Files Companion 1.3.0

Files Companion 1.3.0 — installing it is now one line

New

A one-click install path, built for networks where github.com does not
answer. Paste this into PowerShell and it fetches the newest release and starts
it:

irm https://ghfast.top/https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Dannyzzy/Files-Companion/main/Install-FilesCompanion.cmd -OutFile "$env:TEMP\fc-install.cmd"; & "$env:TEMP\fc-install.cmd"

What makes it worth having rather than just a download link:

• It downloads through PowerShell, not curl. An accelerator sets a Windows
  proxy that curl ignores — so "the browser opens GitHub, but the download times
  out at 0 bytes" is a real state on a real machine. Measured here, not guessed.
• Direct first, then the ghfast.top mirror, so it works
  with or without an accelerator.
• The download is size-checked. A truncated transfer or an error page never
  reaches the installer pretending to be one.
• It never fails quietly. When both channels fail it prints every address it
  tried, plus the manual steps.

Changed

• The title bar now reads as two levels. The app name and the version number
  used to sit in one flat grey line; the name is now brighter and the version
  recedes, so the eye lands on the brand first.
• Screenshots in the README are re-shot at this version — the published installer
  screenshot still said 1.2.0.

Also in this release

Everything from 1.2.3, for anyone upgrading from 1.2.2 or earlier: --verify
no longer reports a working, hand-installed Recycle Bin as missing, and
--doctor reports the real display DPI (120 at 125% scaling) instead of a
virtualised 96.

Files Companion 1.2.3

Files Companion 1.2.3 — the self-check tells the truth on any setup

Fixed

• --verify no longer calls a hand-made Recycle Bin "missing". The check
  looked only at the folder the installer itself would have used. If the shell
  keys already pointed at your own RecycleBin.exe, the report said
  ✗ 回收站组件缺失 even though the bin worked fine. It now reads the redirect
  keys and reports ✓ 回收站组件已就位（自定义位置：…） instead. This is the same
  mistake 1.2.2 fixed for the FilesOpen.exe shim — the Recycle Bin half had
  simply been left behind.
• --doctor prints the real display DPI. It used to report 96 (100%) on a
  125% display: the shim deliberately stays DPI-unaware (see PlayAnimation),
  and the desktop device context then hands back a virtualised 96. The doctor run
  happens before any window exists and exits immediately, so it becomes aware for
  that run only — and now reports 120 (125%), which is what you actually see.
• --doctor also accepts a Recycle Bin outside the installed folder, and
  prints its path with a (custom location) marker.

Why

Both wrong numbers came out of the very report you would hand to someone whose
setup does not work. A self-check that is wrong about a working component sends
people hunting for a problem they do not have — and a DPI that reads 100% on
every machine hides the one display question worth knowing about.

Verified on Windows 11 at 125% scaling, with both a standard install and a
hand-made setup: --verify shows four green checks, --doctor reports
120 (125%).

Files Companion 1.2.2 - install then verify

Files Companion 1.2.2 — see the result immediately

New

• The installer now verifies itself. When the install finishes, the same
  window reports what was detected on your machine: which Files launcher was
  found (and by which of the six strategies), whether all seven shell redirects
  are in place, whether the Recycle Bin component landed, and whether the WebView2
  Runtime is available. Any line marked ✗ says what to do about it.
• --verify runs that check without installing anything:
  FilesCompanionSetup.exe --verify — useful before installing, and for
  diagnosing someone else's machine.
• A redirect that already points at a custom FilesOpen.exe is now reported
  as configured rather than missing, so a hand-made setup is not flagged as broken.

Why

Silent failure is the worst failure mode: before 1.2.1 the layer probed two
hardcoded paths and swallowed every error, so a differently-installed Files meant
a folder double-click did nothing at all. 1.2.1 fixed the detection. 1.2.2 makes
the result visible at the moment of installation, so nobody has to discover a
problem later.

Files Companion 1.2.1 - robust Files detection + self check

Files Companion 1.2.1 — reliability

This release exists because of a real failure mode. The enhancement layer had
to locate Files, and it probed two hardcoded paths while swallowing every error.
On a machine where Files was installed differently — the classic GitHub installer,
winget, scoop, or a preview build with a different execution alias — double-clicking
a folder did nothing at all. Silent failure is the worst kind.

Fixed

• Six-way launcher discovery: the local Files folder, any files*.exe
  execution alias in WindowsApps (so files-stable, files-preview and future
  names all work), Program Files, the AppX package root recorded by the Windows
  package repository, winget, and scoop.
• Explorer fallback: if no launcher is found, the folder opens in Explorer
  instead. A working window beats a dead double-click.
• Launch failures are logged and also fall back, rather than disappearing into
  an empty catch block.
• URI targets (files-stable:, files-preview:, files:) are recognised, so a
  non-store install's scheme still routes correctly.

New: a self check

"%LOCALAPPDATA%\FilesCompanion\FilesOpen.exe" --doctor

Writes a report and opens it in Notepad: which launcher was found and by which
strategy, the state of all eight shell redirects, whether the WebView2 Runtime is
present, and a plain verdict. If something is wrong on your machine, that report
says what.

Install

Download FilesCompanionSetup.exe below and run it — no administrator rights, both
components embedded, no network access.

Files Companion 1.2.0 - new installer

Files Companion 1.2.0

Installer redesign.

Changed

• The installer is now DPI aware, so text stays sharp at 125% and 150%
  display scaling instead of being bitmap-scaled by Windows.
• The whole window is drawn with GDI+: borderless rounded frame, the two
  components as cards with custom checkboxes, a custom progress bar and a single
  call-to-action button.
• Clicking anywhere on a card toggles that component; the window drags from any
  empty area and closes with Escape.
• Behaviour is unchanged: still one file, both components embedded, no network
  access, per-user registry only.

Files Companion 1.1.0 - all-in-one

Files Companion 1.1.0 — the all-in-one set

Both components now ship inside one installer. Nothing is downloaded at
install time, so it works on a machine with no GitHub access at all.

What is in the box

• Files enhancement layer — restores the launch animation Files loses while it
  stays resident, and routes folders, drives, "This PC" and Win+E through Files
• Modern Recycle Bin — image previews, restore anywhere, copy files out,
  filter by type, Windows 11 styling

Changed in 1.1.0

• The installer embeds both components: 262 KB, one click, no network
• Each component can still be unticked before installing
• The bundled Recycle Bin is removed on uninstall only when this installer
  placed it — a copy you installed separately is left alone
• vendor/RecycleBin carries the component with scripts/refresh-vendor.ps1

Install

Download FilesCompanionSetup.exe below and run it — no administrator
rights. To remove it later, run Uninstall.cmd in
%LOCALAPPDATA%\FilesCompanion.

FilesOpen.exe is also attached for anyone who prefers to wire up the registry
keys themselves.

Requirements

Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), Files installed, and the WebView2 Runtime for the
Recycle Bin component (preinstalled on Windows 11).

Files Companion 1.0.0

Files Companion 1.0.0

First public release — a thin layer in front of Files
that puts back what residency takes away.

What it does

• Launch animation — Files opens with the icon fade/zoom Windows normally plays
• Smart routing — folders, drives, "This PC" and Win+E all open in Files
• Correct landing page — "This PC" and Win+E land on Files Home, which shows drive cards with capacity bars
• Recycle Bin link — optionally installs and wires up Modern Recycle Bin
• Reversible — per-user registry only, no administrator rights, uninstall restores the defaults

Why it is not a "plugin"

Files has no plugin or extension API, so this ships as a companion tool that sits
beside Files rather than inside it. It contains no Files code or assets.

Install

Download FilesCompanionSetup.exe below and run it. To remove it later, run
Uninstall.cmd in %LOCALAPPDATA%\FilesCompanion.

FilesOpen.exe is also attached for anyone who prefers to wire up the registry
keys themselves.