The result is a personal account, not a lab test. The write-up gives no Windows build, app versions or hardware, so treat it as one person's daily-driver verdict. Even so, the pattern in it is useful, and the File Explorer part comes with a real warning.
The scorecard
| Built-in app | Open-source challenger | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Media Player | VLC | Stayed |
| Snipping Tool | ShareX | Stayed |
| Notepad | Notepad++ | Stayed as the default for text files |
| Paint | Krita | Paint regained its everyday role; Krita stays installed |
| File Explorer | Files | Files stays installed; Explorer regained the default role |
"Survived" here means the author kept reaching for the alternative. It does not mean the losers were uninstalled. Krita and Files both remain on his machine for specific jobs.
The author changed file associations and shortcuts "wherever Windows let me." That qualifier matters, as the File Explorer section shows.
VLC: the predictable winner
The author sent subtitled videos, odd files and network streams to VLC. He says Media Player never gave him a dramatic reason to leave. VLC just became muscle memory. He also used it to strip audio from a video, though that is his anecdote and not a procedure verified here.
VideoLAN's own feature page backs up the appeal. VLC is listed as playing files, discs, webcams, devices and streams, with subtitle formats and network inputs such as HTTP/FTP and UDP/RTP. The page's "plays all formats" line is promotional wording, so read it as "supports a very wide range" and not "will open anything."
ShareX: PrtSc as a workflow
Snipping Tool is no pushover, and the author says so. Microsoft's support documentation lists free-form, rectangle, window and full-screen snips, plus video snips. It also covers annotation tools and a Text actions button for OCR, with quick redaction of email addresses and phone numbers. Microsoft says the text recognition runs locally on the device.
ShareX's advantage is chaining steps. Its hotkey guide says each hotkey can have its own after-capture tasks, such as copying the image to the clipboard, saving it to a file, opening it in an editor or uploading it. Those per-hotkey settings override the global ones. That is the "save to the right folder and copy to the clipboard at once" behaviour the author describes.
Practical points for anyone trying it:
- Expect a setup tax. The author spent the first few days wading through settings.
- Uploading is optional. The save-and-copy workflow doesn't need it.
- ShareX's guide says it does not detect hotkey conflicts with Windows or other apps. If you remap Print Screen or use Windows-key combinations, test them afterwards.
- Snipping Tool already responds to Print Screen and Win+Shift+S, so decide which tool owns each key.
Notepad++: where Notepad runs out of road
The author concedes that modern Notepad has tabs, session restore, spellcheck, autocorrect and light formatting. He still uses it for five-second notes. Notepad++ took over for logs, JSON, config files and bulk edits where one pattern has to change across dozens of lines.
The Notepad++ project's feature list supports that use. It names syntax highlighting and folding, PCRE regular-expression search and replace, multi-view, and macro recording and playback. Notepad's feature set varies by Windows build, so check your own install before assuming it matches.
The sensible split is both: Notepad for scratch notes, Notepad++ for anything with structure.
Krita: overqualified for the job
Krita could do everything he asked, but it felt like bringing a studio to a cropping job. Paint was quicker for resizing, cropping out a browser tab, combining two images and removing a background. Part of the reason is that ShareX had already absorbed his screenshot annotation. Krita is built for painting, illustration, comics and animation, and it stays installed for that.
The source doesn't compare image quality, speed or file-format support, so this is a verdict about friction, not capability.
Files: the swap that needs a warning label
The author calls Files the closest call. Dual-pane browsing, tags, layouts, column view and a command palette made File Explorer look austere. The Files project describes itself as a community-built, open-source file manager with multitasking, tags and deep integrations. XDA Developers' review also praised the dual-pane view and tags. It noted performance issues and that the app is limited by Windows in some ways.
The catch is making Files the default. The Files project's own guide is titled as unsupported. It tells users to back up the Registry first and warns the method may not work for everyone. It offers a script-based route and a manual route. The manual route edits HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\Directory so folder opens call Files. The project also supplies an undo file to restore Explorer.
That is a shell-extension hack, not a Windows setting. XDA's review says Windows doesn't let you choose a default file manager, so the workaround needs registry editing. Even then, coverage of Files notes it doesn't replace Windows' built-in file picker, the dialog apps show when you upload or open a file. The author reached the same conclusion. The inconsistency bothered him more than any missing Explorer feature.
A public issue on the Files tracker shows how fragile this can be. One user on a Windows 11 Insider build found the replacement toggle kept switching itself off. They traced it to installing Files on a non-system drive, and reinstalling on C: fixed it. That is a single report, not a general rule, but it fits the project's "may not work for everyone" caveat.
If you try it anyway:
- Back up the Registry first and keep the backup somewhere reachable, such as the desktop.
- Install Files on the system drive.
- Use the project's own undo method if you want Explorer back. MakeUseOf's earlier Files guide warns that uninstalling the app does not revert the change automatically.
- Don't expect every app or dialog to follow the redirect.
What the experiment says
The author's own lesson is that feature count didn't decide the winners. Fit with Windows, and how little thought the tool demanded, did. The three keepers each fill a gap Microsoft's version leaves open: format and stream flexibility, scriptable capture, and structured text editing. The two that lost were competing on Microsoft's home turf, with quick image edits and the file-handling plumbing that other apps call.
There are fair counterarguments. One person's month isn't a benchmark. A developer will value Notepad++ far more than someone who writes shopping lists. A heavy file-juggler may tolerate Files' integration gaps. And all of these tools are optional installs, so nothing stops you running Paint for crops and Krita for illustration.
Bottom line
- Keep VLC if you deal with subtitles, odd formats or streams.
- Try ShareX only if you'll invest in setup for repeatable capture workflows.
- Use Notepad++ for logs, JSON, configs and regex edits, and Notepad for quick notes.
- Leave Paint as your quick-edit tool, and Krita for actual painting.
- Treat Files as a companion app. Making it the system default is unsupported and registry-based, so don't do it casually.