Q-Dir
Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 (32bit and 64bit)
File Explorer
346 KB Zip file - about 3 minutes on dialup - a second or less on broadband connections

There's Windows Explorer, it's the Windows file manager. It has one window. One window is OK if all you want is look at one drive or directory. But what if you want to look at 2 or 3 or 4? You can open 4 Explorer windows, or you can download Q-Dir which always shows you four Windows. You can look at 4 drives, for different folders, or four whatever. You can move files from folder to folder or from drive to drive just by dragging them from one pane to the next. You'd think, by now, that Microsoft would have included something like this in Windows, but they were too busy getting rid of Windows Mail/Outlook Express, or making AeroSnap - or something - to worry about making things a little bit more convenient for users.

Fortunately someone is thinking about all of the people that actually have to do things like move files from directory to directory or copy files from drive to drive. Sure you can right-click files and choose "Move to" or "Copy to" in some versions of Windows, but it's a lot easy to drag them from pane to pane - you can actually see where they're going and where they're coming from. Plus, once you figure it out, Q-Dir has some pretty nifty search functions (there are a few design flaws that could be fixed) though sometimes the interface gets a bit arcane.

Now if all this makes no sense to you, then you probably don't move files around much, but a lot of us do. That's why we picked Q-Dir as our Freeware Pick of the Week.

Alas, the developer's Web site leaves a lot to be desired -and his English ain't so good. But the program is, so in order to save you time and trouble we're going to give you  the download link from CNet as well as a clip of CNet's review of Q-Dir.

CNet says:

"Q-Dir gives you the ability to view the properties of up to four files all at once for side-by-side comparisons. We were unimpressed by its tiny, unintuitive command buttons but, overall, it did its job well.

The user interface opens as four panels, each with the same commands, and each with the ability to browse for a specific file. At the top of the window reside tiny, almost microscopic buttons that let you choose your view. We had to hover our mouse over each one to learn its function. Still, we were able to quickly search for, and pull up, specific files and folders. Each window contains commands to run, delete, copy, and paste files. In terms of extras, we especially liked the zoom feature that offers a magnifier for the visually impaired. It does offer a hot-key combo so you don't have to worry about searching through the tiny command buttons to activate it.

The Help feature is pretty brief, and merely includes hot-key combinations and brief descriptions of some of the features. However, if you're looking for a free program that lets you view and manage multiple files at once, we recommend Q-Dir as a capable program despite its design flaws."

Here's what Q-Dir looks like in action.

So, if you're looking for a better way to manage and work with your files and folders and you don't want to pay a penny, you'd be hard pressed to find a file manager than Q-Dir. You can read more about and/or download Q-Dir from this page. It's a good one and that's why it's this week's Freeware Pick of the Week!