Release 15.70



XYplorer 15.70 has been released on 31-Aug-2015. Here’s a quick introduction to the main new features:

  • Flatten Folder. Now you can flatten a multi-level folder structure via the folder’s right-click menu. Simply click “Flatten Folder”. It’s easy, quick, and safe. And you can even reverse it by clicking Undo.

    What is Flatten Folder? To flatten a folder means to move all files from its subfolders into the folder itself, and then delete the now empty subfolders. It’s an increase in digital entropy, take care.

    By default, the “Flatten Folder” command should be visible in the right-click menu of folders in the folder tree:

    "Flatten Folder" in the right-click menu of folders.

    In case you don’t see it there, you can add it via Configuration | Menus, Mouse, Safety | Context Menus | Custom items in shell context menu | Folder Tree:

    Tick “Flatten Folder” to show it in the right-click menu of folders.

    Now we are set for playing with it. First the easy case. Let’s flatten a folder where there are no name collisions. All contained files have different names. This is the folder before flattening, shown in Branch View:

    Before flattening... (Click to Zoom)

    After right-clicking the folder and clicking “Flatten Folder” this is what we get:

    ... and after flattening. (Click to Zoom)

    And now for the hard case: Name collisions. Here is an extreme example where 14 files share just two different names. In such cases the Flatten Folder function automatically renames the moved files to avoid any overwritings:

    Before flattening... (Click to Zoom)

    After right-clicking the folder and clicking “Flatten Folder” this is what we get:

    ... and after flattening. (Click to Zoom)

    Tip: You can completely and perfectly undo the Flatten Folder operation by clicking Undo twice: The first undo will recreate the deleted empty folders, the second undo will move the files back into them (and rename them back to their original names if necessary).
  • Drag and Drop. Now you can change the default drag and drop behavior (which is Move on same drive, Copy on different drive), and e.g. always Move or always Copy. Might save you a headache.

    Did you ever find it disturbing that Drag and Drop to the same drive defaults to a Move operation, while Drag and Drop to a different drive defaults to a Copy operation? Well, if you prefer a simple life without context-specific surprises here is an option to come a little closer. The two dropdown lists below allow you to change those age-old Windows defaults for Drag and Drop operations within and towards XYplorer:

    Here you can set the defaults to how you prefer them to be. (Click to Zoom)