File Explorer is the native Windows tool to manage the files that we store on our computer, although it has other functions that are used sporadically, such as showing hidden files, file extensions, among others. However, over the years, Microsoft has implemented virtually no functional improvements to help us work with files faster and easier, such as implementing tabs or management panels.
Tabs to Windows Explorer will come exclusively to Windows 11 in future updates, functionality that won’t come to Windows 10. If we have tired of the limitations of File Explorer, we can not wait for this functionality or we are still in Windows 10, we can try one of the different alternatives that we show you below.
Multi-Commander
For more experienced users who have the need to copy and move files on a regular basis, the best alternative to Windows File Explorer is Multi Commander, an application that does not work through tabs, but rather includes two panels . In each panel, we can set the source path and the destination path so that we only have to drag the files that we want to copy or move.
Multi Commander puts at our disposal a large number of functions to rename, copy, move, label and view files and folders. It is compatible with keyboard shortcuts, so we can further reduce the time we can spend on file management tasks. If we don’t like the design, we can replace it with one of the different options that it makes available to us within the configuration options.
At the bottom of the application, we have shortcuts to all the drives on our computer, action buttons to avoid using the right mouse button to copy, move, edit, view or delete files. Through those shortcuts, we can also see and hide all hidden files, hide DLLs, select all files and much more. We can download Multi Commander from its website completely free of charge.
explorer++
With an interface that reminds us of previous versions of Windows , we find Explorer++, a file explorer that is also compatible with tabs, so copying or moving files is a breeze. It supports file preview, allows you to create search filters without using Windows Search, and takes up very little space.
It allows us to change the attributes of the files together (a function that is only available in Windows through Command Prompt), change the position of the columns with the file data, mark folders as favorites to always have them at hand , highlight files by colors according to their extension and much more. Explorer++ is available for download from the developer’s website for free , and its code is available on GitHub.
Files
One of the best alternatives to the Windows File Explorer is found in the Files application, an application that offers us a user interface very similar to that of the Windows File Explorer, but which also includes the possibility of creating different tabs to make moving or copying files and folders much easier.
It includes different customization options, is compatible with both Windows 10 and Windows 11, allows you to add labels to files, supports FTP and much more. Best of all, Files is an open source application available for free through the Microsoft Store and we can download it through the following link.
