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Xfile
System

Super software.

The Xfile System is a collection of three Cocoa applications. (And then about twenty more.)

XfileGeneral navigation and file management.More...
XfindFile searches for contents, data fork, extended attributes, and block use.More...
XscanDisk searches for file names matching regular expressions.More...

Several other applications are loosely bound to the Xfile System. They're kept architecturally separate for reasons which gradually become obvious, but they all have to do with Apple file management.

ACLManage access control lists.More...
BBCBeige Box Cleaner - get rid of legacy cruft.More...
CatinfoView and edit full catalog info data.More...
ClearffClear Finder flags in catalog info records.More...
FileInfoDirectly edit catalog info Finder file info.More...
ForkerFork and unfork files with HFS resource forks.More...
GDEChase Apple around your filesystem.More...
macTagThis is how you'll organise your files in the years to come.More...
RixcompQuickly compare two files or directory hives.More...
RixmodeStamp access modes in batch or with drag and drop.More...
RixstampSet file time stamps in batch or with drag and drop.More...
SPXFully shred files with the 35-step Gutmann method.More...
SPX NighttimeFully shred disks with the 35-step Gutmann method.More...
SwapExchange two files of any size instantaneously.More...
TMIRead ten pages of info available on any file.More...
TrackerMonitor changes to the file system over time.More...
UndercoverBrowse for undercover (hidden and invisible) files.More...
XattrControl file system extended attributes.More...
XattribRead and set Unix file attributes.More...
XsedChange data in thousands of files all at once.More...
XshelfIt's a place to put things.More...
XstampSee and modify all five HFS time stamps.More...
XstatSee and modify all stat fields.More...
XstringsDig inside binary data forks and extended attributes.More...
XXXsed on steroids.More...

The applications of the Xfile System are designed to work together, and employ the ACP Framework to streamline this cooperative effort.

They're tightly integrated so that whatever you intuitively think is possible probably is. For example:

  • You can drop folder names from Xfile onto its own Dock icon, or onto Xscan's Dock icon, or onto an Xscan window or Xfind window
  • You can drop folder paths from Xfind onto new Xfind windows or Xfile's Dock icon or an Xscan window or Xscan's Dock icon
  • You can drop Xfind search results onto themselves or onto a new Xfind window

And so on ad infinitum.

Together, these applications give you all you need to administer filesystems on any Apple computer or network. You simply can't find this anywhere else.

Xfile: Feel the speeeed!


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Finder folders can be pretty, but when it comes to serious system administration, the Apple Finder isn't your tool.

And none of the alternatives available today are going to be any more satisfactory: for one reason or another all of them try to duplicate the complete functionality of the Finder and add to it - when in fact 'less is more' in this context.

The Finder also suffers from being a 'Carbon' application and therefore unable to exploit the functionality of Cocoa - or the greater part of the Apple file system.

Good file system administration tools have to be lean, mean - and fast.

Xfile is fast - and it's unlikely any other application will ever come close to matching its speed. Just as important, Xfile is responsive: you get answers to your questions right away - not after you return from your coffee break.

With an executable footprint under 50 KB (fifty kilobytes) as opposed to several megabytes for the Finder and its current alternatives, there is no way Xfile will not leave the rest of the field in the dust.

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Xfind: Feel more speed.


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Xfind digs away at whatever is thrown at it.

If you've inserted a search string, Xfind will list the files containing that string; if there is no search string, Xfind will calculate the total disk block use, the number of items, and the data fork and extended attribute use for what's been dropped.

Searches can be recursive, meaning you can drop search results right back on the same window (or on new windows if you prefer).

Xfind can also search for what files do not contain your search string.

As Xfind uses the ACP Framework, it too can perform a number of essential file management operations.

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Xscan: Looking for something?


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Xscan gets everywhere on your local file system or in the network. Its navigation, with or without the cooperation of the other Xfile System applications, lets you easily go anywhere.

As Xscan uses 'regular expressions' for searches, you can easily specify exactly what you're looking for, with an unparalleled degree of accuracy.

Xscan also performs an extended attribute scan, ferreting out files with extra HFS+ content anywhere on your computer. The Finder won't even tell you they're there; without Xscan, you'd just never know.

And although resource forks have a historical purpose, they're not limited in any way - in fact, they're the perfect hiding place for viruses, spyware, worms, trojans, and other forms of malware that want to hide on your disks without your knowing about it.

And it might be unnecessary to point this out, but Xscan is just as fast as the other applications in the Xfile System, if not faster. Scanning an entire Apple drive of 100,000 files or more happens in seconds, not minutes - and without indexing or any other 'cheap tricks'.

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