Buzz Folders – File Open/Save Dialog Box Extender

The Libraries feature on Windows 7 is useful but not enough, because it doesn’t give me access to the most recently used folders.

When I was on Windows XP, FlashFolder used to help me with this. It attached a toolbar to the File Open and Save dialog box that gave me options to access the recently opened folders, favorite folders and so on. Unfortunately, FlashFolder doesn’t work on Windows 7. But Buzz Folders do.

While FlashFolder extended the Open/Save dialog box with a horizontal toolbar at the top, Buzz Folder attaches a box underneath the dialog box, like this.

The Buzz Folders extender hanging at the bottom has 4 tabs:

• The first tab tracks folders recently opened from the current program
• The second tab labeled ‘Stickies’ is user customizable and allows you to add your favorite folders
• The third tab labeled ‘Global’ lists all folders recently accessed from all programs
• The fourth and final tab shows last accessed locations for particular file types. For example, say you saved a JPG to location1 and a PDF to location2. The next time you wish to save or open a JPG, you can choose file type JPG from this tab and immediately get access to location1 and all previous folders where you saved to or opened a JPG file from.

  

My biggest gripe is the program lists only the last 4 recent locations, a limitation the developer imposes to force users to upgrade to the paid version. However, a history of up to 10 recently opened/accessed folders can be viewed from the program’s tray icon.

Quick features overview:

• Save a file in one program and quickly access it from another
• Keep track of all the folders you open from and save to
• Filter folders by filetype and program
• Customizable Tabbed Interface
• Favourites list per program
• Works with "Browse For Folder" dialogs
• Works with WinXP, Vista, and Win7