Key Features

• Manage files, directories, and drives, and nothing else!
• Accurate searches for files.
• New! Enter and keep notes associated with files.
• Print file listings.
• All the key information right in the main window.
• Thorough, easy-to-use online documentation.
• Easy access to files and tools you use often.
• Clear out all temporary files.
• Native support of .zip files
• Launch files upon detection of removable media.
• Shared directory icons (which were removed in Explorer of Windows® 7).
• New! Personalize your copy using different color schemes.
• Many other features not available in Windows® Explorer.

How It Works

FRSFileMgr™ is a software tool that makes it easy to manage the files on your computer. Consider it as a replacement of Windows® Explorer; easier to use; no "fluff", just file management; better control; specialized features to help you get your work done faster. FRSFileMgr provides immediate and direct access to your computer's drives, directories, and files, each with their own dedicated menu (shown here on the right).

You will find a familiar directory browser wherein you can select drives and directories. FRSFileMgr doesn't provide access to the "Control Panel", "Printers", and all the other non-file-related entities that Windows® Explorer shows. This makes the interface simple, clean, and direct.

There are no secrets either. FRSFileMgr shows you all the files and directories on your computer. Nothing is hidden, except where the system doesn't allow you access. The idea behind FRSFileMgr is to return to you the control over your computer (in the screen capture on the left you can see directories that are normally hidden from you, such as "$RECYCLE.BIN", "Boot", etc.).

Microsoft is blurring the definition of "folder" and "directory". Folders are generally considered "virtual" or fake directories that, underneath, point to the actual directory. With FRSFileMgr, we want you to be able to see the actual directories. The Directory menu has a command that displays all the system folders defined on your computer, such as "Desktop" or "My Documents". When you click on one of those commands, FRSFileMgr takes you directly to the actual directory that the virtual folder represents (see below).

While manipulating files and/or directories, it is easy to make a mistake; you want to be able to recover from such a mistake. FRSFileMgr has a sophisticated "undo" system. It uses the Recycle Bin extensively, but that provides the efficient recovery of changes made to files and/or directories.

If you make any changes that affect directories, the Directory menu will show an "Undo" menu command. The same goes for changes made to files, which are shown via the "Undo" menu command on the Files menu. Unlike Windows® Explorer, FRSFileMgr allows you to restore actions you have a performed in random order, i.e. you can reverse any changes made, regardless of when they were made, if the action is possible. Windows® Explorer forces you to undo the last number of actions in reverse sequential order, just to get to the one you really want to reverse. FRSFileMgr gives you tremendous flexibility and freedom. The screen capture below is an example of reversible file changes we made. An Undo toolbar button is available to reverse the last change made, similar to the way Windows Explorer works. It is great for that "Oh, crap!" moment.

Starting with Windows® Vista, Microsoft® has restricted how you can associate applications with certain file extensions. In Windows 7 this restriction is even tighter. We want you to have the freedom we had under Windows 2000 and Windows XP where you can associate any executable file with a file extension, and to be able to flag it as using that application for "opening" a file or for "editing" a file. FRSFileMgr brings this basic functionality back via the Launch tab (see partial screen capture below) in the FRSFileMgr Settings window accessed through the "FRSFileMgr | Settings..." menu command. How to do this is fully documented in the online documentation.

A feature that is unique to FRSFileMgr is the ability to enter and keep notes for files. As the screen capture below shows, you can type any text into the appropriate cell of the main window's Notes column to explain what the file contains, where it came from, who last modified it, etc. Anything that will help you with your file management. Notes are stored in the application's data file and so are not available via Windows Explorer.

Finding files on your computer has also become more difficult as we progressed from Windows Vista to Windows 7. Unless your particular file is explicitly added to the Windows® Search Index, it will not be found by Windows® Explorer. We found many times where we were looking at a file in Windows® Explorer, executed a search for that file, and the search feature told us the file didn't exist! FRSFileMgr doesn't use the Windows® Search Index. This means searches may be a bit slower, but at least they are accurate. Which would you rather have?

Windows® and Internet Explorer provide tools for deleting temporary and cached files. However, our research shows that a lot of files are not removed. FRSFileMgr's View menu shows all the temporary file collections of which we are aware. You can view them, and optionally delete them as you see fit. At least when FRSFileMgr deletes the files, they are actually gone (most go to the Recycle Bin, for possible retrieval in case of an error). To completely clean you computer of temporary files, go to the bottom of the View menu and work you way up, deleting all the files displayed, if any. Then you know for sure your computer's temporary files are actually all gone!

Sometimes while you are working in FRSFileMgr you may want to start another application, launch a file you use regularly, or do some other repetitive task. FRSFileMgr has a Tags menu which makes it possible to select a file or an executable and tag it to have a shortcut to it appear on the Tags menu. The concept is similar to Internet Explorer Favorites or Firefox Bookmarks, except tags are for files on your computer. A Tag toolbar button makes it easy to tag a file you have selected in the main window. "Tag, you're it!" Examples for using this feature are found in the online documentation.

You can research (using your preferred search engine) any information about the currently selected file or directory. A great way to find out what the file or directory is used for, or if you can delete it. Just highlight the file or directory, and click the File or Directory menu's "Research Online" command, and up pop the results! No text to copy, no browser to launch first. Just click, and go!

Due to security concerns, Microsoft removed the ability to launch an application when an external device is inserted into the computer. For example, under Windows 2000 and XP, you could have your graphics program launch whenever you inserted a flash/memory drive into your computer's USB port. This was restricted under Windows Vista, and completely removed with Windows 7. FRSFileMgr brings this ability back, but from a different perspective. You tell FRSFileMgr exactly which drive (it has to be inserted into the computer at the time you tell the application about the drive) to which you want FRSFileMgr to respond, and which software application you want to have launched. For example, we use a batch file to copy digital photo files from the camera's memory card. When the card reader is inserted into the computer, FRSFileMgr has been set up to automatically launch that batch file, so that the images on the memory card are immediately copied to the computer's disk drive.

You can personalize your copy of FRSFileMgr by changing the color scheme of the main user interface components. Click here for a couple of sample screen captures.

Here are a few more nuggets included in FRSFileMgr...

• You can print the list of files (something that Windows® Explorer still doesn't do).
• You can quickly copy just the name of the directory or file you have selected to the Windows® Clipboard.
• You can also copy the entire path of the selected directory or file to the Windows® Clipboard.
• You can highlight a range of files and/or select individual files in the directory to then copy, move, delete, etc.
• The main window clearly shows how full your computer's disk drive is.
• The status bar provides you with all the key information about the selected directory (size, age, number of files, etc.).
• Image preview window that can be sized to your liking, and whose position will be remembered even after you close it (thumbnail previews have been removed in Windows 7's version of Explorer).
• Rename one or a bunch of files within a directory. Great for renaming those digital photo image files that are named "IMG_1234.JPG", etc.
• Connect and disconnect from shared directories on your local area network.
• Shared directories have icons to identify them (a feature Microsoft® decided to do away with in Vista and 7).
• Drive clean-up tools directly accessible from FRSFileMgr (if installed on your computer).
• You can set the font type, size, and color of the texts in the Directory Browser and the main grid, independently (click on the screen capture on the right where we used a different font for the Directory Browser from the standard font shown in the main Files grid).

So, download FRSFileMgr today, and use it instead of Windows Explorer for a while. See if you like it. If not, let us know what you found difficult to do, so that we can improve the product for you. Download today and take back control over your computer!

System Requirements

FRSFileMgr requires a trivial 3.1MB of storage space on your computer. It has been designed to run on all editions of the following operating systems: Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

Install/Un-install

Our software installs cleanly with minimal fuss, and usually without requiring a re-boot. You can easily and completely remove the application using the standard Windows Control Panel "Add/Remove Programs", or "Programs and Features" on Windows 7.

Trial Period

Starting with the first day you start or execute FRSFileMgr on your computer, you have a one-time trial period of 21 calendar days to try out the application. After this trial period you must purchase a license for FRSFileMgr to be able to continue to use it. The trial version is not crippled in any way; you get to use the full functionality for 21 days for free. We want you to fully experience the power of FRSFileMgr before deciding to purchase it. Any settings you have made in the application during the trial period will be preserved and will be available after you buy your license. No need to download or install the application again after purchase.

Download

The installation program for FRSFileMgr is approximately 2.5MB in size (takes less than a minute to download on DSL or cable connections). When prompted, be sure to click the "Save" button to store the FRSFileMgr installation program onto your computer's disk drive. All of our installation programs are routinely tested by third-parties for viruses, so you can rest assured that you are downloading a clean installation program. When the download completes, open the folder wherein you stored the file, and then double-click the file ("FRSFileMgrInstall.exe") to start the installation program. Our installation programs are simple and straightforward. We have a step-by-step download guide.