eXtplorer

I've been very impressed with most of the functionality of eXtplorer

I am working to implement this as a multi-user based solution for my site and I hope to get the ftp bug worked out so I can handle large files easily


Pros:
very attractive interface

major file manager type functionality available through either icons or contextual menu

user management that allows user-specific root folder, permissions, inactive mode, etc

drag and drop functionality

edit mode of files

view mode of files

archiving (zipping) of selected files and download on completion (if desired)

multi-selection of local files to upload


Cons:

no documentation

ftp-mode fails - it just tells me connection failed with no reason.. ftp is working fine through other testing outside of this app - I have not figured out how to make it work since I can't determine why it is failing. I only get a message indicating it can't connect to the server. anyone?





Suggestions for improvement:

documentation / help page in interface

discussion forum on home page - just for us users if the owner is not wanting to play support person, which I understand could be time consuming - but giving the users a place to discuss right on the home page would be good

something to identify the user you are logged in as once you log in

icons change for folders (folder pane) when you click to something that looks like a file or a list or something instead of an opened folder and they don't change back when you leave or go to another folder - I think this should just change to an 'opened' folder when clicked and back to 'closed' when you are not viewing the contents any longer

when changing to bookmarked folder, the folder pane on the left does not update to show the new location

enhanced user management to allow 'groups' and settings for a group such as root folder - and users ability to belong to multiple groups

after all major functions that add or change a file or folder, reload the page - i.e. when archiving data, etc, reload the page to show the new file



Requested enhancements:



'select all' in menus/icons as functionality available to users

icon for rename looks like icon to change font in most applications - not sure I can suggest a better one at this time however

keybindings (ctrl/apple) to basic functions (copy, paste,select all, cut, delete, etc)

change 'show directories' button to a checkbox that can be a user defined default for off or on

change wording about changing modes and links in the header (top right) to a simple button that shows the other mode if you want to switch - this will look more like the rest of the interface

have file mode or ftp mode as a user defined setting for default mode and/or option on login screen

a way to provide folder upload download, even if in the background you are zipping/unzipping, make it appear to the user that they are just working with a folder - this is low priority - just thinking out loud

I must say I am very impressed with the application and it is one of the best web-based remote file management I've seen so far.

I do have one question, how do I restrict where the symbolic links points to? It seems a non-admin user can link to /etc/.../files and examine the file content.