Overview

What is Namespace Explorer?

Namespace Explorer : A small tool that allows you to explore and interrogate Shell objects

In depth

A closer look at Namespace Explorer

The Namespace Explorer application was developed to be a small tool that allows you to explore and interrogate the Windows Vista Shell objects. The Windows Shell wraps the file-system and various virtual objects, such as the Recycle Bin, in its own hierarchical namespace. The root of this hierarchy is the Desktop object, and the items below it are laid out like you are probably familiar with when browsing the Windows Explorer. The Shell uses these wrappers to support stuff like Shell Links, thumbnail view, ZIP Folders (where you navigate into a file), and the Recycle Bin, which is actually a container for one or more physical file-system folders. You can instruct the tool to use the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface Registry branch for the search for supported COM interfaces on an object. This part of the Registry is usually updated by several Microsoft components, such as Internet Explorer, and this tool will also try to install several undocumented and popular interfaces here so the scanning result gets more complete. To make use of this feature, you must enable the "Do Full Interface Scan" option in the Interfaces page. While the interfaces from the Registry scan appear to be named, that doesn't mean that they are also documented.

Requirements

System requirements

Windows 7 64 bit / Windows 7 / Windows Vista 64 bit / Windows Vista

Verdict

Should you download Namespace Explorer?

Namespace Explorer runs on Windows 10/11 and is available under the Freeware license — the installer is 346 KB. We’ve catalogued it under General.

Verified clean. Every Namespace Explorer build on SoftLookup is scanned for viruses, spyware, adware, trojans and backdoors. We re-test on every update.