Explorer is an application that is at the very heart of Windows and it is used for everything from browsing through digital photos, to accessing your music collection or simply copying files from one folder to another. As these are operations that are so central to working with Windows, it is important that the tool you use to interact with your files is as intuitive and feature packed as possible. If you have found that Explorer is a little lacking, BExplorer is a free alternative that you may well prefer.

There are plenty of Explorer replacement tools that look completely different to the program you have become used to using, but this is not the case with BExplorer. The app looks largely similar to Windows’ own Explorer, aside from the fact that it features a Windows 8 style ribbon toolbar. This provides access to a number of handy tools and options, but it can be hidden if you find that it gets in the way.

But the most noticeable difference between BExplorer and Windows’ regular tool is that it features a tabbed interface. This provides a great way to work with several folders at the same time without having to clutter up the taskbar with too many buttons and it can help speed up the process of copying files between locations quickly and easily.

The ribbon provide access to a number of handy options such as moving and copying files, as well as the ability to copy the address of a file to the clipboard. A very useful option is the ‘invert selection’ button which makes it very easy to select everything in a folder with the exception of one or two files. BExplorer is still an alpha program at the moment, and it is still a little rough around the edges, with some aspects of the application simply not working.