ES File Explorer has a new UI

[dontpanicbobby]

Came across this news on Android Police tonight and I was surprised that I didn't get an update available notification. I had to update manually through the app itself. Anyway here's what it looks like;



They say there's a classic theme if you want to go back to the old look but I haven't been able to get it to work. The new features list;

V3.0
New UI
Fast Access(Press menu)
Multiple Windows
Send Files By WiFi
Gestures(Drag,Zoom,Slide)
Classic Theme
New Picture,Root Explorer,Tools,...

and the regular features list:
* File Manager

 

[gtbarry]

I was prompted to download the update today by the Play Store. I went to the developer site to find out more about how to do the LAN connections, etc. Nothing about this version. Actually all the info on the site this afternoon was about older versions with version 1.4 being the newest.

http://www.estrongs.com/en/products/es-file-explorer.html

 

[DragonSlayer95]

I noticed the update this morning. It's definitely something different to get use to.

The theme has to be downloaded in the themes menu, worked for me :thumbup:

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Okay. I figured I had to be missing something simple. Thanks DragonSlayer95.

 

[RazzMaTazz]

Aside from the slick new interface, one thing that I REALLY like better about this new version is that it's much easier to launch the "Remote Manager" (FTP server) so that I can more easily access my phone's SD card from my PC via WiFi without connecting a USB cable to my PC (as long as they're connected to the same WiFi router).

To make the "Remote Manager" accessible (with a single swipe) on the ES File Explorer home screen do the following (which you only have to do once):
1) Launch ES File Explorer
2) Hit the Android "settings" button on your phone.
3) Select "Settings" (on the lower right menu).
4) Select "Window Settings".
5) Select "Set the default windows".
6) Check the "Remote Manager" box, and hit "OK".
Now the "Remote Manager" can easily be accessed from the home screen by swiping left or right to it. Note that the FTP address is typically something like "192.168.1.122:3721".

On your Windows 7 PC (other Windows versions use a similar procedure) you can create a "shortcut" to your phone's SD card (via FTP) by doing the following.
1) Double-click the "Computer" or "Network" icon.
2) On the left side-bar, right-click "Computer" and select "Add a network location". (The Network Location Wizard appears.) Hit "Next".
3) Highlight "Choose a custom network location" and hit "Next".
4) Type the address of your phone's FTP server (e.g. "ftp://192.168.1.122:3721").
5) Click "Next" to login anonymously.
6) Choose a name for the folder, e.g. "Cell phone SD card".
7) Click "Next" and "Finish".
That FTP shortcut will appear on the left of your folder below the "Computer" icon. You can drag it to you desktop or someplace else, if you like.

Then anytime you want to access your phone's SD card from your PC (if they're both connected to the same WiFi router):
1) Launch ES File Explorer.
2) Swipe right to the "Remote Manger".
3) Hit "Turn On".
4) From your PC double-click on the FTP shortcut folder that you created.

For me that's much easier than plugging in a USB cable and turning on/off the USB connection. (I always forget to turn off the USB storage, which sometimes messes up my SD card and always causes Android to check it for errors.

Note: You can set up the FTP server to either turn off whenever you exit ES File Explorer, or to stay on until you turn it off by access it from the notification bar.

 

[funkylogik]

Yeah i got the update lastnight, was gona start a thread about peoples opinions but forgot. I dont wana say i dont like the new UI but a file explorer is just a tool and i was really used to using the old one. Now im having to think about what im doing so its like i just started usin a completely new app. Dont know weather to just get used to this one or download an older apk

 

[OstrichSaK]

I hate it. I can't find the option to 'Select All' which was something I used REGULARLY. The app description says to find it in the menu at the bottom. I have no menu at the bottom. WTF?!?

 

[DragonSlayer95]

I hate it. I can't find the option to 'Select All' which was something I used REGULARLY. The app description says to find it in the menu at the bottom. I have no menu at the bottom. WTF?!?

When you long press on something and it now let's you select multiple files, look at the top right you'll see 4 "check marks" in the shape of a square. That's the select all

 

[OstrichSaK]

When you long press on something and it now let's you select multiple files, look at the top right you'll see 4 "check marks" in the shape of a square. That's the select all

Well, that's anything but intuitive.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

OstrichSaK with es open tap on the settings key, settings icon in the panel that opens, then Display settings then check the box that says show select button in toolbat. Go to a folder with a lot of filed, tap the select button, then the icon in the upper right corner with all the check marks in it. That's select all.

 

[OstrichSaK]

OstrichSaK with es open tap on the settings key, settings icon in the panel that opens, then Display settings then check the box that says show select button in toolbat. Go to a folder with a lot of filed, tap the select button, then the icon in the upper right corner with all the check marks in it. That's select all.

Thank you. The app is once again usable for me. This should be the default and to me the new GUI just seems more confusing than anything. Hopefully they don't lose to many users over this because this really is my favorite file explorer for Android.

 

[UncleMike]

I hate it...

Me too. I was perfectly happy with the old UI, in which I routinely long-pressed the UP button to exit the app. Now the UP button doesn't even exist.

It probably has some nice new features, but I was sorely disappointed when I went to share something from another app and saw "Send by LAN" as an option, only to find out that I use it to send something to an SMB share on my LAN, or to any servers of cloud services configured in the app, and that it's apparently used to share with another device that's also running ES File Explorer.

 

[OstrichSaK]

To have such a drastic change in layout w/o giving the user the option to revert back is foolish & losing them users left & right.

 

[electricpete]

Video here shows a pretty good overview of the new xda version which seems very similar to the new Google Play version:
Android App Review: New UI for ES File Explorer

Astro file manger pulled an identical switcheroo recently. Their's was a little worse. Not only completely re-vamped UI, but seems slow and susceptible to crashing from time to time which is not acceptable and is the reason I am out shopping for new file explorers looking at ES File explorer.

Both new versions are more tightly integrated with the various cloud services. I'm wondering if developers get any monetary benefit from this.

 

[RazzMaTazz]

To have such a drastic change in layout w/o giving the user the option to revert back is foolish & losing them users left & right.

It's good to make Titanium Backups of apps before you download the new version. That way you can revert to the old version if you like.

 

[funkylogik]

Yeah i gave the new one a chance but ive went back to the old one
To be fair to the dev', its a completely free app and a good one at that :thumbup:

 

[BigRedGonzo]

I was on the Beta test for ES File Explorer 3. I like change, so the change in the UI didn't bother me. Some folks complained about it and that's when the skin for the old version was implemented. I particularly like the cloud integration. I use cloud storage a lot and once your cloud storage is set up, its just like using another drive with ES3. I cycled through several before finding ES have never looked back.

BigRedGonzo

 

[funkylogik]

Yeah i feel kinda bad for not "embracing" change lol but to me a file explorer is just a tool and like my thumbs knew what to do on the old one, how it looks doesnt matter and the skin doesnt make the layout the same as the old one.
Ive embraced the new Play Store though so im not such an old doggy

Oh yeah, i dont use cloud storage much but i like how easy it was to link my dropbox account to the new one
Does the old version do cloud?

P.s, i noticed that the ES update is a manual one.. is it the dev' who decides that?

 

[BigRedGonzo]

Yeah i feel kinda bad for not "embracing" change lol but to me a file explorer is just a tool and like my thumbs knew what to do on the old one, how it looks doesnt matter and the skin doesnt make the layout the same as the old one.
Ive embraced the new Play Store though so im not such an old doggy

Oh yeah, i dont use cloud storage much but i like how easy it was to link my dropbox account to the new one
Does the old version do cloud?

P.s, i noticed that the ES update is a manual one.. is it the dev' who decides that?

Yes, the old version did Cloud Storage also, but IMHO not quite as well and v3. Updates are manual if a permission changes in the app. I'm not real sure what permission changed, but that is usually what triggers a manual update. I don't tend to keep track of app permissions, if they work they work and I don't care if they need to see the phone status or know my name.

BigRedGonzo

 

[funkylogik]

Cheers. Yeah im the same mate. Im not para' about stuff like that on a phone

 

[spile]

The upgrade broke Webdav which meant that Windows Home Server no longer worked but the good news is that the recent upgrade had fixed this. Phew!

 

[UncleMike]

With this update to ES File Explorer, when sharing something from another app I get the option to "Send by LAN", which has an "ES" icon overlayed on a sharing icon. I haven't gotten this to do anything useful, as it never displays a target, and only lets me "join" another network (whatever that means).

It would seem the logical thing for this to do would be allow me to select a target using one of the servers configured on the LAN tab in ES File Explorer, but it doesn't appear to do that. Anyone know what this is supposed to do, or how to get it to do something useful?

 

[roseuz]

With this update to ES File Explorer, when sharing something from another app I get the option to "Send by LAN", which has an "ES" icon overlayed on a sharing icon. I haven't gotten this to do anything useful, as it never displays a target, and only lets me "join" another network (whatever that means).

It would seem the logical thing for this to do would be allow me to select a target using one of the servers configured on the LAN tab in ES File Explorer, but it doesn't appear to do that. Anyone know what this is supposed to do, or how to get it to do something useful?

Your exact thoughts on the "Send by LAN" are the same ones I had and have when I tried to share a file using that option.

Now, with regards to what the "Send by LAN" is supposed to do, you already answered it in a previous post of yours:

..."and that it's apparently used to share with another device that's also running ES File Explorer. "

Tutorials showing how to do that are here: Technology Life In Pakistan: Android Fast WiFi File Transfer Bluetooth Alternative and here: DROiDmonk: WiFi File Transfer for all Android

When one selects "Send by LAN", one is directed to the NetManager, which allows one to create a hotspot and to also do tethering according to this blog post: android underground: ES File Explorer looks better, needs finishing touch which mentions the following:

"More weird names: the built-in WiFi hotspot is called "net manager." But crazy name or not, the big news here is of course that tethering now comes built into your file manager. But...

...if you have WiFi switched on, start the hotspot, and then close it, you're left with WiFi switched off. ES File Explorer doesn't return your phone to its pre-tethering WiFi state.

And the hotspot doesn't work without a mobile data connection. You might say "duh!, how else are you gonna tie mobile data to WiFi?" but there's a good reason for running a hotspot without mobile data, or even without a SIM card. Run a hotspot and launch the FTP server and you could share files over your ad hoc network, but only if ES File Explorer learns to play hotspot without data."

Hopefully in a future update it allows one to share / send files from another app to another location, such as a computer or external hard drive.

P.S. 1) An update just came out -- Version 3.05. Now when you try to share a file from another app via the "Send by Lan" option, it shows one's own phone model number, a pic of a phone and two phones behind it (I guess to illustrate phone to phone transfer), and the wireless IP address that the phone is connected to.

2) I disabled wi-fi and enabled it again and now it doesn't show my phone again. This would make more sense anyhow, because it would be impossible / illogical to transfer from my phone to my phone. I tried it the first time to see what it would do and the transfer just hung.

 

[ianmma]

Came across this news on Android Police tonight and I was surprised that I didn't get an update available notification. I had to update manually through the app itself. Anyway here's what it looks like;



They say there's a classic theme if you want to go back to the old look but I haven't been able to get it to work. The new features list;

V3.0
New UI
Fast Access(Press menu)
Multiple Windows
Send Files By WiFi
Gestures(Drag,Zoom,Slide)
Classic Theme
New Picture,Root Explorer,Tools,...

and the regular features list:
* File Manager

 

[funkylogik]

As far as i know that cant be done with Box (auto upload). Im very new to it and only use it rarely for sharing things because my dropbox is full. Why not use Google+ to auto upload every pic you take? Its free and i think the storage space is fairly huge :thumbup: