XYplorer is a Windows file manager for browsing, finding and organizing files across folders and drives. It combines persistent folder tabs with search, file previews and configurable file operations, so a set of locations or search results can become a workspace for further sorting, copying or renaming.
Folder tabs
Each tab retains its own browsing configuration between sessions. Tabs can be named, reordered and locked, and their headers accept dropped files. Tabsets save groups of tabs for later use, allowing different collections of working folders to be recalled without opening each location again.
XYplorer can display two tabbed panes, arranged side by side or one above the other. This puts source and destination folders in the same window for transfers. Breadcrumb bars show the path in each pane, while the optional Mini Tree limits the folder tree to paths already visited. The Catalog provides another route to frequently used locations, alongside applications and commands.
Find Files, filters and duplicate detection
Find Files searches selected locations using filename patterns, Boolean conditions, regular expressions or text within files. Multiple folders can be searched together. Ordinary file searches read the filesystem without requiring a prebuilt index; saved search templates and Finding Tabs retain the criteria for repeating a query.
For browsing a folder hierarchy without opening every subfolder, Branch View gathers its contents into one list. Visual Filters then restrict what that list displays, using patterns such as a file extension, combinations of patterns or regular expressions. These filters belong to individual tabs and remain available between sessions.
The duplicate finder works within Find Files. Users choose whether matching means the same name, modified date, size, content or a combination of those properties. Content can be compared using hashes or byte-by-byte comparison. Results are grouped so matching files can be considered together; this search finds duplicate files rather than duplicate folders.
Paper folders
Search results and files from separate locations can be gathered into Paper Folders. These virtual collections store paths to the original items. Dragging or pasting an item into a Paper Folder adds it to the collection without copying its contents into another directory.
A Paper Folder can therefore hold a selected set of documents spread across local or network folders. Its entries remain available for previews, filtering, reports and file operations. It can also retain a manually arranged order, such as a chosen sequence of photographs.
File tags
XYplorer assigns labels, multiple tags and comments to files and folders, with editing through the Tags panel or toolbar lists. Tags appear in columns and information tips, and tag searches can cover the current branch or all tagged locations. The tag database is stored separately in a plain-text file; these searches use that database rather than scanning file contents.
File operations
Copy and move jobs can run in the background while browsing continues. With queueing enabled, successive jobs wait and run one after another. Custom Copy lets users choose how to handle name collisions and errors, verify copies by hash or byte-by-byte comparison, and retain operation reports and logs.
When selected search results come from several subfolders, Rich Copy and Rich Move can preserve the relevant folder structure under the destination. ZIP support provides another output: users can extract archives or add files through drag-and-drop and paste operations.
Batch renaming accepts wildcard patterns, variables and regular expressions. Its preview shows the proposed names and detects possible conflicts before changes are applied. Multi-level undo and redo cover operations including copying, moving, renaming, deletion and item creation, with the action history retained between sessions.
Content previews
XYplorer’s preview pane shows the selected file alongside the file list. It supports images, audio and video, while support for some photo formats depends on installed codecs. A separate Floating Preview can be resized and positioned independently, and can display document snapshots for formats that Windows can thumbnail.
Mouse Down Blow Up provides a temporary enlarged view from a thumbnail, icon or image preview. Holding the mouse button opens the image at the pointed location; moving the pointer pans a larger image, and releasing the button closes the view. File lists can also combine thumbnails with detail columns, including folder sizes and item counts. Reports send directory information to a file, clipboard, printer or popup.
Automating XYplorer with commands and scripts
Repeated actions can be saved as User-Defined Commands. A particular destination, opening action or rename operation becomes a named menu item with an optional keyboard shortcut. Portable file associations also let XYplorer choose applications for file types independently of the associations set globally in Windows.
For longer routines, its built-in scripting language combines commands with variables such as the current path or date. Scripts can operate on selected items, generate reports and combine several file-management actions. They can be stored in XYS text files or launched through shortcuts, the Catalog and other command entry points. Step Mode lets users inspect each command and choose to execute it, skip it or stop the script.
XYplorer stores its configuration in portable files, allowing the same tabs, commands and preferences to accompany a portable setup. Toolbar buttons, keyboard shortcuts, colors and folder-specific views can be adjusted as part of that configuration.
XYplorer licenses and trial limits
XYplorer is paid software with a 30-day trial. The trial marks image previews and restricts title-bar customization. Standard and Lifetime Professional licenses provide the same functions and do not expire; their difference is the period of included upgrades. Enterprise adds administrative access controls and multi-user tagging for a shared metadata database.
