How would I replace default Windows Explorer with an alternative one, say Q-Dir?

Question

I would like to re-map existing shortcuts, right-clicks, etc so Q-Dir is opened instead of default Windows Explorer.

short of renaming ``explorer.exe in Windows folder - are there any settings I need to look at? maybe in Registry somewhere?

if the solution provided worked, please make sure to mark the answer as accepted. Thanks! — nhinkle, Feb 15 '11 at 00:38

score 11 · Accepted Answer · edited Feb 15 '11 at 05:49

11

Run regedit.exe, go to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon] find "shell" string and change value from explorer.exe on Q-dir with full path, then reboot.

edited Feb 15 '11 at 05:49

Sathyajith Bhat

61,800

answered Feb 04 '11 at 01:03

Ratin

476

While this works, it also limits normal shell functionality for me. Therefore, I prefer replacing just the explorer shortcut instead on windows 10 and above – kf06925 Jan 08 '23 at 18:13

score 2 · Answer 2 · 2020-01-09T19:58:10.540

2

There is a program called InstantSheller that can start programs instead of the Windows shell.

enter image description here

It does essentially what Ratin's answer does in the registry, with a few more UI options.

I use it to boot my HTPC's software, hiding the Windows boot logo, login screen and explorer. You can revert the changes by opening the application again and clicking undo.

edited Jan 09 '20 at 19:58

answered Nov 13 '13 at 18:54

The link to the vendor is dead. – IInspectable Jan 02 '20 at 17:40
1

@IInspectable updated! – Jan 09 '20 at 19:58

kf06925 · Answer 3 · 2023-01-08T18:45:32.827

While it's not a full explorer replacement, I prefer just replacing the launch target of the Win + E shortcut following the approach for Windows 10 / 11 described here. This ensures the normal shell functionality (e.g. Start Menu, task bar, system tray etc. is left untouched)

For my portable version of Q-Dir a registry file looks like this

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{52205fd8-5dfb-447d-801a-d0b52f2e83e1}]
@=""
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{52205fd8-5dfb-447d-801a-d0b52f2e83e1}\shell]
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{52205fd8-5dfb-447d-801a-d0b52f2e83e1}\shell\open]
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{52205fd8-5dfb-447d-801a-d0b52f2e83e1}\shell\opennewwindow]
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{52205fd8-5dfb-447d-801a-d0b52f2e83e1}\shell\opennewwindow\command]
@="C:\\Users\\[username]\\Downloads\\Q-DirPortable\\App\\Q-Dir\\Q-Dir_x64.exe"
"DelegateExecute"=""

Replace C:\\Users\\[username]\\Downloads\\Q-DirPortable\\App\\Q-Dir\\Q-Dir_x64.exe with your Q-Dir installation path above (and use \\ to escape \ correctly as shown). Then import the file into the registry (e.g. via double-clicking it in Explorer + confirming the registry import).

After that Q-Dir will launch when Win + E is being pressed instead of Explorer

Satoshi Nakamoto · Answer 4 · 2023-02-27T15:05:47.590

There is a way! I discovered it recently, steps:

Open regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Folder\shell\open\command

Inside that key delete DelegateExecute and rename the Default to the proper location of the file manager(here is Dolphin from KDE in my case), like:

"C:\PATH\dolphin-22.12.2-1828\bin\dolphin.exe" %1

The %1 is important (for the arguments)

This will:

Evertytime you open a folder it will open with Dolphin at that location

PS: for Dolphin there are more tweaks necessary since you will need to create *.desktop for shortcuts, and change the default location to "default" for the above to work.

Also add @kf06925 answer so everything will be nice and smooth!

How would I replace default Windows Explorer with an alternative one, say Q-Dir?

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