Drag and drop folder from Windows File Explorer to PDF-XChange Editor window

[Jensen Head]

In situations where you need to open all documents from a folder and its subfolders, it is much easier to drag the folder icon onto the PDF-XChange Editor window than to select individual files in File Explorer and drag them individually. Unfortunately, dragging folders onto the PDF-XChange Editor window doesn't work right now.

[Tracker Supp-Stefan]

Hello Jensen Head,

This opens a 'can of worms' where you might forget that you have a subfolder with 1000 additional documents, that you didn't want opening. So I do not see this as a feature that would be added, and you would still need to drag "one selection of files at a time" to the Editor to open them.

If we hear from many other that they would also be interested in such a feature - I would pass it for consideration. So let's see if there would be any other posts with the same request!

Kind regards,
Stefan

[PHK]

In that sort of situation, I select the files in Windows Explorer I want to open in PDF-XCE and hit "Enter." Or open the right-click menu and select "Open." That, to me, is easier than dragging and dropping, but whotthehey.

[Sean - Tracker]

Thanks for the input PHK - if there is more interest in this feature then we will mention it to the developers for consideration as a feature request.

Kind regards,

[PHK]

I neglected to mention that PDF-XCE is my default app for *.pdf files as it should be for everyone on this forum. And this is essential for the default action for "Open" in Explorer to open the files as new tabs in PDF-XCE but I hope that is obvious.

[Paul - Tracker Supp]

[Ovg]

As workaround:
If OP use PDF Tools, it is possible to create a new tool which allows you to select a folder with subfolders and open all the files they contain

[Tracker Supp-Stefan]

Hello Ovg,

Thanks for the suggestion! Indeed that might work, but still involves calling the PDF Tools tool

Kind regards,
Stefan

[Jensen Head]

You might be curious to see the implementation of this method of working with folder documents in the case of Notepad++ — Folder as Workspace, https://npp-user-manual.org/docs/session/#folder-as-workspace

In addition, immediately after the drag and drop (but before the actual opening) it is possible to count the documents to be opened. This is what happens in the advanced search function when calculating progress. https://forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=39744

Finally, when you drag and drop dozens of documents onto the office application, you get the warning "do you really want to open that many documents?". This has been standard practice for 20 years.

[PHK]

True, one does not get the automatic file count if opening PDF files straight from Explorer.

But there is another potentially useful option if the Explorer selection is made up of files that are listed non-contiguously. In addition to opening these files as new tabs, the user also has the option of going straight to Combine Files where the selected files will be added into a new single file and managed with the usual Combine Files options. This may not be what is needed in all situations but it is nice to have the option. And this approach may be easier and more direct than using the Combine Files function in the app particularly if all the files are coming from one folder. The Combine Files function in the app allows the user to populate candidate files in a single list from more than one folder, on the other hand.

[TrackerSupp-Daniel]

Hello, PHK

Thank you for the tip, Another bit of advice I dont see mentioned in this topic is that, while the editor does not accept folders via drag/drop, it does allow multiple files at once via drag/drop. So OP could enter the folder in mind, and use ctrl+A to select all files within the folder, then drag/drop them to the editor, even if the editor is not the default app (I used this often personally when testing issues in the Portable versions of our software).

Kind regards,

[Jensen Head]

By the way, PDF-Tools supports adding files by dragging folders onto the application window. In this case, all files from this folder and subfolders are added to the processing queue, no matter how many there are.

[Dimitar - Tracker Supp]

Thanks for sharing this information, Jensen Head.