3 ms·

Keep in mind that explorer now uses 100% more resources than it did 5 years ago, but it still can not do basic things that Mac and open source competitors can d

Keep in mind that explorer now uses 100% more resources than it did 5 years ago, but it still can not do basic things that Mac and open source competitors can do. It's almost 40 years old, and doesn't really do more than it did back then. I don't think MS cares to be competitive at all. Here is a small list of things other file managers can do that MS would never dream of (because it would require effort): * Batch rename files * File metadata/tag support * Sessions/saved layouts (sort of exists in a half finished state) * Fish/SSH Support * Builtin hash/checksum support * Native dual pane views * Customizable keyboard shortcuts * Built-in terminal * Handle compressed files (outside limited zip compatibility) * Search with advanced features (offers limited support) * File versioning * The ability to navigate entirely with the keyboard * File transfer queue management (think Terracopy) * Builtin Compare/Sync * A Preview Pane * User adjustable UI * etc

vel0city 11mo ago
A number of those features do exist in Explorer, a number can be trivially added with PowerToys, but I take it you're not actually interested in truth or reality.
- mapontosevenths 11mo ago
  Which ones? Name it and I'll show you how broken or weak it is compared to free alternatives. Powertoys doesn't count anymore than just downloading a better file manager does. If I have to download something to replace or enhance it, you don't get credit.
  - vel0city 11mo ago
    And the goalposts just keep moving... > Name it and I'll show you how broken or weak it is compared to free alternatives We've now gone from "these features can't possibly ever exist because M$ so bad" to "they're not the absolute best possible implementation that could ever exist". I'm sure you'll continue to move the goalposts. But sure, I'll name a few. Only having limited ZIP support for archives. Its not true, it supports tar and 7z archives natively now as well, supporting a number of different compression formats including Zstandard and xz. Are there other compression utilities out there that support more? Sure. But saying it only has limited zip support and that's it is just a lie. File versioning? File History has been a feature since Windows 8. I just tested and was able to navigate to any part of the File Explorer window with nothing but a keyboard. I've used it a number of times with only a keyboard, but I wasn't sure that every thing was selectable. But yes, can confirm, you can use the whole thing with only a keyboard. A Preview Pane? Really? Yes, File Explorer has a preview pane. Go to View > Preview Pane. This one really just gets me though. Are you truly this ignorant of extremely basic obvious features, or are you just making things up to complain about?
    - mapontosevenths 11mo ago
      > But saying it only has limited zip support and that's it is just a lie. I wasn't aware of that. It wasn't a lie, I'm just old. Mea Culpa. The last time I checked it only did ZIP, and only did that poorly as it lacked support for encrypted archives (only supporting older easily crackable archives). I've been installing 7zip out of habit for so long I failed to notice it improved. I'll give the new features a try. > File History has been a feature since Windows 8. File history is an OS level feature that's disabled by default, and that I believe requires admin to enable. It doesn't really feel like it's fair, since the average user can't.. use it. Change control should just be something explorer does natively (at least optionally) when moving/copying/renaming/etc. Ctl-z just isn't enough in 2025. But that's fine, you can have credit for this one too. That said, I do give MS credit for adding multiple undo steps sometime around Windows XP. Being able to ctl-z multiple times was a feature people actually wanted. > I just tested and was able to navigate to any part of the File Explorer window with nothing but a keyboard. AFAIK you still cannot group files, sort the view, create a zip file, create a new file, burn a disc, etc without clumsily navigating menus intended for mouse only usage with the keyboard. Yes, it's possible but it's incredibly painful, slow, and difficult to understand. All of those things should either have hotkeys or let you assign hotkeys of your own. In fact, every part of the UI should, but mostly does not. This is terrible for accessibility AND for productivity. MS has to be aware that it's essentially unusable with a keyboard, they obviously just decided not to care for the last 20+ years. > Are you truly this ignorant of extremely basic obvious features, or are you just making things up to complain about? Yeah, I should have been more specific. I was specifically think of Mac's finder and "Quick Look" or whatever it's called. You press space and you get an instant preview, for however many files you have selected. In windows you have to turn on this clunky sidebar that takes up screen real-estate all day every day until you need it (or never need it). Worse it doesn't really work for a lot of file types so you just end up opening the full application, and mayeb worst of all it stinks out loud from a security perspective. I don't want to preview every piece of malware from the internet. I want to preview the one thing that needs previewed. It's a terrible, clunky 90's UI for something that is, as you describe it, extremely basic and obvious. Hell, windows can't even preview markdown properly. Sometimes it feels like a time warp to the 90's.
thesuitonym 11mo ago
This might be the most unserious post I've ever seen on this site.
- mapontosevenths 11mo ago
  I noticed you weren't specific, because you know you're wrong. EDIT - To clarify, since we're many levels deep now. I'm specifically talking about file explorer. After 40 years of windows we have an explorer.exe that is still inferior to midnight commander in many ways and uses more memory than Windows XP used in total just to show us the files.
  - vel0city 11mo ago
    > just to show us the files. This is incorrect. explorer.exe does more than just "show us the files", it is essentially the entire desktop environment. The taskbar, the start menu, file explorer windows, all the notification area, the quick settings area, etc. are all "explorer.exe".
    - DANmode 11mo ago
      But it was that ten years ago, too, to bring us back to the original conversation.

vel0city 11mo ago

A number of those features do exist in Explorer, a number can be trivially added with PowerToys, but I take it you're not actually interested in truth or reality.

mapontosevenths 11mo ago
Which ones? Name it and I'll show you how broken or weak it is compared to free alternatives. Powertoys doesn't count anymore than just downloading a better file manager does. If I have to download something to replace or enhance it, you don't get credit.
- vel0city 11mo ago
  And the goalposts just keep moving... > Name it and I'll show you how broken or weak it is compared to free alternatives We've now gone from "these features can't possibly ever exist because M$ so bad" to "they're not the absolute best possible implementation that could ever exist". I'm sure you'll continue to move the goalposts. But sure, I'll name a few. Only having limited ZIP support for archives. Its not true, it supports tar and 7z archives natively now as well, supporting a number of different compression formats including Zstandard and xz. Are there other compression utilities out there that support more? Sure. But saying it only has limited zip support and that's it is just a lie. File versioning? File History has been a feature since Windows 8. I just tested and was able to navigate to any part of the File Explorer window with nothing but a keyboard. I've used it a number of times with only a keyboard, but I wasn't sure that every thing was selectable. But yes, can confirm, you can use the whole thing with only a keyboard. A Preview Pane? Really? Yes, File Explorer has a preview pane. Go to View > Preview Pane. This one really just gets me though. Are you truly this ignorant of extremely basic obvious features, or are you just making things up to complain about?
  - mapontosevenths 11mo ago
    > But saying it only has limited zip support and that's it is just a lie. I wasn't aware of that. It wasn't a lie, I'm just old. Mea Culpa. The last time I checked it only did ZIP, and only did that poorly as it lacked support for encrypted archives (only supporting older easily crackable archives). I've been installing 7zip out of habit for so long I failed to notice it improved. I'll give the new features a try. > File History has been a feature since Windows 8. File history is an OS level feature that's disabled by default, and that I believe requires admin to enable. It doesn't really feel like it's fair, since the average user can't.. use it. Change control should just be something explorer does natively (at least optionally) when moving/copying/renaming/etc. Ctl-z just isn't enough in 2025. But that's fine, you can have credit for this one too. That said, I do give MS credit for adding multiple undo steps sometime around Windows XP. Being able to ctl-z multiple times was a feature people actually wanted. > I just tested and was able to navigate to any part of the File Explorer window with nothing but a keyboard. AFAIK you still cannot group files, sort the view, create a zip file, create a new file, burn a disc, etc without clumsily navigating menus intended for mouse only usage with the keyboard. Yes, it's possible but it's incredibly painful, slow, and difficult to understand. All of those things should either have hotkeys or let you assign hotkeys of your own. In fact, every part of the UI should, but mostly does not. This is terrible for accessibility AND for productivity. MS has to be aware that it's essentially unusable with a keyboard, they obviously just decided not to care for the last 20+ years. > Are you truly this ignorant of extremely basic obvious features, or are you just making things up to complain about? Yeah, I should have been more specific. I was specifically think of Mac's finder and "Quick Look" or whatever it's called. You press space and you get an instant preview, for however many files you have selected. In windows you have to turn on this clunky sidebar that takes up screen real-estate all day every day until you need it (or never need it). Worse it doesn't really work for a lot of file types so you just end up opening the full application, and mayeb worst of all it stinks out loud from a security perspective. I don't want to preview every piece of malware from the internet. I want to preview the one thing that needs previewed. It's a terrible, clunky 90's UI for something that is, as you describe it, extremely basic and obvious. Hell, windows can't even preview markdown properly. Sometimes it feels like a time warp to the 90's.

thesuitonym 11mo ago

This might be the most unserious post I've ever seen on this site.

mapontosevenths 11mo ago
I noticed you weren't specific, because you know you're wrong. EDIT - To clarify, since we're many levels deep now. I'm specifically talking about file explorer. After 40 years of windows we have an explorer.exe that is still inferior to midnight commander in many ways and uses more memory than Windows XP used in total just to show us the files.
- vel0city 11mo ago
  > just to show us the files. This is incorrect. explorer.exe does more than just "show us the files", it is essentially the entire desktop environment. The taskbar, the start menu, file explorer windows, all the notification area, the quick settings area, etc. are all "explorer.exe".
  - DANmode 11mo ago
    But it was that ten years ago, too, to bring us back to the original conversation.