gHacks technology news » windows-explorer

Convert Audio And Video In The Windows Explorer Context Menu

Martin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:15:06 +0000

Oxelon Media Converter makes audio and video converting in the Windows operating system a breeze. The software program integrates itself into the Windows Explorer context menu providing users with options to start audio and video conversions right from the explorer window. It does support the conventional option of adding multimedia files to the program’s interface as well but the Windows Explorer integration is what makes it more comfortable than comparable video and audio converters.

The program will add two new entries to the right-click menu in Windows Explorer if one or files are right-clicked. The first entry deals with audio conversions offering to convert the selected files into various audio formats while the second while convert videos into different formats.

Video Formats: 3GP, 3G2, ASF, AVI, DV, DVD MPEG2, FFM, FLV, GIF, MOV, MP4, MPEG1, MPEG2 PS, MPEG2 TS, NUT, PSP, RAW YUV, RM, SVCD MPEG2, SWF, VCD MPEG1, VOB, YUV4MPEG, M1V, M2V, M4V.
Audio Formats: AC3, AAC, AIFF, AMR, AU, FLAC, MMF, MP2, MP3, OGG, VOC, WAV.

It is even possible to select multiple different file types for the conversion. The selection will open the main program’s interface listing all the selected programs with information like name, size and playing time. The selected output format is configured as well which leaves the user with the task to select an output path and the possibility to make last minute changes to the output format.

The program will start the conversion of multiple files at once to speed up the process further. This can be changed in the program’s options. Speed and quality depends largely on the source and destination file format but also the performance of the computer system. Oxelon Media Converter is available for most Microsoft Windows operating systems including the three most recent systems Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. It is necessary to download both the program files and a plugin pack which both need to be installed separately.

The media converter is a comfortable alternative to other popular media converters. We did not like the fact that it was not possible to save the download path in the software program. It was also rather annoying that the developer’s website was opened whenever the program was closed. This can be prevented with the right firewall rule for the application.

Tags: convert audio, convert video, media converter, windows software, windows-explorer

Add Flickr Access To Windows Explorer

Martin — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:17:10 +0000

Just a few days ago we reviewed the Windows Explorer plugin Windows Live Skydrive Explorer which allowed Windows Live users to access their Skydrive files in Windows Explorer. The plugin made it more comfortable to work with the files that were hosted at Microsoft’s online storage service.

Flickr Drive Shell is a similar plugin for Windows Explorer which can display the photos hosted at the Flickr photo hosting service. The program will display a new Flickr Drive icon in the My Computer window in Windows Explorer. The service needs to be authorized which is done by entering the username in the popup window that is being displayed after clicking on the icon for the first time. This will lead to the Flickr website where the user needs to login to authorize the desktop application.

Flickr Drive will work like any other drive after the authorization. It provides access to the private photos of the user and access to the two public folders Today’s hot tags and Today’s hot photos. The photos are displayed as thumbnail images in Windows Explorer with options to interact with the photos that are displayed. This includes copying, printing and viewing photos, moving them or even editing them in the default Windows image editor.

Photos can be easily copied to the associated Flickr user account which can then be accessed from the Flickr website normally. This is actually a very comfortable way of adding files to Flickr. Flickr Drive Shell is available as an executable and source at the developer’s website. The program is compatible with Windows Vista and Windows 7. (via Techie-Buzz)

Tags: flickr, flickr drive, Open Source, photo hosting, windows software, windows-explorer

Windows Explorer Alternative Ultra Explorer

Martin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:58:22 +0000

Microsoft’s Windows Explorer is the basic file explorer for the Windows operating system. It’s functionality has not changed a lot since its early days and Windows Explorer alternatives have been thriving ever since it was introduced by Microsoft. Ultra Explorer is a free Windows Explorer replacement that can be downloaded as a portable version or as one that needs to be installed. It is compatible with most Microsoft operating systems including the recently released Windows 7.

Like every good Windows Explorer replacement Ultra Explorer offers many features and options that make file management in Windows a lot easier. Some of the highlights that it introduces are favorite folders and files that can be defined and accessed more quickly, a history to open recently opened files and folders faster or tabs to open multiple folders in its interface without spawning multiple windows.

Ultra Explorer feature list:

Breadcrumb Bar to quickly move back up through the folder path
Fast Access to Common Tasks through Detachable Toolbars
Task Window – The Task window accepts plug in DLLs to extend UltraExplorer beyond its powerful built in capablilites
Tabbed Folders
Listview Window – A secondary listview window that can be used identical to the fixed listview. Allows for a dual listview display if desired.
History Window
Folders Window – Ultra fast Folder treeview that is positionable anywhere in the application.
Filter Window
Command Line Window
Favorites Window
Drop Stack Window

Keyboard shortcuts are available to launch selected actions even faster. Hundreds of shortcuts can be mapped to keyboard shortcuts with dozens already available by default. It is for example possible to create folders and new tabs or to copy and move files with keyboard shortcuts. The interface can be customized by dragging and dropping menus with the mouse. Additional customizations are available in the menus and options to display only the menus and options that the user wants to use.

It certainly takes some time to get accustomed to the new options and possibilities that Ultra Explorer offers. Even experienced users may need their time to use the full potential of the software program. Ultra Explorer can be downloaded from the developer’s website.

Tags: portable software, ultra explorer, windows software, windows-explorer

Bing Federated Search Connector For Windows 7

Martin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:46:00 +0000

Federated search is one of new features of Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system. The feature integrates the possibility to search external data sources from within Windows Explorer in the same way a local or remote search is performed. Federated search in Windows 7 is enabled through the Open Search standard with a good dozen connectors for popular services like Flickr, Youtube, Google or Yahoo already available for download. One of the latest additions is the Bing federated search connector which adds the option to perform Bing searches in Windows Explorer.

The Bing search connector can be downloaded at Bing’s community portal. It comes as a osdx file that needs to be executed after download. Windows 7 will automatically install the Bing search connector which becomes then available in Windows Explorer.

The search provider is usually listed under the Favorites menu in the left sidebar. A search is performed by typing in the search phrase into the Windows Explorer search form in the right header of the window.

Search results are then displayed in the Windows Explorer window from where they can be opened and accessed. Additional federated search connectors for various online services are available at Redmond Pie.

Tags: bing, bing search, federated search, open search, search connectors, windows 7, windows-explorer

Windows Explorer: Quickly Jump To Files

Martin — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:17:15 +0000

Windows Explorer is not one of the most sophisticated file explorers available for the Windows operating system. It is however the default file explorer for the Windows operating system and many Windows users use it despite its obvious shortcomings. What many users do not know is that Windows Explorer has some aces up its sleeve that can aid the user when working with Windows Explorer.

One of these aces is the following tip. Most users who are searching for a specific file in Windows Explorer are doing it manually. They browse the folders and files until they find the file they are looking for. And since the files are usually sorted alphabetically it is usually not a problem to locate it.

Problems appear if the files are not sorted alphabetically or if there are many files with a similar naming pattern. Windows Explorer thankfully offers a way to quickly jump to files. This can be done if the file name is known to the user. All the user needs to do is to quickly enter the first chars of the filename in the active Windows Explorer window.

This will automatically select the first file matching the pattern. Multiple chars have to be entered in rapid succession so that Windows Explorer recognizes them as part of the same pattern.

Tags: file explorer, Windows, windows explorer tips, windows tips, windows-explorer

How To Filter By File Name In Windows Explorer

Martin — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 09:09:37 +0000

Windows Explorer is the basic file browser and manager for the Windows operating system. It has quite a few usability problems which sparked the creation of Windows Explorer replacements and add-ons. One problem that is encountered by users is the inability to filter by file name. Imagine downloading dozens of songs from several music albums that are all placed in one directory. Some users might want to create folders for each album for manageability reasons. This might take a long time in Windows Explorer if songs of each album begin with a number as the songs are then mixed and not listed together. This makes it much harder to copy the files to their directories in Windows Explorer.

The Windows Explorer plugin Stexbar extends the functionality of Windows Explorer. One of the new features that is added by the extension is the ability to filter by file name. The software program adds a new toolbar to Windows Explorer. It might be necessary to restart the computer or the explorer.exe process before the toolbar can be selected under View > Toolbars. It can then be moved around in the toolbars to customize the look and feel of it.

The form at the end of the toolbar can be used to filter by file name. Pressing enter after entering characters in the form will display only files and folders that are matching the phrase that has been entered by the user.

The extension comes with additional features that could be interesting to some users like the option to copy folder or file names and the system path, open a console window or to create custom commands.

Tags: file name, stexbar, windows explorer extension, windows explorer filter, windows software, windows-explorer

Windows Explorer Add-on FileBox eXtender

Martin — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 20:15:32 +0000

Windows Explorer is definitely not the most comfortable file management software. There are Windows Explorer replacements out there, both free and commercial, that extend the functionality a lot. Replacements are fine but some users prefer to use the original utility that ships with the Windows operating system. Lucky for them that Windows Explorer can be extended with add-ons as well. One of these add-ons is FileBox eXtender which adds new buttons to every Windows Explorer title bar.

These buttons provide access to new functionality that can be helpful in several circumstances. The easiest to explain are buttons to roll up a window so that its title is still visible in Windows while the rest is hidden. The other button that’s easy to explain adds the possibility to pin windows to the foreground so that they will always be on top of other windows.

These two buttons are not only available in Windows Explorer windows but also in other applications like Firefox, Microsoft Office applications or SMPlayer.

The next two buttons are only available in Windows Explorer windows. Both are used to work faster with Windows Explorer. Button one can be clicked to display the recently opened folders in Windows Explorer. The second button on the other hand is more customizable. It gives quick access to favorite folders that can be added by the user in the program’s options.

The options of the Windows Explorer add-on are quite extensive. It is possible to configure exceptions, change the appearance of file boxes, define where favorites and recent folder buttons appear or configure hotkeys for quick access.

FileBox eXtender is available at the developer’s website.

Tags: file browser, filebox extender, windows explorer add-on, windows software, windows-explorer

Explore And Burn Integrates DVD Burning In Windows Explorer

Martin — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:51:04 +0000

Most DVD burning software programs come with their own program interface and basic Windows Explorer integration to burn disk images right from Windows Explorer. Explore And Burn takes the Windows Explorer integration to the next level as it uses Windows Explorer as its file browsing tool. DVDs and CDs can therefor be burned by selecting files in Windows Explorer and launching the Explorer and Burn DVD burning wizard. This is a very comfortable method of burning files to disks as long as the files and directories reside in the same directory level.

Explorer and Burn supports the two image formats iso and img which can also be burned directly by selecting them in Windows Explorer. The program requires the Image Mastering API v2.0 can be downloaded from the Microsoft website. Imapi 2.0 is included in Windows Vista and Windows 7 which means that only Windows XP users have to download the additional component.

Explore and Burn will display a wizard with a few DVD burning options that include specifying a disk burning speed and name. The disk can be finalized in the same menu. The program supports all major CD and DVD disk types and can burn single-session and multi-session discs with ISO-9660, Joliet and UDF file systems.

Explore And Burn is a hassle free DVD burning software that should be sufficient for many disk burning purposes. A few additional options would make it even more useful. This includes recognizing DVD video folders or the ability to burn audio disks by selecting audio files. Explore And Burn can be downloaded from the developer’s website. It is compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Tags: burn cd, burn dvd, data CD, data DVD, dvd burning, dvd burning software, explore and burn, windows software, windows-explorer

View Photoshop PSD thumbnails in Vista and Windows 7 Explorer

Martin — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:55:31 +0000

Windows Vista introduced a new imaging stack, called Windows Imaging Component (WIC), and uses it in Windows Explorer to create thumbnails for most image file formats. 3rd parties can write their own WIC codec to support proprietary image formats such as Nikon NEF or Canon CR2 raw files and Windows Explorer is able to show thumbnails for those files when the corresponding codec is installed. Microsoft maintain a page containing links to existing codecs.

Sadly, there is no publicly available codec for the Photoshop PSD format but the newly released Microsoft Expression Blend 3 design tool (which, by the way, is nothing short of amazing for WPF and Silverlight design) includes such a codec so installing Blend 3 automatically installs the PSD codec. For those who don’t have a need for Blend and don’t want to install it, here is a little hacking guide to extract the codec (a 256KB dll) and use it separately:

Get the codec and its dependencies:

Link

7-Zip

Link

Codec installation:

Install the VC++ Runtime by running vcredist_x86.exe from step (3) above.

Copy PSDCodec.dll from step (2) to some location on the harddisk, e.g. “C:\Program Files\PSDCodec”

Register the codec from an administrator’s command prompt by running the following command: regsvr32 “C:\Program Files\PSDCodec\PSDCodec.dll”

That’s it, Windows Vista Explorer should soon begin to display thumbnails for all PSD files that were saved from Photoshop with the “Maximum Compatibility” option. As a side effect, WIC-aware image viewers such as FastPictureViewer Professional (http://www.fastpictureviewer.com) automatically benefit from the codec installation and uses it to open and display the same PSD files with full fidelity.

Tags: adobe photoshop, image thumbnails, photoshop, photoshop psd, psd, psd thumbnails, thumbnails, windows 7, windows-explorer, windows-vista

How To Save Files In Different Formats

Martin — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 14:48:14 +0000

Users who want to create a bat file usually start by creating a text document in Windows and change the file extension afterwards to bat. The same principle is used when creating other formats like html documents. The following tip is not limited to Windows Explorer or text documents. It works as well in web browsers like Internet Explorer or Firefox, email clients like Mozilla Thunderbird and Microsoft Outlook and practically any program that is offering to save files.

The save as file dialog is usually offering a few file formats a document can be saved in. This limitation can be overridden by putting the name and file extension in quotation marks.

It is therefor possible to save information in different data formats even if they are not supported by the software program. It is even possible to select data formats that are not compatible at all with the data. A text document could be saved as an excel document or zip file. This will obviously throw an error when trying to open the file unless the right viewer is selected.

Tags: microsoft-windows, save, save as, save files, windows explorer tip, windows-explorer

Windows Explorer Alternative Snowbird

Martin — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 11:37:21 +0000

Snowbird is a lightweight Windows Explorer alternative that offers its users some extended functionality. The portable software program is compatible with Windows XP and above and comes with a tiny size of 468 Kilobytes unpacked.

The interface of the computer program has been divided into three areas. The header area containing menus and the breadcrumb navigation, the left sidebar that contains a list of all local and network drives including their folders and the main area that displays the files and folders that are located in the current directory level.

Some might say that this does not sound exciting enough to give it a try. Snowbird comes with an advanced feature set that might entice some users to give it a try though.

The Windows Explorer alternative offers a search form right in the interface which can search for files, folders and even file contents. It is furthermore possible to navigate with mouse gestures which can speed up folder navigation quite a bit.

The overall speed of Snowbird is fast, faster than that of Windows Explorer especially when navigating in network shares and large local folders. There is however one aspect that is not well designed. The only way to copy or move files is to mark them, right-click and select the appropriate option from the menu. In other words: Drag and drop is not supported.

Tags: explorer++, portable software, snowbird, Windows, windows software, windows-explorer

Add Play With Windows Media Player In Windows Explorer

Martin — Wed, 13 May 2009 12:04:11 +0000

The latest installments of Windows Media Player add two context menu entries to some folders in Windows Explorer. The options that are added are “play with Windows Media Player” and “Add to Windows Media Player List”. Users who regularly work with Windows Media Player might want to add these context menu entries to all of their music folders in Windows Explorer. Here is how this is done. Microsoft Windows displays the context menu entry for folder types that use the music template. All that needs to be done to enable these two new entries in Windows Explorer is to change the folder template to the music template.

Right-click the folder that you want to add the options to and select Properties from the menu. Now switch to the customize tab in the window that is popping up. Select Music (best for audio files and playlists) from the drop down menu on top. You can also check the “also apply this template to all subfolders” if the subfolders should also be turned into music folders. A click on OK will change the folder template in Windows Explorer to music.

A right-click on that folder will from then on display the two Windows Media Player entries. You can revert the changes by simply changing the music template back to the default folder template.

Tags: microsoft-windows, music, Windows, windows media player, windows-explorer, wmp

Windows Batch File Creation

Martin — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 12:06:21 +0000

Windows batch files seem to be a thing of the past for the majority of today’s users. Only some IT guys and those with the preserved knowledge on how to create them use batch files extensively. The majority of Windows users does not probably even know how to create batch files anymore. This is where the batch file creation software Batchrun comes into play. It is provided with an installer and as a portable application. It basically provides a batch file creation interface that can be used to create batch files without expert knowledge of commands and switches.

The batch file creation process begins by selecting a command from the list of available commands. At the time of writing the available commands are run, copy, rename, makedir, delete, deltree, end process, kill process and text to clipboard. Each command has to be associated with a filename or name and several optional components including parameters, execution delays, working directories, run modes or priorities.

Drag and drop is supported between Windows Explorer and Batchrun to select files more easily from the computer system. As soon as the first command has been added to the program it can be tested by executing it from within the interface. Batchrun will display a progress bar that gives the user a indication of the execution process. The batch files can be saved directly to the computer system and even the Windows startup process. They are however not saved as .bat files but as .brs files which can only be executed by the Batchrun software.

Tags: batch file, batch file creation, batchrun, brs, portable software, windows batch file, windows software, windows-explorer

Edit PDF Properties

Martin — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 22:17:23 +0000

Each pdf document contains metadata that lists the document title, document author, keyword, software the document has been created with or the date of the creation among other things. These information are usually generated automatically in the pdf editor that was used to create or modify the pdf document.

These pdf editors usually contain the means to modify the pdf metadata but there are cases where other means of editing might be more comfortable or appropriate. One scenario might be the need to edit the pdf metadata using a computer without the appropriate pdf editor, another speed.

Quick PDF Tools (via Life Rocks)is a free computer software that adds entries to the context menu of Windows Explorer. Those entries allow the user to modify pdf documents on the fly. They can be used to edit certain pdf metadata entries in a window right on the Windows desktop. It is possible to edit the title, author, keywords and subject metadata entries.

That is not all however as the software can also be used to add or remove open passwords, edit the initial view, merge selected pdf documents, convert selected images into pdf document format or to remove the bookmarks of the selected pdf documents.

Quick PDF Tools is a pdf editing software program compatible with both the Windows XP and Windows Vista operating system. The download of the program installer has a size of less than 1 Megabyte.

Tags: join pdf, merge pdf files, pdf, pdf document, pdf meta edit, pdf metadata, pdf software, windows software, windows-explorer

File Extensions Identification

Martin — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 10:18:58 +0000

Every computer user will eventually encounter files that cannot be opened with the programs installed on the computer system. Experienced users might try to open those files in a basic text editor or perform a search on the Internet to find a program that can open files with those extensions.

Another possibility is the Open With desktop client which adds itself to the context menu of Windows Explorer after installation. A right-click on an unknown file type – or any file type actually – will display the “How Do I Open This” entry which will open a new window that contains a short description of the file type and software program suggestions to open those file extensions on the computer system.

Only free software programs have been listed during tests. Open With will link to the download page of those suggested programs or inform the user that the program is already installed on the computer system.

The display of the suggested software programs to open the file extensions was broken on the test system. Another aspect that many users will not like is that the program adds itself to the first position in the Windows Explorer context menu. To move the entry in Windows Explorer read Windows Explorer Context Menu Editor or Windows Explorer Menu Editor.

Lastly the program tries to install another application (PC Mighty Max 2009) during setup which is not needed for Open With to function properly. A quick check on the developer’s homepage revealed that it is a commercial software. It is not recommended to install that software.

Tags: file extensions, file identification, file types, files, open files, open with, windows software, windows-explorer

Add Names To DVD Drives

Martin — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 10:04:45 +0000

If you have got multiple DVD drives installed on your computer system or are making use of virtual DVD drives you might have noticed that they do not come with proper names. On my system my Samsung DVD drive is simply called drive E while my first virtual drive is drive F. That leads to confusion every now and then when my brain goes blank and I try to figure out which the hardware DVD drive is and which it is not (I usually pick the wrong one)

The Windows operating system – at least Windows XP – is not offering name editing for DVD drives. At least not the easy way. You might know that it is possible to change the drive letter of a hard drive in Windows by right-clicking its icon and selecting Properties. The very same option is grayed out for DVD drives and probably other drive types as well.

Some solutions are floating around on the Internet that involve Registry editing which is something that most inexperienced users do not want to do. A far better solution is a small program called Drive Namer which has been requested and completed at the Donation Coder forum a long time ago.

Drive Namer is a small portable application for the Windows operating system that can change the name of any drive letter easily. It has been primarily designed to work with DVD drives and other drive types with locked name editing. The program requires the Microsoft .net Framework 2.0 to run but does not have any other requirements.

It will display the small form upon startup that provides a pull down menu for all drive letters of the computer system including those not in use. Changing the drive letter of a DVD drive would simply involve selecting the correct drive letter of the DVD drive from the menu and entering a name in the form next to it. A click on the SET button will enable the name on the system which can be checked in Windows Explorer.

Windows Explorer Before

Windows Explorer After

The names can be reset by selecting a drive letter and pressing the Reset button in the software program. The software does not have to be running after the names of the DVD drives have been edited.

The original location of Drive Namer is no longer providing the file download for the application. You can download it below right from the Ghacks server. The download has a size of 10 Kilobytes. There is also a download link at the Donation Coder website pointing to a file host. Could go down in the future which is why we provide the download mirror as well.

drive namer

Tags: dvd, dvd drive, dvd drives, dvd name, dvd namer, dvd names, microsoft .net, portable software, windows dvd, windows-explorer

Windows Explorer Tweaker

Martin — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 21:43:24 +0000

Tweak Xplorer is a visual Windows Explorer tweaker. The software is fully portable and has been specifically designed to be compatible with Windows XP. Tweak Xplorer can be used to change the appearance of folders, toolbars and thumbnails in Windows Explorer. Folder options include to change the text color of a specific folder and to apply custom background images.

Background images can also be applied to individual toolbars. The images can be automatically resized to fit the width and length of the toolbar. The folder options are far more extensive than that. It is possible to change folder thumbnails, set a specific thumbnail size and image quality for all folder. The last option is to disable the thumbnail cache in Windows which stops thumbs.db creation.

Most users will probably have no use for Tweak Xplorer but it might be useful for some users who like to customize their operating system beyond the usual means. Tweaks can be applied instantly and it is not required to run the software after they have been applied.

Tags: background images, explorer tweaker, folder thumbnails, portable software, tweak software, tweak xplorer, windows explorer software, windows software, windows toolbar, windows-explorer

Manage Open With Applications In Windows

Martin — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 10:10:44 +0000

Another option that pops up when right-clicking a file type in Windows Explorer is the Open With menu which displays alternative applications that can be used to open the selected file type. It does happen that the Open With dialog contains several applications which the user would never use to open that file type. Who would for example think about opening a text document in Firefox instead of a text editor.

Open Expert is a free software program that can be used to manage the Open With applications in the Windows operating system. It adds the option to Configure Applications to the Open With menu which can be used to add, remove or sort the Open With applications.

A right-click on any file type and the selection of Open With > Configure Applications will display all applications that are currently configured for that file type. The add button provides the option to add a new applications while remove will delete an existing one. The up and down arrows can be used to sort the Open With menu to place the most commonly used applications at the top of it.

Open Expert is a lightweight 650 Kilobyte application that can be run on any Microsoft operating system prior to Windows Vista (Windows 9x to Windows XP).

Tags: file associations, file type, file types, open expert, open with, windows software, windows-explorer

Ask The Readers: Lock A DVD Drive In Windows Explorer

Martin — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 08:59:46 +0000

Windows will try to access the contents of a DVD that is in a DVD drive whenever the user is accessing Windows Explorer. This can become pretty annoying as the DVD drive is starting to spin up making some loud noises in the process.

The question now is if there is a way to lock the DVD drive in Windows Explorer. Locking meaning that it will not be accessed in any way when a user opens Windows Explorer, a file browser or any other means of accessing files on his computer system. Ideally the program should be able to determine direct DVD access and allow that from happening.

The only viable solution so far is to create a disk image of the DVD in the drive and mount it using a software that emulates CD drives. This is however not a perfect solution. It would be much easier to have a on and off button for the DVD drive or a program running that would automatically perform the operation. Actually there is one additional solution which would involve removing the DVD from the drive whenever it is not needed and putting it back in whenever it is needed.

Question is: Do you know of a program that can lock the DVD drive so that the DVD will not be accessed when accessing Windows Explorer?

Tags: ask the readers, cd, cd drive, cd drive spin, cd spin, dvd, dvd drive, dvd drive spin, dvd spin, windows-explorer

Windows Explorer Tool TrayProdder

Martin — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 09:22:06 +0000

Tray Prodder is a Windows Explorer tool that adds two features that have been introduced in Windows Vista to previous versions of Windows. The two features in question are the ability to display checkboxes and to highlight the full row on select. The software program relies on the Microsoft .net Framework 3.5 SP1 which has to be installed prior to running the software program. The software itself does not have to be installed. It will display a small interface on startup that provides the means to activate the two features.

Both features are disabled by default and the user has to check the corresponding boxes to activate them. The changes become visible immediately in Windows Explorer. The checkboxes will be visible in every view mode available while highlighting the rows will only have a (visible) effect in Details view.

The Tray Prodder interface comes with additional buttons that can be used to select, check or clear the current items in Windows Explorer.

Users who have to work with Windows Explorer regularly might like Tray Prodder. Everyone else will probably not see a reason to have it running in the background all the time as it uses about 10 Megabytes of computer memory while running in the system tray.

Tags: explorer feature, explorer++, software, tray prodder, windows explorer checkboxes, windows explorer highlight, windows software, windows-explorer

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