v1.3.0-beta.3

UltraExplorer v1.3.0-beta.3

Quick Look that is easier to use.

This beta refines the file preview from beta.2 and retains its quiet GitHub update
mechanism. Installation still requires your explicit Install update click.

• Images zoom with the ordinary mouse wheel, keeping the point under the cursor
  stable. Drag to pan; Ctrl+wheel scrolls vertically and Ctrl+Shift+wheel
  scrolls horizontally. PDF scrolling retains its usual wheel behavior and
  explicit Ctrl+wheel zoom.
• Open is the accented primary action, ahead of the smaller Recycle Bin
  button. Its arrow lists Windows-registered applications with their icons and
  Choose another app. Missing default associations return to this menu
  without the previous Windows error dialog. Existing file defaults are kept.
• Closing an active modeless preview returns activation to its visible,
  non-minimized explorer owner before the preview HWND is destroyed. An
  intentionally minimized owner or another foreground application is respected.
  Delayed text loading also avoids taking focus after switching away.
• Audio shows a compact named card with its duration rather than a blank video
  canvas. Video keeps its large viewport. Both use themed thin timelines,
  rounded slider thumbs, accessible playback icons and a compact speed menu.
  Space toggles playback on the media surface; focused buttons and sliders keep
  their own keyboard behavior. Scrubbing still displays actual decoded frames.

Quick text editing, encoding-preserving saves, read-only archive provenance,
F3D previews and the independent optional tools remain included. No full external
editor/player interface is added to the preview.

Download

• Installer — UltraExplorer-Setup-x64.exe
• Portable — UltraExplorer-win-x64.zip: extract the complete folder and run UltraExplorer.exe.
• SHA-256 checksums

Both packages contain .NET/WPF and the preview engines. Your settings, notes and
color tags remain in the existing profile. This prerelease leaves v1.2.1 as the
stable latest release.

Testing and limits

The new checks use generated PNG/PDF/text/WAV/AVI/OBJ files, real Windows
association enumeration and Shell file data, actual mpv/F3D processes, and real
owned window handles. External application launches are intercepted in these
fixtures, so these tests do not claim every installed application was launched.
Normal/maximized owner state, caption close, cancellation, dirty-note saves,
toolbar keyboard behavior, image pointer geometry and stale menu actions are
covered. Offscreen renders check the actual theme and compact layouts.
Hosted Windows checks use F3D's upstream Mesa software-rendering recipe in an
isolated test copy and a null audio output for generated muted media. They still
require real decoded content, rendering, IPC and native process teardown. The
downloaded application keeps its regular graphics and audio drivers.

Format, archive, GPU and native-call limits from beta.1 still apply. The
conditional activation fix addresses the owner handoff; it does not force a
hidden or intentionally minimized explorer to reappear. The
quiet update policy
and protected-folder/manual-installer limits remain unchanged.

Report an issue with repeatable
steps, the file type and screenshots with private names hidden.

What's Changed

• Refine Quick Look image controls, Windows app menu and compact media playback by @So2K in #7

Full Changelog: v1.3.0-beta.2...v1.3.0-beta.3

v1.3.0-beta.2

UltraExplorer v1.3.0-beta.2

Quiet update checks. Installation when you choose.

This beta retains the lightweight previews and optional tools from
v1.3.0-beta.1
and adds the quiet GitHub update mechanism.

The normal explorer waits 30 seconds after starting before checking. It checks
at most once every 24 hours, downloads a newer compatible package quietly with
a 512 KiB/s limit, and shows a tiny ring followed by a blue arrow in the top-left
title bar. There are no automatic update popups, banners or installation.

Click the arrow to see the version. Install update verifies the cached
package, closes the application normally, updates its current writable folder
and restarts it. Later keeps the current version. Turning off
Settings → About → Receive updates cancels checking and downloading and
hides the indicator. Existing settings, notes and color tags are preserved.

The updater runs only while the normal explorer is open. It adds no service,
scheduled task, sign-in entry or telemetry. Its installation helper runs only
after the user's explicit click. Stable installations stay on stable releases;
betas can receive newer beta or stable releases.

Download

• Installer — UltraExplorer-Setup-x64.exe
• Portable — UltraExplorer-win-x64.zip: extract the complete folder and run UltraExplorer.exe.
• SHA-256 checksums

Both packages include .NET/WPF and the preview engines. Versions released before
this updater was added need this installer or portable package once to obtain
the feature. This prerelease keeps v1.2.1 as the stable latest release.

Limits and feedback

The preview/format and archive limits from beta.1 still apply. For protected or
read-only application folders, use the ordinary installer; the quiet updater
refuses file replacement before closing windows. A refused close or note-save
conflict keeps the existing version and buffer. Recovery waits for a stalled
integration operation rather than forcing application processes to exit.

See the update behavior and verification
and beta testing guide.
Report an issue with repeatable
steps and private names removed.

What's Changed

• Add quiet GitHub update downloads with installation only on user request by @So2K in #6

Full Changelog: v1.3.0-beta.1...v1.3.0-beta.2

v1.3.0-beta.1

UltraExplorer v1.3.0-beta.1

Select a file. Tap Space. Keep working.

This Windows x64 beta adds compact file previews and quick text editing to
UltraExplorer's zoomable map. It also brings three optional tools: archive
browsing, a drop shelf and a copy-path button. The smooth F focus, Tags,
file-operation and Windows-dialog fixes from v1.2.1 remain included.

Quick Look and movement

• Select a file and tap Space to open Quick Look. A tap released before
  200 ms opens the selected file, even when the pointer is over another item.
• Hold Space and move the pointer to pan immediately. Space+drag also works.
  Releasing Space stops that movement.
• Ctrl+Space and Quick Look in the file menu remain available.
• Use Open for the default application or its arrow for Open with.
  Previous/next buttons browse files already loaded in the current folder.
• For ordinary files, Delete moves the current file to the Recycle Bin.

Hover previews are enabled by default. They show content without changing
selection; Layers → Hover previews or Settings can turn them off.

Preview, edit and save

• Images have fit and zoom controls, orientation handling and expanded format
  decoding through Magick.NET, including WebP, AVIF, PSD and TGA.
• PDFs show rendered pages with page navigation and zoom.
• F3D provides an interactive 3D viewport with a compact Fit/reset control.
• Media starts paused, with play/pause, Stop, a seek timeline, speed and volume.
• Complete plain-text files up to 2 MiB open ready to edit. Ctrl+S saves
  now; closing, pressing Escape or switching files saves in the original
  encoding, BOM and line endings. An external-change conflict or failed write
  keeps the buffer available instead of silently replacing newer content.
• Supported Office and OpenDocument files show read-only extracted text or
  cells. Other readable files can show information and a hexadecimal header.

Three optional tools

Open Settings → View → Optional features. Each switch is independent,
remembered and off by default. File dialogs keep these tools disabled.

• Browse archives as folders opens supported archives on the nested
  canvas using bundled 7-Zip 26.04. Copy, drag or extract entries out to get
  ordinary files. Quick Look explicitly extracts an entry to a temporary,
  read-only copy and shows its archive origin. Entries cannot be edited,
  overwritten or recycled inside the archive; hovering does not extract them.
• Drop shelf adds a board at the right edge. Drag files onto it, then drag
  cards out when needed. Turning it off hides the board while retaining cards
  for up to seven days. Ordinary cards link to their source paths; temporary
  sources are copied into the shelf's cache.
• Copy path button adds a small button on hovered files and folder titles
  in the nested canvas.

Archive review tightened extraction paths, case-sensitive entry handling,
cache publication, password ownership and propagation of downloaded-file
origin metadata. Turning archive browsing off or changing to the tree canvas
leaves virtual archive locations safely. Search timeout, unreadable-settings
and Space-pan recovery fixes are included too.

Thanks to whostea's contribution
for the optional tools and related fixes.

Download

Windows 11, x64. Both packages include the .NET/WPF runtime and preview engines.

• Installer — UltraExplorer-Setup-x64.exe
• Portable — UltraExplorer-win-x64.zip: extract the entire folder, then run UltraExplorer.exe.
• SHA-256 checksums

The installer and portable build use the same local profile for preferences,
favorites, colors and notes. Optional Windows integration keeps its separate
preferences. This prerelease leaves v1.2.1
as the stable release.

Limits and feedback

This beta is for real-world feedback on the combined preview and optional-tool
workflows. Support varies by file and decoder; it does not promise that every
format or desktop interaction has been tested.

• Extracted Office content does not reproduce rich layout or provide document
  editing. Legacy binary Office files, encrypted PDFs, unsupported proprietary
  models and codecs may fall back to information or a header view.
• Partial and binary content stays read-only. Cloud placeholders are skipped
  by passive hover previews.
• A bounded thumbnail cache does not bound every decoder's internal memory.
  Native parsers and blocking OS reads cannot always be interrupted immediately.
• Archive fixtures cover ZIP, 7z, tar, gzip, encryption and nested archives.
  RAR, multipart archives and ISO have not had equivalent fixture coverage.
  Whole extraction refuses output names that collide on Windows by case.
• The existing long-folder Shell, graph-refresh identity and GPU presentation
  limits remain recorded in the v1.2.1 review.

Follow the beta testing guide
for short, repeatable checks. Report an issue
with the app and Windows versions, file type, steps, expected result and actual
result. A screenshot with private names hidden can help; use a generated sample
when sharing a reproduction.

What's Changed

• Release v1.3.0 beta: lightweight Quick Look and optional archive tools by @So2K in #5
• Archives as folders, the shelf, a copy-path button, and four fixes by @whostea in #4

New Contributors

• @whostea made their first contribution in #4

Full Changelog: v1.2.1...v1.3.0-beta.1

v1.2.1

UltraExplorer v1.2.1

Lost a selected file on the map? Press F.

F smoothly zooms to the selected file or folder, using the same camera
motion as Tags and favorites. A file gets a large centered card, not merely
its parent folder. Selection and history stay unchanged. Typing in an editor
and Ctrl+F search keep their existing meanings.

Review fixes

• Precise focus follows sorting, live directory changes and window resizing;
  later selection, pane changes and manual movement cancel stale flights.
• Batch/script drops no longer pass raw filenames through command-text
  parsing. Supported batch names round-trip literally; unsafe configured
  command templates fail with an explanation.
• Missing or inaccessible transfer sources cannot produce a false successful
  copy/move acknowledgement.
• Folder requests avoid closing or busy windows. Hide and multi-reveal
  operations use current graph objects after asynchronous reads.
• The local source updater preserves unlisted files and nested additions and
  rolls back only package-owned files. Test isolation and local version
  metadata have also been tightened.

Download

Windows 11, x64. Both packages include the .NET and WPF runtime.

• Installer — UltraExplorer-Setup-x64.exe
• Portable — UltraExplorer-win-x64.zip: extract the entire folder, then run UltraExplorer.exe.
• SHA-256 checksums

Preferences, favorites, colors and notes remain in your local profile.
Optional Windows integration and Win+E keep their independent preferences.

Validation and limits

The self-contained Release build has zero warnings and zero errors. New
focus and safety regressions pass 109/109, with a separate 16/16
lifecycle child; Tags pass 35/35, updater fixtures 47/47, and the full
native-dialog fixture 661/661. The product-code broad run reported
4530/4533: two retained limits and an older test fixture subsequently
corrected and rechecked 45/45. This is not a fully green broad total.
Exact native and broad qualification is recorded in the
review report.

This patch does not replace Windows Shell's recursive long-folder limit,
the graph's refresh identity model or the GPU presentation architecture.
Advanced script shortcuts with preset commands are deliberately rejected.
The stable-channel label does not mean every earlier finding or broad test
is resolved. See the review report for the exact results and limitations.

Project page · Report an issue · Русский

What's Changed

• Release v1.2.1: smooth selected-item focus and full-review safety fixes by @So2K in #3

Full Changelog: v1.2.0...v1.2.1

v1.2.0

UltraExplorer v1.2.0

Your files. One zoomable map.

v1.2.0 brings the saved review work into the native Windows file manager:
18 work packages, plus cross-file fixes for navigation, selection, file
commands, shared marks and optional Windows integration. It is published
without a beta label. The stable-channel designation is a release decision,
not a claim that every test passes or every review finding is closed.

Highlights

• Safer file actions. An externally deleted folder no longer makes the
  list select its parent for the next Delete. External drops negotiate an
  asynchronous handoff when supported; other sources remain held until the
  actual copy finishes, not through the later folder refreshes. Modern Windows
  IFileOperation handles copy, move, delete and duplicate.
• More consistent navigation. Folder forwarding can happen before WPF
  startup, windows restore before the folder read finishes, and arrow-key
  navigation keeps its target framed. Explorer handoffs retain exact source
  identity and selection, retire abandoned destinations and preserve windows
  the user has already used.
• Marks and visibility stay together. Tags metadata and shared notes are
  preserved through the integration. Rename tracking carries the camera to
  the renamed branch; hidden-folder changes update local filters. Explicit
  Hide from canvas and passive synchronization keep distinct intent.
• Less unnecessary work. Per-volume read lanes, cached beacon placement,
  icon-arrival scoping and reused search rows reduce redundant work. Clipboard
  preparation and supported file-command disk operations run off the UI thread.
• Independent windows and panes. Split transfers reject duplicate key
  repeats, stale list rows cannot act under a new folder title, and prompts
  disable only their owner. Picker freshness and handoff ordering preserve
  native input and the Windows fallback.

Color Tags, notes, favorites, split view, global search and the native
Windows context menu remain available. View all is implemented;
View select remains reserved and disabled.

Download

Windows 11, x64. Both assets include the .NET runtime:

• UltraExplorer-Setup-x64.exe: installer, Start menu entry and uninstaller.
• UltraExplorer-win-x64.zip: extract and run UltraExplorer.exe.

Preferences, favorites, colors and notes live in %LOCALAPPDATA%\UltraExplorer.
Folder/dialog integration and the separate Win+E preference are optional
and off on fresh installations. Unsupported dialogs and locations can stay
with Windows; the dialog footer offers Use the Windows dialog this time.

Validation and known limits

The combined self-contained Release build completed with zero warnings and
zero errors. Its serial broad harness reported 4445/4447, exit code 1,
with all 46 production JSON files byte-identical before and after. Child and
substring-selected groups overlap, so that total is not 4447 unique scenarios.
The two retained failures are disclosed below, not waived.

• Recursive long-folder duplicate. Windows Shell rejects a destination
  tree beyond its limit with COPYENGINE_E_PATH_TOO_DEEP_DEST (0x8027001E).
  Covered long-path file copy/move/delete/duplicate and folder deletion checks
  pass, but recursive duplication is not universally supported. Known long
  source/destination/result paths receive a clear error without the blocking
  native error dialog. Shorten names or move the tree closer to a drive root.
• Returned node identity after refresh. A concurrent ancestor refresh
  can replace the node object returned by a reveal. Exact path resolution and
  the final live active/selected node pass the reproduction, but whether the
  returned reference was already stale at the exact method return still needs
  an owning-dispatcher diagnostic. The intermittent assertion remains failing.

Focused checks also cover Explorer handoffs, file commands, Tags compatibility,
visibility/rename behavior, split panes, native dialog fallback and live-update
startup. Their results do not replace the broad-suite result above. Details
are in the integration checkpoint.

GPU presentation still synchronizes on the shared UI thread. A nonblocking
texture pipeline, deferred saved-expansion replay and identity-preserving large
paged refresh are separate follow-ups, not changes promised by this release.
Third-party Shell extensions can still block after reachability preflight.
The local filter covers loaded branches; very large canvas listings can be
capped. Cold folders and offline shares still depend on filesystem latency.

Demos and feedback

The project page retains the six existing
30 fps APNG demonstrations and GIF alternatives. They use Windows Graphics
Capture, the CPU fallback and a preloaded, generated workspace, with elapsed
frame timestamps; the search demo uses a scoped real directory walk.

Same folder, two views shows native
Explorer's static Details view on the left and UltraExplorer's animated canvas
on the right, on the same 12-level generated destination. It is not a timed
folder-walk race or a disk/GPU benchmark.

For a useful report, include v1.2.0, the Windows version, exact steps, expected
and actual results, and whether the path is local, removable or networked.
Mention Everything and Windows integration if enabled.

Report an issue ·
Build and test · Русский

What's Changed

• Release v1.2.0 beta: native zoomable Explorer, colour Tags and 30 fps demos by @So2K in #1
• Release v1.2.0: out of beta, integrated review fixes and hardened file workflows by @So2K in #2

New Contributors

• @So2K made their first contribution in #1

Full Changelog: v1.1.1...v1.2.0

v1.2.0-beta.1

UltraExplorer v1.2.0-beta.1

Your files. One zoomable map.

This Windows x64 prerelease brings color-tag navigation to UltraExplorer's
zoomable folder map. Mark a folder with a color and reach it from Tags in
the navigation pane, or use its mark as a visual landmark on the canvas.

Color Tags

• Folders with a non-default color appear below Network in the sidebar.
• Click an entry to reveal that exact folder.
• Right-click for Change color or Unpin. Unpin clears the color while
  retaining the folder's note.
• Shift+F10 and the Menu key open the same menu.
• Same-name folders include their parent location so entries can be distinguished.
• Colored files are excluded from the folder Tags list.
• Colors and notes remain shared between app windows and persist across restarts.

Explore the map

Each drive is a root, with folders and files nested inside it. Double-click
to enter a folder, zoom out for context, paste a path to jump there, or reveal
a global search result on the canvas. The Windows shell keeps familiar address
navigation, file operations and context menus around the map.

The native C#/.NET 10 app uses WPF and a Direct3D 11 nested-canvas renderer,
with a CPU fallback. Split view lets two independent cameras work side by
side or top to bottom.

See the project page
for 30 fps animated PNG navigation, search, Tags and split-view demos, with GIF
alternatives. They use Windows Graphics Capture, the CPU fallback and a
preloaded, generated workspace, with elapsed frame timestamps.

Same folder, two views
shows native Explorer's static Details view on the left and UltraExplorer's
animated canvas on the right. Both show the same generated destination, 12
directory levels deep. No artificial disk delay or timing race is introduced.

Download

• UltraExplorer-Setup-x64.exe: installer with Start menu entry and uninstaller.
• UltraExplorer-win-x64.zip: portable build; extract and run UltraExplorer.exe.

Both include the .NET runtime. This release targets Windows 11, x64.
Preferences, favorites, colors and notes live in %LOCALAPPDATA%\UltraExplorer.

Before trying it

• Everything is recommended for indexed global
  search. Without it, UltraExplorer walks directories in the background.
• A camera jump does not remove filesystem latency: a cold folder or offline
  network share still takes time to read.
• Local filtering covers loaded branches; global search is the way to find an
  unvisited path. Very large canvas listings can be capped.
• View all is available; View select remains disabled.
• Windows folder/dialog integration and the separate Win+E preference are
  optional and off on fresh installations. Unsupported locations and dialogs
  retain their original Windows provider. See the
  integration guide.

Feedback

This is a beta release. For a useful bug report, include the app version,
Windows version, exact steps, expected result and actual result. Mention
whether the path is local, removable or networked, and whether Everything or
Windows integration is enabled. A small reproducible case helps most.

Report an issue ·
Build and test ·
Русский

What's Changed

• Release v1.2.0 beta: native zoomable Explorer, colour Tags and 30 fps demos by @So2K in #1

New Contributors

• @So2K made their first contribution in #1

Full Changelog: v1.1.1...v1.2.0-beta.1

v1.1.1

Full Changelog: v1.1.0...v1.1.1

v1.1.0

Full Changelog: v1.0.0...v1.1.0

v1.0.0

Full Changelog: https://github.com/So2K/UltraExplorer/commits/v1.0.0