Hello all,
I’m the author of
SystemPanel and would like to ask for help from testers to get feedback for a new application, “FX File Explorer”. FX intends to be an uncluttered, everyday-usable file manager for Android. The primary development goal has been to create the same level of usability, intuitiveness, and efficiency as that offered by the file manager on your desktop computer.
Here’s a quick Youtube video I’ve put together for the beta:
NextApp FX File Explorer for Android: Demo 1 - YouTube
When you start FX, you’ll see the “home screen” that presents a list of “catalogs” containing files, media, and network locations:
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You can browse and manage files directly by opening the media card item:
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Local media files can be browsed/indexed by their media type, i.e., photos, music, and videos. When browsing media, the media is logically categorized by its purpose. For example, the audio catalog is browseable by artist, album, all tracks, or playlist. Shown here are the album view and playlist view/editor:
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The images catalog is browseable by “camera roll”, by individual folders which contain images, or by viewing all images at once. This is an image folder view (displayed as thumbnails and as a list):
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FX has the ability to transfer files to/from Windows network shares, FTP sites, SSH servers, via Bluetooth FTP, and to online cloud storage services (Dropbox, SugarSync, and Box). Working with network files does not appear significantly different from working with files stored on your media card. Network bookmarks can be created for quick access to your computers/servers, with (optional) encrypted password storage such that a single “keyring” password is used to access them from your device:
. . .
FX also supports sending files over Bluetooth via OBEX Push...with a twist. You can (*optionally*) have FX send files over WiFi rather than Bluetooth when both sending and receiving phones are using FX and both phones are on the same WiFi network. This can significantly improve the data transfer rate.
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FX also supports browsing with multiple windows. Just tap the Window menu to switch windows or create/destroy them. The "Operations" item shows you all currently running, completed, and failed operations.
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The root module (
available as a separate download, free-to-use during beta) adds the ability to manipulate file systems as root, remount file systems as writable, and change permissions and ownership. The root module is purpose-built for Android's modified Linux (e.g., the set ownership dialog allows you to assign ownership to installed applications).
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. . .
Full documentation is available in the app (tap “Tools”, then “Help”) and also online here:
Documentation | android.nextapp.com
Many more screenshots can be found here:
Screenshot Tour | android.nextapp.com
A beta is out now on the Android market, just search for “FX File Explorer”, or
click here. As usual for NextApp products, everything is free while in beta. Once it hits 1.0, a full paid version is released and the beta expires to become the Lite version. Both versions will have NO ADS. You can also turn off the paid features in the beta entirely *right now* using the very first option in the settings. The free Lite version is still a full-featured file manager, but without the media and network catalogs.
I would greatly appreciate bug reports, feature suggestions, and generally any recommendation about how to make it better. Minor issues/nitpicking/subtle tweak suggestions are equally appreciated: what annoys you may annoy others as well. The goal here is that this product be as convenient and straightforward to use as a desktop file manager.
Thanks for trying it and for any feedback!
--Tod
Download via Android Market
The root access add-on (a paid feature, but free in beta) may be downloaded separately from our web site:
Root Access for FX File Explorer | android.nextapp.com
Post edited 2012/Mar/21: Revised screenshots, root information.