chaos
LABORATORY

When it comes to browsing you drives content, Windows Explorer is possibly the worst tool in terms of ease-of-use. Moving files / folders around different drives and directories is directly proportional to the number explorer copies you’ve to keep running. This is very similar to the problems of Internet Explorer prior to version 7 which sports a tabbed-interface. Nothing can beat the good old Norton Commander style two-pane interface. But a tabbed interface serves the purpose equally well. Hunt for a tool that operates on the same principle brought me upon RaimaExplorer, a freeware file manager for Windows that gives you easy access to all your files and folders.

RaimaExplorer has a multi-tabbed interface that enables you to work with as many open folders as you want - all within the same application window. One might tend to express doubts as to why depart from the long-learnt comfort (read keyboard shortcuts) of Windows Explorer and delve into the messy learning curve of a new software all over again. Fear not, ’cause all those shortcuts work here too. Apart from that, it fully supports Drag & Drop, Folder Bookmarking, Filters, Preview and a horde of other features.

Here’s a quick run-down of the most salient features…

• Auto-remembering of the View Modes (Thumbnail, List, Details etc.) for each folder.
• Breadcumb navigation support for each tab.
• Bookmarking facility of folders for one-click navigation later on.
• Ability to save a group of folders under one common name, clicking on which opens all those folders in individual tabs. This is a feature I found extremely useful as I keep working with same group(s) of folders quite frequently.
• Filters for each tab allowing you to narrow down the displayed list according to your needs.
• A Preview Pane that gives you a glimpse of the content of zip files, image files etc.
• Customizable toolbars with all the standard navigation buttons.

It’s a very recent entrant in the software scene and has got it’s little teething problems here and there - but all in all, definitely worth a try…