Amiga Forever by Cloanto
 
Products Support
 
 

Amiga Explorer 9 Released

February 25, 2021 - Cloanto, Amiga software developers since 1986, released today version 9 (9.0.7.0) of Amiga Explorer, the Amiga-PC networking software that first saw the light in 1997.

New features include:

  • Protocol extended to support additional file system operations (random read and write, append, etc.)
  • Protocol extended to query additional server-side system properties (platform and branch, RAM, ROM version and CRC32, various date and time attributes, etc.)
  • Added "Virtual Files" folder to the namespace root (contains disk images and other virtual files)
  • New option to automatically set the Amiga clock from the Windows side
  • New features in the Properties dialog: show or hide the Amiga icon under the "This PC" namespace, enable or disable the crash reporter, Changelog tab, etc.
  • New Setup Wizard to transfer the Amiga side
  • Enhanced data extraction when reading disks with errors
  • All file and directory property dialogs now contain an edit control to rename the file or directory
  • Numerous other fixes and enhancements (see the Changelog)

Several new protocol features are the result of ongoing collaborations with open source developers, including some who are working on GNU/Linux Filesystem in Userspace (FUSE) drivers.

The "AE" tool, which gives Windows command-line access to Amiga Explorer configuration and data sharing features, has also been extended to support the new features. Type "AE Help" to see a list of command-line options.

Upgrades are free to all Amiga Explorer and Amiga Forever Plus Edition customers. Amiga Explorer is also free to try under a shareware license. Registration is appreciated, but many features, including the command-line mode, are fully functional in trial mode.

Traditionally, updates to the Amiga (server) side of Amiga Explorer have also been made available via an "AExplorer_Update.lha" file on Aminet. This file too has been refreshed, and is now able to patch any version released since 1997 to the latest 9.0.7.0 build. As the new Amiga version includes functionality to support updates originating from the Windows (client) side, Amiga-side patch releases like this one could become less necessary in the future.

The full Amiga source code and the Windows "core" source code is available to a closed group on GitHub. Windows core features include the data exchange features and the command-line user interface, i.e. everything that is needed to implement, study or support the full protocol, including the buildable Visual Studio project used for Cloanto's distribution. The Windows namespace extension and its installer are not currently part of this set. The plan remains to extend the open source availability as certain milestones in the data exchange protocol are met.

Screenshot

Click to view full-size graphics
Amiga Explorer on Windows

Additional Information