imported>Azarashi4: /* Windows 10 and later */

2025-04-28T22:02:00Z

Windows 10 and later

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{{Short description|File manager bundled with Microsoft Windows in the 1990s}}
{{About|the default file management program for early versions of OS/2 and Windows|the default file explorer in Windows 95 and onward|File Explorer}}
{{For|the program suite with a similar name|FileMan}}
{{Infobox software
| name = File Manager
| logo = Winfile Store Icon.png
| logo size = 64px
| screenshot = File Manager Windows 10 screenshot.png
| screenshot size = 300px
| caption = File Manager in [[Windows 10]]
| author = Chris Guzak
| developer = [[Microsoft]]
| released = {{Start date and age|1988|11}} (OS/2; as File System)<br>{{Start date and age|1990|05|22}} (Windows)
| latest release version = 10.3.0.0<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wittenberg |first1=Craig |title=Release March 2024: Cumulative Release · microsoft/winfile |url=https://github.com/microsoft/winfile/releases/tag/v10.3.0.0 |website=GitHub |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |access-date=1 April 2024 |language=en |date=1 April 2024}}</ref>
| latest release date = {{start date and age|2024|03|24}}
| latest preview version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q1172307|P348|P548=Q51930650}}
| latest preview date = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q1172307|P348|P548=Q51930650|P577}}
| replaces = [[Windows shell#MS-DOS Executive|MS-DOS Executive]]
| replaced_by = [[Windows Explorer]]
| programming_language = [[C (programming language)|C]], [[C++]]
| operating system = [[OS/2]], [[Microsoft Windows]]
| platform = [[IA-32]], [[x86-64]], and [[ARM64]]
| genre = [[File manager]]
| license = [[MIT License]]
}}
'''File Manager''' is a [[file manager]] program originally bundled with releases of [[OS/2]] and [[Microsoft Windows]]<ref>[http://toastytech.com/guis/win30.html Windows 3.0]</ref> between 1988 and 2000.<ref name="WinHistoryDesktop">{{cite web | url=http://www.microsoft.com/windows/WinHistoryDesktop.mspx | title=Windows Desktop Products History | date=June 30, 2002 | work=Windows History | publisher=[[Microsoft]] | access-date=August 19, 2006 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060412162804/http://www.microsoft.com/windows/WinHistoryDesktop.mspx | archive-date=April 12, 2006 | df=mdy}}</ref> It is a single-instance graphical interface, replacing the command-line interface of [[MS-DOS]] to manage [[Computer file|files]] (copy, move, open, delete, search, etc.) and [[MS-DOS Executive]] file manager from previous Windows versions.

Although File Manager was included in [[Windows 95]] and [[Windows NT 4.0]] and some later versions, [[Windows Explorer]] was introduced and used as the primary file manager, with file management via a two-pane view different from that of File Manager, and a single-pane view obtained by clicking a "My Computer" icon.

File Manager was reintroduced as an optional download for all modern releases of Windows (including [[Windows 10]] and later) on 6 April 2018.<ref name="GHWF" />

==Overview==
The program's interface showed a list of [[directory (file systems)|directories]] on the left hand panel, and a list of the current directory's contents on the right hand panel. File Manager allowed a user to create, rename, move, [[Printer (computing)|print]], copy, search for, and delete files and directories, as well as to set [[file system permissions|permissions]] ([[File attribute|attributes]]) such as archive, read-only, hidden or system, and to associate file types with programs. Also available were tools to label and [[disk formatting|format]] disks, manage folders for file sharing and to connect and disconnect from a [[network drive]]. On [[Windows NT]] systems it was also possible to set [[Access control list|ACL]]s on files and folders on [[NTFS]] partitions through the shell32 security configuration dialog (also used by Explorer and other Windows file managers). On NTFS drives, individual files or entire folders could be compressed or expanded.

The Windows NT version of File Manager allows users to change directory, file, local, network and user permissions.

From Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 onward, File Manager was superseded by Windows Explorer. However, the <code>WINFILE.EXE</code> program file was still included with Windows 95, [[Windows 98|98]] and [[Windows Me]] (16-bit executable), as well as Windows NT 4.0 (32-bit executable). The last 32-bit <code>WINFILE.EXE</code> build (4.0.1381.318) was distributed as part of Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 6a (SP6a) in 1999, while the last 16-bit <code>WINFILE.EXE</code> build (4.90.3000) was distributed as part of Windows Me in 2000.

Chris Guzak was the [[Shell (computing)|shell]] developer on the Windows 3.1 team responsible for File Manager.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=284474|title=Dr Sneath and Ian Ellison-Taylor: Windows History|author=Charles Torre|date=February 20, 2007|work=Channel9|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|access-date=March 10, 2007}}</ref>

The source code was released on [[GitHub]] in 2018 with an [[MIT license]] by Microsoft.<ref name="TVWF">{{cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/9/17214586/microsoft-windows-file-manager-windows-10-app-download |title=Microsoft open-sources original File Manager from the '90s so it can run on Windows 10 - The Verge |author=Tom Warren |publisher=The Verge |access-date=7 April 2018}}</ref><ref name="GHWF" /> This coincided with the release of the new binaries of Windows File Manager compatible with Windows 10 around the same time (more information can be found below).<ref name="TCWF" />

==Versions==

===16-bit OS/2 and Windows 3.x===
File Manager was introduced in OS/2 versions 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3,<ref>[http://toastytech.com/guis/os211.html OS/2 1.1]</ref><ref>[http://toastytech.com/guis/os212.html OS/2 1.2]</ref><ref>[http://toastytech.com/guis/MOS2.html Microsoft OS/2 V1.3]</ref> with the first version released in 1988 as part of OS/2 1.1. It was initially called "File System" in OS/2 1.1 and the name of the executable was called <code>PMFILE.EXE</code> (with "PM" in the file name standing for [[Presentation Manager]], the GUI of OS/2 first introduced with version 1.1).

The original version of File Manager was a 16-bit program that supported the 8.3 file names that were in use at the time. It did not support the extended file names that became available in Windows 95 – including [[Long filename|long file names]] and file names containing spaces. Instead, it would display only the first six characters followed by a tilde character ("~") and a number, usually 1. More numbers (2, 3, and so on) were added after the tilde if more than one file name with the same initial characters existed in the same directory.

[[Image:WinFile Icon.svg|thumb|64px|Original Windows File Manager icon]]

The 16-bit version of File Manager was introduced into the Windows operating system starting with [[Windows 3.0]] in 1990. The 16-bit version distributed with [[Windows 3.1]] and [[Windows 3.1#Windows for Workgroups|Windows for Workgroups 3.1]] installations had a [[year 2000 problem|Y2K issue]] due to lexicographic correlation between date representation and the [[ASCII]] character set; colons and semicolons replaced what should have been '2000'. Microsoft issued corrected binaries for all Windows 3.1 environments in 1997.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q85557/|title=File Manager Shows Garbled Date for Year 2000 or Later|date=April 22, 2003|website=Support|publisher=Microsoft|access-date=August 18, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050930230709/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q85557/|archive-date=September 30, 2005|df=mdy}}</ref>

===Windows 9x===
File Manager was superseded by Windows Explorer in all versions of Windows 9x starting with [[Windows 95]], however File Manager itself continued to be included in Windows 9x releases such as Windows 95, [[Windows 98|98]], and [[Windows Me|Me]]. The program across all Windows 9x releases remained as a 16-bit program and was relatively unchanged from Windows 3.1.

===Windows NT===
File Manager was rewritten as a 32-bit program for Windows NT. This new version correctly handled long file names in addition to adding support for [[NTFS]] file systems. It was included with [[Windows NT 3.1]], [[Windows NT 3.5|3.5]], [[Windows NT 3.51|3.51]], and [[Windows NT 4.0|4.0]].

===Windows 10 and later===
On April 6, 2018, Microsoft released binaries and the [[source code]], [[Software license|licensed]] under the [[MIT License]], for an improved version of File Manager running on Windows 10.<ref name="TVWF" /><ref name="TCWF">{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/09/90s-kids-rejoice-microsoft-releases-the-original-windows-3-0-file-manager-source-code/ |title=90s kids rejoice! Microsoft releases the original Windows 3.0 File Manager source code |author=John Biggs |date=9 April 2018 |publisher=[[TechCrunch]] |access-date=15 April 2018}}</ref><ref name="GHWF" /> This version included changes such as the ability to compile in modern versions of Visual Studio, the ability to compile as a 64-bit application, and numerous usability improvements.<ref name="GHWF">{{cite web |url=https://github.com/microsoft/winfile |title=Microsoft/winfile: Original Windows File Manager (winfile) with enhancements |author=Microsoft Corporation |publisher=[[GitHub]] |access-date=7 April 2018}}</ref>

Microsoft also released this app in the [[Microsoft_Store_(digital)|Microsoft Store]] for free in late January 2019,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tung |first1=Liam |title=Windows 10: Now you can get 1990s Windows File Manager from Microsoft Store |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-10-now-you-can-get-1990s-windows-file-manager-from-microsoft-store/ |website=ZDNet |access-date=12 August 2020 |language=en}}</ref> which is compatible with all modern releases of Windows including Windows 10 and later.

==See also==
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}
* [[DOS Shell]]
* [[List of formerly proprietary software]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{github|Microsoft/winfile}}
*[https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/windows-file-manager/9p7vbbbc49rb Windows File Manager on Microsoft Store]

{{Microsoft FOSS}}
{{Windows Components}}

[[Category:Discontinued Windows components]]
[[Category:File managers for Microsoft Windows]]
[[Category:Formerly proprietary software]]
[[Category:Free and open-source software]]
[[Category:Microsoft free software]]
[[Category:Software using the MIT license]]
[[Category:Windows components]]
[[Category:Windows-only free software]]
[[Category:1990 software]]

Windows File Manager - Revision history

imported>Azarashi4: /* Windows 10 and later */