Explorer Soft Admin Shell

Explorer Soft Admin Shell adds a desktop-like interface inside the WordPress admin area. After activation, the plugin opens the desktop shell and makes it the default admin landing screen while keeping the classic WordPress admin available.

Features include:

• Desktop icons for common admin areas.
• A default View site shortcut that opens the public site in a desktop window.
• A default Products shortcut for users who can edit WooCommerce products.
• A Start menu generated from the current WordPress admin menu.
• Draggable, resizable, minimizable and maximizable admin windows.
• Admin pages framed with early CSS to avoid flashing the classic admin chrome.
• Admin links opened in a new tab or window from framed pages reopen in Explorer Soft Admin Shell.
• A visible power-style logout button in the desktop taskbar.
• A dismissible rating banner inside the desktop shell after initial use.
• Per-user desktop layout saved in user meta.
• Custom folders and custom shortcuts for WordPress admin pages.
• Drag and drop support for moving custom shortcuts into folders and back to the desktop.
• Wallpaper/background presets and custom background values.
• WordPress Media Library support for background images.
• Theme presets for the desktop shell.
• A theme editor for icon, icon text, taskbar, Start menu and window titlebar colors.
• A modern clock widget enabled by default.
• Opt-in weather widget settings with location, provider and API configuration.
• Opt-in news widget settings with RSS feed URL and refresh interval.
• Preset RSS feed choices for crypto, world, IT/tech and WordPress news.
• Shortcut picker support for WordPress admin toolbar actions.
• Responsive desktop scaling for shortcuts and widgets.
• Visual Dashicon picker for custom desktop item editing.

The plugin does not track users. Weather and news requests are disabled by default and are only made after the current user enables the relevant widget, accepts the privacy notice and configures a provider or RSS feed.

Custom shortcut targets are limited to the current site’s WordPress admin area. The default View site shortcut opens the current site’s public home URL.

External services

Explorer Soft Admin Shell does not track users and does not contact third-party services by default. External requests are only made after the current user enables the related widget and configures the provider or feed.

Weather services

The Weather widget is disabled by default. When enabled, the user’s browser contacts the selected weather provider to show live conditions. The configured location is sent to the selected provider when the widget loads or refreshes. API keys, when used, are stored only in the current user’s saved desktop layout.

Supported weather providers:

• Open-Meteo geocoding and forecast APIs, used to find the configured location and load current weather without an API key. Terms and privacy: https://open-meteo.com/en/terms
• OpenWeatherMap current weather API, used only when the user selects OpenWeatherMap and enters an API key. Terms: https://openweathermap.org/terms Privacy: https://openweathermap.org/privacy-policy
• WeatherAPI.com current weather API, used only when the user selects WeatherAPI.com and enters an API key. Terms: https://www.weatherapi.com/terms.aspx Privacy: https://www.weatherapi.com/privacy.aspx
• Custom JSON endpoint, used only when the user enters a custom endpoint. The configured location and API key placeholders may be sent to that custom URL depending on the URL entered by the user.

RSS news services

The News widget is disabled by default. When enabled, WordPress uses its feed functions to request the configured RSS feed URL from the server and display headlines. The RSS feed URL is sent when the widget loads or refreshes. Preset feeds are optional conveniences; users can choose a custom RSS feed instead.

Preset RSS providers:

• CoinDesk RSS. Terms: https://www.coindesk.com/terms/ Privacy: https://www.coindesk.com/privacy
• Cointelegraph RSS. Terms and privacy: https://cointelegraph.com/terms-and-privacy
• BBC News RSS. Terms: https://www.bbc.co.uk/usingthebbc/terms/ Privacy: https://www.bbc.co.uk/usingthebbc/privacy/
• Le Monde RSS. Terms: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/help/article/2026/03/19/general-terms-and-conditions_6751600_106.html Privacy: https://www.lemonde.fr/confidentialite/
• TechCrunch RSS. Terms: https://techcrunch.com/terms-of-service/ Privacy: https://techcrunch.com/privacy-policy/
• The Verge RSS. Terms: https://www.voxmedia.com/legal/terms-of-use Privacy: https://www.voxmedia.com/legal/privacy-notice
• WordPress.org News RSS. Terms: https://wordpress.org/about/terms-of-service/ Privacy: https://wordpress.org/about/privacy/