OK, I've taken the plunge and switched over to LiteStep and love it. Now I\'m itching to replace all my windows utils. Does anyone know of a good file manager replacement? I\'ve looked for some but they all look like something from Windows 3.1.1.
I'd also like to find a text editor that uses vi commands, being a unix guy all my windows text docs have various jjjj kkklll\'s in them where I forgot what tool I was using.
Thanks to everyone for doing such a good job with Litestep and the support for it.
Dfileman is a good one, its very simple, and has some neeto features.
but.... whats wrong with the explorer file manager? i think its uba
here's an older thread discussing alt. file managers -> <a href="http://www.litestep.net/index.php?section=4&action=view&catId=1&id=240">clikie</a>
I like Servant Salamander. It's fast, simple to use and it looks better than Total Commander.
http://www.altap.cz/
Aquatron, no real complaints about the explorer file manager, but then again I never had any complaints about the explorer shell. Loading up LS made me think "Hmm, what other awesome utils am I missing out on".
There's a win32 vi version somewhere on the internet, but I don't remember where.
I guess it won't be hard to find...
you can get a windows version of gvim over at
http://www.vim.org/
I just installed LiteStep with Simplicity..
I Configured it, and now it's running...
but my mistake was to take Explorer instead of Total Commander as File Manager.. how do i change without the need to re-install
Run evar_config.exe that is in the litestep directory. Maybe.
LOL! sorry for not noticing ! *bangs head in wall*
and you could just edit/add paths in personal/evars.rc ;)
http://www.ghisler.com
TOTAL COMMANDER 5.51
experts' choice.
I'll say Directory Opus gotta be the best file manager known to windows... its open source just like litestep
and if only it were free :( oh yeah and it doesn't work with icon packager (unless anyone knows how to tweak this) .. except for those reasons.. yes!
Directory Opus is THE BEST. But, Nestor, it's not open source (or you don't know what this means)...
Total Commander (old Windows Commander) is the best. :P
This s taken from Ilmcuts' URL:
Dual Pane. ($28)
LSML quotes:
1) "Windows Commander all the way!." --Elliot Sowadsky
2) I've used Windows Commander for a year and it certainly is wonderful! Among things, you can open one ftp site in each window and copy files directly between them. There's a load of very useful hotkeys for just about everything, even directory shortcut hotkeys. -Kenneth Jonsson
3) "By [all] means it's the best utility ever written for windoze, it DOES substitute explorer for me (i'm on NT4). Supports two-pane files management, native packer handling, customizable toolbar, ftp, fxp, network resources and much much much more." --Francesco Stano
I m using it for hm, i think 3 or 4 years. :]
I ve tested Directory Opus 2 years ago, i think. It was too slow as i remember. Anyway, ready to test the latest version, then.
GXExplorer, boy, a little old, but free and it works with IconPackager.
t.o.t.a.l heh. :D this s my last advice.
Its amazing how the obviously good products are over looked.
Ive used total commander, and although it is a 'bit' better than opus (which is not free source),
Powerdesk is by *far* the best file manager for win32
http://www.v-com.com/product/pd_ind.html
someone had mentioned vi for windows, you have to be at least 18 to use it ;)
vim.org
For the customization: Directory Opus. This is my last word
Dopus is v.good as is Powerdesk Pro. Total Commander offers the same features but is ugly as hell....
Total Commander can be configured to look the way you want though... and who cares when it's the best file manager around ;)
I'd say to anyone that you should just download all the suggested apps and see which one you like best. All users have unique preferences anyway!
I hate the managers with explorer file managing style. Just only for amateurs. :]
Anyway I would like to see TC to use less GDI\system resources coz it's running everytime when the PC's running.
Hm, with all those customization features, how much percent of resources does DOpus eat? Have anybody ever searched this?
Deedstyger: Dopus 00% cpu ; about 8Mb
Smurth: Do you know anything about Windows heap, GDI? It s related with versions of Windows 9x+ME.
I don't know what Windiws heap or GDI means.
I don't use Win9x/ME
Dopus uses up to 10MB, plus 5MB VM and 400 odd GDI Objects. Pdesk Pro uses 2.5MB plus 4 VM and 140 GDI obs.....dunno about TC as I've uninstalled it....
erm.. sorry man, didn't read enough before commenting. yeah Opus isn't open source (I've always thought it is...lol), still that doesn't take away the impression on me that it's the best file manager I've come across so far
I use 2xExplorer:
http://www.netez.com/2xExplorer
free with doule panes and some really nice features, being also fast.
The best one is again Total Commander 5.51 after I've at last downloaded & installed & reviewed Directory Opus 6.2.0.2. If you are on Win9x, Dir Opus takes %10 percent each of Windows GDI & System resources and that at the end makes you to run only 3-4 programs at a time. That's not well for a file manager. The ratios in Total Commander are %5 to %2-3 which is approx. half of Dir Opus.
The advantage of using Dir Opus against Total Commander is only being much more customizable.
That's all.
are there any that have tab-completion navigation (wherein you could initiate a change directory feature which would let you type unix-style tab-completes to move through a GUI interface)? cmd.exe doesn't even have that so maybe I'm asking too much....
If you work faster with lsxcommand than in a file manager like TC, then I'm mighty impressed ;)
Eheh :] Coz, you dont need tab-completion in TC. :]
maybe it's time for filemanager.dll for LS? Or just a combination of lsbox, lsxcommand, mzscript, label and fileplus... Would be kinda cool.
Great idea, TacknDar, a Litestep File Manager... Cool!!!! Specially if it got dual panel like 2xplorer.
I guess there will be a lot of !reloadmodule...
TC is enough. No need to make things harder.
I agree that TC is enough, but just for kicks it could be interesting to make a LS filemanager. Maybe when IconDesk gets !lsboxhook thrown in...
i tried TC and i did not like it. i still love servant salamander, the new beta is great. check it out at
http://www.altap.cz
How do I get TC to totally replace explorer? I've got it set as the fileman in my litestep environment variables, but I'd like to open folders with it when I right click on the folder in my popups, basically can I get it to take the "open" and "explore" commands in right click menus, or just add it there somewhere?
I added an item (2xOpen) on the context menu for 2xExplorer by adding some strings to the registry, but you can do the same for TC (I believe) (changing path obviously ;) ):
____________________________________
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\2xOpen]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\2xOpen\command]
@="D:\\Programs\\2xExplorer\\2xExplorer_Z1b.exe \"%1\""
yeah, that seems to work, although I cant get it to change the behaviour of "open" and "explore", I can add my own option for TC. Cheers
Tried out Directory Opus and have to say it's superb. What's best about it is that it can replace Explorer entirely, making all open and likewise commands open a DOpus lister. Using it cures the filemanager blindness I mentioned in an another post and you get no drawbacks either. A+ for that.
I do support The SaiNt, about FileMaster, since there should be a new release this summer, it is free software, and it treats archives like folders.
At the moment, i'm using Total Commander, ... since i started using Norton Commander, when it was DOS time, and i liked it so much.
i lost lots of time over the inet looking for a file manager, which support exclusive filtering of filelist. have any idea? i recall one - DOS Navigator, but it's a bit incompatible with win32.
Directory Opus is the shizzle nizzle of file-managers. Explicit filtering of file lists, hotkeys to switch to specified directories, multi-pane, customizable toolbars, the list goes on and on, and the crack is easy to find :)
Directory Opus, my two cents :)
Since installing LiteStep, I've been having problems with Explorer as a File Manager. When browsing to view contents of a drive, it would bug out and take a long time. Explorer is pretty useless--even as a taskbar.
something that hasnt been mentioned yet is xplorer^2 by the same guy who wrote 2xexplorer. he claims that it is still an alpha and should be used only for testing, but i have been using it for about a week now without any problems at all. it has all the features of 2xexplorer implemented as far as i can tell, adds more new features than i can count (check out the scrap frame, its one of the coolest ideas ive seen for a file manager) and is significantly faster than 2xexplorer. its also freeware... get it
here
Total Commander 6.0 is out :) lots of improvements! I bet DOpus is great, but I've been a registered user of TC for a couple of years now, and I'm a huge fan of this file manager. Fast and does what I need + more, and has a plugin-system which is great for a LiteStep-fan :)
Are there any file managers that can replace explorer totaly? I know about DOpus, but are there any others?
The question for me is, 'how DOpus does that explorer replacement´? I'm powerdesk user, and it lacks this feature, and it annoys me alot.
what features in Explorer do you think aren't covered in other file managers? I don't miss anything from explorer in TC, for instance!
TucknDar: Are you talking to me?
What I meant when I said "Totaly replace" was that it should automaticly open whenever I click on a folder, or Win+E or any other way you can think of that will normaly bring up Explorer. It should handle both the control panel and recycle bin as well...
I was not talking of the features in the filemanager, I'm pretty sure all replacement filemanagers are better than explorer :)
heh, ok, I understand. If you use LS (and I assume you are) any filemanager should be able to open in stead of explorer, as long as you configure your popup/hotkeys and whatnot.
*hotkey WIN E $totalcmd$totalcmd.exe
*Popup "control panel" "$filemanager$ [some sort of path to control panel or whatever, I know I can do this with TC]"
I suppose you could try to make a file called explorer.lnk (pointing to your filemanager) which in someway would have to be read ahead of explorer.exe... Haven't tried it, so I don't know what you need to do, though.
Hi there,
as various people pointed me to this thread, I'll post my question here, too. ;)
Is there an alternative to
http://www.WinBrowser.com, i.e. another file viewer that uses Miller columns à la NeXT File Viewer or the OS-X filemanager? I don't feel like spending $20 on unsupported software (WinBrowser was last updated in 2000).
93,
-Sascha.rb
http://trackerv3.com/ gets my recommendation. Small, fast, free (although not open source), with a good amount of usability tweaks that other fm's seem to ignore. One obvious one is the ability to show all files with their extensions, but only select the name part by default when executing a rename operation.
Not as powerful as radsoft's X-File suite, but a lot easier to get your hands on.
I second xplorer^2 (xplorer², if that translates). It's a fantastic FM. (For the record, it also does the select-the-name-only renaming thing.) It's an alpha, but it's really stable. I've only experienced one crash.
Dfileman. It basically looked like Explorer w/o toolbars, single-pane, and double-clicking in blank space brought you up a directory. I considered the interface perfect...but it had trouble w/ network drives and UNC paths.
edit: decided I'd go find a copy and try it again...and what luck would I have, but it works fine w/ network drives. Goodbye explorer and your 50px more toolbar padding.
Magellan Explorer. My choice - it rocks :-)
*nuff-said*
Just pulled Dir Op
and i love it thanks for the heads up about that rocking progy
Total Commander is thebest choice.
Hi
Directory opus would be good.....
It was one of the best file managers on the AMIGA.... The original "Jonathan Potter" author had dificulties making it perform the same advanced functions on the PC, but 10 years after the Amiga release a PC version was born, although not as powerfull as the Amiga version (particully v5).
What we realy need is a replacement "TASK MANAGER", as that is the back bone
This is quite completely unrelated, but one hardcore guy I know used Task Manager as his shell for a long time. It could be used to run programs and alt-tab switched tasks. He didn't need anything else.
I would say that DOpus is the best but I'm open to other suggestions. I've tried almost all file managers I've heard of I kept going back to DOpus. With v.8 out it adds so much customizability and now supports better themeing and with icon packager. I would say that it is worth the money they ask for.
I paid for two licenses of DOpus, one for both of my computers. I'd say there is no question about whether it was worth it, because it is.
ExploreXp has been reasonably good for me. Alittle slow sometimes when loading networked drives, but that's probably my network's fault.
I'll go with xplorer² as well. It is much lighter than most other FMs and does everything I need it too. Directory Opus is awesome, but it is really overkill for me and uses far more resources when compared to xplorer².
The very best is TrackerV3:
http://www.trackerv3.com
Vapor is truly the best. I have been using it for a while and have no complaints. It is free and has many features such as a built in web browser. Vapor is also much faster and more stable than Microsoft Windows File Manager. You can download it at
http://www.vipercorp.com in the downloads section.
Windows File Explorer works for me.
Directory Opus, no doubt there for me
Does anyone know where I can get Dfileman? All links are dead.
I'm using FAR (File and Archive Manager) --
http://farmanager.com. It runs in text mode wich makes it very fast and responsive. It also has a lot of plugins that does most of the things one might need
Direcory Opus know no equal. Its not just a file manager, its the file manager.
I've tried every alternative file manager I could get my hands on, and nothing else can even come close to Opus. It does absolutely everything I want, exactly the way I want it to. It also has a robust system of internal commands, which can be fed to it though the command prompt. This means that you can trigger Opus to do just about anything from a litestep button or menu. I've made a series of buttons that will open a certain folder in a new tab, focus/maximize Opus, and bring it to the current desktop. Opus can also interact with Litestep in much the same way; I made a button in Opus that hides my LS task bar, as well as the folder tree, status bar, and toolbars (a sort of make-shift full screen mode).
It takes quite a bit of configuration to get it to behave exactly the way you want it to, but that shouldn't be a deterrent for someone who uses Litestep. Worth every penny I paid for it, and then some.
A [b]hidden strength[/] of 2xExplorer Z1 is that you can save the window's preferences (last position, size, bookmarks, drive-letter display options, toolbar display options, 1 or 2 pane layouts, active folders, folder file list type, folder sorting, etc.) in the registry under a name you specify via the command line (with the switch /S:yourPreferenceNameHere).
For instance, I have one for my Downloads folder. the switch is something like /S:downloads. It remembers that I like my downloads folder sorted descending by date, so that my recently downloaded items are first. The other pane is set to open in my C:\myStuff\ProgramFiles folder where I often place new programs that I download and extract. The Bookmarks list also contains a link to the Windows Program Files folder for quick navigation.
Note: I tried xplorer2, but I couldn't find some of the things that I liked about 2xExplorer, so I just went back to 2xExplorer.
I was using the demo of Dopus and it was great, but there are plenty of free FMs out there that do everything I need, without quite so many bells and whistles, and quite a few that aren't so hard on the eyes either. Freecommander is one of the former and cubic explorer the latter.
However, one thing Dopus does do really well is completely replace the dreaded windows explorer.exe. I've been editing the registry until my fingers are bleeding but I can't get any other FM to open when I click on a !dynamicfolder in my popup. It always goes to windows explorer, then if I click on a folder in explorer it opens in my preferred FM. Can anyone shed any light on how I convince !dynamicFolder links in my popup to open in my FM of choice?
I got thinking and had a look at the source code of xPopup. I'm out of my depth there, but I noticed that in the mouse events section it mentions explorer.exe specifically. Maybe that's the cause of my woes. Now all I have to do is work out how to change that...
aha! this could be it.. on the
xyplorer wiki page it says that you create a key called xyplorer with the value open in xyplorer and then replace the default value of HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell with that key.. erm or something like that. I might give xyplorer a go, it's worth the 40 bucks if it works..
I prefer tab-based managers I'm using two file managers and I can't decide which is the best. Total Commander has a nice appearance, but FAR is much more customizable then Total.
Not to sound like a repeater, but try xplorer2 (xplorer²). It's no longer Alpha, and has all the features anyone could want and more.
peterj76 - whoa dude... you mentioned Amiga... brings me waaaay back. :) I started with a comm64, then A1000, then A2000.... yep, def the good ole dayz. :) DOpus seemed to be ahead of its' time back then... and it's still kickin' butt today. Nice to see 'nudder former Amiga user out there.. you take care now, ya hear. :)
most links posted here dont work, can you update them?
also can you make a list with all the proposed file managers? and add them to wiki maybe
thanks
Only one bad link in the entire list and it was to a user submitted picture as to what he was talking about. Nothing to Update.
Google does a good job of finding stuff, too.
I'm using Directory Opus. I thought it was okay at first, but once I put a bit of time into customizing it it kicks arse. The ability to create buttons to go to FTP servers, emptying recycle bin, common folders etc...
what about a portable file manager to bundle with a portable litestep version?
For something that's both a -bit- more functional than explorer, and more importantly PRETTY, try Nexus File V. (http://xiles.net/)
It's one of the best compromises between form and function I've seen.
I`ve tried about 15 file managers and end with Nexus really good free FM!
Cubic Explorer isn`t bad too :) but there are still some bugs...
http://www.cubicreality.com/