[xplorer˛] — Frequently Asked Questions
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This section is organized thematically in major topics accessible from the menu on the right. Please use your browser's search command (e.g. Edit | Find on page <Ctrl+F>) to locate a keyword relevant to your question.

 

 

A. Download and installation problems

A1. The primary download link doesn't respond

Please try the one of the alternative download locations

A2. What are the minimum system requirements to run xplorer˛ ?

xplorer˛ will run in a basic trim on all win32 platforms (95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP), however a subset of its features depend on windows services that may or may not be available on all PCs. In most cases you can get full functionality by installing a recent version of Internet Explorer.

FeatureRequirements
ToolbarsWindows 95 with Internet Explorer v.3 or better
ThumbnailsWindows 98 or NT4 with Active Desktop update
File commentsWindows NT4 (NTFS formatted partitions)
FTPInternet Explorer v.3
Zip foldersWindows ME or XP (for 2000 see FAQ B4)
Audio/VideoWindows Media Player v.6
Column handlers  Windows 2000 for extended file information

Early Windows 95 users can install the common control update to get basic toolbars without installing internet explorer.

A3. I get a "licencing subsystem fatal error" during installation

The most probable cause is that you don't have enough privileges to install programs on your machine. Please contact your system administrator or a power user and ask them to perform the installation for you.

A4. I've just received my registration key, where do I type it?

If you are running xplorer˛ please first quit all its windows. Then start the program again and paste the registration key in the opening screen. snapshot

A5. I have logged on as administrator but xplorer˛ won't accept my registration key

Please make sure you are typing the correct key in the registration dialog. Valid keys have approximately 200 characters (numbers and CAPITAL letters, no punctuation). It is easier to copy the key you received by email and use <Ctrl+V> or right click to paste it verbatim.

A6. I want to try xplorer˛ but it asks for a registration key when I start it

This is by design. To continue on a trial basis, click on continue leaving the registration key field empty.

A7. xplorer˛ stopped working before the 21st day of the trial

Have you installed xplorer˛ on your machine before? If so the trial has most probably expired, since it counts from the original installation date. If it is a fresh installation there could be some problem with your system clock; please submit a problem report for further information.

A8. Do I get any free upgrades at all?

Your single user licence entitles you to customer support and free "service packs" (aka bugfixes, if need be). We are still unsure about our pricing model for major program updates, but you should be entitled to free upgrades for a year and discounts for any future releases afterwards. Please note that xplorer˛ is a complete package as it is, so any updates are likely to be major and infrequent — except for bugfixes that are going to be prompt.

A9. I can't find the main help file

xplorer˛ comes with a large user manual available as a separate download. Please place it in the same folder where xplorer˛ is installed (usually c:\program files\zabkat\xplorer2) so that it is available from Help | Contents. You can get it here

A10. Can I download xplorer˛ without an installer?

xplorer˛ doesn't really need an installer, since it merely copies files in a folder. If you feel experienced enough you can get the smaller plain archive and extract it in a folder of your choice. Note: the first time you run the "pro" version on a PC you must log on as an administrator to avoid problem #A3. See the downloads page

 

 

B. File management

B1. How can I map a network drive or format disks?

There is no dedicated menu command in xplorer˛ to perform such operations since they are available through clicking with the right mouse button on certain filesystem items and invoking the command from the standard shell context menu that appears. The items in question are located either on the desktop or in your "My Computer" folder. So for instance:

  • to map a network drive, right click on "My Computer" icon
  • to format a floppy disk right click on its icon from within "My Computer" folder

B2. Why can't I format a floppy disk?

Windows will refuse to format a disk that some program have a lock on. A certain recipe for disaster therefore would be to be browsing the root "A:\", and then hit <Bksp> to access "My Computer" where the floppy disk icon resides (bearing the Format context menu command), since xplorer˛ current directory would still be on the floppy ("My Computer" is not a filesystem folder). There are many workarounds that one can imagine, but the easiest would be to go upwards to "My Computer" from another root drive as e.g. "C:\". Naturally you should also make sure that no other program is accessing the floppy drive too.

B3. I can't delete a folder from the tree

This is another issue related to resources being in use. If you are browsing a folder in one of the list view panes then it is considered "locked" and you can't permanently delete it. So please make sure you are not browsing the folder in any program, including within xplorer˛. On the other hand you should be able to delete a folder to the recycle bin without problems. If you must delete from the tree have a look at GIOPT_NOSETCURDIR in registry.txt but note that if you turn it on it will have repercussions in command line execution (no current directory)

B4. How can I have zipfolders on Windows 2000?

All you need is a copy of zipfldr.dll as it appears on a windows ME system, and its dependencies dunzip32.dll and dzip32.dll. These DLLs aren't redistributable so you'll need to find them from somebody that has ME installed. Copy everything into your system32 folder and register the main object using:
regsvr32 zipfldr.dll
But beware: this DLL is a bit quirky and does not behave 100% — which may explain why microsoft did not include it in the original release of win2000...

B5. I can't create (paste) hard links

Hard links are only supported for NTFS partitions. Hence windows 9x or NT with FAT32 partitions, floppy discs etc are not covered. Even for NTFS partitions there are limitations; the files thus linked must reside in the same partition. It is not possible to place a hard link in e.g. "C:\" for a file located on a mapped network drive.

B6. I can't set file comments

This is another advanced feature that can be used only on NTFS formatted partitions. You can't set comments e.g. for files on floppy disks and other FAT32 media. On the other hand you can set comments for all folders and microsoft office documents, even for FAT-formatted media.

B7. I get a warning about stream loss when I copy files with comments

Since file comments most of the time rely on NTFS, when you copy files to non-NTFS media comments will be lost. Windows is warning you in advance for this potential loss of information. If you want to transfer files on e.g. a floppy without losing the comments please use an archiver like winRAR that can optionally store alternate file stream information when compressing files.

B8. How can I tell if my hard disk is NTFS?

If you are running windows ME or earlier 9x, then your disks are definitely not NTFS. If you are running on NT4/2000/XP you'll need to check your drive properties: browse "My computer", right-click on the drive letter in question and select properties. The formatting (file system) will be shown near the top of the page.

 

 

C. User interface

C1. How can I make xplorer˛ the default application for all my folders?

This is not recommended since you'll run into problems with virtual folders. What you can do instead is add a new verb for the Directory "file type" and associate that with xplorer˛. See registry.txt for more details.

C2. I can't see previews for some image files

There are a couple of possible explanations. If this only happens to large image files (above 1MB) you may need to increase the thumbnail size limit found in Tools | Options | General. If the problem isn't size-related and started after you installed a program, your registry may be corrupted. Please see KB article 192573 for more details.

C3. When in zipfolders I can't see previews of some files

Given that extracting files from archives, FTP and other slow folders is rather expensive, xplorer˛ has a default limit of 512KB; files above this size won't be extracted and hence won't be previewed. To increase this limit use Tools | Options | General.

C4. Doesn't xplorer˛ support path autocompletion?

xplorer˛ does support autocompletion but not like windows explorer. You start typing part of the path and then press <F1> key a few times till you get the name you are after. Insert a backslash \ to start a new subpath etc.

C5. I can't see previews for all M/S Office documents

Some office applications like PowerPoint automatically include previews in their files, hence ".ppt" files always have thumbnails visible in xplorer˛. Other applications like Word need some coercing for including previews in ".doc" files. You'd have to use File | Properties menu in Word, and check "Save preview picture" box in Summary tab. On the down-side the file size may increase a lot.

C6. Gridlines get jumbled when I scroll

Windows XP has a long-standing bug with list view gridlines, and microsoft doesn't seem too eager to sort it out. There is no solution but you have two options; either turn gridlines off from Tools | Options | Window, or delete the file xplorer2.exe.manifest — but this will turn off all visual styles.

C7. I love the extended file information; are there any more columns?

xplorer˛ will automatically integrate with any shell column handlers you install for your windows explorer. As a sampler you can try the following extensions:
EXIF picture data: pixvue
MP3 tags: MP3-Info
You can even use the new metadata in file searches! Please note that we are not affiliated with these programs and make no claims for their stability etc.

 

 

D1. I can't find files within some folders

Some folders like "Temporary internet files" are automatically blacklisted from searches, since most of the time you don't need them. If you want to add more folders in this no-go list or regain access to previewsly blacklisted ones, please edit the registry key:
HKCU\Software\ZabaraKatranemia Plc\xplorer2.global\Find Blacklist
after you quit xplorer˛.

D2. I hate the default Windows Find command in the lite version

The "lite" version lacks the powerful find files command of the "pro" xplorer˛ and by default <Ctrl+F> will launch Windows Find dialog. If you don't like — or even don't have — this system service you can associate your favorite external find program, setting the registry value szExtFindFiles. See registry.txt for more details.

 

 

E. Known problems and "features"

E1. My namespace extension X doesn't work with xplorer˛

It is unfortunate that many 3rd party NSEs are designed only with windows explorer in mind. Such extensions will run into trouble when accessed from xplorer˛. The symptoms vary according to the level of compliance of NSEs to the shell model, so you may read some folders but the details are wrong, or you can't manage items, or you can't read from a virtual folder at all. We consider these products to be at fault for such problems, not xplorer˛. Properly designed NSEs — like most of the microsoft ones — will work witout a glitch.

E2. FTP folders show incorrect details

The FTP namespace extension provided by Internet Explorer — which xplorer˛ taps into — is arguably not the best NSE designed by microsoft. There are a number of small glitches, including file dates being doubly-adjusted for timezone, autorefresh playing up, etc.

E3. I can't access my remote FTP folder

When you type a ftp:// address in internet explorer, you are prompted for your account login details. As far as we know this exchange is not documented and cannot be used from xplorer˛. The workaround is to include your login information in the "path" as such:
ftp://username:password@ftpsite.com
The obvious downside is that you expose your passwords in plaintext.

E4. FTP doesn't seem to work at all

xplorer˛ uses Internet Explorer for FTP folders. If you type a FTP URL (ftp://...) in IE and doesn't work or it returns a webpage-like listing, xplorer˛ can't read it either. Most of the time these are problems due to insufficient user rights or stringent firewall settings. Please contact your administrator for further details.

E5. Zip files inside zipfolders open in windows explorer

Although xplorer˛ will properly read subfolders within zipfolders, it can't open embedded zip files. There is no known workaround.

E6. Recycle bin won't autorefresh

Recycle bin is one of the few virtual folders that doesn't play by the rules, so autorefresh will only work when you permanently delete files from it. For all other cases (e.g. after restoring files) you will have to do a manual refresh with <Ctrl+R>.

 

 

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