Double Commander Dual-pane File Manager Review
Sandrine Willert
I'm searching for a good filemanager in style of the classic norton commander 2 panel design? Since i had my best experiences with Total Commander in Windows, which one would you recommend for use in Ubuntu?
I had the same question some time ago. And I tried all of the mentioned commanders. Krusader is by far the best one but I didn't want to have whole bunch of KDE libraries installed. Gnome-Commander cripples system theme in order to get some more speed (I guess) but it doesn't support tabs. Mucommander is Java based and lacks integration with system (and it's Java based, did I mention that already). There's also TuxCommander which (at the moment) is not listed but that thing was made using Borland Kylix (now dead project) so its development is stopped or at least doomed. Midnight Commander is really really good, but am not that much of a terminal fan.
So, I did the only thing I could do... started making my own. Now I know how this sounds and am not going to praise it. It is still faaar from finished but I got some basics done. Also I try to add interesting and useful things to it. For example you can create terminal tab from the current tabs location. There's an option for create file as well as create directory. Oh, and command line history is loaded from .bash_history (one of these days am going to make 2 way sync with that file).
A piece of advice:
You might want to adjust your expectations. For the sake of your nerves. Total Commander has set the bar high. When such statement is being made people usually think of some power-user features most of TC users haven't seen but in fact this statement applies also to core usability features that are more commonly used. That said it's wise not to expect a replication of vast majority of core TC features in its Linux alternatives. An example: 2 years ago I installed Gnome Commander, Krusader and one other file manager on Linux. Neither of them provided means (e.g. custom column) to sort files by last access date.
I'd also recommend refraining from recommending or even using applications that are no longer actively developed. It has nothing to do with them being buggy or insecure. It's just to make them go away faster and to avoid frustration in the future, when you get used to an application, then find a showstopper bug, just to learn that it will not be fixed ever. So please review the dates of the latest updates for respective applications and take them into consideration when choosing your future no. 1 app.
As for GUI managers, I used Altap/Servant Salamander. Total Commander is also fine, but Altap was unique in many ways, lovely GUI to work in, easily extendible with scripting (JS, VBS, Python COM) accepts major Total Command plugins and performance just couldn't be better.
There is project hosted on Launchpad which offers file manager similar to Total Commander - Double Commander:
In mc, use esc-tab, not tab,for completion.
In mc, the CLI is a full-featured normal shell. The reason that you couldn't see the output from the CLI was that, due to normal shell scrolling, it was under the file panes. To see the shell output, you can, at any time, lower the file panes (ctrl-o). Then, use Ctrl-o when you want to raise them again.
To make sure that you see all CLI output, go to "Options" --> "Configuration" --> "Pause after run" and select Always. This keeps the file panes lowered after each command until you hit any key.
I know this is quite an old post but...
You can also configure almost any mc keybinding through the mc.keymap file.
The first time I used mc I found quite frustating its handling of the ESC key and its navigation system (I really don't know how to call it). Then the old_esc_mode and navigate_with_arrows options came by. ^^
Thanks for this review, your experience with mc is similar to mine, there is gnome-commander which works alright, but my all-time favourite is Krusader, I strongly recommend it. Sadly Krusader crashes kde on one of my laptops and until I find out the reasons I'm going to have to use something else. Dolphin, the default manager in Kubuntu doesn't let you tab back and forth between panels! so it won't do. I'm going to give emelfm (what a horrible name) a try, thanks!
This is a graphical, dual-panel file manager with support for operations (copy, move, delete). This software has built-in support for SSH and FTP. This is not free software but you can download a demo version from the program site.
It is highly configurable (in the screenshot, compared with "out of the box", I have configured the free-space display, enabled the left-sidebar tree view, added zebra-stripes, and used Linux Bionlinum as the display font). A partial feature list from the website:
For those Mac users who like their apps "pretty", this interface will probably leave something to be desired. For those accustomed to using "commander"-like file managers on Windows or Linux, but now are on Macs ... it is a treat!
Xmander is a simple dual panel file manager with a hex file viewer. You can browse through all your system's files, including the hidden and perform the basic file operations like move, copy, trash or create directory.
Another MacOS alternative of Total Commander that runs natively for both Intel and ARM CPUs. There are several versions of Commander One: FREE and PRO versions are distributed through the website as well as Commander One version at the Mac App Store.
For some reason latest versions of wine do not enable font antialiasing by default. It can be enabled with winetricks by doing brew install winetricks and then running winetricks settings fontsmooth=rgb in the terminal.
If you have been following our reviews for up to 4 months then you must have come across fman, a present day file manager for power users. It is feature-rich with native support for dual-pane display and a plethora of keyboard shortcuts, among other features.
It features a responsive window with a completely customizable User Interface, support for keyboard shortcuts, Unicode characters, archive manipulation in different formats, batch renaming, and an extended search function.
One Commander is a powerful and efficient file manager that can help users master their digital environment. With an intuitive user interface, it provides lightning-fast access to files, folders and drives from a single, unified view. Its two-pane dual-pane design makes it simple and easy to navigate around your system, with quick access to folders, files, drives and more.The software includes a variety of features that make it a great choice for power users. It has an integrated search bar, which allows users to quickly find and access files, folders and drives. It also supports a wide range of archive formats, including ZIP, RAR, 7Z and more. Plus, users can customize the user interface with different themes and color schemes.One Commander also provides a variety of advanced features. It has a built-in file previewer, which allows users to quickly assess their files without launching a separate application. It also supports the use of custom commands, allowing users to quickly perform a range of tasks. Plus, the software has a built-in task scheduler, allowing users to set up automatic tasks to be run at specific times.For everyday users, One Commander offers a great way to easily manage their digital environment. Its unified view makes it easy to find and access files, folders and drives. It also provides quick access to common tasks, like copying, moving, renaming and deleting files. Plus, it has a range of other features, like a built-in file previewer and custom commands, which makes it suitable for more advanced users.To get the most from One Commander, users should make sure to customize the user interface to their liking. They can select from a range of color schemes and themes to make the software look and feel the way they want. Additionally, users should take advantage of the built-in task scheduler to set up automated tasks.In summary, One Commander is a powerful and efficient file manager that provides users with an intuitive user interface, lightning-fast access to files, folders and drives and a variety of advanced features. It is suitable for both everyday users and power users, and with its customizable user interface and built-in task scheduler, it can be used to manage digital environments quickly and easily.Features of One Commander
- Archive Support: create and extract archives.
- Command Line: execute commands.
- FTP/SFTP Support: access remote servers.
- File Compare: compare contents of two files.
- File Explorer: browse folders and files.
- File Search: quickly search for files.
- Multi-Rename: modify multiple files at once.
- Preview Pane: quickly preview images, documents and more.
- Sync Folders: keep two folders in sync.
- Tabbed Interface: quickly switch between tasks.
- Thumbnail View: view images in a grid layout.
OneCommander is a modern file manager for Windows 10 and Windows 11. Features include tabs, dual-pane browsers, columns navigation, built-in preview, editable themes, color tags, and much more.
It is free for home use and doesn't have ads.
This program doesn't attempt to be just a better-looking Windows File Explorer with tabs or a MacOS Finder for Windows with columns, but to challenge the existing workflows that remained unchanged since the '90s. That is where your feedback comes in, and with it, the program is constantly evolving.
If you are a designer, you can even improve the look by editing theme xaml files or creating your own icons for files, folders, or menu items.