Wanted: file manager/viewer, suit word files

[Tannin]

I'd have thought this would be easy. All I am looking for is an easy way to scroll through a folder of MS Word files, viewing the contents as desired, and managing those files.

I have a folder full of invoices in Word 2000 format, I want to be able to sort the contents (e.g., by date), and scroll through them, viewing contents if needed, then dispatch them to appropriate places - i.e., delete duplicates, send a copy somewhere, move processed invoices into the "processed" folder.

This should be easy! I'd have thought there would be two or three dozen Windows Explorer/File Manager style of applications with (for example) three windows:

• Folder view down the left side
• Files in folder listed on top right
• Contents of file previewed in bottom right window.

No need to edit stuff, just look inside the files and move them around if desired.

Have I lost my touch with Google? I can only find one possibility and it is commercial. Surely there are dozens of freeware apps out that do this?

 

[mubs]

IIRC such programs have always been commercial. But then, I'm pretty much out of touch with much that is happening out there.

 

[sdbardwick]

I think you can use Windows 7 (or Vista, probably) and MS Office (trial version of Office 2010 tested) to accomplish what you want. The previewed file is from Word 97, so I bet that 2000 files would work.

 

[Tannin]

Cheers SB. That is exactly the sort of functionality I'm after.

This machine runs XP, so I don't know if I can do anything like your very helpful screenshot with that. I don't want to do anything too radical to my carefully minimal UI setup either. I used to use XTree Gold for this - that worked brilliantly.

I've completed this particular little job by hand in the meantime, so there is no hurry. I won't need to do it again for a few months. Just for the sake of curiosity, how did you get 7 to do what we see in the screenshot?

 

[sdbardwick]

Ahhh XTree... used that (non-Gold) back on my rockin' 1MB 12MHz 286 and 40MB Seagate 251-1.

Anyway, nothing special on Win 7; just click show preview pane button at far right of the menu bar, and then adjust the split by click-dragging the vertical lines separating the panes.
The .doc preview won't work without having Office installed; I checked on a plain-Jane Win7 box.

 

[Bozo]

I found that the Preview Pane works for picture too.

 

[sdbardwick]

...and PDFs, and some media files (that Windows Media Player handles), and XLS, and TXT and RTF. Previews many types of files depending on the associated applications.

 

[mubs]

sdbardwick, that's awesome! I learned something very useful today, thank you very much!

 

[Bozo]

sdbardwick, that's awesome! I learned something very useful today, thank you very much!

Ditto!
Thanks