atom thoughts

I thought it might be useful to share some of the tools that I use for software development and general computing. So, I will be posting a series of short articles detailing some of the tools I use and what I find most useful about them. I do all of my development on a Windows machine, so most of my tools are Windows-centric.

The first tool I would like to share is a Windows Explorer replacement called xplorer². Now, when I first heard of this I thought, “Why would I need a replacement for Windows Explorer?”. But let me tell you, this tool greatly increases my productivity. I am sure I hardly scratch the surface of what it can do, but the features I find most useful about it are:

• Dual explorer panes: This allows you to see two sets of files and folders simulataneously. As a result, you can work between two folders quite easily for things like copying and moving files.
• Tabbed browsing: Each of the Dual explorer panes supports multiple tabs so you can have a limitless number of folders constantly open.
• Great Shortcuts: There are some great shortcut keys for doing the things you do most often in the file system. For instance:
  • F5 - Copy files/folders from one pane to the other.
  • F6 - Move files/folders from one pane to the other.
  • F7 - Create a new file.
  • F8 - Create a new folder.

This also comes in a free version for private and academic use: http://zabkat.com/x2lite.htm.

Enjoy!