[gui-talk] FileDir Version 3.6 is now Available

[Steve Pattison]

FileDir version 3.6 is now available and a direct link to the file is www.empowermentzone.com/dirsetup.exe.  For those not familiar with FileDir it is a very good file manager designed to work with screen readers.  Here are the changes in this version:

Version 3.6
March 3, 2009

The unzip commands are now broader, unarchive commands that work with almost any archive format, including .rar, .tar, .gz, .bz2, .chm, .cab, and .wepm (a Window-Eyes script package that is the same format as .cab).  FileDir does this with the free 7Zip utility behind the scenes, which is also available independently at
http://7zip.com

Although any archive may be viewed or extracted, it is still the case that only a zip archive may be created or modified.

The What command, invoked with a question mark, now says the number of items in an archive or subfolder before saying their names.  As before, the Output Text command, Shift+O, converts other file formats to text.  It now does this with an updated conversion tool (GetText.exe).

Inquire Differences, Alt+Shift+I, is a new command for comparing files in two folders.  The current folder is considered the source.  You are prompted for a target folder.  FileDir generates a report in structured text format and prompts you for where to save it.  The default name is Report.txt in the current folder.  The report contains three sections:  common target files, missing target files, and additional target files.  The first section lists target file names that also exist in the source folder, and indicates whether each is newer, older, or current (a time stamp comparison), as well whether it is larger, smaller, or equal (a size comparison).  The second section lists file names that are missing in the target folder.  The third section lists additional file names found in the target folder.

For maximum functionality of FileDir under Windows Vista, you may wish to configure it to "run as administrator."  One way of doing this is by modifying the FileDir shortcut on the desktop.  Press Alt+Enter to open its properties, choose the Advanced button, and mark the checkbox to require administrative priviledges.  Otherwise, for example, the ability to view or change files under the directory tree 
C:\Program Files
will be considerably restricted.

Regards Steve
Email:  srp at internode.on.net
Windows Live Messenger:  internetuser383 at hotmail.com
Skype:  steve1963