File Explorer doesn’t need any introduction to Windows users. It is a default file management program to browse the files on hard drive. Windows File Explorer is not a completely features enabled program. It lacks some features behind when compared to the other platform file explorers. Fortunately, you can enhance the Windows File Explorer using some extensions.
These extensions are third-party programs and integrated with File Explorer to give more functionality. Here are the best extensions for Windows File Explorer to improve productivity to the next level.
1. Mountain Duck: For Accessing Remote Storage Files
Mountain Duck is one of the best extension for Windows File Explorer. It lets you access all cloud storage services in one place. This is useful for those who regularly use cloud storage. Mountain Duck lets you mount server or cloud storage services as a local volume in the File Explorer.
After you install the program and log into the cloud storages, you can use them for offline use. When the connection establishes, the program automatically synchronizes files to the cloud. The app supports WebDAV, Amazon S3, Blackblaze B2, SFTP and many more. The program is available in both free and paid versions.
2. Tera Copy: For Fater File Copying
I remember those days when everything which is related to entertainment lies on the hard disk. I collected a whopping 4 TB of movies and TV shows as a library. Whenever I wanted to transfer them to external hard disk or internal drive it had taken a lot of time to transfer. I used TeraCopy to simplify the data transferring job. TeraCopy is an excellent File Explorer extension to transfer data files between drives.
The program is packed with a ton of great tools to use. TeraCopy can recover files if an error happens during the file transfer. Also, it can skip unnecessary files to reduce the transfer time. Another interesting and useful feature is file verification. It lets you check the duplicate files when you try to transfer a file. The drag and drop feature is the biggest asset of the program which is not available in File Explorer.
3. Listary: For Deep Searching Files
Listary is a very useful search extension for File Explorer. We know the default file search utility in the File Explorer is tedious and it doesn’t search the files properly. This is a smart solution for our search needs in the Windows.
The program is packed with many interesting features to start with. It lets you search entire disk drive from File Explorer or folder. The quick find feature is a time saver for users who regularly search files on the disk. It uses a few short keystrokes to quickly find a file. Another interesting and very useful feature is copying files from context menu commands. The program is available in trial and paid versions.
4. FilerFrog: For Better Context Menu Options
FilerFrog is completely free to use utility to add extra management operations to the Windows Explorer right-click context menu. The features include, extract to a folder, extract from the folder, split and join, encrypt/decrypt, list of files, delete empty files and folders, copy/move and many more time-saving options which can be executed from Explore right-click context menu.
5. FileMenu Tools: Extra Context Menu Options
It is an extension just works like FilerFrog. FileMenu Tools adds extra options to the Windows Explorer right-click context menu. It has a great list of useful commands to make Explorer more feature rich. This is a perfect extension for those who are in regular file management works. FileMenu tools are available for Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.
6. File Converter: File Conversion Options in Context Menu
We usually use various programs to convert files on Windows. After installing the program it installs individually on Windows consuming drive space and leaving so many registry entries which results in the slow down of the computer.
File Converter is one such extension which saves a lot of space on your hard drive by replacing all the file conversion tools for your regular use. This one extension is capable of converting various formats with a single click. It can convert Audio, Video, Image and Documents formats with ease. For more details about the compatible input and output formats, visit the official website given below.
7. Menu Uninstaller: Uninstall Programs in few clicks
We usually use Windows Uninstaller for uninstalling unwanted software. Menu Uninstaller makes the uninstalling job much easier by adding the option in the right-click context menu.
To use the feature, install the extension and right-click on the app icon you want to install. You will see an uninstall option in the right-click context menu, just click on the option to uninstall the program right away. This is a pretty useful extension which saves time for uninstalling programs.
8. DropIt: Transfer or Move Files Easily
DropIt is an interesting File Explorer extension designed for easy file moving. A user can move files and folders on the floating DropIt image and it will send them to the desired folders. The DropIt extension also lets you monitor a folder at a definite interval and takes a background action on them automatically.
To set predefined rules, go to Manage option, where you will be able to modify the settings. You can set multiple profiles to add different kinds of rules. DropIt program also supports context menu integration. Using this option you can send the files to DropIt via SendTo option in the context menu.
9. Icaros: Enable Thumbnails for videos
Icaros is a handy extension to make your video library thumbnail preview enabled. After installing Icaros on your PC, the program will assign the thumbnail preview to the common file types like FLAC, MPC and FFmpeg formats. The program supports a great list of video formats including Mkv, Flv, Avi, Mp4, Mov, Rmvb, M2ts, and Ogm.
10. File Meta: View and Edit any File Type
Windows has some restrictions over checking the metadata of some file formats. Meta Data is useful for checking complete details of any file type. Using Meta Data, you can find out the details of a file including the date it was created, file size, author and many more.
File Meta extension for Windows File Explorer lets you check metadata of any file type. The extension works in the Windows preview panel and you can also edit the metadata of a file. It is a pretty good and useful extension for photographers to check quickly metadata of an image.
Summing Up
These are the best Windows File Explorer extensions to improve the usability to the next level. The main purpose of these services is to provide a better navigational experience to the users. Please suggest your valuable comments below based on how they can be organized in different ways? and how does each extension became useful for you?