XYplorer 21.20 has been released on 15-Oct-2020. Here’s a quick introduction to the main new features:

• Rename Without Extensions
• Set Archive Attribute
• Swap Panes
• Buttons In Catalog
• Backup Logged
• Autosize Name Column Right Margin
• Adaptive Name Column Width

• Rename Without Extensions. Now you can completely hide the extensions from the inline rename box. It’s relaxing to have them out of the way. Very rarely you want to change the extension of a file anyway.

  Enable the feature here: Configuration | General | Sort and Rename | Rename | Hide extensions from rename edit box.

  When the extension is hidden from the rename box it is still shown right of the box for your orientation. This is what you see after pressing F2 for Rename:

  

  The extension is out of the way, but visible.

  Now sometimes you do want to modify the extension of a file, and you don’t want to change your general setting just for this one case. No problem: Move the cursor to the end of the box, with nothing selected:

  

  Cursor at the end of the box, nothing selected.

  Now press the right-arrow key, and the extension will be "moved" into the box, where you can modify it:

  

  Now the extension is inside the box.

• Set Archive Attribute. Now you can automatically set the archive attribute on all recursive contents a renamed folder. This allows backup operations by programs like XCOPY to decide what has to be backed up.

  Enable the feature here: Configuration | General | Sort and Rename | Rename | Set archive attribute on folder rename.

  Here’s a couple of files in folder "Pics2", some of them don’t have the Archive attribute set (see Attr column):

  

  Files with and without the Archive attribute.

  Now we rename the folder to "Pics", and automatically all files receive the Archive attribute:

  

  All files now have the Archive attribute.

• Swap Panes. Now you can swap the positions of both panes, including tabs, breadcrumbs, and the pane dimensions. Good news for left-to-right draggers, or top-to-bottom draggers.

  You find the command in menu Panes | Swap Panes (Ctrl+Shift+F10). This is what it does (no surprise):

  

  Before the swap.

  

  After the swap.

• Buttons In Catalog. Now you can easily add toolbar buttons with their icons, captions, and functionality to the Catalog. So the Catalog can serve as a second, vertical toolbar.

  This is an advanced feature for which you have to do a minimal bit of "coding" (determine a keyword and type it correctly into the right place). The wage of the fear will be a nice usability gain.

  First you show the Catalog (Ctrl+F8) and via right-click menu you add a new Category, let’s call it "Some Buttons". Then, again via right-click menu, you add a new item, and here you add the button key prefixed by a colon (:). Which button key? Well, which button do you want to add? Say, it’s the "Random Order" button whose image is a dice, and whose key is "dice". There are ways to find out, read on...

  You can determine the button keys by hovering the buttons while holding CTRL:

  

  Hovering the Random Order button while holding CTRL.

  Another way to determine the button keys is to hold CTRL while clicking the command Tools | Customize Toolbar.... Then all the keys a listed along with the buttons in square brackets:

  

  All button keys nicely listed.

  So, to add this "Random Order" button to the Catalog you enter ":dice" into the location field. That's all you have to do:

  

  Just enter ":dice" and you’re done.

  Now your Catalog shows the button image along with the button caption:

  

  See the "Random Order" button near the top of the Catalog.

  Clicking such a "Button in Catalog" does exactly the same as clicking it in the toolbar. Here, for example, we see the result of clicking the "Dark Mode" button (key "dark") while being in Dark Mode:

  

  After clicking the "Dark Mode" button while being in Dark Mode.

  And it gets even better. Buttons that pop a menu when clicked in the toolbar do the same thing also in the Catalog. For example, the "Open With" button (key "openwith"):

  

  After clicking the "Open With" button the "Open With" menu pops up.

  You will already have noted by now that this feature can turn the Catalog into a second, vertical toolbar.

• Backup Logged. Backup and sync operations are now added to the action log. You cannot undo them (that would be meaningless) but you have them nicely logged now, so you can look up what you have done and when.

  

  Backup Logged.

• Autosize Name Column Right Margin. Isn’t it annoying when on autosize the name column springs to a width far beyond the window edge where you cannot see it anyway, and where you’re forced to horizontally scroll the list to enable you to manually grab the column separator to make it smaller again? Not anymore! Now you can define a minimal margin from the right window edge. The name column will not go beyond this margin on autosize.

  Here is an innocent looking name column, but it’s too narrow:

  

  Before autosizing the columns.

  Now we double-click the # column header on the far left to autosize all columns, and whoops, the Name column explodes. We’ll have to horizontally scroll the list to grab the column header splitter to shrink the column down again:

  

  After autosizing the columns.

  Now let’s make use of the new feature and define a minimum right margin of 240 pixels:

  

  Making it 240 pixels.

  Now double-click the # column header again, and the Name column behaves:

  

  Good autosizing behavior.

• Adaptive Name Column Width. Tick it to soften the width of the name column when resizing the list so that all other columns keep their width and visibility. Try it, you will quickly get used to it.

  In this situation, when you want to fully see the name column without hiding any of the other columns, you have to enlarge the window and then enlarge the name column:

  

  Situation that looks like work.

  However, when you tick the new Configuration | Colors and Styles | Styles | Columns | Adaptive name column width your life will suddenly look easy and the sun will shine mildly on your columns. Because now, you just have to enlarge the window and the name column will follow just by itself:

  

  Situation that looks like easy going.

  Yeah, you could even do it by moving the tree-list-splitter to the left, how cool is that?! Note how the other columns just calmly stay in place:

  

  Widening the name column to the left.

  Or go all the way and hide the tree (Shift+F8) while you don’t need it. The name column will widen while everything else stays in place:

  

  The name column uses the space of the hidden tree.