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Windows Explorer Through the Years

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Re: Windows Explorer Through the Years

#41

Post by TheSpiceIsLife »

ygra wrote: post #36
TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Da fck. I recently learned you can add this feature to the right click context menu via adding a registry entry. If I’d’a known shift-right click I wouldn’t make bothered.

Shift right click has always been the way to get the "advanced" context menu. Well, at least back to Windows 95. Fun fact: since the shortcut for the context menu is Shift+F10, you'll always get the extended menu since you'll always have shift pressed when the menu appears.

I’m one of the ten thousand today:

https://xkcd.com/1053/

Re: Windows Explorer Through the Years

#43

Post by compressedgas »

wronex wrote: post #2

I wish Windows Save/Open dialogues would have links to already open Explorer windows (much like the links to Documents.) Rationale: Project are often contained in a single root folder. I often start by opening this folder in Explorer. Some programs can be started by double clicking files. Others cannot. Saving new files always requires interacting with the save dialog and thus browsing to the project folder again.

I like the idea and wrote a longer comment. But I must object to your two universal statements as they are without further qualification I find them false.

It is possible to start any program via a file association even if it does nothing with the file that the action was activated on.

Saving a new file only requires the file chooser if the application was started first. If the file is created in Explorer via the New ... Templates and then opened the use of the file chooser can be avoided.

Re: Windows Explorer Through the Years

#44

Post by toyg »

TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #22
cstuder wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another tip: Shift-Right-Click a file in Explorer and "Copy as path" will appear in the context menu. Puts the full file path in your clipboard.

Da fck. I recently learned you can add this feature to the right click context menu via adding a registry entry. If I’d’a known shift-right click I wouldn’t make bothered.

equivalent on Mac: Alt + Right Click.

Re: Windows Explorer Through the Years

#45

Post by toyg »

signal11 wrote: post #27

This article would be even better if it showed the evolution of Mac OS's Finder through the years. The two undoubtedly influenced each other (possibly with one side being influenced more than the other). For instance, I believe the 'duality' of Explorer views (one without tree views, one with) was a response to the success of the Mac Finder -- it was intended to present a simple UI for managing files. The "Explore" m…

>> Beginning users and many intermediates were confused by the two-pane view of File Cabinet

Definitely my experience as a pre-teen. The 9x UI was much more intuitive.

> there seems to be a trend of bundling more functionality into the Title Bar these days.

Yes and I find it annoying, because 1) they are so small, and 2) now you cannot intuitively know whether something on the titlebar is a button or decoration. Flat UIs suck.

Re: Windows Explorer Through the Years

#47

Post by nfoz »

open-source-ux wrote: post #10

"Windows 98 was famously controversial, at least in nerd circles, for the integration of Internet Explorer into Explorer itself" How interesting to see attitudes change. Today, using a web browser and HTML/CSS/JavasScript to write your app (whether as a SaaS app or a desktop app using Electron) is one of the most popular options for creating apps. In fact, Microsoft explored this space many years ago too. Remember Mi…

> How interesting to see attitudes change. Today, using a web browser and HTML/CSS/JavasScript to write your app (whether as a SaaS or a desktop app using Electron) is one of the most popular options for creating apps.

I'm not sure that's a change. The IE integration was what the MS developers wanted, against the wishes of nerd-users. Electron apps today are very popular for developers, and nerd-users constantly complain about it.

Re: Windows Explorer Through the Years

#48

Post by helenius »

Interesting thing about File Explorer is that the 20-year-old APIs for extending it still work! While File Explorer has changed between Windows versions, the underlying Win32 API seems to be the same.

A year ago I dove into shell extensions [1] to implement a drag-and-drop gesture for a file type. I wanted to create a bookmarking system for files in File Explorer based on nothing more than the bookmark being named after the file I want to bookmark (so they're next to each other when sorted from A-Z) [2]. I had not used Visual C++ before but the tutorials I found from the early 2000s, and some helpful advice from MSFT via Stackoverflow, got me through it.

There is also a simpler way to write Shell extensions using a C# wrapper if that works for your use case [3].

[1]: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/shell/shell-e... [2]: https://filemark.app/ [3]: https://github.com/dwmkerr/sharpshell

Re: Windows Explorer Through the Years

#49

Post by speedgoose »

TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #17
frou_dh wrote: post #7

My pet peeve with every GUI file browser I can remember using: They all try to be smart and occasionally ignore your carefully configured view settings. I want a massive checkbox that says "Never, EVER , try to automatically determine the best viewing mode. Really. Never!"

The best viewing mode is detailed. Everything else should be regulated out of existence.

The best view to sort pictures !
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