Windows Explorer has been around for about two decades and in all that time this Windows tool has hardly changed. For many a wonderfully recognizable environment, but for advanced users Windows Explorer leaves something to be desired. Do you want to get more out of your file management? Then the free Multi Commander is an excellent alternative to File Explorer.
Windows Explorer in app form
A large part of Windows 10 applications are so-called apps. They have a different screen layout and are easier to operate by hand if you have a touch screen. There is also a so-called Universal App variant of Windows Explorer, but you have to know how to call it up. In addition, you must have at least the Creators Update released in early 2017.
Curious what the Universal App of Explorer looks like? Then proceed as follows: right-click on an empty space in the desktop and choose New / Shortcut. Then type exactly this text in the text field (as a single line):
explorer shell:AppsFolder\c5e2524a-ea46-4f67-841f-6a9465d9d515_cw5n1h2txyewy!App
Give the shortcut an appropriate name and double-click it to launch the File Explorer app.
Tip 01: Install
Of course, there have been some tweaks to Windows Explorer over the years, such as the addition of the ribbon, with default commands you can use quickly. But little has been done to the functionality so far. If you want more functions than Explorer has, you can get started with Multi Commander. It just runs next to the existing Explorer, so you still have something to choose from.
You can download Multi Commander for 32- and 64-bit Windows. If you don't know which version of Windows you have, press Windows key + Pause to: System type find out which version you are using. A portable version of Multi Commander without installation is also available. You can, for example, put it on a USB stick and start it directly on any Windows PC. If you opt for an installation, it is very simple. If you want to use all the extra functionality, we recommend that you check all extra components in the installation wizard.
Tip 02: Start up
When the program starts for the first time, you will be asked which language you want to use. And you will be asked in which interface style you want to get started with the tool. In short, you can choose from three styles: one for those who mainly want to control the tool with the keyboard (Commander style), one for those who don't want to deviate too much from the way Windows Explorer works (Windows Explorer compatibility) and Amended. This last style lets you choose from the two previous styles for various separate parts (Total, Keyboard, Mouse and Colors). In order not to make the culture shock too big, we choose this Windows Explorer compatibility. You can always adjust later.
Tip 03: Navigate
The first big difference with Windows Explorer is immediately apparent when the program is started: you get to see a two-way navigation window. By the way, you can adjust the display (size) of these windows via View / Split Windows. To make smart use of those two windows, you have to call up different disk locations. Navigating to another location can be done in several ways: via the drop-down menu at the top of such a window, by clicking on the desired subfolder(s) in the window yourself or by first clicking the button Show/hide folder structure and then scroll to the desired location.
If you click on an empty spot next to the standard tab at the bottom of a navigation window, you can create a new tab in which you navigate to the desired folder. Right-click a tab for a context menu from which you can close, duplicate, move, and lock a tab, among other things. Useful!
By the way: if it turns out that Multi Commander refuses to perform certain actions, start the tool as administrator. In that case, the message will appear at the bottom of the window Administrator mode is active.
Tip 04: Move/Copy
You can easily move data by selecting one or more items, after which you 'grab' the selection at an icon and drag it to the other navigation pane. Hold down the Ctrl key if you want to copy the files instead of moving them. By default, a window appears that not only asks for your confirmation for the move or copy action, but also offers you all kinds of extra options. More advanced options become available via the Advanced button, but you may find the filter field the most useful. Here you can define inclusion and exclusion filters. Handy, because then you don't have to take this into account when selecting the files. For example, if you want to move all docx files, but not the ones starting with 2016, the following filter will take care of that: *.docx -2016*. So you put a minus sign in front of an exclusive filter. By the way, you can also include folders in such a filter, which you have to precede with a /, for example -/.
You may have noticed that you can also run certain plugin profiles in this window. For example, when you AutoSort (A-Z) then the data is automatically sorted alphabetically, creating a corresponding subfolder (A, B, C, …) for each initial letter.
Tip 05: Search
Multi Commander includes a search module, so you can easily search for specific files. You open this module with the F3 key or via Extensions / Search files. A dialog box appears in which you indicate the data you are looking for in the top field using wildcard characters (for example meeting*.* or 201?.docx). If you want to search for files that contain one or more words, check first Contains at the bottom of the search field.
In the field Search in determine in which folder Multi Commander should carry out the quest. You can specify how many sub-levels should be included in the quest. If you select 2 here, the tool will limit its search to contents in folder\subfolder\subfolder. Bee Exclusion filter you can enter the name of one or more subfolders that Multi Commander should ignore. Multi Commander can also check the content of text files: you then add File Content one or more words containing the files you are looking for.
If you want even more options, click the button Advanced. You can now filter by many more criteria, including Date, Size, Attribute and through the tab Plugin (Extended Features) also on many other file properties. For example, all kinds of metadata for media files.
Tip 06: Compare
If you try to keep the contents of certain folders in sync, it can be useful to compare both folders. Multi Commander largely takes care of such a job for you. First, make sure that both folders are visible at the same time, each in its own window. Then open the Edit menu and you will see a series of comparison criteria appear. For example, if you want to see all data marked in both folders, then select the Compare folders option here, select duplicates. Or would you like to see only the newest versions of your files marked, then choose Compare folders, select newest. If you don't like the standard options, click Compare folders, extended. A dialog box pops up with many more options. For example, you can have limited time differences ignored or include the file content in the comparison as well.
Tip 07: Multimedia
If you have had the necessary plug-ins installed with Multi Commander (as we recommended), then there are all kinds of useful extras for multimedia files. You will find it in the menu Tools / Image Tools and Audio tools. For example, if you have selected a number of photos, you can Image Tools right for operations such as converting (to jpg, gif, bmp, png or tiff), rotate, resize, delete or modify exif metadata. Bee Audio tools you can have metadata removed, but also, for example, have a playlist made of your audio selection.
Tip 08: To the buttons!
You may have already noticed: below the navigation panes you see a kind of button bar with which you can activate a certain function with one mouse click. What you may not have noticed is that the contents of this bar change when you hold down the Shift key: other buttons and functions appear. This also applies to the Ctrl key, but by default this bar is still empty. You can determine the content of those three bars entirely yourself, which again makes working with Multi Commander very flexible. We'll show you how to create a button in the Ctrl bar, for example, with which you put together a playlist for the audio selection.
Hold down the Ctrl key while scrolling the menu Configuration opens and Buttons-editor selects. Confirm with OK. Then click with the left mouse button on the location in the Ctrl bar where you want the button. Enter information about the button: enter Label a name and enter tool tip enter a short description. Bee Job Type do you choose for example Internal Commands, after which you join module the option Audio Tools selects and at Assignment in front of Create playlist (PLS/M3U) chooses. You can also adjust the foreground and background color of your button at the top right. Confirm with Update changes. The button is now available in Multi Commander!
To adjust
You can also adapt Multi Commander to your wishes in many other ways and the program has a number of other skills on board: too many to discuss here. You will find a very extensive PDF manual on the Multi Commander site.
