YOU’LL NEED THIS
TWO OPEN-SOURCE APPS, WHICH REQUIRE WINDOWS 10 OR LATER:
Files (https://files.community/) and Sigma File Manager (https://github.com/alekseyhoffman/sigma-file-manager).
FILE EXPLORER HAS COME ON LEAPS AND BOUNDS in recent years—the recent introduction of tabs in Windows 11 is just one example—but despite its many improvements, File Explorer is still little more than a basic tool for navigating and managing your files and folders.
The good news is that you’re not stuck with Windows’ choice of file manager. There are plenty of alternatives, and we’ve sourced two great free and open-source examples. Both are designed to work alongside File Explorer, so you can try them without committing to a new way of doing things. Files aims to follow File Explorer in looks and feel, but still manages to offer plenty of good reasons to switch, from support for file and folder tagging to dual-pane navigation.
The other—Sigma File Manager—adopts a radically different look and approach, bundling a slightly different set of features (mostly notably support for ‘workspaces’, custom environments you can switch between as you see fit), but still manages to remain relatively straightforward to operate. In this tutorial, we’ll introduce you to both so you can decide which one suits your file-management needs best.
1 TWEAK YOUR EXISTING EXPERIENCE
If you’re broadly happy with how File to install Files—you’ll find a link to the Microsoft Store, as well as a direct download to the “classic installer”. Whichever option you choose, once in place, click Open or Launch.
