Comparison of file managers
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The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of file managers. Please see the individual products articles for further information.
General information
Basic general information about the managers: creator/company etc.
Operating system support
The operating systems the file managers can run on without emulation.
File manager | DOS | Windows | Mac OS X | Linux | BSD | Unix |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DOS Command Center | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Directory Opus | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
Disk Order | No | Yes | No | No | No | |
Dos Navigator | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
emelFM2 | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
F | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Finder | No | Yes | No | No | No | |
freeCommander | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
GNOME Commander | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Konqueror | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Krusader | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Macintosh Explorer | No | Yes | No | No | No | |
Magellan Explorer | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
MeeSoft Commander | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Midnight Commander | no? | Yes [1] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Nautilus | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Path Finder | No | Yes | No | No | No | |
RageWork | No | Yes [2] | Yes [2] | Yes [2] | Yes [2] | Yes [2] |
Servant Salamander | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
Total Commander | Yes [3] | No | No | No | No | |
Tux Commander | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Volkov Commander | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Windows Explorer | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Xffm | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
xplorer² | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
XYplorer | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
ZTreeWin | Partial [4] | Yes | No | Partial [5] | No | Partial [6] |
File manager | DOS | Windows | Mac OS X | Linux | BSD | Unix |
- ^ Cygwin
- ^ a b c d e It's a cross-platform orthodox file manager written in Java
- ^ Windows 95 and later; also Windows Mobile.
- ^ XTreeGold
- ^ UnixTree
- ^ UnixTree
Manager views
Information about what common file manager views are implemented natively (without third-party add-ons).
File manager | Icon view [1] | List view [1] | Column view [1] | Thumbnails [1] | Details + Thumbs [1] | Grouping [1] | Content dependent [2] | Twin-panel (OFM) [1] | Favs-panel [1] | Panel tabs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Beesoft Commander | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? |
Directory Opus | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes |
Disk Order | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ? | Yes |
DOS Command Center | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? |
Dos Navigator | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? |
emelFM2 | No | Yes | No | No | ? | No | No | Yes | ? | No |
Finder | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | No | ? | ? |
freeCommander | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | ? |
GNOME Commander | No | Yes | No | No | ? | No | No | Yes | ? | No |
Konqueror | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Partial | ? | Yes | ? | Yes |
Krusader | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | ? | No | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes |
Macintosh Explorer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | No | No | No | ? | Yes |
MeeSoft Commander | No | Yes | No | No | ? | No | No | Yes | ? | No |
Midnight Commander | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? |
Nautilus | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | No | No | No | ? | Partial |
Path Finder | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | No | ? | Yes |
RageWork | No | Yes | Yes | No | ? | ? | No | Yes | ? | Yes |
Servant Salamander | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | No | No | Yes | ? | No |
Total Commander | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | No | Yes | ? | Yes |
Tux Commander | ? | Yes | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? |
Volkov Commander | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? |
Windows Explorer | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | No | ? | No |
xplorer² | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? |
XYplorer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes [3] | No | No | Yes | Yes |
ZTreeWin | No | Yes | Yes | No | ? | Yes | No | Yes | ? | ? |
File manager | Icon view | List view | Column view | Thumbnails | Details + Thumbs | Groups | Content dependent | Twin-panel (OFM) | Favs-panel | Panel tabs |
Network protocols
Information on what networking protocols the file managers support. Note that many of these protocols might be supported by the underlying operating system rather than by the file manager itself.
File manager | SMB/CIFS | WebDAV | NFS | AFP | FTP | FISH/SSH |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Directory Opus | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes SFTP & SSL |
Disk Order | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | Yes (FTPS & SFTP) |
emelFM2 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Finder | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | No |
GNOME Commander | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | ? |
Konqueror | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Krusader | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Nautilus | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Path Finder | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
RageWork | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Servant Salamander | Yes | No | ? | No | Yes | Yes |
Total Commander | Yes | ? | PartialTemplate:Refun | ? | Yes | ? |
Windows Explorer | Yes | Yes | PartialTemplate:Refun | No | Yes | No |
Xffm | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
ZTreeWin | Yes | PartialTemplate:Refun | PartialTemplate:Refun | No | PartialTemplate:Refun | ? |
File manager | SMB/CIFS | WebDAV | NFS | AFP | FTP | FISH/SSH |
- ^ NFS support in these file managers require the installation of Services for UNIX.
- ^ FTP support in these file managers require the installation of NetDrive.
File features
Information on what basic file features the file managers support.
File Manager | File compression | File encryption | Rename busy files | File preview | Paste clipboard as file |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Directory Opus | Yes | PartialTemplate:Refun | Partial | Yes | Yes |
Disk Order | Yes | ? | ? | Yes | ? |
emelFM2 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Finder | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Konqueror | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial [4] |
Krusader | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Nautilus | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
Path Finder | Yes | No [5] | ? | Yes | ? |
RageWork | Yes | ? | ? | Yes | ? |
Servant Salamander | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | ? |
Total Commander | Yes | ? | ? | Yes | ? |
Tux Commander | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Windows Explorer | Yes | Partial [6] | No | No | Yes |
Xffm | ? | ? | ? | Partial [7] | ? |
XYplorer | Yes [8] | Partial [9] | Partial | Yes | No |
ZTreeWin | Yes | Partial [10] | Yes | Yes | No |
File manager | File compression | File encryption | Rename busy files | File preview | Paste clipboard as file |
Browse Features
File manager | Browse compressed folders | Slideshows | Directory Sizes | Branch Sizes | Directory Compare | Synchronizer | Find as you type (Type-ahead find) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Directory Opus | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Disk Order | Yes | ? | Partial | ? | Yes | ? | ? |
Dos Navigator / NDN | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? |
emelFM2 | ? | No | Partial | ? | Yes | ? | Yes |
Finder | No | Yes | Partial | ? | No | No | Yes |
Konqueror | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | |
Krusader | Yes | No | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Midnight Commander | Partial [11] | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Nautilus | No | No | Yes | ? | No | No | Yes |
Path Finder | No | Yes | Partial | ? | ? | ? | Yes |
RageWork | Yes | No | ? | Yes | No | ? | |
Servant Salamander | Yes | No | Yes | ? | Yes | No | Yes |
Total Commander | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Tux Commander | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
Windows Explorer | Yes | Yes | No | Partial | No | No | Yes |
Xffm | Partial [12] | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
xplorer² | Yes | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
XYplorer | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
ZTreeWin | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes |
File manager | Browse compressed folders | Slideshows | Directory Sizes | Branch Sizes | Directory compare | Synchronizer | Type-ahead find |
Search features
Information on what file searching features the file managers support.
File manager | File name/content search | Basic metadata search | All metadata search | Save searches |
---|---|---|---|---|
Directory Opus | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Disk Order | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
emelFM2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
Finder | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Konqueror | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
Krusader | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Nautilus | Yes | PartialTemplate:Refun | PartialTemplate:Refun | Yes |
Path Finder | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
RageWork | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Servant Salamander | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes |
Total Commander | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Tux Commander | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Windows Explorer | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
xplorer² | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
XYplorer | Yes | ? | ? | Partial [13] |
ZTreeWin | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes |
File manager | File name/content search | Basic metadata search | All metadata search | Save searches |
^ Can integrate with Beagle to provide more searching functionality.
Extensibility
What parts of the application can be extended by plugins?
File manager | Filesystem support | Attribute columns | File previews | Metadata indexing |
---|---|---|---|---|
Directory Opus | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
Disk Order | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
emelFM2 | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Finder | ? | No | Yes | Yes |
Konqueror | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Krusader | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
Nautilus | Yes | ? | Yes | ? |
Path Finder | ? | ? | ? | ? |
RageWork | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
Servant Salamander | Yes | No | Yes | ? |
Total Commander | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
Tux Commander | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Windows Explorer | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
ZTreeWin | Yes | No | Yes | ? |
File manager | Filesystem support | Attribute columns | File previews | Metadata indexing |
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h Tabs for directory tree hierarchy:
-
Icon views represent files and folders as large icons
-
List views display items in a sortable list
-
Column views allow multiple levels of the hierarchy to be open at once
-
Thumbnail views display images or contents of folders
-
Details + Thumbnails views and Favs-panel (bottom left)
-
Grouping allows similar files to be grouped together
-
Twin-panel views allow for simple side-to-side comparison
-
- ^ Content Dependent (System) refers to a system which attempts to detect the dominant type of files in that folder and then select the most appropriate view mode for you automatically.
- ^ user defined color filters
- ^ Only text can be pasted as a new file.
- ^ Path Finder apparently integrates with Knox, an encryption utility.
- ^ The encryption feature in Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP Professional, and Windows Server 2003 is in fact a user transparent filesystem-level encryption feature. Explorer merely enables or disables it.
- ^ Can automatically generate image previews.
- ^ Via shell context menu.
- ^ Via shell context menu. See windows explorer.
- ^ Encryption is supported for Zip and Rar, other formats depend on the editable ARCHIVER.BB2 file
- ^ Can browse .tar, .tar.gz, and .tgz files.
- ^ Can browse compressed tar files.
- ^ Uses Search Templates to save all search settings, results are always live (no cache)