Do you get nostalgic for the old days of Windows 3.0, or feel like the latest mobile-style design flourishes leave you cold? If so, Microsoft has just the thing – a remake of its classic File Manager.
Back in the 1990s, File Manager was the only way to add, delete and manage the files and folders on your PC. The death knell for File Manager was sounded with the introduction of Windows Explorer, a new graphical user interface from the revolutionary Windows 95. Surely enough, File Manager was officially retired before the turn of the new millennium.
What File Manager lacked in aesthetics it more than made up for in flexibility. Still to this day, some users complain about the lack of control they’ve been afforded with more recent builds, when compared with the freedom they enjoyed through File Manager.
If all this is sounding very familiar, you may want to head to the Microsoft Store, where you can download the new version for free.
Those who have got their hands on this rewritten File Manager have remarked that it does more than just provide a stroll down memory lane, with the controllability offering quick and easy ways to access certain features.
Techradar’s Daryl Baxter was one such tester, who noted that: “While the appearance of this File Manager may be overwhelming to some users… the features it offers are very helpful.
“Every function is accessible in a few clicks, and thanks to the tree layout of your files and folders, you gain a better overview of where your content is, alongside how you can manage these files across multiple hard drives, for example.”
Baxter went on to explain that there could be much for Windows to learn from a trip back through the vaults. Different options for viewing files could be something that Microsoft looks at for future builds; so too the ability to browse multiple windows in one Explorer window rather than separate ones. In fact, Baxter was hopeful that this build signals not just a way to reminisce, but a real way for Microsoft to test ways in which the favourite tools of old could be effectively repurposed for modern devices and operating systems.
