Download the tab program for windows 7 explorer. Work effectively with windows explorer, which supports multiple tabs, like a browser. Display Explorer windows as tabs

The functionality of multiple tabs in one program is very convenient, which is proven by browsers in which this concept has been successfully used for a long time. All the more surprising is the fact that in the extremely popular Windows Explorer this convenient “trick” has not yet been implemented regularly. Third-party solutions eliminate the gap for Redmond programmers.

One of them is a small utility called Clover. To use it, you will need the following steps:

1. Download the installer from the official website
2. Run the downloaded file. You will first see a welcome screen. Just click "Next" button
   
3. On the next screen you will be asked to select a location to install the utility. Do this and click "Install"
   
4. After the installation is complete, the appearance of Explorer will change, tabs will become available, like in a browser
   
5. By clicking on the image of a wrench in the upper left corner of the screen and selecting the simultaneous item, you can access the utility settings
   
   
6. The settings, however, are quite minimalistic. The only thing worthy of attention is the “Other” block, where you can determine a particular reaction of the program to clicks on the mouse buttons or its wheel
   
7. It should be noted that all bookmarks opened in Explorer are remembered; if desired, they can be exported to an HTML file and then imported from it
   
8. If you want to return to the classic view of Explorer, the Clover program can be easily uninstalled through the control panel
   

Q-Dir

The second solution being considered today that expands the functionality of Explorer will be the Q-Dir utility. The program, like the popular Total Commander file manager, displays two (and if necessary, even three or four) panels in one explorer window. Let's evaluate it in more detail:

The program is quite rich in settings; here we will consider the most significant of them.

The Q-Dir utility has almost unlimited settings, but while this is a definite plus for an experienced user, this setup can easily scare off a beginner. Be that as it may, the program certainly has the right to life.

Explorer++

The third solution being considered today is the Explorer++ program. Its main advantage is “portability”; the program does not require installation on the system and can be launched from removable media (external drive or flash drive). Next we will look at its functions.

The bottom line is that for people accustomed to the simplicity and minimalism of the classic system Explorer, the Explorer++ utility is the best option, since it expands the functionality of the usual file manager without forcing them to “relearn.”

I first encountered information browsing through tabs ten years ago in the Firebird browser (previous incarnation), and since then they have appeared in almost every user interface. Tabs make it easy to view large amounts of data in separate, organized blocks. Once you try to use tabs, you fall in love with them forever. So why are there no tabs in Explorer?

The devil knows... Fortunately, many enthusiasts understand how necessary tabs are in Windows. Just imagine how much time you'll save by working in one window with many tabs instead of multiple windows flooding your screen.

In this article we will look at three programs that will allow you to add tabs to Windows.

Of all the similar utilities I've seen, Clover 2 has the best appearance when it comes strictly to user interface aesthetics. The tabs are at the top (as is customary) and look the same as in the Chrome browser. Tabs open/close without any problems and can also be rearranged in any convenient order.

The only drawback I encountered is that opening new tabs is cumbersome. New tabs are created by dragging folders onto the panel. There is no option to open a new tab by right-clicking or middle-clicking. For me, this mechanism is a little inconvenient. Although, if this is not a problem for you, then you will love Clover 2.

Clover 2 is being developed by Chinese programmers and the program's home page may be a little confusing since most of the content is in Chinese.

Honestly, QTTabBar is my favorite program from this list (for adding tabs). It may not look as aesthetically pleasing as Clover 2, but it looks discreet and integrates seamlessly into Windows. The tabs are neat and unobtrusive, and you won't be distracted while using the program.

The main thing I like about QTTabBar is how easy it is to open folders in new tabs: you just need to click on the middle mouse button. Plus, there are many functions for individually customizing the appearance of tabs. For example, you can save open tabs and then automatically reopen them the next time you open File Explorer.

TabExplorer is not bad, but it comes last on my list of preferences (compared to the two previous programs). The program performs the functions it is supposed to, allowing users to manage multiple windows using tabs. There are also several settings: for example, the ability to enable/disable TabExplorer (if you suddenly get tired of it).

However, compared to Clover and QTTabBars, TabExplorer has some minor performance issues. It seems that opening and closing tabs does not happen very quickly (with a slight lag). Besides, I personally don’t like it when tabs are located outside of Explorer.

However, try TabExplorer, you might like it. My criticism is based largely on personal preference. As they say, there are no comrades according to taste.

Conclusion

Who doesn't love tabs? They are very convenient to use in Windows OS. Perhaps I've overlooked other similar utilities? I would be very grateful if you report them in the comments.

Clover 3.0 is an extension for Windows Explorer with which we can create tabs in Windows Explorer, just like in a browser. Outwardly, Clover resembles the Google Chrome browser.

If you like using standard Windows Explorer, then Clover it will be a godsend for you. Windows Explorer is a very popular program, and getting to know the system begins with it. But anyone who has tried copying or moving files using File Explorer knows how inconvenient it is.

With the help of Clover, this will be much easier and faster; you just need to switch from one tab to another. Browsers have been using tabs to open new pages for a long time, and it's not very clear why Windows developers didn't include this feature in their system by default.
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But now users who didn't like the standard Windows Explorer will look at it differently.

It is best to download the program from the website of the developer of this software ejie.me.

Supported OS versions: Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8.

Program language: Russian.

How to use Clover to create tabs in Windows Explorer

There will be no problems with installing the program, a normal installation without any bells and whistles. Only if you have a firewall or another program that monitors changes to the registry, you will have to allow Clover to add its files to the system startup.

Without this, the program will not work.

Immediately after installing the program, Windows Explorer will change its appearance, which looks more like a browser.

To create new tabs, just click on the button to the right of the tabs, or use hotkeys.

You can also create a new tab by clicking on the desired directory in the open window and dragging it to the tab area. Then this directory will open in a new tab.

Tabs can be pinned, so you don’t have to open them again each time, and they will be smaller in size, just like in a browser.

You can also configure Clover so that Explorer will open the most recently opened pages.

This and other settings are hidden behind a wrench in the upper left corner of the explorer.

In the settings you can activate the bookmarks menu, which is very convenient. With it, you can quickly open the desired drive or directory on your computer.

To do this, click on the wrench and select the "Bookmarks" menu, and then "Show bookmarks bar".

Or in the extension settings menu in the “Appearance” section

Activate checkbox "Always show the bookmarks bar".

You can add a page or catalog to your bookmarks by simply dragging it to the bookmarks bar.

To delete a bookmark, right-click on it and select “Delete” from the menu.

You can also configure other parameters of this extension in the settings menu.

Clover also supports different themes for appearance. These are the same files found in the Chrome browser, which have the extension ".crx". The only problem is that you can’t download them freely yet.

Clover supports hotkey management, there are not many of them and they are standard for the browser.

CTRl+T - New tab

CTRl+W - close tab

CTRl+N - new window

CTRl+SHIFT+B — show the bookmarks bar

CTRl+D - add page to bookmarks

I hope that this extension will help you manage Windows, especially for beginners who are just learning this system.

To make managing Windows even more convenient, adding your own items to the Windows menu will help, but to do this you will have to edit the registry, which will not be so easy for a beginner. But after reading this, you will cope with this task.

Original post and comments at

Probably every user has to work with files, whether creating, copying or moving them. And since we turn to the main Windows tool almost daily for these purposes, increasing the functionality of Explorer and improving its interface could help save invaluable hours of working time every month. Explorer with its multi-window system was a major innovation in 1995, when the Windows 95 operating system appeared. However, today, constantly switching between windows no longer seems such a logical solution. It would seem that Microsoft should add such a familiar interface element as tabs to Explorer?

This would help to quickly switch between multiple folders. For example, this function is implemented in Internet Explorer. Unfortunately, there is no such option in the standard Windows tool. However, this did not stop third-party developers from improving the usability of Microsoft's OS on their own. The only question is how to choose a solution that’s right for you from the available variety of utilities and add-ons. In our test review we compared various programs. Some of them only add tab support, while others, as an alternative or in addition to the tabbed option, allow you to split the screen into multiple areas.

At the same time, some Explorer add-ons also provide additional tools for searching and operating with files. When choosing programs for testing, we were guided by the criteria of convenience, ease of learning, adding new functions and customization. Mandatory conditions also included support for tabs, performance, and free distribution of the application.

QTTabBar 1.5 Beta

If you are generally satisfied with Windows Explorer, but tab support is still lacking, install QTTabBar and the problem will be solved once and for all. This program works directly in the Explorer window, without taking up extra space on the Taskbar. To add a new tab, you can use the Drag&Drop method or select “Open a new tab” in the context menu. Conveniently, QTTabBar keeps a browsing history of open windows, tabs, and files, so you can quickly return to recently visited places on your PC. If you actively use the mouse, then in QTTabBar you can perform actions such as renaming and deleting files using a special panel. However, as before, you can use hotkeys or the context menu. QTTabBar also provides a preview of the contents of folders, as well as text files and images. And the built-in filter will help when searching through a large number of files and folders. Compared to its analogues, QTabBar offers the greatest possibilities for customizing its appearance. The program interface is completely changed using skins. Third-party plugins are also supported, which allows you to change the standard Explorer beyond recognition. The disadvantage of QTTabBar is that a new tab cannot be opened by clicking on the bar - only by clicking on the folder itself, dragging it or applying the “Clone this” function to an existing tab. In addition, in Windows 8, QTTabBar does not have full integration into the system and does not pick up new Explorer windows as tabs.

Clover 3.0.258

If the only thing you were missing in standard Windows Explorer was tabs, then Clover's simplicity and convenience should please you. This small add-on works in the Explorer window and actually transfers the program interface for surfing the Internet there. Clover's appearance will seem familiar to anyone who has used the Google Chrome browser, the only difference being that directories open in the tab bar instead of web page windows. Clover does not require configuration and upon first launch it will open working Explorer windows in tabs. Moreover, in order to create a new tab, you can either click on a special button on the panel, or simply drag the desired folder there using the mouse. In addition, in Clover, as in the browser, you can close all tabs to the right or left of the active one through the drop-down menu, or leave a single open tab. In addition, the context menu for individual tabs, the usual hot keys, as well as the ability to move tabs from place to place and close them with a double-click or middle-click were borrowed from Chrome. Transferring files from one tab to another using Drag&Drop is also supported. Thus, we can say that this technology is fully implemented. In addition, folders and search results can be pinned or moved to the Quick Access Toolbar. In the design and appearance settings, you can change the color scheme using regular Google Chrome themes. There are thousands, if not millions, of similar topics available on the Internet, and sometimes among them are real works of art. However, there are no ready-made CRX files included with the program, so if the standard look of Chrome does not please you or you prefer a different browser, then you will have to spend some time searching for a suitable theme. Clover also lacks additional tools such as image previews and browsing history. But there is a drop-down menu of bookmarks. And the thoughtful, minimalistic interface design still leaves room for customization. All this makes Clover a great option for those who value the convenience and appearance of Google's browser. For beginners, this program will not create any special problems.

Q-Dir 5.58

If you want all your files to be accessible in one window and no longer have to close the necessary folders just because they become difficult to navigate, try Q-Dir. The window of this program is divided into several areas, each of which contains a full-fledged Windows Explorer window. There can be from one to four such areas, and each will support its own tabs, and the Taskbar will not be cluttered. You are also free to determine the size of the resulting areas manually. This can be useful if, for example, you sort photos from one folder into three others. In this case, you can give maximum space to the area in which the pictures were originally located and switch the folder view to “Huge Icons” or “Large Icons” mode. This way you can quickly separate photos of friends from landscape shots and those shots that you plan to subject to serious processing. And the size of the areas where you will put the pictures is no longer so important, so you can make them smaller and be satisfied with a tabular view with useful information about the creation date and file size.

By the way, Q-Dir makes it possible to print information about the contents of any folder, as well as save it as an electronic document if you have an XPS or PDF printer installed. This can be done either by using the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl+P” or using the “Print” function in the upper right corner of the program window. The PDF printer itself comes, for example, with Adobe Reader. Next to the print button is a Minimize to Tray button, which allows you to quickly hide the Q-Dir in the system tray.

Each area has its own address bar, a button to create a new directory, a context menu button and the standard “Back”, “Forward” and “Up”. Next to the address bar there are also buttons for quickly moving through the main drives and folders of the computer, which is convenient, for example, for instantly switching to the “Desktop”. On the bottom panel, in each area, you'll find the familiar copy, select, paste, and execute tools. This solution significantly simplifies working with files when there is no keyboard at hand, but only a mouse. There is also another button here to call the function of filtering files by a given mask.

However, you can separate the “wheat from the chaff” visually. For this purpose, the function of color highlighting files and folders according to specified parameters has been implemented. With its help, the names of image files are highlighted in purple, document files - in blue, folders - in green, etc. Another button is for quickly jumping to Windows and System32 directories, the “Quick-Folder” and “Quick-Link” functions, allowing add folders and links to the instant access pop-up menu, as well as open the folder you are viewing in standard Windows Explorer. By the way, the instant access menu can be configured differently for each of the four windows. All these icons are located on the right side of the bottom panel, and the left side is reserved for the much more non-trivial task of custom file counting. With its help, you can determine for yourself what to count - the number of files, their total size or the size of files contained in both the current directory and subfolders.

Q-Dir stores a history of recent browsing, making it easy to return to previously closed folders. Bookmarks are also supported here. However, they work in Q-Dir somewhat differently than in Explorer: not just one tab is saved, but all open windows. This way, you no longer have to close your movie, music, or book folders while you're working. In addition, you can save several sets of folders for all occasions - for work, entertainment, family vacations. For this, the screen saving function is useful, which allows you to remember not only windows and tabs, but also program settings. So you can return to the specified pattern at any time.

But these are not all the advantages of Q-Dir. The settings of this program are quite varied - you can set the color scheme, file display, preview options, functions and appearance of panels, linking files to applications and much more. In the settings you can also designate Q-Dir as the main file manager.

However, the program also has disadvantages. For example, Q-Dir has an integrated archiver function with very limited capabilities. So if you want to use WinRAR, 7-Zip or another familiar utility without using the context menu, then you will need to reconfigure Q-Dir a little. To do this, go to “Settings”, click on “Advanced” and on the first tab “Basic” in the very last free field add the line “*.rar; *.cab; *.zip;" (without quotes). After this, you can open the archives with a double click in any program convenient for you. In addition, Q-Dir uses the standard Windows tool to search for files, opening an Explorer window. This means you won't be able to create a search results tab. We also note that four simultaneously open windows in combination with miniature icons look quite cumbersome. The built-in screen magnifier is designed to somewhat correct this problem.

Q-Dir is suitable for those who need the most complete set of functions - both in terms of using space on the monitor and working with files itself. But many may be put off by the somewhat archaic appearance of this program, as well as the need to spend time setting it up.

Explorer++ 1.3.5

The Explorer++ application can be recommended to anyone who often has to work on public computers - say, in an office or library. This file manager supports working with tabs, does not require installation and can be launched from portable media. This means that by recording the program onto a flash drive, you will always have such convenient “tabs” at hand. In addition, if you are satisfied with the appearance of the standard Explorer, but would like advanced functions, Explorer++ will be a good alternative. You can select it as the default file manager and not give up the usual appearance of files and folders, since the program interface is designed in a classic style.

Explorer++ provides tools for convenient disk navigation, including hotkeys not found in standard Explorer. Various operations with files and folders are placed on a separate panel. Quick access to the command line and bookmarks was also placed there. You can drag and drop files between folders and into third-party applications - say, media players or email programs. A bookmarks bar is available for frequently used folders. At the same time, Explorer++ saves your browsing history, so you can easily return to accidentally closed folders. If you need to record the entire history of working with folders in a log file, just run the program file with the “-enable_logging” key (without quotes). This can be done by right-clicking on the program shortcut, selecting “Properties” from the context menu, then going to the “Shortcut” tab. The field you need is called “Object”.

In addition, Explorer++ supports complex operations with files - for example, mass renaming, merging and separating documents of the same format. There are functions for searching and filtering files. You can also highlight files of the desired types with color, similar to how it is done in Q-Dir. However, in the default settings the program will only highlight archives and hidden files. Thus, if you want to highlight other types of documents with color, you need to set the settings manually.

The ability to flexibly customize the interface to suit your personal preferences deserves special mention. Moreover, thanks to the open source code of the program, you can find many custom patches, additions and add-ons on the official forum.

Among the shortcomings, we note the fact that Explorer++ does not provide preview functions or work in multi-panel mode. The built-in file search and filtering functions do not have the usual menu size and type restrictions, but regular expressions are supported. In addition, minor errors were noticed when working in Windows 8. Otherwise, this file manager pleasantly surprises with the number of additional tools. However, the program is more suitable for experienced users than for beginners.

comparison table

Many of us first encountered the tab function more than 10 years ago in the good old Opera browser based on the Presto engine. Since then, tabs have become the most important part of absolutely all browsers and are tightly embedded in the interfaces of many other programs. In Windows Explorer, unfortunately, this sought-after feature, which would allow us to work with the contents of several drives and folders in one browser window, is still missing.

We can wait and hope that someday Microsoft will finally listen to the tens of thousands of users who voted in the Windows User Voice to bring the tabs feature into Windows, but this is not at all necessary, because there are excellent third-party applications that allow you to bring tabs into Windows. A guide to reality.

I talked about one of these programs, but today we will talk about another tool called QTTabBar. Many of you have probably already heard about it.

Initially, QTTabBar was released for XP and Vista, and it became compatible with Windows 7 only in 2011, but through the efforts of another developer, because the creator himself moved away from the project for some time.

Now the original developer is at it again and has released a new version of QTTabBar that supports Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10.

Below are some main features of QTTabBar:

• Tabs feature in Windows Explorer
• Classic toolbar in Windows Explorer
• Instant preview of images, text and media files

Now let's talk about the features of QTTabBar in detail.

After installing the program, the tab bar or other panels will not appear automatically; they must be enabled manually. To do this, if you are using Windows 7, press the ALT key in Explorer to show the menu bar, and then enable the desired QT toolbar from the View menu. In Windows 8/8.1 or Windows 10, go to the View tab in the Explorer ribbon, click the drop-down arrow under the Options button, and enable the desired panel.

Add a tab bar to Explorer

To show the tab bar in the Explorer window, you need to enable the option QTTabBar(or QTTabBar - Bottom if you want the tabs to appear at the bottom of the window). After this, the “Open in new tab” option will appear in the context menu of all folders and drives. However, the developer has also provided faster ways to open drives and folders in separate tabs:

• single click with the mouse wheel on the icon of the element that needs to be opened;
• or pressing and holding the CTRL key and then double-clicking the left mouse button.

Adding a toolbar to Explorer

For those who prefer to see the classic toolbar in Explorer, the program offers panels QT Command Bar And QT Command Bar 2.

You can also add a vertical toolbar by enabling the QT Command Bar (vertical) option on the View tab.

With options in the toolbar context menu, you can remove or add new items, change size, label, button icons, and more.

Dual panel view in Windows Explorer

Now let's talk about Dual-Pane viewing mode. QTTabBar allows you to add an additional folder bar to the Explorer window (on the left or bottom). To do this, you just need to enable the parameter Extra View (left) or Extra View (bottom) on the View tab (turning both options on will give you a triple pane). In this mode, the process of copying and moving files/folders from one place to another turns into great pleasure.

Dual-Pane (Left):

Dual-Pane (Bottom):

Preview different file types

QTTabBar also automatically adds preview functionality for images, text and multimedia files. Simply hover your mouse over an image, text, music or video file to see its contents almost instantly:

QTTabBar Settings

The program allows you to configure or disable almost all of its features. You can get to the settings menu by pressing Alt + O inside the Explorer window, or by right-clicking on the program panel and then selecting the “QTTabBar Settings” section in the context menu that opens.

You can customize the appearance of tabs, toolbars, menu style, keyboard shortcuts, enable/disable file previews, and much more.

Using the settings, you can also enable the Explorer window to be minimized to the system tray and block the ability to resize the window. These functions are located in the settings under "Window".

Performing system tasks in QTTabBar settings

Adding tabs and various panels to Explorer is far from the only thing QTTabBar is good for. In particular, with this tool you can:

• restore shell icon cache;
• clear the window size, position and appearance parameters;
• save the location of desktop icons;
• restore the location of desktop icons;
• clear query history in the Run dialog box, address bar, or search box;
• Remove recent items or programs from the Start menu.

You will find all these features in the Miscellaneous section of the System tab.

Features on the desktop

QTTabBar provides access to various sections of the operating system and Explorer folders by double-clicking the left mouse button on the desktop or taskbar.

This can be achieved by turning on the panel QT Tab Desktop Tool in the context menu on the taskbar.

After this, an invisible icon will appear in the notification area, which appears when you hover the mouse cursor over it. By right-clicking on this icon, you will access a menu that allows you to customize the content, functionality, and appearance of the QT Tab Desktop Tool.

You can download QTTabBar for Windows 7 and later versions of the operating system on the official website of the developer. The program is completely free and supports both 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows.

Have a great day!