Thursday 25 June 2020

If you find Windows 10's built-in File Explorer to be clunky and outdated, you should check out this modern file explorer.

Windows 10's built-in File Explorer is like my grandparents' old car. It was reliable and lasted a long time, but it wasn't a looker. The File Explorer is a critical part of many people's workflows and is used for everything from file management to just browsing through things on your PC. While functional, the Windows 10 File Explorer is in dire need of a modern refresh. In comes Files UWP - Preview, a UWP-based file explorer that merges file management with modern design.

Files UWP - Preview rolled out to the public during Launch 2020. I've been in touch with its developer, Yair Aichenbaum, for ages and have seen the app come a long way. While Files UWP - Preview isn't finished, it's progressed enough to warrant a closer look.

Files UWP - Preview is free from the Microsoft Store. It's in preview at the moment, so some bugs and issues are expected. For this piece, I mainly focus on design and functionality and skip over a few bugs since I'm in a beta build of a preview app.

A universal file explorer

Files UWP - Preview

Free

Bottom line: Files UWP - Preview is a gorgeous file explorer that should make Microsoft jealous. It's in its early stages now but is off to an excellent start.

Pros:

  • Gorgeous design
  • Supports tabs
  • Continues to add features
  • Fits right in on Windows 10

Cons:

  • Lacks features from Windows 10's built-in File Explorer
  • Can be slow at times
  • Currently has some bugs while in preview

See at Microsoft

A gorgeous way to manage files

My first impression of Files UWP - Preview was how much it looked like it belongs on Windows 10. It utilizes Fluent Design, has light and dark modes, and has icons that match the rest of Windows 10. It looks like what I'd expect a file explorer to look like on Windows 10, rather than a dated app that looks like it's from over a decade ago.

But Files UWP - Preview isn't just pretty, it adds features and functionality that many have requested from Windows 10's built-in File Explorer. The biggest addition is tab support. You can open up new tabs to keep multiple folders and file locations open at the same time. Unfortunately, you can't drag and drop between these tabs at the moment, though I've been told by its developer that this is being worked on.

It's also much more touch-friendly than Windows 10's File Explorer. It has large touch targets that don't require a mouse and keyboard. That being said, the targets aren't so large that it's awkward to use with a mouse and keyboard. I've used it on my touchscreen laptop for quite some time and found both forms of input to work well.

Big shoes to fill

Files UWP - Preview has some massive shoes to fill. Windows 10's built-in File Explorer is a critical part of people's workflow, whether they're professional creators or casual users. Unlike some apps that are trying to create a unique experience, Files UWP - Preview is trying to replicate Windows 10's File Explorer while adding functionality and looking better. That's a tall order that Files UWP - Preview meets in many ways. It looks great, works pretty well, and has a lot of the functionality that you'd ask for in a file explorer, but it's not quite there yet as an everyday tool for me.

The app can take a bit to load file locations and folders at times. I can't say if that's because on a beta version of the software or not, but it can feel like it's hanging while it searches for files. These pauses have generally become slower and less frequent over time, and I hope that trend continues.

It shouldn't be too surprising that Files UWP - Preview isn't a full File Explorer replacement yet. The Windows 10 File Explorer is so complex and needs to be so good that Microsoft hasn't come out with a new one or a major revamp in years. We'll get one in Windows 10X, but at one point Windows 10X had three separate File Explorers, so it seems like a complicated app to replace.

It's an ambitious task to replace a built-in part of Windows 10, and I think Aichenbaum does a good job with Files UWP - Preview. I'm also impressed with how the app's development has trended. I started using Files UWP - Preview months before it came out as part of Launch 2020, and it's grown a lot since then. Development also seems to have sped up since it became publicly available.

Should you try Files UWP - Preview?

Files UWP - Preview looks much better than the built-in Files Explorer of Windows 10. It's touch-friendly and mouse-friendly, meaning it works well on desktops, laptops, or tablets. The app also adds in some nifty functionality, such as tab support. It's fun to play around with and I think in some situations could be part of a workflow. I plan to keep on using it, and think I'd use it much more if I had a tablet rather than a touchscreen laptop.

Does that mean you can fully replace the built-in Files Explorer with Files UWP - Preview? No, at least not right now. Some features aren't there yet, and others need improving. The app is still in preview, so we'll have to see how it develops over time. If it keeps trending in the same direction, I could see it being some people's main file explorer in the future.

Modern file explorer

Files UWP - Preview

Free at Microsoft Store

A gorgeous way to manage your files

This modern file explorer has tabs, a gorgeous design, and is touch and mouse friendly. It's in early stages now but is a promising start to a UWP file explorer.



0 comments:

Post a Comment

ShortNewsWeb

Blog Archive

Categories

'The Woks of Life' Reminded Me to Cook With All the Flavors I Love (1) 10 Scary Podcasts to Listen to in the Dark (1) 13 of the Best Spooky Episodes From (Mostly) Un-Spooky Shows (1) 13 Spooky Movies Set on Halloween Night (1) 1Password Now Generates QR Codes to Share Wifi Passwords (1) 2024 (15) 30 Movies and TV Shows That Are Basically 'Competence Porn' (1) 30 of the Most Obscenely Patriotic Movies Ever (1) 31 Spooky Movies to Watch Throughout October (1) 40 Netflix Original Series You Should Watch (1) 55 Box Office Bombs Totally Worth Watching (1) Active Directory (1) Adobe's AI Video Generator Might Be as Good as OpenAI's (1) AIX (1) and I'd Do It Again (1) and Max Bundle Isn't a Terrible Deal (1) Apache (2) Apple Intelligence Is Running Late (1) Apple Intelligence's Instructions Reveal How Apple Is Directing Its New AI (1) August 18 (1) August 4 (1) August 5 (1) Avoid an Allergic Reaction by Testing Your Halloween Makeup Now (1) Backup & Restore (2) best practices (1) bleepingcomputer (61) Blink Security Cameras Are up to 68% Off Ahead of Prime Day (1) CentOS (1) Configure PowerPath on Solaris (1) Documents (2) Don't Fall for This 'New' Google AI Scam (1) Don't Rely on a 'Monte Carlo' Retirement Analysis (1) Eight Cleaning Products TikTok Absolutely Loves (1) Eight of the Best Methods for Studying so You Actually Retain the Information (1) Eight Unexpected Ways a Restaurant Can Mislead You (1) Elevate Your Boring Store-Bought Pretzels With This Simple Seasoning Technique (1) Everything Announced at Apple's iPhone 16 Event (1) file system (6) Find (1) Find a Nearby ‘Gleaning Market’ to Save Money on Groceries (1) Five Red Flags to Look for in Any Restaurant (1) Five Ways You Can Lose Your Social Security Benefits (1) Flappy Bird's Creator Has Nothing to Do With Its 'Remake' (1) Four Reasons to Walk Out of a Job Interview (1) Four Signs Thieves Are Casing Your House (1) gaming (1) Goldfish Crackers Have a New Name (for a Little While) (1) Hackers Now Have Access to 10 Billion Stolen Passwords (1) How I Finally Organized My Closet With a Digital Inventory System (1) How I Pack Up a Hotel Room So I Don’t Forget Anything (1) How to Cancel Your Amazon Prime Membership After Prime Day Is Over (1) How to Choose the Best Weightlifting Straps for Your Workout (1) How to Enable (and Turn Off) Apple Intelligence on an iPhone (1) How to Keep Squirrels Off Your Bird Feeders (1) How to Set Up Your Bedroom Like a Hotel Room (and Why You Should) (1) How to Take a Screenshot on a Mac (1) How to Take Full Control of Your Notifications on a Chromebook (1) Hulu (1) I Chose the Beats Fit Pro Over the AirPods Pro (1) If You Got a Package You Didn't Order (1) If You Hate Running (1) Important Questions (17) Install and Configure PowerPath (1) interview questions for linux (2) Is ‘Ultra-Processed’ Food Really That Bad for You? (1) Is Amazon Prime Really Worth It? (1) It Might Be a Scam (1) July 14 (1) July 21 (1) July 28 (1) July 7 (1) June 30 (1) LifeHacker (127) Linux (36) Make and Freeze Some Roux Now for Easy Turkey Gravy (1) Meta Releases Largest Open-Source AI Model Yet (1) Monitoring (3) music (688) My Favorite 14TB Hard Drive Is 25% Off Right Now (1) My Favorite Amazon Deal of the Day: Apple AirPods Max (2) My Favorite Amazon Deal of the Day: Apple Pencil Pro (1) My Favorite Amazon Deal of the Day: Google Nest Mesh WiFi Router (1) My Favorite Amazon Deal of the Day: Google Pixel 8 (1) My Favorite Amazon Deal of the Day: PlayStation 5 (1) My Favorite Amazon Deal of the Day: Samsung Odyssey G9 Gaming Monitor (1) My Favorite Amazon Deal of the Day: SHOKZ OpenMove Bone Conduction Headphones (1) My Favorite Amazon Deal of the Day: These Bose QuietComfort Headphones (1) My Favorite Tools for Managing Cords and Cables (1) Nagios (2) Newtorking (1) NFS (1) OMG! Ubuntu! (688) Oracle Linux (1) oracleasm (3) osnews (26) Password less communication (1) Patching (2) Poaching Is the Secret to Perfect Corn on the Cob (1) powerpath (1) Prioritize Your To-Do List By Imagining Rocks in a Jar (1) Red Hat Exam (1) register (65) Rsync (1) Safari’s ‘Distraction Control’ Will Help You Banish (Some) Pop Ups (1) Samba (1) Scrcpy (1) September 1 (1) September 15 (1) September 2 (1) September 22 (1) September 23 (1) September 30 (1) September 8 (1) Seven Home 'Upgrades' That Aren’t Worth the Money (1) ssh (1) Swift Shift Is the Window Management Tool Apple Should Have Built (1) System hardening (1) Tailor Your iPhone's Fitness Summary to Your Workouts (1) Target’s ‘Circle Week’ Sale Is Still Going After October Prime Day (1) Target’s Answer to Prime Day Starts July 7 (1) Tech (9543) Tech CENTRAL (21) Technical stories (122) technpina (7) The 30 Best Movies of the 2020s so Far (and Where to Watch Them) (1) The 30 Best Sports Movies You Can Stream Right Now (1) The Best Deals on Robot Vacuums for Amazon’s Early Prime Day Sale (2) The Best Deals on Ryobi Tools During Home Depot's Labor Day Sale (1) The Best Early Prime Day Sales on Power Tools (1) The Best Movies and TV Shows to Watch on Netflix This Month (1) The Best October Prime Day Deals If You Are Experiencing Overwhelming Existential Dread (1) The Best Places to Go When You Don't Want to Be Around Kids (1) The Best Strategies for Lowering Your Credit Card Interest Rate (1) The Best Ways to Store All Your Bags and Purses (1) The Latest watchOS Beta Is Breaking Apple Watches (1) The New Disney+ (1) The Two Best Times of Year to Look for a New Job (1) These Meatball Shots Are My Favorite Football Season Snack (1) These Milwaukee Tools Are up to 69% off Right Now (1) This 2024 Sony Bravia Mini-LED TV Is $400 Off Right Now (1) This Google Nest Pro Is 30% Off for Prime Day (1) This Peanut Butter Latte Isn’t As Weird As It Sounds (1) This Tech Brand Will Get the Biggest Discounts During Prime Day (1) Three Quick Ways to Shorten a Necklace (1) Three Services People Don't Know They Can Get From Their Bank for Free (1) Today’s Wordle Hints (and Answer) for Monday (4) Today’s Wordle Hints (and Answer) for Sunday (11) Try 'Pile Cleaning' When Your Mess Is Overwhelming (1) Try 'Pomodoro 2.0' to Focus on Deep Work (1) Try 'Rucking' (1) Ubuntu News (346) Ubuntu! (1) Unix (1) Use This App to Sync Apple Reminders With Your iPhone Calendar (1) Use This Extension to Find All Your X Followers on Bluesky (1) veritas (2) Videos (1) Was ChatGPT Really Starting Conversations With Users? (1) Watch Out for These Red Flags in a Realtor Contract (1) Wayfair Is Having a '72-Hour Closeout' Sale to Compete With Prime Day (1) We Now Know When Google Will Roll Out Android 15 (1) What Is the 'Die With Zero' Movement (and Is It Right for You)? (1) What Not to Do When Training for a Marathon (1) What to Do When Your Employer Shifts Your Pay From Salary to Hourly (1) What to Look for (and Avoid) When Selecting a Pumpkin (1) What's New on Prime Video and Freevee in September 2024 (1) Why You Can't Subscribe to Disney+ and Hulu Through Apple Anymore (1) Why Your Home Gym Needs Adjustable Kettlebells (1) Windows (5) You Can Easily Add Words to Your Mac's Dictionary (1) You Can Get 'World War Z' on Sale for $19 Right Now (1) You Can Get a Membership to BJ's for Practically Free Right Now (1) You Can Get Beats Studio Buds+ on Sale for $100 Right Now (1) You Can Get Microsoft Visio 2021 Pro on Sale for $20 Right Now (1) You Can Get This 12-Port USB-C Hub on Sale for $90 Right Now (1) You Can Get This Roomba E5 Robot Vacuum on Sale for $170 Right Now (1) You Can Hire Your Own Personal HR Department (1) You Can Search Through Your ChatGPT Conversation History Now (1) You Can Set Different Scrolling Directions for Your Mac’s Mouse and Trackpad (1)

Recent Comments

Popular Posts

Translate

My Blog List

Popular

System Admin Share

Total Pageviews