buy a license)
A few bugs fixed
Better windows 10 compatibility

New in xplorer² LITE 3.0.0.5 (Mar 19, 2016)

New in xplorer² LITE 3.0.0.4 (Mar 19, 2016)

New in xplorer² LITE 3.0.0.2 (Mar 19, 2016)

New in xplorer² LITE 3.0.0.1 (Mar 19, 2016)

New in xplorer² LITE 3.0.0.0 (Mar 19, 2016)

[P] Everybody will need NEW unlock keys for v3.0, but many will get free replacements. To check if you are entitled for a free or discounted v3.0 key use HELP > REGISTER PROGRAM menu, or the equivalent command under LICENSE MANAGEMENT in ribbon's leftmost tab. If xplorer² cannot find your old license key (but you know where it is yourself) you can use this upgrade page http://zabkat.com/upgrade.htm .
For more information see http://zabkat.com/u_info.htm
[P] right click on the column header of a detailed view mode folder pane and you get to access Customize > Column sets menu conveniently at location. Likewise right click on the tab-strip (not ON a tab, but at the empty area to the right) to access Customize > Folder groups menu. Everything in context where it should be.
[P] Customize > User commands > Add current menu command also works if the selected item is a shortcut to an executable
[P] View > Visual filter > Autofilter menu command includes a list of complex filters, if you have any saved from Find File and other similar dialogs
Bookmarks menu includes an item "Explorer Favorites" which takes you to the folder that you see in the tree of your windows explorer
editor² Search > Match tag menu command handles XML tag names with a dot (.) correctly e.g. will match its closing tag
Large toolbar skin included in all distributions so that the ribbon looks nice. 5 new icons were added so your old skin files may need updating.
View > Ribbon menu command can replace (toggle) the traditional menubar with a modern Ribbon user interface. Requires windows Vista or later. Think of it as a plain menu mode for the less initiated. To get the menu back turn off the ribbon from its "file" (leftmost, dark blue) tab. Showing the ribbon hides the main toolbar too but you can have other toolbars showing with bookmarks, custom commands etc. Make sure you watch the demo video about the ribbon in HELP > HOW DO I? menu command.
The mass rename dialog has a new special token "File attribute" which can be any available file property as seen in detailed view mode. This way you can use ID3 tags and all the rest of it to rename files.
[P] Redesigned mass rename function, supporting search and replace in filenames as well as the older "replace whole name" mode. There are two search-and-replace modes, the first will replace only ONE occurence of the matched substring, the second will replace ALL occurences. The new $-token $[xx:yy] represents part of the filename (start from xx character and yy letters long) and can be used to remove or replace a section of the original name. For more information please refer to the quickstart guide. Regular expression rename is left as a future exercise! Note for people that hate change: using "replace whole name" mode and not ticking "preserve extension" option, this command works like it always used to :)
[U] Select a SINGLE folder in a (normal) pane and right click on it, you will find a menu command "Add to search index" (it is the LAST command in xplorer² submenu). You can thus easily add folders to windows search (for fast searching) without going through Indexing Options. All the subfolders will also be added; if you need more control about what to exclude then use Indexing Options instead.
In explorer replacement mode xplorer² adds itself in the autoplay list for "generic content" so you can open your USB sticks with xplorer² through autoplay.
Goto > Find Target menu command also works for normal items (ie. those that are not links or junctions), and will get the REAL path of the item if it happens to be redirected by various reparse points. For example, say that the folder junction c:\test\junction points to W:\dir. If you browse a file in c:\test\junction\SUBDIR\FILE then hitting on it will jump to the real file located at W:\dir\SUBDIR\FILE.
Volume mount points (kind of junctions to root drives created by MOUNTVOL command line tool) are correctly handled by CTRL+L command
[U] Tools > Fast search menu command gets a new GUI giving you control of what properties to fast search for (previously through registry settings). Tick on Everything to search in all file attributes, or tick only those properties you are interested in (name/text contents/comments/tags).
Folder tree will make sure the selected item is visible when you browse using the keyboard. You can scroll the tree left/right using .
[P] Robust copy progress dialog gets a graph plotting the transfer speed over time. Transfer speed isn't affected by pausing and other messageboxes.
Addressbar autofilter gets a [X] button that clears the filter quickly for those mouse oriented, and shows all the files
in explorer replacement mode, WIN+E key (if enabled from Tools > Advanced options menu command) will properly bring xplorer² window to the front
[P] plain text files can also be used to load/save scrap window contents (not just the binary CIDA format). Use the file type selector "Path text files" in the Load/Write contents menu commands. There should be one full path per line, as when importing text from the clipboard. You can also pass a TXT file as a command line parameter with /F:1 switch.
View will not scroll away to show the focus in large changing folders (e.g. downloads) as long as you CLEAR the option "Automatically re-sort contents after moving/copying etc" found in Tools > Options menu, Window page. Another way to make the view lock where you are looking is to click on one of the items you see. To show the selected items after that press key.
New stock column "Characters" available from dialog, counting the number of characters in pathnames. This helps identify long filenames that could be an issue copying e.g to CDROMs. Above 260 characters problems begin in all cases so try using small file and folder names.
various combo boxes (except those doing paths) get new autocompletion mode through a drop-down list instead of having to press the up-arrow key
Actions > Shred menu command renames the file to gibberish before deleting it. Makes it even harder to identify!
Better protection for unlocking files before cutting/moving items. Now the only way you can't delete files in xplorer² must come from an external fault (e.g. buggy codec)
proper HTML thumbnails shown and also good offline HTML preview with the Native tab. For windows XP you just need a registry hack: http://netez.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=1730
[P] more responsive (threaded) native preview tab and faster when you preview the same file type in a row.
Tools > Options menu, Window page has a new option to sort folders after files (at the end)
symbolic links with relative targets are correctly handled ( find target command etc)
registry property nInfotipDurationMS controls the time (in millisec, 5000=5 sec) infotips remain in view — if enabled from Tools > Options > Window. Increase this value if your infotips contain a lot of information and you want to see them for longer.
When you click on [?] buttons to see dialog help, any previous IE help window is reused to show the quickstart guide
All Organize dialogs (e.g. Bookmarks) have a right click context menu to manage the lists (on top of the toolbar buttons); and a new toolbar skin.
[P] Drivebar shows label for each drive as a tooltip
various small "features" fixed

New in xplorer² LITE 2.5.0.4 (Dec 2, 2014)

New in xplorer² LITE 2.5.0.0 (Dec 2, 2014)

registry setting GAOPT_NOBROWSECPAN (=524288) controlling whether xplorer² browses into control panel items or not. For windows vista and later these "folders" are better handled by windows explorer
Edit > Copy names command works in the folder tree too. This in addition to command that copies all the active tree branch to the clipboard.
[P] docking panes have context menu (right click on titlebar) for various operations (dock/float/hide etc)
custom drive icons are read from AUTORUN.INF files (if present for removable drives)
corrected PDF text extraction for windows 8.1
repaired removable media EJECT command from shell context menu
picture thumbnails extracted from phones and cameras (thumbnail view and draft QV tab)
[U] running the professional version in parallel to ultimate doesn't disable fast desktop search
various small bugs fixed:
[P] robust copy correctly handles file symbolic links (copies the link not the file). Sadly like all symlink operations you must be running as full administrator otherwise you get a funny error message.
[P] registry setting nUnbufferedCopyMB (default=1GB) sets a size limit above which robust copy is done without buffering. That supposedly fixes problems where your RAM is clogged by extremely huge file copying.
[P] When robust delete dialog encounters some reparse point (e.g. folder junction or symbolic link) only deletes the reparse information, without touching the target folder. This makes the "confirm folder junctions" checkbox in the dialog rather irrelevant.
More consistent handling of symbolic links, now you can see previews of them (text or pics) and even search for text in them (in the actual file target)
New files inserted in a pane (e.g. pasted or dropped) are marked (selected). This lets you see which files were newly added. This feature is controlled by local registry setting variable nMarkNewFileMS which is the time (in milliseconds) xplorer² waits after a file operation is initiated to mark added files. Set this to 0 to disable this new marking feature. If a pane contains a prior selection (>=2 selected items) then this feature is suppressed.
[U] Global registry value szSystemPropsList is a comma separated list of system properties to extend the file column and search attribute system. See here for the list of available properties: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd561977(v=vs.85).aspx . Some of them are already available as shell folder columns but some are only available through this route. Requires windows VISTA or later.
in explorer replacement mode, "Open containing folder" menu command from 3rd party programs (e.g. Google Chrome, Firefox) will correctly open and select items in xplorer². This is by far the most time consuming (wasted?) feature added in xplorer² in terms of development resources, enjoy!
When you opt to replace windows explorer with xplorer² during installation, you get more folder types handled (including "virtuals" like MyComputer). Installer allows you to replace explorer for the current user or for all users with a tickbox. xplorer² is configured to automatically run when you boot up windows (silently).
In the rare occasions when xplorer² cannot read a special folder (e.g. some items in control panel), you get the option to read it with windows explorer instead.

New in xplorer² LITE 2.4.0.1 (Dec 2, 2014)

New in xplorer² LITE 2.4.0.0 (Dec 2, 2014)

[P] robust MOVE now works even if you are moving to the same partition (drive letter), as long as you specify a filter in the dialog. Supply a fake filter like "*" if you don't really need filtering but you need robustness. Note that this kind of Move operation is going to be SLOWER than a simple drag-drop on the same partition -- but you asked for it :)
[P] registry option GIOPT_ROBUSTMOVE (=268435456) makes F6 move commands always go "robust" but at the great expense of speed. Available through Tools > Advanced options menu command (Layout page).
[P] Robust file operations in silent mode are not halted for any messages as long as there are queued jobs waiting. This means you can queue jobs and go away. At the very end you will see a summary of errors (if any).
Mark > Sync wizard dialog has a field to ignore a prescribed date difference (it applies when modification date is used for comparisons). Tick it to consider files within the specified date range as identical, or clear the checkbox to use the default +/- 2 seconds tolerance.
[P] When using robust copy , if there is a filename collision (target file exists), you get a chance to supply a different filename so you can "manually" rename and keep the old target file or folder. Just type in the new filename (no path) and click on YES button. You don't need to type the extension even! The rename opportunity is offered when the copy options are set to "Ask confirmation" for overwriting existing objects.
[P] Docking panes like tree have a PIN icon on their titlebar. If you click on the pin you toggle the autohide/docked mode. When set to autohide the panel is minimized, brought into view by hovering the mouse over the panel button (or clicking on the minimized button). Click on the titlebar pin again to fix the panel in docked (expanded) mode.
Text extraction (search for keywords) works for PDF documents even if you have the latest Adobe reader — but it is recommended you switched to PDF X-change viewer especially if you are on 64 bit windows.
Background context menu menu (when you click on empty space) on some virtual folders includes an NSE submenu that routes to some special namespace extension commands, e.g. add new secure FTP connection. Several special folders have such commands (requires windows Vista or later)
[U] Tools > Fast search command more flexible when started from local folders outside the system index like C:\. It will search whatever folders are in the system index, under the current folder.
Various small bugs fixed:
Quickviewer (Native mode) won't get in the way when renaming or deleting items; console window likewise won't block folder delete/rename operations
Right click on a USB drive icon (e.g. on the drivebar or tree) and use EJECT context menu command to safely remove it. This ensures that xplorer² at least won't be locking it (but it could be locked by other applications on your system, try the Safe device removal icon on the taskbar notification area too)
[P] AddressBar filter box works in miniscrap pane too (filter and select modes only), e.g. start typing a filename while the miniscrap has the focus and see what happens.
Default document categories e.g. {pictures} are recognized as quick filters in the addressbar
Symbolic links inherit the actual file dates at the time of creation (note the modification dates will diverge in the future)
Subfolder sizes are calculated automatically (if relevant advanced option is set) even when you aren't in detailed view mode
[P] Window > Set title menu command in scrap containers can be used to supply a custom titlebar name. You can also type your text in the addressbar as an alternative means of identification. Useful for multiple scrap windows

New in xplorer² LITE 2.3.0.1 (Apr 29, 2013)

Tools > Options menu, Advanced page has a button to access control panel's folder options. Note that some of these options have no effect on xplorer²
Tools > Map network drive menu offers quick access to the respective windows function (also available by right clicking on My Computer icon)
Tools > Options menu, Advanced page has a tickbox to make network access faster (plain icons, no overlays/tooltips/folder sizes, partial tree expansion). Combines the old advanced registry options GAOPT_TREENONETENUM and GAOPT_ECONOMYNETWD.
[U] Tools > Fast search menu takes advantage of WDS v4.0 capability to search remote computers, if invoked while browsing some network folder. Likewise the Find Files command uses the remote computer search index if available. The remote folders must be shared.
Right click menu in Draft quick viewer has option to show the end (tail) of files instead of the beginning. Only applies to plain text files
If you don't have the NAME column first, the rename command uses a dialog window instead of failing.
[P] Tools > Fuzzy groups menu command in a scrap window organizes the contents in groups according to how similar are their names (or any other text attribute). It can be used for fuzzy duplicate checking, e.g. how many folders you have that share a common artist name. For best results fiddle the fuzzy factor up/down.
New filter box next to the addressbar allows quick selecting, filtering or [P] searching in the current view. Use the drop-down button menu to switch among the available modes and to fine-tune the operation. Press to operate on the inactive (dual) view. For more information please refer to the quickstart guide.
registry option nCharsAutoFilter (available through the advanced settings editor: Layout settings > General). If your filter box is set to plain filename filtering, this setting controls after how many characters typed the focus will jump in the filter box, for easier visual filtering. Set to 0 to disable this function.
Use the advanced registry settings editor (Layout settings > Main frame) to choose the relative size (percent) of the filter box in the addressbar. Set to 0 if you don't want the filter box.
[P] smarter registration: if you copy the xplorer² unlock key from the email you receive when you buy xplorer², it will be automatically inserted in the registration dialog.
Installer has option to add xplorer² to your folders' context menu. This can used as a soft alterative to replacing your windows explorer with xplorer².
Double click on the filter icon on the statusbar to toggle the active filter. Double click on the "show hidden" status bar pane to toggle showing hidden files and folders.

New in xplorer² LITE 2.2.0.2 (Mar 1, 2013)

New in xplorer² LITE 2.2.0.1 (Mar 1, 2013)

[P] check duplicates command gets a prominent progressbar, useful for long file comparison operations
[P] Customize > Keyboard hotkey control allows more key combinations to be used as accelerators ( etc). Navigating this dialog with the keyboard is a bit harder, sorry!
Added new file attributes I for NOT content indexed (not that interesting :) and P for sParse files
New tips: 4a, 27b, 46a, 124b, 125a, 161a, 167, 168, 169, 170
[U] Tools > Find files menu command will use windows desktop search if available (requires windows XP with desktop search 4 installed). This will dramatically improve the search speed in indexed folders. For more accurate results use CLICK FOR ROBUST SEARCH button after the end of the quick search.
If you don't have desktop search, please download it from here:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=23
[U] registry tweak GAOPT_NODESKSEARCH disables desktop search, xplorer² operates only with 'slow' search as it used to (available through Options > Advanced settings menu, Global page)
[U] Tools > Fast search menu will do a simple desktop search under the current folder. Instead of defining complex search rules, just give it a keyword (whole word) to find either in the file contents, filename or some other file property. AQS syntax isn't supported, just plain text.
[P] Tools > Save search (in a scrap window) saves the last search parameters (filter and location, not the results) to a file. Repeat an older search using Tools > Recent search menu. To start a saved search from the command line use the arguments /F:1 /L:path_to_saved_search.x2fnd (or double click on a *.x2fnd file)
[P] Drag-drop a file on a filter window (e.g. find files dialog) and its details (name/date/size) are used to define a filter. Useful for locating renamed pictures from a camera.
Edit > Copy to command offers to create a folder for the HERE field if it doesn't exist
[P] Last complex filter (e.g. for command remembered between sessions
Tools > Options menu, Advanced page, has a tickbox for preserving file dates when setting comments with
[P] Searches are now possible within external devices like phones and cameras
[P] Drivebar won't show letters for empty card reader slots
[P] Better estimation of time remaining for robust copy and delete commands

New in xplorer² LITE 2.1.0.2 (May 31, 2012)

New in xplorer² LITE 2.1.0.0 (May 31, 2012)

Added Downloads folder to system folders list (Goto > Special folders)
Tree option FTCOPT_AUTOCOLLAPSE (=256) collapses open branches before opening new ones - so that you don't end up with too many open branches during browsing
Searching for text in files in RAW encoding mode preselects the case sensitive and search all files options, so that you can make the most of its powers (e.g. you can search for $EF$BB$BF to find all files that have the UTF-8 BOM marker).
Actions > Export settings and other similar input boxes have a [...] button that allow you easy path selection. Note that path autocompletion works there too.
Actions > Folder settings > Default menu command will fix the pane style, sort order, columns and grouping for all folders according to the current settings. Untick to revert to the classic 'last setting used is the default' mode. When the default mode is active, if you make any changes in some folder (e.g. switch to thumbnails) these will turn back to default once you browse some other folder.
registry setting CLVOPT_NOSELCOLLAPSED (=262144) forbids item selection when its group header is collapsed (see registry.txt)
editor² checks if a ED2.INI file exists next to the program (portable mode) and uses it automatically instead of registry. You can pass any custom settings file using the /I: option as before.
Actions > Set comment menu command gets its own dialog. When you select multiple files to set, you have the option to either replace the existing comment verbatim, or you can just enter one word (tag) to add or remove from the existing comment
Better icons for executable files and folders in thumbnail view mode
New demo videos added in Help > How do I? pane. Marked with NEW they hilight the biggest new additions
New detail column (attribute) for MD5 file checksums ( command). The old plain checksum column works but it isn't very reliable identifying small differences. If you want to calculate MD5 sums of large files you may have to increase the relevant bytesize limit from Tools > Options, General page (near the bottom). Sorry, not working in windows 9x!
All program icons can be customized using a "translation" trick

New in xplorer² LITE 2.0.0.1 (May 31, 2012)

New in xplorer² LITE 2.0.0.0 (May 31, 2012)

fast thumbnails for windows XP/2000 utilizing thumbs.db system cache (note: thumbnail size must be fixed to 96 pixels, see Tools > Options > General)
option for large icons in folder tree (right click nowhere in tree and pick command from menu)
large toolbar icons supported, create an alpha-transparent bitmap called x2skin_XL.PNG and put it in the installation folder, see http://zabkat.com/x2skin.htm. Recommended icon sizes in range [24,48].
when item icons are set to PLAIN (Tools > Options > General) there are no icon overlays extracted (shortcut, shared, TSVN etc)
network folder access speed with tree-autosync enabled improved dramatically; make sure you have GAOPT_TREENONETENUM enabled from Tools > Advanced options (global page: tree only partially expands network folders)
Various list Organize dialogs are now resizable
Link icon overlays shown in thumbnail view mode too
First stage (name parsing) of network reads also escapable (press ESC key if it takes too long)
User command token $> for the odd (sic) need to pass all selected items through a list file. This is equivalent to $A token but the paths are saved to the file %TEMP%\x2tmpList.txt, then this file is used as the $> argument. Useful for situations where you need to pass too many files to some external tool.
Toolbar context menu has switch whether to use small or large icons (if XL skin available)
Improved handling of phones and digital cameras, now you can see thumnnails in such folders
If in single pane mode, xplorer² window title shows the full folder path
editor² optionally saves settings in a .INI file (instead of the registry) if you use the /I command line switch with a .INI filename. Also loader automatically detects common unicode and UTF8 text files without a BOM
Search for text in plain text files (, Find files and similar commands) automatically detects unicode and UTF8 files even without a BOM (encoding identification)
File > New tab opens all the selected items/folders in separate tabs
Right click on a tab to lock it (toggle). Locked tabs stay put and any browsing in them results in opening a new tab.

xplorer² LITE Changelog

What's new in xplorer² LITE 5.4.0.2

New in xplorer² LITE 5.1.0.2 (Jan 11, 2022)

New in xplorer² LITE 5.1.0.0 (Jan 11, 2022)

New in xplorer² LITE 5.0.0.3 (Aug 18, 2021)

New in xplorer² LITE 5.0.0.1 (Aug 18, 2021)

New in xplorer² LITE 5.0.0.0 (Aug 18, 2021)

New in xplorer² LITE 4.5.0.1 (Nov 23, 2020)

New in xplorer² LITE 4.4.0.1 (Jun 7, 2020)

New in xplorer² LITE 4.4.0.0 (Jun 7, 2020)

New in xplorer² LITE 4.3.0.1 (Nov 19, 2019)

New in xplorer² LITE 4.3.0.0 (Oct 27, 2019)

New in xplorer² LITE 4.2.0.1 (May 31, 2019)

New in xplorer² LITE 4.1.0.1 (Dec 6, 2018)

New in xplorer² LITE 4.0.0.2 (Jun 7, 2018)

New in xplorer² LITE 3.5.0.2 (Jan 3, 2018)

New in xplorer² LITE 3.2.0.2 (Jun 7, 2016)

New in xplorer² LITE 3.1.0.0 (Mar 19, 2016)

New in xplorer² LITE 3.0.0.5 (Mar 19, 2016)

New in xplorer² LITE 3.0.0.4 (Mar 19, 2016)

New in xplorer² LITE 3.0.0.2 (Mar 19, 2016)

New in xplorer² LITE 3.0.0.1 (Mar 19, 2016)

New in xplorer² LITE 3.0.0.0 (Mar 19, 2016)

New in xplorer² LITE 2.5.0.4 (Dec 2, 2014)

New in xplorer² LITE 2.5.0.0 (Dec 2, 2014)

New in xplorer² LITE 2.4.0.1 (Dec 2, 2014)

New in xplorer² LITE 2.4.0.0 (Dec 2, 2014)

New in xplorer² LITE 2.3.0.1 (Apr 29, 2013)

New in xplorer² LITE 2.2.0.2 (Mar 1, 2013)

New in xplorer² LITE 2.2.0.1 (Mar 1, 2013)

New in xplorer² LITE 2.1.0.2 (May 31, 2012)

New in xplorer² LITE 2.1.0.0 (May 31, 2012)

New in xplorer² LITE 2.0.0.1 (May 31, 2012)

New in xplorer² LITE 2.0.0.0 (May 31, 2012)

New in xplorer² LITE 1.8.1.4 (Oct 8, 2011)

New in xplorer² LITE 1.8.1.3 (Oct 8, 2011)

New in xplorer² LITE 1.8.1.2 (Oct 8, 2011)

New in xplorer² LITE 1.8.1.1 (Oct 8, 2011)

New in xplorer² LITE 1.8.1.0 (Oct 8, 2011)

New in xplorer² LITE 1.8.0.14 (Oct 8, 2011)

New in xplorer² LITE 1.8.0.13 (Oct 8, 2011)

New in xplorer² LITE 1.8.0.12 (Oct 8, 2011)

New in xplorer² LITE 1.8.0.10 (Oct 8, 2011)

New in xplorer² LITE 1.8.0.7 (Oct 8, 2011)

New in xplorer² LITE 1.8.0.5 (Oct 8, 2011)