WinBrowser alternative / multi pane file browser for Litestep? Thread last updated on 2003-12-10 17:55:51

Posted by member 90067 on 2003-12-09 04:00:19

Hi there,

I'm new to Litestep, but so far I'm loving it. :D Switched to Litestep as shell some five days ago, never looked back. I use Total Commander 6.01 as explorer replacement / file manager, but, well ...

... I'd like to use a file _browser_ as well. TC is great for working on files — packing, FTP, renaming, searching, batch work etc. — but just browsing calls for too much clicking, IMO. After some searching, I found WinBrowser to be exactly what I had been looking for for all these months (www.winbrowser.com). Unfortunately, the build they offer on their website ist rather old (year 2000), there's no support information, the mail form doesn't work ... hence I am rather hesitant to shelling out $20 as I am not sure whether a) I'll receive anything, and b) WinBrowser will be released in a fully WinXP compliant version — the "current" 3.0b looks funky on WinXP, but OK on Win2k. Anyway.

Are there any valid alternatives to WinBrowser, i.e. file browsers also using the NeXT-like multi pane approach? I wouldn't mind paying for such an application, as long as it's supported and stable. Of course, OpenSource and/or Freeware would be much appreciated. ;)

Any ideas?

93,
-Sascha.rb

Posted by member 1316 on 2003-12-09 09:50:45 link

directory opus

Posted by member 36955 on 2003-12-09 09:58:15 link

this is what sticky threads are for... scroll up to "file management replacement"

also, you could do like i do and have
*Popup "C:\" !DynamicFolder:"C:\"

and do basic browsing through the popup menu (that syntax might not be correct, im not at my home computer)

Posted by member 90067 on 2003-12-09 10:05:21 link

Hi there,

thanks for the quick replies. I've seen the sticky, but no mentioning of Miller Column browsers. I couldn't set DO up to do MC browsing, but then, that was a long time ago ...

I opened a new thread as it's a rather specific question — not generally "what replacement is the best and for what reasons", but more like "WinBrowser would be perfect, but seems to be discontinued".

doy: thanks for the hint. I'll give it a shot.

93,
-Sascha.rb

Posted by member 90067 on 2003-12-09 10:38:54 link

OK, just checked out Directory Opus--no Miller columns, I'm afraid. :(

Other suggestions?

93,
-Sascha.rb

Posted by member 36955 on 2003-12-09 18:07:22 link

well, im not entirely sure what miller columns are... but xplorer^2 and 2xexplorer are dual pane, if that is what you are referring to

Posted by member 35 on 2003-12-09 18:17:35 link

Posted by member 90067 on 2003-12-09 18:27:38 link

*sighs* OK, I'll post my question there, too, even though I consider it off-topic for that thread (hence, this thread). Again, I'm not looking for an explorer[/i[ replacement, but a [i]WinBrowser replacement. ;)

93,
-Sascha.rb

Posted by member 35 on 2003-12-09 19:41:08 link

dont post a question, use the search tool from your browser, and find all the *dual* instances.

Posted by member 90067 on 2003-12-10 03:09:57 link

Hi sryo,

and what is that supposed to help? I am specifically looking for a NON dual pane browser. Is this so hard to understand? O.o I'm not a newbie to forums — I'm mod in two of the largest CG and 3D graphics forums in German speaking Europe. I DID use the search function, but there WASN'T any entry on either WinBrowser or Miller columns, Aqua browser or whatnot.

Sorry if I seem dense, but I am pretty sure I made myself clear in the first posting already. No offence meant.

93,
-Sascha.rb

So people don't need to install WinBrowser to know what I'm talking about, a screenshot:

http://www.marketingblubber.ch/images/3dc/20031210/winbrowser.gif -.rb

Posted by member 35 on 2003-12-10 08:22:12 link

damit, i now understand what you said, and no, you werent clear in the first one, but you were in the second one ;) there was one, made by a guy over aqua-soft.org, dont remember the name, maybe someone can help you there.

Posted by member 90067 on 2003-12-10 08:44:13 link

Hi sryo,

sorry, was my mistake--haven't slept properly in 10 days, hence my ... patience threshold is rather low. My apologies. ;)

I checked out the aqua-soft.org project over the weekend, but unfortunately the blokes were sued to oblivion by Apple ($150,000 per "offence"), hence I can't find a download that's still running. I am told Winstep wants to re-release a NeXT File Viewer clone, but they've been hinting at that possibility for almost a year, now.

It's weird. Miller column browsing is a very ... natural approach to file browsing, and the concept has been around for over two decades, now. But nowadays, I've only ever seen it on MacOS-X and lots of websites (example: http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp) and options menus (example: Powerdesk).

I got used to File Viewer back in my NeXT days, and still hope I can find a viable solution for Windows. Quite frankly, such a browser would almost be an argument for switching to Mac for me, something I'd like to avoid.

Short question: Are there any "hidden" download locations for aqua-soft's stuff?

93,
-Sascha.rb

Posted by member 35 on 2003-12-10 13:38:19 link

i wasnt able to find any executables, but i think it was called felix6, and made by alilm. maybe somebody of aqua-soft, aquaxp.com or emaculation.com has it.

Posted by member 36955 on 2003-12-10 17:55:51 link

so thats what miller columns are... interesting