Microsoft enhances file manager in Windows 8

Windows Explorer, the venerable default file manager in the upcoming latest version of Microsoft’s Windows flagship operating system, will be getting enhancements starting with its copy dialog, PC World reported. PC World said the new feature appears to promise benefits for multitaskers who copy, move, rename and delete a large amount of files in Windows. “Microsoft’s copying overhaul doesn’t really improve much for people who typically move around one file or folder at a time or are used to handling small text files. But if you find yourself moving around large amounts of data such as photos and videos, then Windows 8 aims to make your copying experience easier," it said. It quoted Microsoft as saying copying, moving, renaming and deleting files are the most often-used functions in Windows Explorer – accounting for half of Explorer usage in Windows 7. The PC World article said Microsoft’s copy dialog for Windows 8 will:

• move all copy jobs into one window
• simplify the user interface (UI)
• give users more control over any operations in progress.

Instead of having multiple windows open for each file, Windows 8 will automatically merge all copy jobs into one central window, with basic and “More details" views. The basic view shows how many items are being copied in each job, their source and destination folders, and a progress bar, with pause and cancel buttons. Source and destination folders will be clickable so one can open up those folders directly from the copy dialog. Clicking on the “More details" button will show a real-time throughput graph, speed of data transfer, time remaining and how much data is left to transfer. Copying files with same names Windows 8 has a new way to handle a “filename collision," a situation where one is about to copy a file with the same name as another file in the destination folder. Before Windows 8 overwrites an old file, it will give three choices similar to those in Windows 7: replace all the old files in the destination folder, skip copying the new files or choose the files to keep in the destination folder. Choosing the files to keep in the destination folder will bring up a new dialog box showing the files one wants to copy in the left column and the files with the same name in the destination folder on the right. One can also hover over each file to see its location or can double-click on a file to open it. “If you don’t click a check box next to one of your two colliding files, Windows 8 errs on the side of caution and keeps your old version intact," it said. — TJD, GMA News