When I’m working, I often have several explorers opened. When you have a double (or triple) screen config, that’s ok but when you are only with your tiny laptop screen, it quickly becomes a pain to handle all your explorer and other applications windows!

So I searched for an explorer alternative and I found Explorer++. It handles tabs, shows directory size and some other stuffs I’m currently discovering. There may be better explorer alternatives so don’t hesitate to put a comment about that…  but here is the idea, whatever the explorer you are choosing.

• Installing your custom explorer => Explorer++
• Bind the Windows+E shortcut with the custom explorer => AutoHotkey

1. Install and unzip Explorer++ somewhere on your hard drive.
2. Launch Explorer++ and in Tools > Options, choose “Replace Explorer for all folders (Vista and later)”.
3. Install AutoHotkey.
4. Go in your Explorer++ directory > Right Click > New > AutoHotkey Script.
5. Paste this code inside and replace “PathTo” with your Explorer++ path. It will bind Explorer++ with the Windows+E shortcut:

   #e::Run "C:\Path\To\explorer++.exe"

6. Right click your AutoHotkey Script, “Create shortcut”.
7. Cut and paste the shortcut to the startup directory. In Windows 7, it is located in “C:/programdata/microsoft/windows/start menu/programs/startup”

You’re done! Now you can create explorer tabs in the same window, like in Chrome or Firefox (or IE now)!