ZTreeWin

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ZTreeWin
ZTreeWin 1.71
Original author	Kim Henkel
Developer	Zedtek Inc.
Stable release	2.2 / March 1, 2011; 15 years ago (2011-03-01)
Preview release	2.4.217 / November 10, 2023; 2 years ago (2023-11-10)
Operating system	Microsoft Windows
Available in	English
Type	File manager
License	Proprietary
Website	www.ztree.com

ZTreeWin is an orthodox, text based file manager for Microsoft Windows that is a clone of XTree with additional improvements such as supporting long file names and modern versions of windows.

Like XTree, it displays information about files and folders. These are loaded into memory so that search and sort operations are extremely fast. By making use of the large memories of modern computers it allows the display and searching of millions of files.

ZTreeWin runs in a text based Win32 console window. It is primarily key-driven, but also supports the use of the mouse.

The ZAAP architecture is available which supports the integration of add-in applications.

XTree was a popular file manager released in 1985 that could run under MS DOS and early versions of Windows. It was highly popular with a large user base and was considered one of the top two or three file managers for that time. It was particularly popular in the DOS / pre-Windows era as DOS only had a command line interface to manage files.

XTree could run in DOS shell window in early versions of Windows, however at some point around Windows 95 it become incompatible so it could no longer be used with later version of Windows and was no longer sold.

ZTreeWin was created to fill the gap. It is heavily based on XTree and XTree Gold, providing a similar user interface and hot keys.

Kim Henkel used a 16 bit version of XTree Gold in OS/2 but found that it did not support CD-ROMs. He contacted the software vendor and requested it to be enhanced to support CDs and also port it to 32 bit to increase the current memory limit of 640kb. His request was declined and he then offered to port the software for $25,000 USD which was also declined.

After this rejection Henkel created a prototype for ZTree Bold that ran under OS/2. The initial prototype was created in two or three weeks and was written in C. He then sold it as shareware under the name ZTree Bold. This was sold at a time when Symantec was still selling XTree Gold. He later ported the ZTree Bold to Windows and named the new product ZTree Win.

Sales significanly increased after a positive article by John C. Dvorak was published in the 22 September 1998 issue of PC Magazine. Dvorak also arranged for Symantec to agree to allow Henkel legal rights to use XTree's look and feel.^[1]

There was a popular forum, The ZTreeWin Forum, that had about 200 members, that provided technical support. It was managed by Victor Garcia from Mexico City.

In June/July 2024 the forum disappeared from the Internet. Nobody has been able to contact Victor Garcia since then.

The Wayback Machine archive of the old forum can be found at Web Archive.org - Wayback Machine

A new ZTreeWin Forum was established in October 2024. It can be found at ZTreeWin Forum.

ZTreeWin is historically significant as it allows users to run an approximation of XTree which was one of the most popular file managers from the MS-DOS era. This allows users to experience what the 1985 XTree was like, while doing so on a modern version of Windows.

John C. Dvorak stated in an article in the 22 September 1998 issue of PC Magazine

• "I've long lamented the death of XTree ...until I discovered ZTree, an XTree clone"
• "There has never been anything close to it for ease of use and versatilty"
• "ZTree's as good as it gets"^[1]

Around 2001, ZTree was downloaded between 5000 and 8000 times each month from the ZTree website.^[1]

• Complete keyboard support (as well as mouse)
• Tree and/or file views
• Split screen (dual-pane) option
• Find-as-you-type search
• File name search
• File content search (hex, Unicode, text)
• File viewer with multiple view modes (hex, text, dump)
• Set, adjust or increment timestamps (camera co-ordination)
• Duplicate file detection
• Branch (or 'flat') file view - see all files in an entire directory and subdirectories in one view
• Global files view - see all files (or tagged files) on every logged drive
• Tagged files (session-long selection, e.g. once tagged (selected), a file remains tagged until explicitly untagged)
• Batch file creation using tagged filenames with parameters
• Displays size or number of files of each folder or branch (total of all folders below it)
• Powerful and flexible renaming of (multiple) files and/or folders w/search & replace & numeric increment capabilities.
• File comparison
• Directory & Branch comparisons
• User-definable scriptable menu
• Integrated support for .ZIP and .RAR archive files
• Extensible support for many other archive files
• Can be run from floppy disk or USB flash drive without installation
• Session save & resume
• Ability to NOT log (skip) certain directories that you never want to see with wildcard abilities (can override)

• Comparison of file managers

• Official website
• What happened to XTreeGold ? Archived 2012-02-11 at the Wayback Machine
  • The history of XTree Archived 2007-02-02 at the Wayback Machine
• The new (2024) ZTreeWin Forum
• Web Archive.org - Wayback Machine
• Reviews^{[dead link]}
• John C. Dvorak review in PC Magazine September 22, 1998
• Boronia boy is king of the file managers - review and history of ZTree