Best Free File Manager
Windows Explorer is fine for simple file management activities but when you have some serious work to do, you need a multi-pane pane file manager. Gizmo uses Directory Opus which he sees as the best product in this class, but which costs $59. A good free alternative is xplorer² lite. It offers a good part of the functionality of Directory Opus and is totally free. As a bonus, its user interface is very similar to Windows Explorer, so most users will find this tool easy to learn and use.
XYplorer is another strong contender. It uses a tabbed view rather than a two pane view which is better when working with multiple folders though not quite as efficient as the two pane approach when working with only two. XYplorer is packed with features included one of the best file-finders I've seen. It's one of those products that impresses more with use. In fact I suspect that if you use it for a month, you'll end up using it permanently. Unfortunately, the free version of XYplorer has been discontinued, but the last free version that was released (v5.55) can still be found on various unofficial sites.
Some folks just love FreeCommander, a classic two pane Norton Commander style manager. It's certainly powerful but I find the interface a little dated. However it's free for both private and commercial use and that's a big plus.
This software category is maintained by volunteer category editor Michael Gaul. Registered site visitors can contact Michael by clicking here.
xplorer² lite
Website: http://zabkat.com/x2lite.htm
Download link: http://zabkat.com/x2lite.htm
Author: Nikos Bozinis
Date: 07/02/2008
Version: 1.7.1.4 LITE
Download file size: 2.7 MB
License: Free for private or academic use
Operating systems supported: Windows 95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP/2003/Vista
64 Bit version available: no, but will run on 64 bit systems (see notes)
Portable version available: yes, download from 3rd party site http://usb.smithtech.us/apps/xplorer2lite.php
Other languages supported: Brazilian, Bulgarian, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Czech, Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish
Additional software required: no
XYplorerFree
Website: http://www.xyplorer.com/free.php
Unofficial download link: http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/page22.html
Author: Donald Lessau
Date: 02/18/2008
Version: 5.55.0002
Download file size: 837 KB
License: Freeware
Operating systems supported: Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista
64 Bit version available: no but will run on 64 bit systems (see notes)
Portable version available: program is already portable
Other languages supported: no
Additional software required: msvbvm50.dll - usually included in Windows installations (but not in Vista), available from here.
FreeCommander
Website: http://www.freecommander.com/
Download link: http://www.freecommander.com/fc_downl_en.htm
Author: Marek Jasinski
Date: 17/06/2008
Version: 2008.06
Download file size: 2.3 MB
License: Freeware
Operating systems supported: Windows 2000/XP/Vista (Windows 98SE "is unsupported but might work" according to author)
64 Bit version available: no but will run on 64 bit systems (see notes), full 64 bit version planned
Portable version available: yes, separate download
Other languages supported: Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Mexican Spanish, Norwegian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovakian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian
Additional software required: no
Notes:
File managers that were written as 32 bit applications will generally work on 64 bit Windows, but functionality will be limited in two ways:
- Shell extensions (i.e., file context menu entries) of 64 bit applications won't appear in a 32 bit file manager.
- 32 bit file managers will not be able to access the "system32" directory of a 64 bit Windows installation, they will be deflected to the "sysWOW64" directory instead.
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I really like the last version of Turbo Navigator. I've tried all the other managers mentioned and I keep coming back to Turbo Navigator. It's not perfect by a long shot and development has stopped a few years ago.
After looking at nearly every file manager listed on the wiki and the comments, I've narrowed my search down to a few amazing programs:
1. UltraExplorer (http://www.mustangpeak.net/ultraexplorer.html)
This is an extremely well-designed application by MustangPeak. This explorer replacement has the advantage of not being too overwhelming and cluttered, something many of these applications fail to produce. Don't be fooled, however; UltraExplorer lives up to its name.
From the Favorites window to the innovative Breadcrumb bar which allows you to easily move through the folder path, UltraExplorer also includes a nifty Drop Stack bar for keeping a group of files on hand, a synced command line window, filtering options, standard tabbing ability, and a history function. On top of all that, UltraExplorer extends is customizability with the Task Window, which accepts user-made plugins to extend functionality. This explorer replacement basically owns.
2. FreeCommander (http://www.freecommander.com/index.htm)
This ever-popular explorer replacement is very powerful and highly customizable, however its Norton Commander-inspired interface may be a little much for some users at first. If you spend the time to explore the program and its features, you'd be hard-pressed to find a missing component in this hefty freeware offering.
I would consider this the free explorer-replacement to rate others by. This feature-packed app is really awesome, however it just wasn't what I was looking for, and the sheer number of offerings allow me to be picky. =D
3. CubicExplorer (http://www.cubicreality.com/cubicexplorer/)
This downright sexy application is very easy to jump into and begin to style to your preferences. Its super-slick interface is a pleasure to work with. Tabbed windows, filtering options, session options... this explorer-replacement takes heavy influence from web browsers and allows a user to jump in and take control of their files without overwhelming them with features they may never use.
While this may not be for file/organization 'freaks' that need the extreme control and organization features offered by FreeCommander, its ease-of-use is unrivaled. Highly recommended.
4. Q-Dir (http://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/Q-Dir&language=english)
Q-Dir, the only application here that's ballsy enough to step out of the overworked 'adjective'+'noun' naming formula, is a mentionable offering that includes a lot of features not (apparently) available in other programs, such as color coding by type, export to XLS, CSV, TXT, HTML, and a very nifty feature: portability!
It's interface is slick and cluttered at the same time somehow, but looks great on Vista. Q-Dir is initially a dutch-language app but english versions are available. Just note that that may pose a problem with support for english users.
Great review, I have to agree that these are the top contenders in this category, personally I prefer FreeCommander.
FreeCommander does offer color coding by type (under Settings > View > Colors), a portable version is also available, and it can do export, but only to TXT.
Have you heard of Q-Dir? It is nice.
I really like FileAnt (http://fileant.com/). It's got a LOT of features and is quite flexible and customizable. I've tried many of the managers mentioned here and although most are pretty capable, I've always gone back to FileAnt.
And P.S. genius commenters, Nexus File is a WEB-BASED file manager - completely different from what's offered here.
(Category Editor action: Rudeness deleted.)
Googling "Nexus" I've found "Nexus: Web-based file management for personal and small business use", which I think is the one you're referring to. However, the one that commenters were referring to is "NexusFile: a file manager for Windows", which is definitely not a web based file manager.
(Category Editor action: Rudeness deleted.)
Very clever and smart comment. To the first commentator: Please do not humiliate people even if you are 100% right. This is a platform of sharing ideas and questions, not a platform to judge people.
"This is a platform of sharing ideas and questions, not a platform to judge people."
Exactly, so let's stay civil and focus on the facts. I deleted two unnecessary rude remarks from the first two posts.
Cubic Explorer
http://www.cubicreality.com/
+1
CubicExplorer is really a file manager you should keep an eye on.
Best free manager is NexusFile.
freeCommander have no unicode filename support.
From Anacaona
I found this best file Manager:
http://www.explorerxp.com
ExplorerXP is a very fast, small, compact and innovative FREEWARE (for non - commercial use) file manager for Windows 2000/XP. Unlike the regular Windows Explorer, it displays the total size of each folder and allows you to browse multiple folders from a tabbed interface.
Tabbed interface - all your windows (open folders) will appear inside a single ExplorerXP application. The tab bar provides a quick access to all open windows
Drag & Drop with Explorer, the tab bar and special folders on the main toolbar.
Multy rename tool - allows to rename multiple files in one step.
Displays folder size information and the real size of compressed files & folders.
Folder Size Cache - greatly improves the speed of the folder size calculations between sessions.
Merge / Split Tools.
Advanced copy/move.
Unicode support.
USB devices support.
Clean - recursively removes files that match given list of extentions or wildcards.
Groups - A group is a collection of folders, which users are able to access quickly or drag & drop files to them.
Configurable keyboard shortcuts.
Small download size - only 410 KB.
Has no one mentioned Accelman? As of 5/27/08 it's freeware and has all the capabilities of the most advanced file managers mentioned here. It's a very mature product with Vista compatibility.
I installed AccelMan last week and downloaded a free license from the website. I agree that the software is excellent. However, when I tried to connect to the website today for some tech support (07/23/2008), I got a "Suspended Domain" error message.
Extra info:
Accelman's website
A review of Accelman
File organiser at http://thomaswolsey.com/software/jam/index.htm is fairly good, lots of features and fairly intiutive. Seems to work quite well, depends what you want from a file manager type program.
I quite like all the favourite places and USB memory pen detection. Plus saving file structures to a text file.
Unreal Commander v0.94 (build 678) has been released. Check it out at http://x-diesel.com/index.php? . if you like Total Commander you'll certainly love this program.
Greetings! Marcel Oros
Filetracker - A true multithreaded file manager for Windows. It is designed from scratch to make optimum use of multicore processors, and at all times to provide a responsive UI. Free and open source. Interface similar to *insert favourite webbrowser here*.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/ftracker/
It's still ALPHA
Updated, who would've guessed it was under TROVE settings.
It's only Alpha as I can't find the place to change it to Stable! :-) (Yes I am the author of FileTracker)
I recently discovered another contender called NexusFile (http://www.xiles.net/). It has a nice 2-pane interface, handles unicode, lots of extras, and pretty low on resources. So far, so good. It looks like this one is going to become my default.
Unreal Commander http://x-diesel.com/index.php? . Looks and feels the same way like Total Commander. The only thing that is missing is File System Plugin Support. It support Pack and Lister plugins in exactly the same way like Total Commander.
Greetings!
Marcel Oros, Timisoara, Romania
I don't know where this software fits in but Direct Folders is possibly the easiest way to navigate to your most often used folders. I find it invaluable and it isn't listed on this wiki. Double click any empty space on the desktop or in a folder and it brings up the folder menu. You can add as many folder as you want and they will also show up in save/save as diaglog boxes for easy navigation (double click the empty space).
This program has cleared my desktop and saves me time. check it out.
http://www.codesector.com/directfolders.php
Interesting.. I think this maybe something that I will want to look into rather than FlashFolders..
http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/best-file-open-save-as-manager.h...
BTW - Don't Use Direct Folders with FlashFolder! The dialogs are definitely wonky with it!
Interesting: Direct Folders takes about 2MB in memory footprint and FlashFolder in only about 500k (but runs as a service and does not work with Vista at this time).
Cheers!
Kent
I looked several months for a good tool that could help me easily navigate to my most often used folders.
I tried many alternatives and Direct Folders was one of them.
But at last I found the free FileBox eXtender the best.
Q-dir is a four pane file manager and easy to use.
I like xplorer² lite, for I can easily add comment to files, seems no others has the same feature.
For all who don't know yet: FreeCommander v2008.06 is available. Now with a built-in FTP client (IMHO the most desirable feature FC was lacking before) and other improvements.
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