My WPF based alternative to Windows Explorer

[BoyBoppins]

Thought I would design some icons for this:

The icons are based on Microsoft Office 2013 icons. The first one was design to be similar to the windows 7 explorer icon while the second one matches Office 2013 icons.

I like that second one. Maybe adjusting the angles to match the Win8 icon would work better though

[Sekyal]

I quite like it. It seems like it will be much nicer to use than regular Windows Explorer once more functionality is added in. Nice touch with the animated tiles with photos. Proof that Microsoft hasn't taken the Metro idea far enough in Windows 8.

[link6155]

I quite like it. It seems like it will be much nicer to use than regular Windows Explorer once more functionality is added in. Nice touch with the animated tiles with photos. Proof that Microsoft hasn't taken the Metro idea far enough in Windows 8.

I agree with you, but I'm afraid that if Microsoft takes Metro too far, the majority of users will hate it.

[Y0kenB]

Hi,

I like the idea of being able to replace my file explorer.

Initial thoughts were great, but I'd like to see the following features / enhancements before I'd actually look at using it some more.

1) Backspace needs to go up one level

2) Up level to be listed as the first block entry to make it easier to navigate as opposed to going to the current up button on the top left of the screen

- Could perhaps have the parent folder on it's own column to the left of the file lists

- Different colour than the standard grey (folder yellow maybe?)

3) Folder management properties

- Assign priorities to folders? (higher priority lists first, priority 1 group A-Z, priority 2 group A-Z, etc.)

- Assign border colours to folders (to highlight folders that might be of interest)

- Assign icon / image to folder

- Include all other "properties" functionality on folders, not just on files.

- the ultimate solution would be to move the most used files / folders to the top... but no idea how you'd do that :)

4) Better options to allow assigning background colours to different file types

5) A little bit bigger fonts on the file/folder names displayed

6) Double-click runs / opens file (instead of asking on first click)

I hope to see this app used more and grow to its full potential.

Well done on the early beta!!

[CharonMC]

Nice Julien!! It's fast and fluid.

[link8506]

Thought I would design some icons for this:

The icons are based on Microsoft Office 2013 icons. The first one was design to be similar to the windows 7 explorer icon while the second one matches Office 2013 icons.

The second one is better.

However, I would prefer to get away from the classic "yellow color for folder", and use as little colors as possible (white + just one accent color)

1) Backspace needs to go up one level

the backspace key will be mapped to the back button to be consistent with the Windows Explorer / Internet Explorer behavior.

2) Up level to be listed as the first block entry to make it easier to navigate as opposed to going to the current up button on the top left of the screen

- Could perhaps have the parent folder on it's own column to the left of the file lists

I never liked the idea of displaying a parent folder button ("..") directly in the folder list.

I know this is often used on non-Windows OSes, but I find that annoying. I think a dedicated toolbar button is better.

- Different colour than the standard grey (folder yellow maybe?)

that wouldn't look good in a metro-like UI.

3) Folder management properties

- Assign priorities to folders? (higher priority lists first, priority 1 group A-Z, priority 2 group A-Z, etc.)

I intend to implement the ability to create favorite group a files/subfolders for each folder (a kind of priority group)

- Assign icon / image to folder

yes in a future version

- Include all other "properties" functionality on folders, not just on files.

of course!

the current release is an alpha version, that's why it still lacks these kind of essential features.

- the ultimate solution would be to move the most used files / folders to the top... but no idea how you'd do that :)

I would rather let the user choose his favorite files/folders rather than detecting which one he uses the most often.

Even Microsoft is getting away from that kind of automatic shortcuts in their start screen (the Windows xp/vista/7 start menu used to display most used apps, but on win8 MS has opted to let the user decide what he considers to be worth displaying on the start screen).

4) Better options to allow assigning background colours to different file types

maybe

5) A little bit bigger fonts on the file/folder names displayed

I don't know... I used the same font size as Microsoft used on the start screen.

If the user has sight troubles, he should set the high dpi mode in Windows.

"6) Double-click runs opens file (instead of asking on first click)"

->good idea!

[.Neo]

The Back/forward arrows are NOT metro style.

You're right! They should be much more jagged to properly match Microsoft's.

[link8506]

The Back/forward arrows are NOT metro style. Check how your arrow looks compared to the Windows 8's metro style arrows. You will notice that for metro style arrows, there are flat edges on the two ends of the arrow.

Your Arrow (not metro style)

Windows 8's Arrow (Metro Style)

I hadn't spotted the subtle difference before!

Thanks for highlighting it, I will fix that

[Dashel]

Interesting study. I'll be curious to see how you overcome the 'label' issues with the current Metro approach (and why your file view emphasizes file type over more useful information). I like the sub-folders/file info, needs more 'hot' info on the files/folders. (Like size for example - like Skydrive does)

[link8506]

Interesting study. I'll be curious to see how you overcome the 'label' issues with the current Metro approach

What is that "label" issue?

(and why your file view emphasizes file type over more useful information). I like the sub-folders/file info, needs more 'hot' info on the files/folders. (Like size for example - like Skydrive does)

the size is already displayed at the top right of the tile

for pictures, resolution is also displayed on the top left (when not in "browse" mode).

The big label at the center is where icons usually stand (compared to the layout in windows explorer). I think I will put custom metro icons there for well known files (pdf, docx, ...), and keep displaying the extension for less known files.

[Kyang]

You're right! They should be much more jagged to properly match Microsoft's.

Wouldn't straightening the line ends actually make it less jagged?

[link6155]

You're right! They should be much more jagged to properly match Microsoft's.

The design is sharp, not jagged. Jagged is like something made in MSPaint :p

[link8506]

New version published a few hours ago:

Version 0.1.2 (2012/08/04) :

-bug fixes and visual improvements

-very basic support for audio playback (no playlist support yet)

-supports JPEG thumbnail extraction when available for faster thumbnail loading

-on the "My Computer" screen, thumbnails are now displayed only on the "My Pictures" tile

-pushed the expiration date to 2012/08/25

[link8506]

Better late than never: version 1.0 is available:

http://www.julien-manici.com/immersive_explorer/

[link6155]

Better late than never: version 1.0 is available:

http://www.julien-manici.com/immersive_explorer/

Good to see that you're still working on this. I can see that you have improved the icons, however, they are a tad bit too cramped (too close to each other). A bit more spacing would around each UI elements would make this better. Also, the circle around the icons is too thick for Metro/Modern UI, trim it down a bit and I think it'll be perfect ;)

[link8506]

Good to see that you're still working on this.

yeah I almost stopped working on it.

Then I resumed development 2 months ago after thinking how good it could be to use it on my Acer w4 ;)

I can see that you have improved the icons, however, they are a tad bit too cramped (too close to each other). A bit more spacing would around each UI elements would make this better. Also, the circle around the icons is too thick for Metro/Modern UI, trim it down a bit and I think it'll be perfect ;)

maybe I should rather use Segoe UI symbols.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/jj841126.aspx

[gohpep]

I haven't tried this yet, but is there OneDrive integration?

[link8506]

I haven't tried this yet, but is there OneDrive integration?

not yet, but that's planned.