Product Background
Name: Resco File Explorer 2005
Version: 5.42
Platform: Windows Mobile 5
Also Available: WM 2000/2002/2003, Smartphone and Palm OS
Developer: Resco (http://www.resco.net/)
Price: $24.99

Review by: Bryan Eley

Testing Environment:

            Dell Axim X51v, Windows Mobile 5, A12 ROM

            4GB Transcend SD Card

            2CF Transcend CF Card

One of the things Windows Mobile critically lacks is a file explorer that can do more than mainly cut/paste/rename/copy/delete as the native File Explorer does. Resco File Explorer 2005 rises to the challenge and provides an application that enables substantially greater control of a user’s PDA environment, providing tools that really can help users maximize their device usage. 

What does Resco File Explorer 2005 do?

For starters, it allows users much greater freedom of data control, introducing file system features found in say, Windows XP or Vista.  Wish you had Recycle Bin capabilities?  Resco has it.  Want to access your network and share files or upload/download files to FTP sites?  No problem with Resco.  Short on space and want to compress some files or have a zip file that you’d like to decompress?  Resco can do that too.  And that’s just some of the things it allows you to do.

From Resco’s site, File Explorer 2005 has all of the following abilities:

ü       Recycle Bin

ü       System Status Today Plugin

ü       Registry editor (import/export/search)

ü       Network browsing capability

ü       FTP add-in

ü       ZIP compression/decompression

ü       Style-free navigation

ü       Press'n'hold context menu

ü       square screen devices supported

ü       Send files via Bluetooth

ü       Send files via IrDA (OBEX)

ü       Storage card formatting

ü       Drag'n'Drop functionality

ü       Search file/text in files

ü       "Send to folder" option

ü       Quick folder access to Favorites

ü       Built-in file viewer (text, images, etc.)

ü       Change file associations

ü       Strong file encryption for PPC and encryption add-in for desktop PC

ü       "Send To" add-in for desktop PC

DESKTOP INSTALL

Install from the desktop via the provided EXE was straightforward, comprising a License Agreement and then a screen with the option for what portions the user would like to proceed with.

Installation space for File Explorer 2005 v5.42 was approximately the following:

Explorer 2005 base program: 1076 KB

FTP add-in: 155 KB

Registry Add-in: 107 KB

Today Plugin:  168 KB

Each of these items can each be installed to a separate location.  Note: If choosing to install from the CAB file(s), note that the Desktop Shell Extensions Cryptographic Extension and SendTo Extension will not be installed.

FILE EXPLORER

When launched for the first time, the user is presented with a single-panel layout.  Myself, I prefer show tree view (MenuàViewàShow Tree View) since I can see where I’m at on the device in the top window pane, and then examine files individually in the lower pane, so everything is listed relative to the topmost device root.

The top left dropdown shows your general location relative to the root layout, allowing the user to choose from five topmost areas, My Device, My Network, Recycle Bin, My FTP Locations, and My Registry. 

The three icons on the top right are shortcuts to My Device, My Recycle Bin and My Favorites.  My Device and My Recycle Bin allow users to quickly jump to those top-level folders from wherever they are at, and the My Favorites allows users to add/remove favorite folder locations that they can jump to from wherever they are at.

My Device is the topmost portion of the pocket pc tree where all folders and files are located, similar to clicking on the Mobile Device icon in My Computer on the desktop pc and then going up a level.

In My Network, users can map drives to or discover other networked devices on the network, enabling real-time sharing of files, and in many cases execution of files across a network.  I was able to access shared files on other Windows systems and on linux samba shares with more or less equivalent ease, but some have reported issues with audio/video files and .

Recycle Bin contains files recently deleted through Resco File Explorer, and clicking and holding to bring up a context menu allows users the option of either disabling the Recycle Bin or altering the maximum size of Recycle Bin, which is set for the PDA and each storage device, defaulting to 10%.  The downside to this though is that the percentage is based off each individual storage device, so while 10% is a small amount of space set aside for the PPC’s main memory, 10% of a 2 or 4 GB card translates into a lot of space, in my case 600MB.  While not hugely inconvenient, it might be nice to have the option of a global recycle bin setting or the ability to configure drives independently. 

 My FTP Locations stores FTP sessions that you can create, and aside from standard FTP configuration options, users also have the option of choosing active (default) or passive mode.  A Local Dir dropdown selection enables users the flexibility of choosing where they upload/download files to/from.  For power users, the My Registry enables direct modification of the Windows Mobile registry, and the context menu options allow for importing and exporting of the registry as well.

Resco Explorer 2005 has a handy toolbar for quick access to key functions, many of which are available from file/folder context menus.

The New Folder icon is self-explanatory: clicking this creates a folder in the current directory you are viewing.

Back / Next allows you to navigate through your browsing history.

Properties shows the properties of the selected item or group of selected items, from dates to attributes.  Note that this function allows you to set or unset attributes as well, so that if you’d prefer a given file or set of files to be Read-only you have but to click the attribute checkbox.  I’ve noticed that some files on my Axim I could open with an associated application, but File Explorer reported the file type as “unknown”.  One such example was PNG files that was associated with the PDAmill Viewer app.  I changed the association to Resco Photo Viewer and the file property type was correctly displayed.

Search is a very powerful, highly configurable tool that allows users to find files based on various selectable criteria, with a find text within files feature that can really aid in finding a specific document quickly.

Encrypt will protect a file or set of files and offers several different encryption algorithms.  Encrypting a directory will encrypt all files within it, even those within subdirectories.  Encrypted files will have an .RXF extension on it.

CompactZIP is another very useful tool that functions very much like other commercial desktop products.  Name, location, mode (add/replace, freshen existing, etc.), compression level can all be customized to the user’s preference, and there is an option for setting a password on the zip file.  One peculiarity I noted was that a zip file shows a CompactZIP icon association in the tree view with contents of the zip listed, but shows a generic icon in the subfolder view.  I’m not sure if this was a deliberate decision to treat the zip in tree view as a folder of sorts with the zipped contents listed, but it strikes me as somewhat odd given that CompactZIP will open up the zip file that for all practical intents and purposes looks like an unknown file type in Windows Mobile.

Beam enables files to be sent via email, Bluetooth, IR, the Resco Today plugin as a quicklaunch or to the My Documents folder or Start Menu (as a shortcut).

Map / UnMap Drive (aka Network) permits connection to other shared systems on the network as well as disconnecting from same.

Most if not all these commands can be accessed for a given file or folder by tapping and holding the screen to bring up a context menu.  Note: the Send To menu functions identically to the Beam icon in the toolbar.

Bringing up a context menu on a file shows many options available to the user.

There is a also a handy option for storage cards from the context menu: Format, which after a warning prompt quickly formats your SD or CF card in FAT32.

TODAY SCREEN PLUGIN

The Today screen plugin is a nice aggregate of system information that can be easily run on the default WM5 Today Screen or other third-party applications that can host Today screen plugins.

Items shown by default are Battery, Programs Memory, Main (device) Storage, and any storage cards.  The icons for the storage cards make a distinction between SD and CF cards, a nice touch.  By default the values for each non-battery system component are shown with the amount of space free.  Battery shows current capacity.  The other icons on the screen function as shortcuts to other Resco products/add-ins, in this case File Explorer 2005, the Registry tool, a secondary Storage/Battery page, Resco Photo Viewer, Resco Screen Capture and Resco Update.  The latter is a handy tool that allows the user to periodically check for updates as well as try out other Resco products. 

Four default skins are available from Resco, Default and (shown in order described) Alfa, Compact and Smile.

By clicking on the top left icon with the magnifying glass, the user is sent to the Resco Today plugin settings screen.  This screen allows the user to choose one of the above skins, and there are three important sections as well:  Show battery status, where you have the option to show the battery on the plugin screen, and also which battery to choose from, such as Main or Backup.  My Axim X51v doesn’t have a backup battery, so I’m leaving the default for Backup battery unchecked.  Next is Show memory and storages, allowing the user to display all, some, or none of the Programs Memory, Main Storage, or individual storage cards.  There is also two dropdowns on this page, the Default Display mode allowing the user to change the default value types displayed from free storage to used, total or percentage.  Beneath this dropdown is the Default action choice of either Open storage folder or Show properties.

The value representation on the Today screen plugin for a given non-battery component can be changed merely by clicking on it.

The system information values cycle between Free, Unused, Total and percent (x %) used with each click.  I discovered that change the value in this fashion is temporary, so that during a soft reset the value changes back to what the value is currently set to from the Default Display mode in the Show Memory & Storages Change Items page.  However, for the current session it does allow users to modify each individual component to their liking, whereas the Default Display mode is a universal change that persists between soft resets.  It’s little touches like this that show how much careful thought went into putting File Explorer 2005 together.

There is also a softkey on the Resco Today Plugin screen, Get More Skins, which enables the user to obtain new skins as they are released from Resco directly. 

A big functionality plus is Resco Today’s ability to launch any program or folder that the user chooses to add to the plugin, so favorite or frequently used applications, files or folders are merely a click away.  Right from their Today screen power users can drill right down to the applications and file areas they need with but a single click.  The only downside is that for folders and document types only the generic icon is available, making it difficult to distinguish at a glance which folder icon goes to what location.

DESKTOp ADD-INs

If you chose to install the desktop components of Encryption and Send To, these will be integrated into your shell and can be brought up by right-clicking on files or folders.  The cryptography function is essentially identical to the one available within Resco Explorer itself.  Note: owners of certain earlier Windows Mobile versions (WM2000/2002) will need to download an extra encryption pack from Resco to implement higher-security functions.

The Resco Crypting  is a nice feature for securing desktop files, though if your desktop encryption is stronger than your pocket pc’s (see NOTE above), you may not be able to decrypt the file on your pocket pc.  This should not be an issue for WM2003/WM5 users, however. 

The Send To is a handy add-in, though if you have the SendTo PowerToy from Microsoft already installed it may be unnecessary.  To use, simply right-click on a file and choose a destination, and away it goes.

Uninstalling File Explorer 2005

A minor nuisance, but it would be better if a user could uninstall all sub-applications in one swoop—uninstalling Explorer after installing Explorer with all items from the desktop installer executable  leaves the ftp, encryption and today plugin behind in the Remove Programs folder.   Sure it takes only a few extra seconds to remove everything manually, but why not have all components removed if they are integrated into the parent application?

Product Support

Resco has a number of feature-specific FAQs on its site and a Forum for users.  Support can be had by filling out an online form for general questions, and there are specific forms for registration code issues, email changes, even owner name changes.

Conclusion:

I really can’t believe I went a whole year without this application.  It’s logical and intuitive for most Windows users given many functional similarities to Windows Explorer in the 9x/2000/XP range.  It’s zip, ftp and network browsing all work together seamlessly with Explorer 2005 to really allow the user finer, more granular control of file browsing and data control on the pocket pc that is simply not possible or easily convenient with WM5 out of the box.  In my typical system layout it was almost as quick to load as WM5’s File Explorer, even with beefier inherent capabilities.   My only two real concerns was the lack of an icon for a zip file when viewing the file within a folder listing and the issue of images associated with another app like PDAmill Viewer returning “unknown file type” when viewing their properties.  Aside from these quirks, I highly recommend Resco File Explorer 2005