Is there a Linux equivalent to Windows Explorer?

273 · 01-11-2019, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lysander666

The issue is that many Windows users don't have cognisance of what closed v open source really means. Secondly many don't have any experience or frame of reference about OSs outside of Windows. Given that, it's not unreasonable that they would expect things to be the same.

It's another extension of the Plato's Cave analogy: they've been shielded from what's actually going on and what's available. They're told about a new OS, get attracted by the fact that it's free, fast etc and then get shocked when it's not the same, so many run back to the safety of familiarity. Some people are actually scared of OSs that aren't Windows - and that's not an exaggeration.

It may seem unreasonable to some people here, but that's because we're on the other side - on the other side of the curtain, away from the shadows, out of the cave mouth. I don't blame Windows users for their ignorance, if anyone's to blame it's the corporations.

I do blame the Windows users -- you choose to either try something, work with it, or not. i've posted before that, if you don't want choice, just use Android or iOS. If you choose to try Linux you need to do so for the right reasons or it is not right for you. I speak to my younger self here, also.

cwizardone · 01-11-2019, 12:48 PM

Some message board software has the option of putting the date the thread was created on a second line under the title, e.g.,

Is there a Linux equivalent to Windows Explorer?
Posted by Robert Hope on 01-02-2015.

Lysander666 · 01-11-2019, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 273

If you choose to try Linux you need to do so for the right reasons or it is not right for you.

There are multiple reasons why someone would want to use Linux, e.g. to get away from Windows, because they don't want to pay, to learn about libre software, to have fun with computers. These are all valid. There are, unfortunately, many users who want to flee Windows, become interested in Linux but fail to grasp how to use it - there could be many reasons for this, one of which is the psychological programming they have undergone as Windows users. I think Linux is right for everybody, but there are different levels of experience and conditioning that make switching harder. Factor in time, other commitments, proprietary software compatibility and it can become rather tricky.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cwizardone

Some message board software has the option of putting the date the thread was created on a second line under the title, e.g.,

Is there a Linux equivalent to Windows Explorer?
Posted by Robert Hope on 01-02-2015.

Indeed, I think some of us are just enjoying the debating aspect [well, I am].

zeebra · 01-11-2019, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yancek

This thread was started over 4 years ago and the OP never returned or responded to anything.

Wow, people keep opening old threads, huh?

Quote:

Originally Posted by yancek

Reading his post my first question is, why not keep using windows explorer. The OP never explained why he couldn't or wouldn't continue to use it.

Are you serious?

Quote:

Originally Posted by yancek

I'm not sure based on this, if the OP was serious. Doing an online search with the terms "Linux equivalent to windows explorer" gets 2 million hits so if the OP was serious, that might have provided a solution!

If the OP wants a quick solution to his problem, pay someone to resolve it. It's not the responsibility of volunteer member here or at any other forum to cater to the whims of other users.

If someone is confused by choices, then stick with something where you do not have to make choices, where all the choices are made for you.

What is this forum for then? I think it is a perfectly legit question to ask if there is any equivalent to program x or y in Windows in GNU/Linux. Sure, people can search thing online themselves as well, but I don't think it's really smart of people to answer people on a forum "use search engine x to find an answer to your question".

It takes a higher effort to search something you do not know or understand in a search engine than it does to search something you know. Besides, search engines are very poor at giving answers to questions or getting specific. Sure, if you know the topic and you know how to use a search engine, you can find answers to alot of things. But search engines are not "all that". Unless the question is ridiculous, it is rude to tell people to look up the answer on a search engine.

zeebra · 01-11-2019, 01:27 PM

Anyways, a DEFINETE answer to this thread is:

KONQUEROR

It is similar to how Windows users are used to with Windows Explorer. And as someone mentioned, it works across different desktop environments.

Question closed. But let the thread live on!

273 · 01-11-2019, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeebra

Anyways, a DEFINETE answer to this thread is:

KONQUEROR

It is similar to how Windows users are used to with Windows Explorer. And as someone mentioned, it works across different desktop environments.

Question closed. But let the thread live on!

I tend to find that Thunar provides much the same as Windows Explorer does but without the, weird, random, "collections" of files and, also, Thunar displays the actual path to a file over a network.
(Yes, I saw this is an old thread but I think it applies as much today as it ever did)

zeebra · 01-11-2019, 01:37 PM

Thunar does in no way look like Windows Explorer though.

I could just as well say Dolphin because I like it, but it depends on KDE libs, and it is not similar to Windows Explorer. It is more similar to the one in Mac OS X. I'd say Thunar is pretty similar to Dolphin.

Konqueror IS similar to Windows Explorer.

273 · 01-11-2019, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeebra

Thunar does in no way look like Windows Explorer though.

I could just as well say Dolphin because I like it, but it depends on KDE libs, and it is not similar to Windows Explorer. It is more similar to the one in Mac OS X. I'd say Thunar is pretty similar to Dolphin.

Konqueror IS similar to Windows Explorer.

it depends how it is configured -- my Thunar instance has the same tree on the left and the same choice of views on the right as well as a lot of things, like opening zip files in place, which explorer has. I use both every day and don't have an issue switching.

zeebra · 01-11-2019, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 273

it depends how it is configured -- my Thunar instance has the same tree on the left and the same choice of views on the right as well as a lot of things, like opening zip files in place, which explorer has. I use both every day and don't have an issue switching.

I'm sure Thunar is great. I like Dolphin alot, it can do alot and be configured in many ways, and Thunar looks similar to it, so I'm sure I'd like Thunar as well. Anyways, I know Dolphin is (and probably Thunar as well) more powerful and flexible than Windows Explorer even though they look more simple than Windows explorer.

That doesn't change the fact that Konqueror is far more like Windows Explorer than Dolphin is (and thus Thunar too).

ondoho · 01-11-2019, 01:53 PM

I have absolutely NO interest in "bringing people over from windows" or some such.

in fact, i think it's outright detrimental for the development of GNU/Linux as a whole.

As long as Linux doesn't come preinstalled on millions of devices, with people getting paid to make the "UX" pleasurable (*), using it will always require a change of usage habits, even a shift in paradigm.

(*) an absolute horror scenario for me in every way.
give me a clunky desktop any day! developed by unpaid nerds for their own needs in a true community effort.

273 · 01-11-2019, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeebra

I'm sure Thunar is great. I like Dolphin alot, it can do alot and be configured in many ways, and Thunar looks similar to it, so I'm sure I'd like Thunar as well. Anyways, I know Dolphin is (and probably Thunar as well) more powerful and flexible than Windows Explorer even though they look more simple than Windows explorer.

That doesn't change the fact that Konqueror is far more like Windows Explorer than Dolphin is (and thus Thunar too).

I suppose, really, all are "file managers" so, to those of us who have used a few, "all look the same".

zeebra · 01-11-2019, 01:58 PM

You have a good point ondoho.

I'd personally like to see Microsoft, Google and Apple bankrupt though. The low quality they deliver and the money they get for it is ridiculous.

GNU/Linux for everyone could literally bankrupt all those companies. Just hardware companies would survive, and they would have to adapt to the needs of the people who buy them.

But yes, I see your point as well, and I understand it, I even agree with it to some degree. Imagine if everything in GNU/Linux became like Ubuntu and SystemD. Yuk.

zeebra · 01-11-2019, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 273

I suppose, really, all are "file managers" so, to those of us who have used a few, "all look the same".

Well, Thunar is "light weight", and so is Dolphin.. Konqueror is heavy and dense like Windows Explorer. It's not a bad file manager, it's better than Windows Explorer, which is not a very poor file manager, but leave some things to be desired. Both look and feel different than Thunar/Dolphin and the one in Mac OS X.

Heck, when I changed from Konqueror to Dolphin, I thought Dolphin was too light weight and missed many of the features I wanted in a file manager. I didn't even like Dolphin at first. Eventually I got used to it though, and although it is very stripped down, it is still powerful, way more so than Windows Explorer, despite the heavy weight and complexity of the latter (and Konqueror).

ondoho · 01-11-2019, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeebra

You have a good point ondoho.

I'd personally like to see Microsoft, Google and Apple bankrupt though. The low quality they deliver and the money they get for it is ridiculous.

GNU/Linux for everyone could literally bankrupt all those companies. Just hardware companies would survive, and they would have to adapt to the needs of the people who buy them.

i don't believe in that scenario, or that GNU/Linux as a whole (?) could somehow magically step in and save the day.
definitely not without becoming a "low quality and money" company itself.
which is all purely hypothetical; GNU/Linux as a whole relies on the GPL and other mechanisms that make it impossible to go that way.

rightly so.

let RedHat & co. have some percentages, even google's rape of the kernel doesn't make my stomach churn anymore, as long as the GPL survives and using GNU/Linux still requires a small initial hurdle, namely installing it (which, believe me, 90+% of all computer users don't do; ever).

273 · 01-11-2019, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ondoho

i don't believe in that scenario, or that GNU/Linux as a whole (?) could somehow magically step in and save the day.
definitely not without becoming a "low quality and money" company itself.
which is all purely hypothetical; GNU/Linux as a whole relies on the GPL and other mechanisms that make it impossible to go that way.

rightly so.

let RedHat & co. have some percentages, even google's rape of the kernel doesn't make my stomach churn anymore, as long as the GPL survives and using GNU/Linux still requires a small initial hurdle, namely installing it (which, believe me, 90+% of all computer users don't do; ever).

Well said! GNU/Linux (in general) is great for anyone not wanting to "do what everyone else is doing" and, were it to become more widely used, it would fall into the same traps as Windows and other OSs have.
As long as choice exists let the options be different! And, long live choice!