Noxen File Explorer

A tabbed, Windows‑Explorer‑style file manager built with Python + PySide6 for Windows 10/11.

This project was originally code‑named pyFiles.

Features

• Tabbed browsing (auto‑updates tab titles to the current folder)
• This PC page with connected drives + space bars, auto‑updates on drive connect/disconnect
• Drive right‑click menu (Open, Open in New Tab, Eject where supported, Properties, etc.)
• File/folder context menu: Open, Rename, Delete (Recycle Bin), Copy/Cut/Paste, Open in Terminal Here, etc.
• Drag & drop move/copy
• Info pane (Preview + Details) on the right
• Quick Access pin/unpin (Favorites)
• View modes (Details/List + multiple icon sizes) and Ctrl + Mouse Wheel icon zoom
• ZIP support: browse a .zip like a folder + extract selected/all
• File operations with a progress dialog + cancel
• Optional: “default file manager / Win+E” workaround toggle (Settings → Advanced)

Releases / Changelog

GitHub uses R = Release naming.

R3 (v1.4) — “Big update”

New / updated features

• Updated file operations UI (Copy / Move / Delete) to show more detailed progress (more Explorer‑like) and support cancel.
• Drive handling improvements:
  • Better support for ejecting removable drives from the UI (where Windows allows).
• “This PC” drive context menu expanded / refined (Open, Open in new tab, Properties, etc.).

Fixes

• Multiple stability and UX improvements around file operations and drive refresh (connect/disconnect).

Note: R3 is the base that later bug‑fix releases build on.

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R3.1 (v1.4.1) — Bug‑fix & quality update

This release is focused on fixes and reliability after the big R3 update.

Fixes

• Copy / Paste / Cut / Paste reliability fix:
  • Paste now correctly handles folder structures (including empty folders) and no longer “does nothing” after the progress‑UI update.
• Disk Management (drive context menu → “Open Disk Management”):
  • Now launches reliably (via MMC) instead of failing silently.
• Ejected drive ghosting:
  • Drives that were ejected and hidden no longer re‑appear unexpectedly while still plugged in.
• Portable devices / phones:
  • “Portable devices” list no longer incorrectly includes normal volumes/USB drives.
  • Phone/camera entries now open the Noxen MTP Browser companion app (true in‑app MTP browsing) instead of opening Explorer.
• Startup performance / stability:
  • Fixed a rapid, repeating background PowerShell/CMD spawn that caused lag/freezing/crashing.
  • Device scans are now cached/throttled to reduce CPU usage and UI hitching.
• Minor runtime fixes (startup crash + warnings):
  • Fixed missing helper method in the “This PC” view (_drive_type_str).
  • Fixed an escape‑sequence warning that could show up in logs.

New

• Companion‑app workflow for true MTP browsing:

• NoxenFE launches NoxenMTPBrowser when the user opens a detected phone/camera device.

Download & Install

Installer (recommended for most users)

1. Download the latest installer from Releases.
2. Run the installer and follow the prompts.

IMPORTANT: program not working after install

Noxen File Explorer is designed to run as a non-admin program, However, the Run this program as Admin MUST be checked for the program to run, idk why, but, I'll fix it in an update

Data / Settings location

Noxen stores user data in:

• %APPDATA%\Noxen File Explorer\settings.json
• %APPDATA%\Noxen File Explorer\quick_access.json
• (and any session/tab restore files you enabled)

Run from source (dev)

pip install pySide6
python NoxenFileExplorer.py

Build an EXE (optional)

pip install pyinstaller
pyinstaller --noconsole --onefile --name "Noxen File Explorer" NoxenFileExplorer.py

Troubleshooting

“Nothing happens” after install

• Verify the shortcut points to the correct EXE.
• Try running the EXE once directly from the install folder.
• Check Windows Defender / SmartScreen prompts.

Win+E / default file manager toggle doesn’t apply

• The workaround sometimes needs an Explorer restart. Log out/in or restart Explorer.
• Windows updates may reset or break the workaround (it’s not an official Windows setting).