Folder View - don't like it and can't change it!

[Gerry Hickman]

Hi,

The new "Windows Explorer" seems to have a new folder view and new UI
elements that are confusing to me and our test users. Here are the
problems I ran into.

1. The folders on the left kind of slide around in their "frame", the
+/- signs come and go as you move the mouse. The initial view has
distracting elements in the left pane too such as documents, pictures,
music etc which take away the screen space available for folders.

2. The new "menu/toolbar" seems odd, especially the way it interacts
with the mouse. In old versions of windows the menu would go away if you
clicked again on it's root node, but new ones stay open, so to get rid
of them you either have to choose something, or press escape or click
somewhere else (this is similar to menus in old versions of MMC which I
never liked).

3. You can choose to turn on "classic" menus, but it doesn't get rid of
the new UI elements and just looks odd.

Possible Solution:

Under "folder options" you can choose "classic folders". In theory this
would set it back to the "old" way, but when I tried it in Vista it
didn't work properly, it simply removed folder view all together and
left me only with a list of files and no way to navigate among folders.

The new view may be good for home users, but our corporate users are
saying they just want a clean interface with folders on the left and
files on the right.

 

[Robert Robinson]

Hi Gerry,

Just want to second your comments. I think that the Vista Windows
Explorer is very poorly designed and I certainly prefer the XP version.
One of the many frustrating operations is that there is a very confusing
identification of which file is being replaced when one copies a file
from one directory to another where the destination directory already
contains a file with the same name.
Robbie

 

[Andre Da Costa [Extended64]]

Hi,

The new "Windows Explorer" seems to have a new folder view and new UI
elements that are confusing to me and our test users. Here are the
problems I ran into.

1. The folders on the left kind of slide around in their "frame", the
+/- signs come and go as you move the mouse. The initial view has
distracting elements in the left pane too such as documents, pictures,
music etc which take away the screen space available for folders.

I agree, when the mouse pointer is not being hovered or the window is not
active it does not display the expandable arrows. Status on this right now
is by design. You can right click on each favorite link and click "Remove
Link"

2. The new "menu/toolbar" seems odd, especially the way it interacts
with the mouse. In old versions of windows the menu would go away if you
clicked again on it's root node, but new ones stay open, so to get rid
of them you either have to choose something, or press escape or click
somewhere else (this is similar to menus in old versions of MMC which I
never liked).

Give an example of this, as far as I know, it functions just fine, its
basically context sensitive toolbars that displays relevant options when
you select files or want to change settings.

3. You can choose to turn on "classic" menus, but it doesn't get rid of
the new UI elements and just looks odd.

Well, what new elements of the interface are you referring to? If you are
referring to features like the Navigation and Preview Pane, click Organize

Under "folder options" you can choose "classic folders". In theory this
would set it back to the "old" way, but when I tried it in Vista it
didn't work properly, it simply removed folder view all together and
left me only with a list of files and no way to navigate among folders.

This is where the bread crumb menu comes in, if you set it to Classic, you
will have to use the Bread address bar to navigate between folders.

The new view may be good for home users, but our corporate users are
saying they just want a clean interface with folders on the left and
files on the right.
Yes, the interface has been dumbed down, I think there could be more
flexible options for managing files and folders and customizing explorer.
Although, a program manager said in the channel 9 video, additional changes
are coming in RC1.

In the mean time you can send in your sentiments
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/sentiments/default.mspx

 

[Mark Gillespie]

Hi,

The new "Windows Explorer" seems to have a new folder view and new UI
elements that are confusing to me and our test users. Here are the
problems I ran into.

As a self proclaimed "power user", I hate Vistas Windows Explorer. I wish
there was a classic explorer UI... I have only just used to switching
from File Manager

 

[Michael Cecil]

As a self proclaimed "power user", I hate Vistas Windows Explorer. I wish
there was a classic explorer UI... I have only just used to switching
from File Manager

The lack of a "list" view is a deal breaker for me. I've said it before
and I guess it will continue to be true.

 

[Andre Da Costa [Extended64]]

Click on Views > Small icons, its similar to list view (not it though). List
view is said to be coming back in RC1.

 

[Michael Cecil]

Click on Views > Small icons, its similar to list view (not it though).

Close but no cigar.

List view is said to be coming back in RC1.

I hope you're right.

 

[Guest]

I still like the old file manager used in OLD Windows and OS/2 . I could have
two separate folders open, one in left pane and one in right pane and drag
files across. Much easier that having two different windows open.

 

[Mike Williams]

Or in XP, simply turn on Folder view in explorer and drag between two
folders (one in each pane).

 

[Robert]

I agree 100%. Don't like the new explorer.

Robert

 

[Chris Game]

I still like the old file manager used in OLD Windows and OS/2 . I could have
two separate folders open, one in left pane and one in right pane and drag
files across. Much easier that having two different windows open.

xplorer2 - http://zabkat.com/

 

[Bernie]

I second that for xplorer2. Could live without it in XP but for Vista it
is essential. There are far more sophisticated ones such as Directory
Opus but that is overkill for my needs and xplorer2 has a free version
that is quite sufficient.

 

[Chris Game]

I second that for xplorer2. Could live without it in XP but for
Vista it is essential. There are far more sophisticated ones such
as Directory Opus but that is overkill for my needs and xplorer2
has a free version that is quite sufficient.

There's a dual pane file manager called FreeCommander, unfortunately
although it installs it doesn't seem to be able to find the drives
(other than C:\).