ScreenXpert UWP v1.2.1.0 and above (Download or upgrade in Microsoft store) ScreenXpert Driver v1.2.2.0 and above (Download or upgrade in MyASUS) Upgrade to the latest BIOS (Upgrade in MyASUS ) (1) Click Task Group icon on the ScreenPad. (2) You can see four groups, tap + to capture Windows. Same time, there have three windows on the main screen. Mozilla Firefox (32bit) 81.0.2 Google Chrome (64bit) 86.0.4240.75 Adobe Air 32.0.0.116 Google Chrome (32bit) 86.0.4240.75 Mozilla Firefox (64bit) 81.0.2 Skype 8.64.0.80 VLC Media Player (64bit) 3.0.11 Hotspot Shield VPN 10.9.4 Java Runtime Environment (32bit) 8 Update 261. Best Free Window Manager/Resizer/Arranger; Best Free Wallpaper Changer; Best Free Setting On-Top Windows Editor. This software category is in need of an editor. If you are interested in taking it over then check out this page for more details. You can then contact us from that page or by clicking here. Back to the top of the article. In windows that type of behavior is integrated. Pressing full screen will actually fill your screen, holding windows button (aka super) and using the arrow keys will 'snap' your window to left half, right half, full(up) or minimized. Click and drag a corner to resize the window. You can also Rclick your taskbar and check 'autohide the taskbar'.
-->This article explains how to register an accessibility application with the Ease of Access Center. It also explains how to tailor your accessibility application so it works well with the secure desktop.
The Ease of Access Center is a Control Panel application for Microsoft Windows brings together functionality for accessibility and ease of use. By using the Ease of Access Center, users can configure their computers to suit their physical and cognitive needs.
One function of the Ease of Access Center is to help users launch accessibility applications, including Narrator, On-Screen Keyboard, and Magnifier. Registered third-party applications also appear in the Ease of Access Center and can be launched directly from there.
Accessibility applications need to work smoothly with the secure desktop. The secure desktop is the user interface that appears when the computer is locked (at log-on or when the user has locked the desktop), and when the user is prompted to allow a potentially unsafe action. For security reasons, Windows places limits on third-party software running on the secure desktop. If you want your accessibility application to run on the secure desktop, you need to register the application with the Ease of Access Center.
Registering with the Ease of Access Center
Accessibility applications register with the Ease of Access Center by creating one or more registry keys when the application is installed. The following table lists the information contained in the registry keys.
Name | Description | Mandatory/Optional | Language |
---|---|---|---|
Application Name | The name of the application, which is in a resource file. This registry value contains a string in a specified format. This could be a localized version of the application name, if the application is localized in languages other than English. The name appears in the Ease of Access Center. | Mandatory | Localized |
ATExe | The name of the application executable file or image. Windows uses this value to determine whether the accessibility application is running. | Mandatory | Not localized |
CopySettingsToLockedDesktop | A DWORD value that indicates whether to copy the accessibility application's settings to the locked desktop. If this value is 1, the application can write settings to a location in the user registry, and Windows copies the settings to the same location in the user registry for the locked desktop. This enables the application to persist its state from the 'normal' desktop to the locked desktop. | Optional | Not localized |
Description | A brief description of the application, from a resource file. This registry value contains a string in a specified format. This could be a localized version of the description, if the application is localized in languages other than English. The length of this string must be less than 512 characters. The description appears in the Ease of Access Center to provide additional information about the accessibility application to the user. This value can also be used to notify the user that the application is not used on the secure desktop. | Mandatory | Localized |
Profile | A short piece of XML that specifies the accommodations that the application provides. It ensures that the application appears under the correct category in the Ease of Access Center. | Mandatory | Not localized |
PassiveAutoStartBehavior | A DWORD value that indicates whether legacy auto-start behavior is enabled. The default value is 0, which indicates that an AT requires legacy auto-start behavior. This causes the “Start after sign-in” setting for that AT to be checked in the Out Of Box Experience (OOBE) and Control Panel (see Control Panel -> Ease of Access -> Ease of Access Center -> Change sign-in settings), and automatically starts the AT after UAC and lock-screen. A value of 1 indicates that the AT should use the new auto-start behavior where the “Start after sign-in” setting for that AT is not checked in the Out Of Box Experience (OOBE) and Control Panel, and the AT is automatically started once per user session (at login) only if the “start after sign-in” setting is checked. | Optional | Not localized |
SecureDesktopAccommodation | The name of an alternate accessibility application to run on the secure desktop in the place of this application. The alternate can be a different application, a different version of the same application, one of the accessibility applications that is included in Windows, or 'none' if you do not want to run any accessibility application on the secure desktop. | Optional | Not localized |
Simple Profile | A value that describes how to classify the application in a word or two: Screen reader, Magnifier, or On-screen keyboard, for example. | Mandatory | Not localized |
StartExe | The full path of the executable. This value is used to launch the accessibility application. | Mandatory | Not localized |
StartParams | Command-line arguments. These values are used along with StartExe to start the application. | Optional | Not localized |
TerminateOnDesktopSwitch | A DWORD value that specifies how the accessibility application responds to transitions to or from the secure desktop. If this value does not exist or is 1, Windows terminates and restarts the application on each transition to or from the secure desktop. This is the default behavior. If this value is 0, Windows does not terminate the accessibility application on a desktop transition. The application continues to run on the previous desktop, and Windows starts a new instance on the new desktop if an instance is not already running there. | Optional | Not localized |
Localization
The registry values of Application Name and Description need to be localizable to support Multilingual User Interface (MUI).
These strings are in the following format, where angle brackets signify required elements and square brackets signify an optional element.
@<ResDllPathResDLLFilename>,-[;]
<ResDllPathResDLLFilename> is the path to the resource DLL. The path can contain environmental variables.
is the resource ID for the string.
[comment] contains any optional comments.
Here is an example:
For more information about MUI, see Windows MUI Knowledge Center.
HCI Profile
Movist 1 3 18. The Human Computer Interaction (HCI) profile is a way to determine what accommodations to provide based on the needs of the user. Accessibility applications should register information about the kind of disability the application helps to accommodate.
The Profile registry value contains XML that describes the kind of disability targeted by the accessibility application. This XML has the following format:
The valid values for the Accommodation type attribute are as follows:
- mild vision
- severe vision
- mild cognitive
- severe cognitive
- mild dexterity
- severe dexterity
- mild hearing
- severe hearing
- mild speech
- severe speech
If an accessibility application supports multiple accommodations, the Profile registry value should include an Accommodation type attribute for each accommodation.
Ease of Access registry details
To register your accessibility application, you need to create a key for your application at the following registry location and populate it with name-value pairs.
HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionAccessibilityATs
Name your application's registry key using the following format:
'CompanyName_ProductName_v#'
For example, 'Contoso_Magnifier_v2.0'.
To add registry values, your installation program must be running with elevated privileges.
Secure desktop accommodation
The SecureDesktopAccommodation registry key lets you specify how your accessibility application responds to the secure desktop. By default, the Ease of Access Center launches your application on the secure desktop if it was already running on the normal desktop, or if it is configured to run on the logon desktop. By using the SecureDesktopAccommodation key, you can:
- Specify an alternate version of your application for use on the secure desktop. For example, you might have an alternate version that disables unsecured features, or is optimized to use less memory and launch faster.To specify the alternate version, set the SecureDesktopAccommodation key to the name of the alternate version. For example, if you registered your application at the Contoso_Screen Reader_v1.0 key, you could register the alternate version at Contoso_Screen ReaderSecure_v1.0. Then, set the SecureDesktopAccommodation key of Contoso_Screen Reader_v1.0 to 'Contoso_Screen ReaderSecure_v1.0'.
- Specify a Microsoft accessibility application to use on the secure desktop in place of your application. For this option, set SecureDesktopAccommodation to the name of the particular Microsoft accessibility application: 'osk', 'magnifierpane', or 'Narrator'.
- Specify that your application should not run on the secure desktop, and neither should any alternate application. For this option, set SecureDesktopAccommodation to 'none' (recommend) or the name of a nonexistent application.
If the SecureDesktopAccommodation registry key for your accessibility application specifies a Microsoft accessibility application to run on the secure desktop in place of your application, Windows notifies the user of this when making the transition to the secure desktop. To notify the user, Windows displays the string specified in the Description registry key for your application. For example, if the ScreenReader Deluxe 1.0 application uses Microsoft Narrator on the secure desktop, it would include a Description string such as, 'Microsoft Narrator will be used in the locked, logon, and other secure desktops in place of ScreenReader Deluxe 1.0.'
If your application's SecureDesktopAccommodation key is set to 'none', use the Description key to tell the user your application is not available on the secure desktop and no alternative is provided.
Windows displays the Description text in the relevant locations in the Ease of Access Center.
Running at installation and on the logon desktop
If you append your accessibility application's registered key name to the string at the following registry location, Windows will launch your application immediately after it is installed. Also, Windows will automatically run your application whenever the logon desktop is active.
HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionAccessibilityConfiguration
The Configuration key is a comma-delimited string. To add your application, append a string that is the same as your application's registry key at HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionAccessibilityATs.
Running in a job
If the TerminateOnDesktopSwitch registry key is not present or is set to non-zero, Windows runs the application in the context of a job, terminating and restarting the application with each desktop transition. Running in a job ensures that only a single instance of the application is running at a particular time, and frees the application from having to monitor the desktop state. The disadvantages of running in a job include:
- The application incurs a startup cost with each desktop transition.
- The application can be started only through the Ease of Access Center.
- The application must continually save its settings because it can be terminated at any time by a desktop transition.
If the TerminateOnDesktopSwitch key exists and is set to 0, Windows doesn't run the accessibility application in a job. This has the following advantages:
- No startup costs are associated with desktop transitions.
- The application can be started outside of the Ease of Access Center.
The disadvantages of not running in a job include:
- Because the application isn t restarted on desktop transitions, it must detect when the current desktop is inactive and respond appropriately. For example, the application must relinquish control of hardware so the secure desktop version of the application can use it, and the application should enter sleep mode to avoid using processor resources.
- If the application can be started through the Start menu, Windows Explorer, or the command line, the Ease of Access Center needs to be informed. For more information, see Windows Logo key + U.
- Because multiple copies of the application can run simultaneously on different desktops, the application must be written to support multiple running copies.
Windows Logo key + U
If your accessibility application is configured to run in a job, your application's startup code should include a call to the IsProcessInJob function to determine whether the application is starting in a job. If it is, the application should start the Ease of Access Center and then exit. The following example shows how to call IsProcessInJob.
If the accessibility application is configured to run outside of a job, it should notify the Ease of Access Center that the application is starting and continue as normal.
Regardless of how the application is configured, if it provides a way to exit from within the application, such as a Close button, the application must notify the Ease of Access Center that it is exiting.
An application notifies the Ease of Access Center by setting a temporary registry key and then injecting the Windows Logo key + U key combination into the input stream.
The application should create the temporary key at the following location.
HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionAccessibilityTemp
The temporary key should have the same name as the registered application name, such as 'Contoso_Screen Reader_v1.0'. The value of the key is a DWORD set to 0x0003 when it is starting, or 0x0002 when the application is exiting.
Windows Logo key + Volume Up
When the user starts your accessibility application by pressing the Windows Logo key + Volume Up key combination (such as on a tablet device), the Ease of Access Center passes the following command-line argument to the application:
/hardwarebuttonlaunch
Your application can use this argument to determine whether to start normally, or to adjust behavior accordingly.
Transferring secure desktop settings
If your accessibility application supports the secure desktop, you can use the registry to copy settings when the application transitions to the secure desktop. Copying settings helps makes the transition to the secure desktop more seamless for the user.
To copy settings, set the application's CopySettingsToLockedDesktop registry key to 1, and store the settings in the following registry location.
HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionAccessibilityATConfig
The Ease of Access Center monitors this registry location while the application is running. When a transition to the secure desktop occurs, the Ease of Access Center copies the settings to the same location in the secure desktop s HKCU hive. The application can then read the settings and resume its state.
Your accessibility application should write its settings at regular intervals or whenever the values change. Writing settings on application exit will not work. If the application is running in a job, it is terminated on the transition away from the secure desktop, before the exit code has a chance to run. If the application is not running in a job, the application is not terminated on the transition away from the secure desktop.
Caution
Because the registry keys described here are written in user mode, they are not secure. If your accessibility application reads the contents of these keys, it should carefully check the data and use it with caution. Specifically, your application should do a bounds check on DWORD values, be careful with string lengths, should not read plug-in DLL names, and should not execute any commands found in strings.
Registry Examples
The following example shows the possible registry values for a fictitious product called Contoso ScreenReader version 2.0, whose localized name is stored as a resource.
![Window tidy 2 0 2 – manage windows with easel Window tidy 2 0 2 – manage windows with easel](https://chocolatey.org/content/images/community-mockup.gif)
The values in the table are under the following key:
HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionAccessibilityATsContoso_Screen Reader_v2.0
Name | Type | Data | |
---|---|---|---|
ApplicationName | REG_SZ | @%SystemRoot%system32ContosoRes.dll,-5020 | |
Description | REG_SZ | @%SystemRoot%system32ContosoRes.dll,-5040 | |
Profile | REG_SZ |
| |
SimpleProfile | REG_SZ | ScreenReader | |
StartExe | REG_SZ | C:ContosoToolsBinContosoSR.exe | |
StartParams | REG_SZ | ||
SecureDesktopAccommodation | REG_SZ | Narrator |
If the application provides both a screen reader and a screen magnifier in a single executable, the values for the screen reader component might look like this:
Name | Type | Data | |
---|---|---|---|
ApplicationName | REG_SZ | @C:Program FilesContosoContosores.dll,-30 | |
Description | REG_SZ | @C:Program FilesContosoContosores.dll,-32 | |
Profile | REG_SZ |
| |
SimpleProfile | REG_SZ | ScreenReader | |
StartExe | REG_SZ | C:Program FilesContosoBinContosoSR.exe | |
StartParams | REG_SZ | /r |
The values for the magnifier component would be in the following key:
HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionContosoibilityATsContoso_Magnifier_v2.0
Name | Type | Data | |
---|---|---|---|
ApplicationName | REG_SZ | @c:Program FilesContosoContosores.dll,-31 | |
Description | REG_SZ | @c:Program FilesContosoContosores.dll,-42 | |
Profile | REG_SZ |
| |
SimpleProfile | REG_SZ | Magnification | |
StartExe | REG_SZ | c:Program FilesContosoBinContosoSR.exe | |
StartParams | REG_SZ | /m |
For many years now, most web browsers have included the ability to open websites inside separate browser tabs. Being able to quickly switch between tabbed websites is a big time saver It also reduces the clutter on your desktop by having everything contained inside a single window instead of multiple open windows. Tabbed windows are also found in other types of software, like text editors with Notepad++.
Tabs are also a common feature found in third party file managers like Free Commander or Directory Opus. The built in Windows file manager, Explorer, still uses one single window per folder view. Microsoft has so far resisted adding tabs to Explorer, although this may change in future with the Windows 10 Sets feature. The only current option of using Windows Explorer with tabs is with the help of a third party utility.
Here we list six free tools that give you the ability to integrate multiple Explorer windows into a single window with the help of tabs. All tools were tested on Windows 7 and 10 64-bit.
1. QTTabBarQTTabBar has been around for over a decade, it is also slightly confusing because there are two separate branches of the program with the same name. The main branch version is currently 1038 from 2015, the other branch (v1.5.0.0b2) is several years older and abandoned. QTTabBar is a multi purpose utility with a number of other useful features besides tabbing Explorer windows.
Once tabs are enabled they will appear below the Explorer ribbon in Windows 8/10 or above the Window Vista/7 toolbar. Tabs can be rearranged and grouped together, you can also simply drag a folder onto the tab bar to open a new tab. The right click menu on the tab bar includes some other useful additions like an advanced rename dialog and a keyboard shortcut finder.
![Window tidy 2 0 2 – manage windows with easel Window tidy 2 0 2 – manage windows with easel](https://www.winability.com/info/delete-partition/computer-management-console.png)
Other features available in QTTabBar include button command toolbars, extra folder views (similar to a dual pane file manager), text and media file preview tooltips, application launcher, event triggers, scripting and even free enhancement plugins (available from the website). The options window has literally hundreds of settings to play with. Luckily, there is a reset to default button on each page if you get lost.
Download QTTabBar
Enabling QTTabBar in Explorer
Tabs are not enabled automatically by QTTabBar and you have to turn the tab toolbar on manually from within Explorer.
Windows 10 (and 8)
After installing QTTabBar, open an Explorer window and go to the View tab on the ribbon. Click on the lower half of the Options button (far right) and select the QTTabBar entry.
If the QTTabBar view option does not appear, close all Explorer windows and try again. Alternatively, logoff or reboot.
Windows 7 (and Vista)
Make sure all Explorer windows are closed and install, open Explorer and hold the Alt key to show the menu bar. Go to View > Toolbars and select QTTabBar to enable the tabs. You may need to close and reopen Explorer again to see the tabs bar.
Note that the Explorer menu bar becomes disabled while the tabs bar is enabled.
2. Clover 3
Users of Google Chrome will feel at home using Clover because it offers a faithful representation of Chrome’s tabs inside Explorer. You even get a bookmarks bar with built in bookmark manager for quick access to your most used folders. The biggest issue with Clover is the installer and a couple of program windows are not translated from Chinese. Thankfully, this doesn’t affect day to day usage.
After install, Clover opens an Explorer window with the tabs displayed and ready to be used. Like a browser, tabs can be reordered, ungrouped, cloned, reopened and bookmarked. The bookmark manager will feel quite familiar with options to add and create subcategories. A bookmarks list can be exported and imported as an HTML file from the Settings window. The bookmark bar can be turned off if you don’t need it.
The developer has thoughtfully cloned a number of browser keyboard shortcuts so they behave the same in Clover. For instance, CTRL+T will open a new tab, CTRL+Shift+T will reopen a closed tab and CTRL+D will bookmark the current tab. The nine available shortcuts are listed in the Settings window. A few checkboxes are also in the Settings window, the most notable is the option to go up a directory if you double click in a blank area of the Explorer window.
Download Clover 3
3. TabExplorer
Unfortunately, TabExplorer as a product has long since been abandoned. The last update was in 2012 and the developer’s website has gone. TabExplorer still works though, it just means any encountered bugs or incompatibilities will never be fixed.
After install, a single screen wizard will popup where you actually enable the tabs feature. The rainbow tabs and start with Windows checkboxes are optional, the wizard can be invoked later from the tray icon menu. Tabs will appear above the Explorer window where they can be pinned, cloned, rearranged, renamed or reopened.
There is a portable mode that saves settings and data in the install folder and a touch mode. You might as well turn update checking off as there aren’t going to be any upates. The feedback, bug report and website buttons also obviously don’t work. A bug in Windows 10 means a blank tab sometimes opens up that cannot be closed. Killing Explorer.exe, logging off or rebooting seems to be the only workaround.
Download TabExplorer
4. TidyTabs
The good thing about TidyTabs is you can add tabs to just about any standard desktop window. Different windows can also be grouped together, so it’s possible to have two Explorer windows and a Command Prompt as a tab group. The free for personal use version does have some limitations, such as only three tabs can be grouped together and no auto grouping, renaming or ordering.
After install, TidyTabs sits in the system tray consuming around 1MB of memory. The tab is situated above the top left of a window and becomes visible if you hover the cursor over it. If the window is near the top of the desktop the tab will move inside the title bar. To group Explorer windows simply drag and drop one tab onto another for a maximum of three. Drag the tab away to ungroup it again.
From the Settings window, there are options to change tab transparency and turn off single tab auto hiding. A useful feature is blacklisting and whitelisting. With it, you can include or exclude specific programs from being tabbed. Note that TidyTabs does not work on Windows 10 UWP apps such as Edge, the Store or Mail and etc. However, it will work on almost all normal desktop windows.
Download TidyTabs
5. WindowTabs
WindowTabs is quite similar to TidyTabs in a number of ways. It displays tabs singularly or as a group above the desktop window. WindowTabs also has the same type of limitation as TidyTabs in that you can only group up to three tabs together in the free version of the program. However, it is not worth paying the $19 to upgrade as this software is not actively maintained with the last update dating back to 2014.
A good thing about WindowTabs is there is a portable version that you can try out without installing. Upon launch, it sits in the background and when you open a window a tab will be displayed at the top left. Drag Explorer or any other window tabs together to create a group. Amazingly for a program of its age, WindowTabs can group together Windows 10 UWP apps like Edge or Mail.
Tabs can be shrunk, renamed, rearranged, aligned and auto grouped. One issue with WindowTabs is it appears to suffer from the same Windows 10 bug as TabExplorer, which is a blank tab sometimes appears and cannot be closed. The workarounds involving closing Explorer (either forcefully or by logging off) seem to be the only things that work here too.
Download WindowTabs
6. BrightExplorer
Instead of simply adding tabs to a standard Explorer window, BrightExplorer wraps its own window around Explorer adding its own tabbed interface. This is noticeable when opening Explorer as a normal window will open and quickly close before the BrightExplorer window opens. It’s free to use although there are a few paid add-ons that can help increase functionality.
There isn’t that much in the way of configuration or setup options, simply launch the BrightExplorer window from the tray icon or by opening an Explorer window. To add a new tab just click the two arrows or open a new Explorer window which will automatically dock itself to BrightExplorer. Right click to restore a recently closed tab, sort the open tabs or undock the selected tab.
There is a favorites panel that allows you to save locations for quick opening later on, but we found this to be a bit clunky and not very efficient. The panel also has restrictions that are unlocked by purchasing some of the paid add-ons. Unfortunately, there appears to be no way to hide or remove the rather unsightly and sizeable toolbar area below the tabs.
Download BrightExplorer
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Clover is freakly buggy. QTTabBar also buggy
ReplyWas such a fan of clover, unfortunately one of the updates did introduce Chinese popups and company policy has forced all of us to uninstall.
Giving xplorer2 a try, but really missing the bookmarks bar and layout that clover has.
ReplyI’ve never been a consistent Clover user but the several times I have used or tested it, I’ve never seen any popups or anything else. This is an issue because I can’t reproduce the problem and therefore can’t see if anything can be done about it.
Now, I certainly don’t doubt people when they comment about the ads or popups they are getting but I would like to find out under what conditions people are seeing these things and why some people never see anything.
ReplyYeh, IT support said they had to remove it from several users as “the software updater part of the application is continuously trying to download adware”.
The popups only came into play with the later version, and they stopped after a time, but that was likely because IT was putting blockers in place. Certain virus checkers were also starting to complain about it. :/
ReplyThe updater is a separate executable so if that is serving the ads it could be a simple case of deleting it. However, I simply can’t get it to show ads in the first place to see if it works. For once, I wish something would actually show me the ads it’s supposed to…;)
The old version 3.0 would likely give you no adware issues at all (available from Softpedia) but that is from 2014.
Thanks for your feedback.
ReplyThere is also a “MiNiPure.exe” comes with it in the program files C:Program Files (x86)Clover, which is a Chinese News Website Software, it might relate to those pop-ups.
Thanks for the report, that’s interesting. I have never had that executable in my Clover folder and it isn’t in the installer, it must get downloaded onto your computer after installation.
All of the executables apart from Clover.exe and Clvclient.exe can be deleted it seems, I wonder what would happen if anyone getting ads deletes/moves those files.?
Would love to find the reason that separates those getting ads from those that aren’t.
Feedback : xplorer2 was ok, but I seriously missed the Bookmarks toolbar and the interface just wasn’t right for me. Now trying out Explorer++, already looks and feels more like Clover.
ReplyClover 3 and, I think 2, uses “phone home” policies. God knows what information from your computer they’re farming. Anyway that does that secretly isn’t to be trusted.
ReplyEverything that checks for updates is using “phone home” policies, so you can say the same for all software which does that…
ReplySurprised to see the Chinese porn pop-up issue with Clover. I used it for several years and never saw anything like that. As I mentioned in another comment, a recent windows update made it glitch out and I had to uninstall.
Are there any other comparable programs? Mainly speaking as to the bookmark feature. I’ve looked at most of the others listed here and they don’t seem to do the same thing. Also looked at Groupy and don’t see that feature there. I really like that and how CLover was setup.
Only one I haven’t tried is BrightExplorer. Guess I’ll give it a shot now. I really don’t mind if I have to pay for it, as long as it’s a one time fee and not some recurring charge. Anyway, thanks for the article.
ReplyFrank:
Explorer++ is free and open source.
ReplyExplorer++ is free and open source.
Yea I’ve used Clover for a while and you can definitely open more than one window, and separate tabs however you want. Unfortunately, within the past month or so, a Windows update rendered the program unusable. You can no longer resize the window and if you try, it stretches it out over the entire screen, or even multiple screens if you’re running more than one monitor. This happened with me and several of my coworkers. Some of them had problems opening Adobe and Office files, because of it. Problem went away when they uninstalled Clover. We all had to uninstall it and it’s really hard going back to regular Windows Explorer. Really hope they fix it or update it. But it’s free so I kind of doubt that will happen.
ReplyWell, the last update was July 2018 which wasn’t that long ago, so there’s always a chance they will update Clover to fix the issues. Which version of Windows and which update caused the problem for you?
ReplyQttabbar has been updated to 1039 on 10-14-2018 for dark mode. Looks better.
ReplyHi Samuel,
Please, how do you activated the dark mode in Qttabbar?. Thx
ReplyPlease, how do you activated the dark mode in Qttabbar?. Thx
Welp. Window’s latest update with the dark explorer feature just broke my QTTabBar. The appearance looks weird/old now, no more blending in with the rest of explorer. Can barely change the appearance also.
ReplyI have the same problem with Qttabbar after updating to windows 10 v1809, it looks very weird.
ReplyJUst disable the windows 10 dark mode and file explorer becomes normal, so you can use qtTabBar.
ReplyI’ve been using Clover on a number of machines for about a month and haven’t seen any problems of porn, etc.
The one thing to be aware of about Clover is that once it’s installed you can only have one Explorer WINDOW open. If you try to open another one, Clover just creates a new tab. So, for instance, you can’t drag-and-drop between windows or compare large icons of two images in different folders. It doesn’t have an “open in new window” or “move to new window” feature.
ReplyActually it has.
you can drag the tab off the current window, then it become a new window.
Replyyou can drag the tab off the current window, then it become a new window.
Downloaded the 2012 dated Qttabar 1.5.0 Beta 2 from cnet. Installed automatically to latest Windows 10. Seems to have defaulted to the tab setting but I don’t get tabs when I open new folders. Just multiple instances of File Explorer as usual. Haven’t rebooted yet. Sure wish I could replace the zillions of open file explorer windows I get during a day with tabs.
ReplyFor QTTabBar read this:
sourceforge.net/p/qttabbar/discussion/1148566/thread/db03ee38/
It seems we now have to compile it ourselves.
Replysourceforge.net/p/qttabbar/discussion/1148566/thread/db03ee38/
It seems we now have to compile it ourselves.
As far as I know, there has been no new code for years so there is not really anything that needs compiling.
ReplyWindow Tidy 2 0 2 – Manage Windows With Ease Free
Also Raymond the link you provided for QTTabBar is the older version.
ReplyThanks, I obviously talk about the two different versions in the article but linked to the old version by mistake.
ReplyQTTabBar is a very nice tool. Simple to use and include all of Window Explorer feature.
ReplyI would avoid Clover. Last time I had it on a couple machines it was popping up links (and pictures) to what appeared to be Chinese bondage porn (AVG, ZoneAlarm and Spybot weren’t reporting any malware either). I also didn’t care for it’s Chrome-like appearance, especially when it would skin itself in complete disregard of whatever theming (or disabled themes service) you had on the system.
ReplyI agree. Clover has potential, but it remains a niche product due to most of its functions not translated to English, with randomly-occurring chinese porn popups. And it’s been like this for years.
ReplyI’ve been using Clover for a year or so. I’ve never had any popups, though I did once notice one of its components seemed to be connecting to the internet randomly. How did you get the popups? I’m worried now, as I’ve got it on my own and family members’ PCs. Do you reckon killing its updater and/or firewalling it should avoid any chance of popups? Has anyone else had problems/can confirm it’s definitely Clover?
ReplyRaymond,
Playing with TabExplorer today and downloaded from 2 large download websites. It’s a tech support hijacker that takes over your PC with threats and demanding you call “Microsoft support.” There is no website for it anymore so it appears a rogue version got out there. I’m notifying anyone I can about it.
ReplyPlaying with TabExplorer today and downloaded from 2 large download websites. It’s a tech support hijacker that takes over your PC with threats and demanding you call “Microsoft support.” There is no website for it anymore so it appears a rogue version got out there. I’m notifying anyone I can about it.
Thanks for the report, I’ve linked to the Softpedia download, that one is clean.
Do be aware that it might not be the installer that is malicious, the installer opens the dead website after install, that may be serving the malicious ad.
ReplyThis a great review of tab programs for Win Explorer.
ReplyOn your suggestion I tried Clover and it’s simply brilliant. Thanks, Raymond! I’ve always been a little shy to install programs like this because invariably they tend to mess up Windows Explorer. Not this one. Absolutely love it. At last a program that gives Windows Explorer much needed tabs and other sought after functions. Bye the way, really like the new layout of your web page. And the scanning of downloaded files for viruses is a great addition. Thanks again…
ReplyWindow Tidy 2 0 2 – Manage Windows With Ease 10
Thanks a lot Raymond. I’ve always wanted tabs in windows exporer, should come in very handy.
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