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Files UWP: An enthusiast’s take on what Windows File Explorer explorer should be

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Re: Files UWP: An enthusiast’s take on what Windows File Explorer explorer should be

#3
This is an amazing design exercise, but the thing about Win10 that really pushes my buttons is the Control Panel/Settings conundrum. Each version it seems another feature gets added into the real settings app but still needing to open an old-themed dialog to change mouse settings of all things seems odd. It's not like mouse settings are an obscure feature. I'm not sure why a higher emphasis on cohesiveness isn't noted.

Re: Files UWP: An enthusiast’s take on what Windows File Explorer explorer should be

#4
The low-contrast sidebar and flat colors sure look like they belong in Windows 10. But what about the features? The README doesn't mention any features. If anything, a flat-looking screenshot these days makes me instantly suspect that the product might be lacking in features.

Re: Files UWP: An enthusiast’s take on what Windows File Explorer explorer should be

#5
post #4

The low-contrast sidebar and flat colors sure look like they belong in Windows 10. But what about the features? The README doesn't mention any features. If anything, a flat-looking screenshot these days makes me instantly suspect that the product might be lacking in features.

The missing up button is a bad sign.

Re: Files UWP: An enthusiast’s take on what Windows File Explorer explorer should be

#6
I thought for a moment Microsoft had uploaded some new Windows Explorer source code and got excited... I guess that tells you how different an era we live in. It wouldn’t be a huge leap.

The screenshots look nice, though. I can’t say I am really a huge fan of UWP UIs on desktop... but this looks alright.

Re: Files UWP: An enthusiast’s take on what Windows File Explorer explorer should be

#7
post #3

This is an amazing design exercise, but the thing about Win10 that really pushes my buttons is the Control Panel/Settings conundrum. Each version it seems another feature gets added into the real settings app but still needing to open an old-themed dialog to change mouse settings of all things seems odd. It's not like mouse settings are an obscure feature. I'm not sure why a higher emphasis on cohesiveness isn't note…

I agree. I would have been fine if the new control panel superseded the old version but since Win8 we have this schizophrenic situation where we have two control panels that both have features the other version doesn't have. Win10 is a little better but you still need the old panel for plenty of things.

Re: Files UWP: An enthusiast’s take on what Windows File Explorer explorer should be

#8
It's funny to see the gradient in the title bar, contrasting with the bland borderless-sea-of-whiteness of the rest of the UI.

> FilesUwp.Package_0.5.0.0_x64.zip 54.4 MB

Nearly 55MB, compressed, for something that attempts to mimic some of the functionality of the regular explorer.exe, is quite frankly ridiculous. I don't have a system to check right now, but I believe even latest Windows 10 has an explorer.exe https://github.com/duke7553/files-uwp/blob/master/Files%20UW...

and the first thing I see is not exactly confidence-inspiring:

             if(tabInstance.AlwaysPresentCommands.isEnabled == true) 
             { 
                 tabInstance.AlwaysPresentCommands.isEnabled = true; 
             } 
             else 
             { 
                 tabInstance.AlwaysPresentCommands.isEnabled = false; 
             } 
...WTF.

It seems that everything "UWP" I come across follows the same trend: a lot of code, a lot of resource consumption, some flashy "modern" UI, yet very little in the way of actual functionality.

Re: Files UWP: An enthusiast’s take on what Windows File Explorer explorer should be

#9
post #3

This is an amazing design exercise, but the thing about Win10 that really pushes my buttons is the Control Panel/Settings conundrum. Each version it seems another feature gets added into the real settings app but still needing to open an old-themed dialog to change mouse settings of all things seems odd. It's not like mouse settings are an obscure feature. I'm not sure why a higher emphasis on cohesiveness isn't note…

What you might be missing is some complex technical reason why the mouse control panel cannot be easily migrated. For example, a lot of drivers integrate their own tabs into the mouse control panel for features.

The slow migration from control panel to settings is actually, in my opinion, one of the better ways Microsoft has done software development. We aren't waiting 5 years for them to migrate 20 years of settings and we aren't stuck with a limited version 1.0 product without sufficient features.

Re: Files UWP: An enthusiast’s take on what Windows File Explorer explorer should be

#10
post #2

The only thing I've ever wanted from Explorer is... being able to see how big a directory is in the file size column.

If you open the properties of a folder, you can see how long it can take to calculate the size of a folder.

This is a feature I've never really needed - what is your scenario for needing this at a glance? When I'm chasing large files that need deleting due to free space pressure I typically use something like the following https://windirstat.net/

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