Explobar

The Problem

Windows Explorer offers virtually no customisation beyond appearance. When you need to open a terminal, launch an editor, or run a script on files you're viewing, you face constant friction: copying paths, switching windows, typing commands, or navigating through nested context menus. Every action requires multiple intermediate steps that break your flow.

While brilliant tools like QTTabBar have extended Windows functionality dramatically and almost addressed those concerns, they have become increasingly fragile due to being tightly coupled with Explorer internals. Microsoft's dramatic changes to these internals in Windows 11 have rendered QTTabBar (and similar tools) unreliable. Thus, in some cases, QTTabBar is unable to even start.

The Solution

Explobar provides immediate access to your productivity tools right where you work - in Explorer. Press a keyboard shortcut (or the launch), and a toolbar appears at your cursor with instant access to any command, application, or custom action. No copying paths. No switching windows. No mouse hunting. Just navigation → selection → action.

The customisation of Explobar is going far beyond controlling the user experience. It is better to be compared to the concept of automation. Anything you can do on your OS, you can trigger from the toolbar that you fully control. Below is an example of a SW developer toolbar customised with the additional buttons:

Key Principles

Zero Friction UX

Tools appear instantly where your focus is
Selected files and current folder are automatically available
Single keypress or click executes any action
No intermediate steps between thought and execution

Customisation for Everyone

Simple: Edit a YAML file to add buttons and shortcuts
Powerful: Write .NET plugins for complex workflows
Both approaches work together seamlessly

Safe & Reliable

Runs in its own process - Explorer crashes won't affect it, and it won't crash Explorer
No external dependencies except Explorer itself
No services, no elevated privileges required
Works entirely through standard Windows automation

Zero-Friction Deployment

Just an executable and YamlDotNet.dll (get it with WinGet)
Run it once, configure once, forget it
WinGet and Chocolatey packages coming soon

Features

🎯 Keyboard-Triggered Toolbar - Appears on-demand at cursor position
⚡ Stock Actions - Built-in operations for common tasks
🔧 Custom Commands - Execute any application with automatic path injection
⌨️ Global Shortcuts - Assign hotkeys to any toolbar action
🔌 Plugin System - Extend with .NET assemblies for complex workflows
📂 Favorites & Quick Access - Folders and applications at your fingertips
📜 Explorer History - Automatically tracked, always available
🎨 Icon Browser - Preview and extract icons from any file (shell32.dll, imageres.dll, etc.)
🔄 Live Configuration - Changes apply immediately, no restart
🌙 Dark Theme - Optional dark mode for comfortable low-light use

Installation

In th command prompt, execute: winget install explobar
Start Explobar with Win+R > Type "explobar" > Press Enter.
If you want to start it with Windows, right-click the tray menu and select Start with Windows.

Requirements: Windows 10/11, .NET Framework 4.8.1+

Quick Start

Launch: Run Explobar.exe (minimizes to system tray)
Navigate: Open any folder in Windows Explorer
Activate: Press Shift+Escape (configurable) OR click the embedded Explorer button
Execute: Click any button or press Escape to dismiss

The toolbar appears where your cursor is, with full context of your current folder and selected files.

Explorer Launch Button

Explobar automatically embeds a small clickable button in each Explorer window for instant toolbar access:

Location: Appears in the upper area of each Explorer window (default: 200 pixels from left edge)
Function: Click to launch the toolbar at your cursor position
Multi-Tab Support: Works with Windows 11 multi-tab Explorer, adapting as you switch tabs
Customization: Position can be adjusted or button can be disabled entirely (see Configuration)

This provides a mouse-friendly alternative to the keyboard shortcut, keeping toolbar access always visible and just one click away.

Basic Configuration

Configuration file: %LocalAppData%\Explobar\toolbar-items.yaml

Minimal Example

Settings: 
  ButtonSize: 24 
  ShortcutKey: Shift+Escape
Applications:
  - Path: notepad.exe
  - Name: Calculator
    Path: calc.exe
  - Name: Terminal
    Path: wt.exe
    Arguments: '-d %c%'
Items:
 - Path: '{new-file}'           # Built-in: create text file
 - Path: '{new-folder}'         # Built-in: create folder
 - Path: '{separator}'          # Visual separator
 - Path: 'notepad.exe'          # Custom: launch notepad 
   Arguments: '%f%'             # Pass selected file 
   Tooltip: 'Edit in Notepad'

Configuration Elements

Settings:

ButtonSize - Icon size in pixels (default: 24)
ShortcutKey - Keyboard shortcut to show toolbar (default: Shift+Escape)
HistorySize - Number of recent folders to remember (default: 10)
ShowConsoleAtStartup - Show debug console on startup (default: false)
DarkTheme - Enable dark theme for toolbar (default: false)
DisableExplorerLaunchButton - Hide the embedded Explorer button (default: false)
ExplorerButtonXPosition - Horizontal position of Explorer button from left edge in pixels (default: 200)
IndexOfButtonUnderMouse - Controls which button appears under cursor when toolbar opens (default: 0)
- 0 = Center the toolbar under cursor
- Positive values = 1-based index from left (1 = first button, 2 = second, etc.)
- Negative values = 1-based index from right (-1 = last button, -2 = second-to-last, etc.)

Items: Toolbar buttons (stock or custom)

Favorites: Quick-access folder list

Applications: Quick-launch application list (object format with Name, Path, Arguments, WorkingDir)

Placeholders

%f% - First selected file (quoted)
%c% - Current directory (quoted)
%Variable% - Any environment variable

Stock Buttons

{new-tab} - New Explorer tab
{new-file} - New text file in current folder
{new-folder} - New folder in current folder
{from-clipboard} - Navigate to path from clipboard
{recent} - Recently visited folders menu
{favorites} - Favorite folders menu
{applications} - Favorite applications menu
{props} - File/folder properties dialog
{icons} - Icon browser - browse and extract icons from any file
{separator} - Visual separator
{app-config} - Configuration and tools menu

Example: Terminal Integration

Items:
- Path: 'wt.exe' 
  Arguments: '-d %c%' 
  Icon: 'cmd.exe' 
  Tooltip: 'Windows Terminal' 
  Shortcut: 'Ctrl+Alt+T'

Example: Hidden, Shortcut-Only Command

Items:
- Path: 'calc.exe' 
  Shortcut: 'Ctrl+Alt+C' 
  SystemWide: true      # Works even when Explorer isn't focused 
  Hidden: true          # No toolbar button, keyboard-only

Example: Customizing Explorer Button

Settings:
  ExplorerButtonXPosition: 150    # Move button to 150px from left edge
  # DisableExplorerLaunchButton: true  # Uncomment to hide the button entirely

For complete configuration reference, see docs/customizaion.md.

Icon Browser

The Icon Browser allows you to preview and extract icons from any file containing icon resources (executables, DLLs, icon files).

Access:

Toolbar button: {icons}
System tray: Right-click → "Icon Browser"
App Config menu: {app-config} → "Preview icons"

Features:

Browse icons from system files (shell32.dll, imageres.dll, etc.)
Extract icons from executables and DLLs
View icon index numbers for configuration
Recent file history for quick access
Copy icon paths and indices for use in toolbar configuration

Common Icon Sources:

shell32.dll - Classic Windows icons (folders, files, system)
imageres.dll - Modern Windows icons (Windows 7+)
sud.dll - User account and security icons
Any .exe, .dll, or .ico file

Plugin Development

Extend Explobar with custom .NET plugins for workflows that need more than launching applications.

Two Approaches

1. C# Source Files (Recommended for Quick Development)

Write C# code in .cs files
Auto-compiled at runtime
No build tools required
Perfect for simple plugins and quick prototyping
Template: Generate via System Tray → Development → Create Plugin

2. Pre-compiled DLLs (For Complex Projects)

Traditional .NET development
Full IDE support and debugging
Better for complex workflows
Target .NET Framework 4.7.2

Quick Example

using Explobar;
using System.Windows.Forms;

public class HelloButton : CustomButton
{
    public HelloButton()
    {
        IconIndex = 1;
        IconPath = "shell32.dll";
        Tooltip = "Say Hello";
    }

    public override void OnClick(ClickArgs args)
    {
        MessageBox.Show($"Hello from: {args.Context.RootPath}");
    }
}

Configuration

Items:
  # C# source file (auto-compiled)
  - Path: '{C:\Plugins\HelloButton.cs}'
  
  # Pre-compiled DLL
  - Path: '{C:\Plugins\MyTools.dll,HelloButton}'

Important: Plugin paths must be enclosed in curly brackets {}.

For complete plugin development guide, see customization.md.

Troubleshooting

Toolbar doesn't appear

Ensure Explorer window has focus
Check shortcut key isn't conflicting with other applications. Use PowerToys to resolve any shortkey conflicts.
Verify mouse cursor is over Explorer window

Configuration changes not applying

Check YAML syntax (use online validator)
Review console for errors: Set ShowConsoleAtStartup: true
Restart Explobar if necessary

Toolbar state issues

Use "Restart Explorer" from {app-config} menu or system tray to reset Explorer process
This can resolve issues with window detection or stuck toolbar states

Plugin not loading

Verify path uses curly brackets: {path\to\plugin.dll}
Check plugin targets .NET Framework 4.7.2
Enable console to see detailed error messages
For C# source plugins, check logs for compilation errors

Architecture Highlights

Separate Process: Explobar runs independently - no risk to Explorer stability
COM Automation: Safe, documented API for Explorer interaction
Low-Level Keyboard Hook: System-wide shortcut monitoring
Dynamic Plugin Loading: Reflection-based assembly loading at runtime
Zero Services: No background services, no system modifications

System Tray

Right-click tray icon for quick access:

Icon Browser - Browse and extract icons from system files
Edit Configuration - Open toolbar-items.yaml in Notepad
Development - Developer tools submenu
- Create Plugin - Generate plugin template file
- Show/Hide Console - Toggle debug console window
- Open Logs - Open log file directory
Restart Explorer - Restart Windows Explorer process
About - Version and copyright information
Exit - Close Explobar

Limitations and Constraints

Platform Requirements

Will arguebly work with all Windows but some features (e.g. NewTab) are specifically targeting Windows 10/11 only.

Windows 11 Multi-Tab Detection

When an Explorer window contains multiple tabs open to folders with same names, it's impossible to reliably detect which tab is active due to Windows Explorer API limitations.

Impact: Will show a message box asking to close the duplicated tabs.

Workaround: Enable "Display the full path in the title bar" in Folder Options to improve tab detection reliability, or close duplicate/similarly-named tabs

Path Navigation Constraints

Hash (#) Character:

Explorer's COM API (Navigate2) fails with paths containing #
Explobar automatically falls back to explorer.exe, which opens the path in a new window instead of navigating the current tab.

Activation Requirements

Explorer window must have mouse cursor over it to activate toolbar
Explorer window must have focus for context detection
Toolbar appears at cursor position, so cursor must be within Explorer bounds

Single Instance

Only one instance of Explobar can run at a time
Attempting to launch a second instance shows a warning message
Allows configuration to be managed in one place but prevents multi-profile setups

Keyboard Shortcuts

Uses low-level keyboard hook for global shortcut monitoring
Potential conflicts with other applications using the same shortcuts
System-wide shortcuts (SystemWide: true) always active, even when Explorer doesn't have focus
No support for shortcut combinations with more than one modifier + key (e.g., Ctrl+Shift+Alt+Key not supported)

Configuration

YAML syntax errors prevent configuration from loading (falls back to default config)
Configuration changes apply when toolbar is next shown (not instantly for currently visible toolbar)
No built-in YAML validation - must use external tools to validate syntax
Duplicate shortcuts silently ignored (first one wins, others logged to console)

Plugin System

Plugin paths must be enclosed in curly brackets: {path\to\plugin.dll}
Plugins must inherit from CustomButton and implement ICustomButton
Plugin assemblies are loaded via reflection and cannot be unloaded without restarting Explobar
COM object separation errors possible when plugins interact with stale Explorer window references
No hot-reload support - configuration changes require showing toolbar again
C# Source Plugins: C# files (.cs) are automatically compiled at runtime
Template Available: A comprehensive plugin template (MyCustomButton.cs) is included in the release package
Language Support: C# 7.3 targeting .NET Framework 4.7.2
Compilation Errors: Check logs (console or log files) for C# compilation errors

Credits

Author: Oleg Shilo
YAML Parser: YamlDotNet
Icon Extraction: IconExtractor

Explobar - Friction-free productivity for Windows Explorer

Note: The application is configured as a Windows Application. Console window is hidden by default but can be toggled via system tray menu or ShowConsoleAtStartup setting for debugging.

explobar oleg-shilo

README

Explobar

The Problem

The Solution

Key Principles

Features

Installation

Quick Start

Explorer Launch Button

Basic Configuration

Minimal Example

Configuration Elements

Placeholders

Stock Buttons

Example: Terminal Integration

Example: Hidden, Shortcut-Only Command

Example: Customizing Explorer Button

Icon Browser

Plugin Development

Two Approaches

Quick Example

Configuration

Troubleshooting

Architecture Highlights

System Tray

Limitations and Constraints

Platform Requirements

Windows 11 Multi-Tab Detection

Path Navigation Constraints

Activation Requirements

Single Instance

Keyboard Shortcuts

Configuration

Plugin System

Links

Credits