73 replies to this topic

[Da Rossa]

... To replace Windows Explorer?
We @ the AHK community are very likely to be productivity addicts. And WE is too limited, we all know that. So, what's the alternative? Xplorer², Directory Opus, Total Comander, XYPlorer, etc???

share your experiences! I'm currently trying xplorer² and D. Opus, they're both powerful.

[Andreone]

I know FreeCommander which is free, fast and lightweight.
You can compare and synchronize folders.
Show fodler size.
Dual pane view.
And more.

[TheIrishThug]

I had settled with Free Commander for a while until I found QT TabBar. Also check out the AddressBar they made.

I still have Free Commander for a few things, but QT TabBar works great for 90% of what I need.

[Da Rossa]

Thanks for the suggestions, but just to check: are you limiting to recommend me free/opensource versions? Filemanaging is an important thing to me, in this case I accept shareware options...

[MateFARKAS]

I think, Total Commander is the best of all! It is not free, but not expensive!
I have only one problem with them: it not works on Linux. :wink:

[OldTroll]

I found a file manager (really intended to be a search engine) that I like better than any I have found over the years. It is a free (not shareware) program from this company - <!-- w -->www.saleensoftware.com<!-- w -->
"ScanFS" can be tweaked to open one or many drives. The version I'm using is 1.0.0 build 101. They're up to build 108, which probably means the original product has not needed many fixes.

[MarkyMark]

There's no "best" file manager really. I used to jump from one to the next, but I always keep coming back to xplorer2, just a matter of personal preference really. Lean and powerful without staying away from the familiar windblows explorer feel.

Bought myself a copy of Total commander as well, as I liked the author's generous attitude. I rarely use it though, but it's a powerful tool.

I highly recommend both.

[jar]

There's no "best" file manager really. I used to jump from one to the next, but I always keep coming back to xplorer2, just a matter of personal preference really. Lean and powerful without staying away from the familiar windblows explorer feel.

Bought myself a copy of Total commander as well, as I liked the author's generous attitude. I rarely use it though, but it's a powerful tool.

I highly recommend both.

I agree with you. Personal taste and my favorite is Servant Salamander. It is not freeware but the nag screen can easily be scipped with the ESC key (and AHK of cource :-))

Greetings,
Jar

[oldHacker]

i have tried alot also. i think total commander to be best, but from an ahk point of view i've found 7-zip to be the easiest to interface with ~ that way i can add my own new features 8) plus it has good compression/decompression.

[bmcclure]

There may not be a "best" file manager, but to me the god of all file managers is Directory Opus. Sure, it's a little pricey, but if you work a lot with files (eg. computers) it pays for itself with droves and droves of features and nearly unlimited scripting and customization options.

They now even have a 64-bit version of DOpus 9 which I'm very happy about.

I finally conceded to purchase DOpus when there was a discount at DonationCoder and I had tried every other file manager I knew of. I tried the demo, and was blown away. The configuration options have configuration options! You can find/compare/sync/rename with GUIs, scripts, batch operations, etc.

It also works very well as a fully integrated zip manager, FTP manager, picture viewer, and supports plugins with a free SDK. It can replace Explorer windows in the operating system seamlessly, and can save windows between sessions.

I love Directory Opus and I think GPsoft did a wonderful job.

ps. It supports skins if you're into that sort of thing, but at least in XP/Vista I think it looks and integrates better without them)

[majkinetor]

Directory Opus

This is probably the best file manager among Total Commander. Version 9 is excelent from what I have seen and heard. Comparing to TC it has better concept IMO, but its also lacks the speed and size TC has.

I hear that authors are not so polite on the forum. The same is true for author of TC which is polite, but nobody ever seen him implementing any suggestion from the user. He is also very slow developer and in fear of competition so he doesn't discuss pending features at public (TC is the most used file manager after Explorer, world-wide, but it still doesn't have complete Unicode support, which is asked for years.) Comparing to DO, TC has much more plug-ins and lot of power users there are AHK oriented when scrpiting is in question so you have large database of scripts on TC Wiki). THere is also large collection of PP scripts done by some russian dude (as always).

Anyway, I don't recomend supporting authors with such attitude. I don't know about DO but TC has unlimited trial period (this info is published only by author on the forum) if you want to stick with 1|2|3 splashscreen (you can legaly automate splashscreen).

[bmcclure]

I believe DOpus expires after the trial period, but I've never gotten to that point with it since I ended up purchasing it, so I can't guarantee that.

I think DOpus has a lot of plugin potential, but it doesn't seem to have a very dedicated plugin developer base out there... it would be nice if more interested developers picked it up and started adding more useful things.

To GPSoft's credit, they have turned several popular plugins into actual program features which is even handier.

But to be honest, I haven't found much that I wish DOpus has since it's so incredibly feature-packed

[whileloop]

I tried many file managers but only Xplorer² and Directory Opus support unicode. Opus is too expensive and bulky for me although it has very good functions. I am looking forward to Total Command 7.5, which will also support unicode.

[polyethene]

i've found 7-zip to be the easiest to interface with

Likewise I find that it's very fast and lightweight. I tweaked Windows Explorer to death so it does the job for me now, but most of the times I'm in console anyway. The alternative explorers mentioned here look good so I may download a few and see what I like.