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What's your preferred File Manager
Darwin:
The poll should have been multiple choice for me, because I resort to different file managers for different specific functionality, and the last option doesn't really capture any useful data. Good start, though.
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I wanted to get to the app that people use as their primary File Manager and felt that allowing people to pick more than one in the poll would skew the results so didn't opt for this when designing it. I can see your point, though - unfortunately, I can't go back and add the option to allow multiple votes to be cast in at this point (it's not an option that is offered to me in editing the poll). All I can suggest is that you post a note listing the File Managers that you use on a regular basis. I use DOpus almost exclusively, but also tend to use XYPlorer and TC at least once a day. Lately, I've been using TC heavily (as you probably have gathered from the original thread) but still find myself falling back on DOpus. This is as much because it is still configured to replace Windows Explorer on my system. Anyway, long and short of it is that I can't change the poll now without resetting the vote count and (possibly) starting from scratch.
By the way, that should be spelled "AB" Commander.
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Whoops. Thanks for pointing that out - I've corrected it.
JohnFredC:
OK. Here's my list.
TotalCommander
Registered. Open on my desktop continuously. Use for nearly everything. Never lost a file. Most recent versions sometimes slow considerably when accessing network shares. Has the most responsive/fastest GUI (maybe because there isn't much of a GUI going on!). Faulty plugins can cause crashes.
SpeedCommander
Still testing this one but may purchase soon. Use for unzipping encrypted archives since TC (being Swiss) won't always accept a password (important thing to know, eh?). Lost one file, once, could have been operator (ie. my) error but I don't think so.
Also am testing the SC virtual file list functionality for making easy backup sets.
Altap Salamander
Registered. Use occasionally. Best/smoothest interaction paradigm. Sheer delight to use, but no folder trees, no folder tabs, no quickview, only 10 folder favorites. Most stable (no crashes, ever.) Never lost a file.
DOpus
Registered. Use occasionally. Spend most of my time trying to figure out how to make it behave like TC or SC. No luck so far. Poor folder tab implementation. Panel dividers don't behave as I want. Quickview only in right panel. Never lost a file. Crashes occasionally.
FreeCommander
Hoping for improvement, so I test from time to time. Not enough reliability data to comment. Plagued with display issues ( I use "large" fonts).
EFCommander
Back in my testing cycle since it now claims to support TC plugins. So far, wlx (viewer) plugins appear to work OK, content/custom columns (wdx) and file system (wfx) plugins fail (for the ones I have tested). Haven't tested archive (wcx) plugins yet.
The Pack
I just test the latest versions occasionally to see if they have improved to a level where they might be candidates for my use. None have so far.
Renegade:
JohnFredC,
So what do you recommend as the best choice?
JohnFredC:
IMHO, naturally:
It depends a bit on whether you have a causal need or a "production" need. Also, are you a mouse person or a keyboard person?
Please note that my preferences are for dual-pane file managers, with (preferably) or without dual folder trees. If you just want one that does only a folder tree and a file panel, I hope you "see the light" some day.
If you are a casual user, most of them (including nearly any member of the "Pack"... Enriva Magellan comes to mind) work OK. I personally think Salamander is really nice, though, even with its limitations. If you are a heavy mouse user, SpeedCommander has the best tree/folder tab, etc, integration/behavior, IMHO. Version 12 has a nicely implemented breadcrumb bar functionality, though one can't drag and drop to it (darn!).
If you need "industrial strength"... meaning you work with "weird" file systems, manage remote servers, or need obscure archivers, or use more/different metadata than that provided by Windows itself, or mostly prefer keyboard over mouse, or want to be able to view essentially any file, then TC (plus plugins... I repeat: PLUS plugins) is the way to go, with the understanding that you WILL have to learn the best ways to use it. It's the plugins that make TC so powerful, mostly.
On the other hand if you need automation (that is, multi-step file activities) and are not comfortable with writing batch files or using a tool like AutoHotkey (necessary for automating TC, for instance) but are not averse to some coding or code-like scripting, then look at SpeedCommander (built-in VB script object model) or DOpus (limited scripting, but good GUI for what it does do).
And if you are only a casual user without a lot of file management needs who just loves to play with software, fiddling with colors and buttons and menus etc etc then Dopus is your man. That thing seems to have a setting for nearly everything... except the things I personally need settings for. ;)
If you need Unicode, the landscape changes, though. At this writing TC, Salamander, FreeCommander, and most members of the "Pack" do not support Unicode.
Cost is another issue, too. TC is one of the least expensive. You buy it once, free upgrades forever. DOpus is the most expensive initially AND you have to repurchase it to keep up with its rather speedy evolution. SpeedCommander is similar, though less than DOpus. That's one reason I suggest looking at FreeCommander. It's still a baby, but is currently free and offers a lot of functionality.
Let me also step in here, though, and say quite bluntly that even the lowliest member of the "Pack" is generally more efficient for file management than MS Explorer. If you are using Explorer, you're spending too much time doing file management. Pick another file manager. You'll be glad you did!
masu:
I just use the WIndows Explorer, so I needn't adjust my behaviour on different PCs
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