File manager

File Managers are computer applications that provide access to files, and help perform common operation on them - such as copy, move or delete. Although they are essential part of a computer system, and one or more file manager is usually supplied by the operating system software's manufacturer, a file manager software is not part of the operating system software - it is an application software. Many popular operating systems such as Microsoft Windows ™ or Linux ™ in fact can use many different types of file managers, created for sale by third party vendors or given away for free by aspiring computer programmers.

The first file managers were created for operating systems that were equipped with a [character user interface]?.These file managers were typically represented computer disks, directory structures or network shares in their actual, physical layout, and allowed only a limited set of operation on these resources. With the advent and success of [graphical user interfaces]? file managers gained more functionality, such as the ability to associate files with the programs that created them, and operation via pointer devices instead of commands typed on keyboards. They also allowed a more intuitive way to place files and folders, and they made locating remote resources somewhat easier. In the wake of the World Wide Web file managers went through one more incarnation, and become completely independent of computer platforms or operating systems. A file manager software that is created to run from a browser does not require the installation of the software on the local machine, but it is automatically downloaded from a remote location - making access to the software virtually effortless and unrestrichted.