ES Explorer - Review, comparison with analogues (ASTRO File Manager, File Manager, Total Commander, X-plore File Manager, Root Explorer, File Explorer from Next Inc., Solid Explorer) - Helpix. X-plore - file manager

A multifunctional free file manager with support for root mode and other necessary goodies from mobile developer Lonely Cat Games. The company has been delighting with good products for smartphones for a long time, from the time of Sumbian to the present day - applications for Android, and one of them is X-plore. Their work is a convenient interface, necessary functionality, and speed of use.

Working with the application

The main window is represented by items of the hierarchical file system:

memory card
root partition
the local network
web storage (Dropbox, Yandex Disk, etc.)
FTP client
album Picasa

The set of items is controlled by the “display” item. At the top of the window, a strip informs about its location in the catalog.

On the side of it is a button for changing panels with the inscription where we actually move, and where the files end up when moving, copying, archiving files. Working with folders and files is carried out with a long press, as in many applications, and for frequent operations there is a vertical column with possible functions for selected files, the menu is customizable: the order and contents of the menu are determined.

There is a button to switch between panels, but in practice it is more convenient to use gestures.
What I would like to note for those who are “not indifferent” to the content of programs is that there is a button to open apk files as zip, and not rename them a thousand times.

A local network in conjunction with an ftp client is very convenient, especially since x-plore has all the means for internal viewing of content both over the local network and through the ftp protocol. The built-in video and audio players are simple and fast, they are not equipped with functionality, but they play - which is what they are intended for, and there is no need to switch to other software, and you can configure external viewing if desired. There is a text editor.

Settings

Basic settings are represented by a few items.

Configures video and image previews
By default open apk as zip
height of element in list
Application password and theme

Conclusion

I guess that's all. As a result, after a month of use, you cannot imagine a more convenient and convenient program in general; it copes with everyday functions perfectly well, and there are the same utilities for “specific” add-ons. You can set it as the main file manager. Everything about it is good, I only insisted on the thickness of the text.

You can thank the developers by treating them to beer ($1-3) - for which there are buttons. Enjoy your use.

Without a doubt, the main task of X-Plore is to move files, delete them, copy them, rename them - in general, all the functions of a file manager. I will now briefly describe all these tasks.

Buttons and standard functions

The screen is divided into 2 windows, in each of which you can open any folder and copy/move files by pressing 1 button. This division is very convenient and works like in landscape:

So in book mode: All possible X-Plore functions can be performed either by temporarily holding the file, or by selecting a checkmark and using the buttons:

Temporary hold

Tick selection

As you can see in the screenshots, these are the functions: rename, copy, create ZIP, delete, create a folder, view “properties”, see "image data"(if the file is an image), create text, show hidden files(files starting with a dot), transfer file, sort folder by name/size/extension/time, search among the files, magazine viewed files and folders, moving, open APK as ZIP, view apk as HEX. -I have highlighted all non-standard functions in bold.

In the program, you can choose the buttons that will be between the windows, and in the book format you can also scroll them (due to lack of space).

Basic "tools"

1. Root access
If Root was successfully installed on the device, the user can view, edit, delete, copy system files:

2.LAN
You can also connect or add LAN connection servers:

3. Picasa Albums
Here you can see all the photos and albums that have ever been synchronized with your account:

4. FTP server
An FTP server is a regular computer that is connected to the Internet, where publicly accessible files are stored. And in order to copy these files to your computer, you need a special data transfer protocol - FTP.

5. Web storage
X-Plore can also synchronize your web storage with devices, without requiring the installation of official client programs on your device. And what’s more, X-Plore allows you to immediately synchronize all available web storage, in which you can move files to the device and between each other, copy, delete, rename, etc. Below is a list of all supported web storages:

In the left window - demonstration of simultaneous support for several web storages (can support all available web storages simultaneously)
In the right window - all available web storages

6. Program Manager
In the program manager you can delete programs, open their APK file as a ZIP archive, view them in HEX, show them in the Play Market, transmit via bluetooth, e-mail and SMS(even if you have already deleted the installation APK):

7. Transfer files via SSH
SSH is an application-level network protocol that allows remote control of the operating system and tunneling of TCP connections.

8. Wi-Fi sharing
Here you create your own server to which you can connect from any device and manage your files, add them to yourself; in which you can specify the following parameters: read-only access, set a password, specify the port, etc. The connection is made by entering the link in the browser that the program will give you.

X-plore File Manager is a file manager program for Android phones and tablets. It has a custom interface and extensive capabilities for complete management of the entire file system of your device.

The file manager X-plore File Manager appeared a long time ago and is well known to all owners of Symbian smartphones. We can say that it was he who became the first most serious file manager that has survived and is successfully developing today. The program is time-tested, and the developers certainly know what functions a real file manager should have. That is why it is worth paying attention to this program, and not to any other.

Advantages of the X-plore program for Android

The original interface, in a tree structure, is the hallmark of the X-plore File Manager program for Android and noticeably distinguishes it from a large number of competitors.
The unique “dual panel” allows you to quickly move between folders, while simultaneously working with several files located in different folders and on different media.
Convenient work with files allows you to copy, move, delete, create, hide, change the extension and perform many other actions with a particular file without turning to your computer for help.
Archive management provides convenient access to files located in the archive. They can be viewed either by unpacking the archive or directly in the archive itself. It is possible to create zip archives yourself.
View apk files as a zip archive. This allows you to make some adjustments to programs, games and any other applications created for Android.
The ability to send any files via Bluetooch, email or any other method (depending on the device and its capabilities, there may be more options).
Manual assignment of programs to certain extensions. For example, you can decide for yourself which specific program will open mp3 files.
Viewing thumbnail images provides a convenient and smooth transition between images, which can be a complete replacement for the standard gallery.
Connecting cloud storage and convenient work with them will make your work with files even more convenient, since you will not have to work with several programs at the same time. Just one X-plore File Manager is enough.
Convenient work with Picasa albums will allow you to fully manage the albums of this service, view and synchronize images.
The built-in text editor will help you conveniently edit text, as well as create text files without turning to other programs for help.
Editing the file structure, viewing and editing configuration files will allow you to change the value and parameters of installation files directly from the program.
Simultaneous work with a large volume of files and folders will allow you to quickly and effortlessly complete all the necessary work.

The list of features can go on and on, but you can see them only after installing X-plore File Manager. It has everything you need that you could want from a file manager. We are also pleased with the wide range of settings, which allows you to adapt the program to your needs. And if you give the program root rights, it will allow you to look into the structure of system files and ensure comfortable work with them. It’s only recommended to use this function only for experienced users who know which files can be touched and which cannot.

Program version: 1.51
Developer: Lonely Cat Games
Developer's website: http://www.lonelycatgames.com/
Compatibility: Symbian OS
Distribution terms: shareware
Interface language: multilingual
Competitors: , Modo,

Introduction
X-plore- the best file manager for smartphones running the Symbian OS operating system. There is almost everything here: a file manager (if it weren’t there, it would be a little strange, right?), a text file editor, a simple video viewer, an audio player and many, many more very interesting and extremely necessary “things”, about which I'll definitely tell you. Unless there is a coffee maker, but I think it is not needed in the file manager, and the developers emphasized this well by not integrating it there. Therefore, if you are looking for a combination of a file manager + coffee maker, it will not satisfy your requirements.

Let's end the jokes on this line and start reviewing this program. I will try to explain why I called it the best file manager. Go!

Program description
The first thing you need to do is install it if you don’t already have it installed. The installer is simple and intuitive, I think you won’t have any problems with it, but I’ll still tell you point by point what to do and how to do it:
1. First, download the program itself.
2. Launch the installer via or via phone, it doesn’t matter.
3. After starting the installation, we see a window with the name of the program, developer, etc. If you are interested, you can read it, if not, just click on OK.

4. Next, the program will ask where to install it, it depends only on you and the amount of free memory on your phone or memory card. But if you have enough space on your phone and you are not bothered by the size of the memory it will take up, install it in the phone memory.

After successful installation, you will be informed with the “Installation Complete” window. After this, you can safely run the program.

I won’t tell you what the program icon looks like, how it’s drawn, what colors are used, I’ll just show it to you:

With full confidence, click on the application shortcut and wait for it to launch. This usually takes a few seconds. The first thing that catches our eye is the license agreement; you don’t have to read it if you’re not interested. Just click on OK and all these incomprehensible distribution conditions, etc. will disappear.

Next we will see a 3-second window notifying that the program needs to be purchased. But don’t be afraid, the program will always work fully, you just need to wait 3 seconds after turning the program on and off.

After the 3-second window disappears, we will see this:

Also on the right next to each disk we will see the amount of free memory. Note: You should not trust the RAM indicators of disk D, which you can read about a little later.

I do not recommend that you change the contents of the system drive C unless you follow specific instructions or do not know what you are deleting. I won’t talk about the folder structure and their purpose, since this is a review of a file manager, not a file system, right?

Traditionally, the first thing you need to do is go to settings. This can be done through Menu –> Tools -> Configuration or press the number 0 (zero).

Once we get into the settings menu, we will see a bunch of items that I will write about right now.

As you have already seen, after installation the application language is English, this is easy to fix. You just need to go down the list to the item " Language" and select the desired language from the list. Switching languages is done using the left/right keys.

After you have chosen the language, we return to the first point.

Show. hidden files- displays hidden files in the list. Any files and folders can be hidden through the file manager itself. For example, if you set the hidden attribute to a picture, it will not be visible in the standard gallery.

Show ROM drives- shows disk Z in the list of disks, which contains all the files of your firmware. I will not recommend deleting or changing anything on this disk. You simply can't do it. The disk is protected. And there is no way you can delete its contents.

Show RAM disk- shows disk D in the list of disks - the RAM memory of your smartphone. You shouldn’t trust the free memory indicators, just don’t look at this disk and that’s it. The author of the review has it in the list of discs just for beauty.

Show system files/folders- shows system files and folders. If this is your first time hearing about system files and folders in Symbian, do not include this item.

Sort by- everything is simple here, we choose to sort files and folders by name, date, extension or size.

Interface font size- choose the font size for the program interface.

Use system font- if you check this box instead of the font X-plore the system font or the font you use as the system font will be used. This is demonstrated in two screenshots.

Text font size- here you select the letter size for the text file editor. Only two sizes available: small and normal.

Request upon exit- if you enable this item, after clicking on exit, the program will ask if you really want to exit. Very comfortably.

Full screen viewing- text and graphic viewer starts in full screen mode by default.

Album. picture mode- The graphic viewer starts in landscape mode by default.

System Application- do not allow the system to close the application when there is insufficient RAM.

Application password - use a password when turning on the application.

Text encoding- open a text file with the selected encoding, if it is not in Unicode. It helps when a text file contains quackery instead of letters.

Color schemes- choose a color scheme to suit your taste. The very first one is transparent, that is, the design theme of your smartphone is used.

Program menu overview
Let's go to main screen. If you don't know how to do this, click Back. Files and folders are displayed in the form of a tree. Navigation is carried out using the joystick left, right, up and down on smartphones with a keyboard. On touch smartphones, navigation is carried out using kinetic scrolling (move up/down on the screen), files and folders are opened by double tapping.

Main menu The application consists of ten points, each of them has several sub-points.
1. File.
Open- the file opens in X-Plore.
Open in the system- the file is opened by a system application. That is, for example, the picture will not open in X-Plore, but through the gallery.
View in HEX- view the file in HEX. The average user does not need this. The HEX editor has functions such as text search, hex search and editing.

Edit- editing a text file through a text editor or editing any file in hex.
Properties- here you can see the address of the file or folder, size and date of modification.

Attributes- a very interesting point. Here you can hide or prevent changes to any file or folder.

Delete.
Rename.
Create a folder.
Create a text file- You can read more about the text editor below.

2. Search - search for files on any disk.
Search files- you can search for files by name or resolution. The search occurs in the folder that is currently highlighted.

3. Zip archive - creating an archive. Pack into Zip archive - pack the file into an archive. You can select the location where the created archive will be saved.

Move to Zip archive- move files to archive.

4. Editing - copying/moving any number of files or folders.

5. Mark - you can mark any number of files or folders and move, copy or send via bluetooth.

You can mark files one at a time or all at once. To mark files one by one, just press shift+ok, to mark everything - shift+right, to remove any selection - shift+left. Naturally, this trick only works on push-button smartphones. For touchscreen smartphones it’s a little different. Selection occurs by clicking on the area where the file size is indicated. To select many files, you need to click and slide down or up the files. Removing a selection works in the same way as checking a box.

6. Transfer - you can transfer any files via bluetooth. To quickly transfer a file, you can press the green button.

7. Shortcuts - assigning file opening to a keyboard shortcut.

If you don’t have shortcuts yet, go to the “ Editing».

Next, choose a combination. The program will prompt you to select a folder to which, when you press a given combination, you will instantly be transferred from any folder in the file manager. Unfortunately, this feature does not work on touchscreen smartphones. She even refused to work on Nokia N97.

8. Tools.
Settings. Inbox- View all received files in incoming messages. You can move, copy, or delete files. This is especially convenient when the file you received is not recognized by the system and you cannot copy it.

Associations- a very useful point. If you want that when you click on a file with an image, it opens in an installed third-party application (for example, in) instead of the X-plore viewer, just click Menu -> Create.

In the first small window you need to write the file resolution, without dots (for example, jpg). Next, you need to click on OK and select the desired program.

Update- application update. Everything here is simple and accessible.

About the device- shows your IMEI, the amount of free memory and the processor frequency of your smartphone.

About the program- here we can look at the large application icon, the release date of the installed version and a link to the office. application website.

Registration- if you are tired of the terribly hated three-second window or you just want to support the developers, you can register the program at this point. After registration, the three-second window will disappear, you will become a User of the licensed version of the application and will contribute to the further development of this file manager. After entering this item, you will see your IMEI and the “Registration Key” field. You can buy the key itself on the official website of the application. After you have entered the key, exit the application. The next time you log in, there will be an online verification check.

Exit- exit the program.

A little before starting work
The type of display of files and folders is tree. To some extent this is not very convenient: the deeper the attachment, the shorter the file name will be. But this cannot be considered a disadvantage, because navigation is very convenient and fast. On push-button devices, just press right to open the folder, or left to return to the beginning of the folder. A very smart solution, unfortunately, not all developers thought of making a quick exit from the folder. When your file is in 345th place out of 1000, you must admit, it’s not very pleasant to scroll back. But in X-plore, just press left and you will immediately return to the beginning of the folder. The interface is friendly and intuitive. Feature phones have a huge advantage - hot keys. The list can be found at the end of the review.

Working with files
The first and most important thing in file managers is copying, pasting, renaming and deleting. They are implemented a little strangely. On push-button devices, to move/copy, you must first select the required files (without hotkeys this is very inconvenient, the list of hotkeys is at the end of the review), then click copy/move. The whole point is that you only need to move to select a place for insertion using the left/right, up/down keys. If you habitually press the center of the joystick to open a folder, your files will move slightly to the wrong place :) Just use the center of the joystick as “Paste” in paste mode. You might be thinking, how does this work on touchscreen smartphones? Everything is very simple. This was solved by adding additional icons to the bottom bar. A file or group of files is selected by clicking on the area where the size is indicated. Insert - by clicking on the folder. But if you want to paste a file somewhere, you will experience some difficulties. If you have already selected the file and clicked copy, you cannot open or close folders. The only way out is to select the necessary files, then find the folder to paste, click copy and then safely paste the necessary objects. A plus is the display in the upper right corner of the number of selected files. There are no complaints about renaming and deleting, everything works fine.

Sending files
One of the most popular features is file transfer via bluetooth and IrDA. Everything is fine here and there can be no complaints about the implementation. can send any files, including protected ones, which is something a standard file manager cannot boast of. You can also send several files by first selecting them with checkboxes. Fast transmission via bluetooth is carried out by pressing the green key (handset).

View files
To view text documents directly in the program itself there is a text editor. There is also an audio player, video player and picture viewer. You can read more about each of them below. Naturally, there can be no talk of super functionality. The new version also adds the function of previewing pictures and playing audio files. You just need to hover over the file.

Text editor. A simple text editor that understands formats such as txt, doc and docx. Naturally, everything without pictures, simple text.

Navigation through the text and basic functions for editing text are possible.

Video Player - a simple video player. Understands the most primitive file formats: .3gp and .mp4. It is so easy to work with that there is no need to describe it in more detail. There is no full screen viewing.

Audio player. And, again, a very simple audio player. Plays the most popular formats. There is no setting.

View pictures. Unlike the previous paragraphs, the image viewer has rich functionality, but is not able to replace the standard gallery or an alternative graphic viewer. The most common functions - rotation, zoom - are available.

For convenience, on touchscreen smartphones, when you long press on the image, a pop-up window appears.

Does its job with 5+. Zooming in and navigating through pictures is much faster than in a standard gallery.

Hotkeys
Designations:

Copy
- Move. In photo viewing mode - Back.
- View in hex. In photo viewing mode - Forward.
- Inbox. In zip, rar, jar archives – Extract.
- Properties
- Attributes
- Rename
- Editing
- Create a folder
- Settings
[*] - Scroll up
[#] - Scroll down
- Open
[C] - Delete
- send via Bluetooth
- opens folders
- closes folders

Mark (selected)
- mark all (files and subfolders in the current folder)
- remove all marks
- pack into a zip archive

Conclusion
X-plore- the most functional file manager. The program was tested on different smartphones, on all of them the performance was complete and did not raise any complaints. The full functionality was transferred to touchscreen smartphones, thanks to the work of the developers. None of the competitors have the same functionality and workmanship. The program is simply necessary for all smartphone owners, from beginners to advanced users.