
| The Download | This
Issues Review |
The Web Site |
| FreeCommander by Marak Jasinski | ||
Here's a file manager for your computer that will make it extremely easy for you to search, organize, and discover all of the compiled bits of code on your computer. FreeCommander comes with a dual pane interface and has lots of great features and tools to make your file management easy as pie: Platform and Requirements......... The program is designed for Windows and seems to run on any Win32 system. The Website... The FreeCommander site starts out with a page of flags directing the visitor to the different languages for the site. Once inside, the site deals strictly with FreeCommander and has appropriate links to different aspects of the program as well as a list of main features on the right. The background is a bright white and all text is easy to read, at least in the english area. The awards page is especially impressive! :) Help Files.... FreeCommander has a separate help file for downloading from the site. It is approx. 400k in size and can be opened up from the main program via the menu area. Inside, the program information is explained in detail and includes nice screenshots of the program in action. Here's a sample pic of the help file opened up to the 'Synchronize' area: ![]() Download, Installation and Uninstall... The program is downloaded as a .zip file which is 1.5 megs in size and contains a self-install .exe file. The download connection is direct and fast, initializing immediately for me. The program utilizes a standard install engine giving you the usual choices of EULA, directory settings, icons etc. The size of the program installed is a bit over 3 megs including the help file which I also downloaded. Uninstalling is easy and, if you have not added any other files to it's directory including the help file, will delete the directory. Interface and Features..... FreeCommander
begins with a vertical, two pane spread which shows the basic icons and
drives for each side on the toolbar above the windows. This interface
can be altered in numerous ways allowing you to fully customize how
FreeCommander will look and work to optimize your ability to work
freely with it. Here's a pic of the standard install window:
![]() Now
as far as adjustments go, there are numerous ways to make changes,
starting with the panes themselves which can be altered to show simple file
listings, their complete details, small or large icons or, if you have
image files, complete thumbnail pics. Some of the other adjustment options
available to your layout are the background, font and icon color,
separator grid lines for each file and directory listing, font
adjustments, file tool tips (shown in the pic above) plus a fully adjustable icon toolbar
and drive bar. Here's a pic of my favorite setup for FreeCommander:
![]() Notice on the left half of the window I have employed a 'directory tree' view to give me access to both directories and files at once. This adjustment is made via the buttons on the toolbar in the same area where you will find selection buttons for both 'list' and 'detail'. Not only can you 'drag and drop' the sections in the toolbar to adjust their location, FileCommander allows you to select which sections of the toolbar actually shows and the items WITHIN each section. Here's a pic of the 'Toolbar' adjustment window within the Settings area found in the 'Extras' menu item giving you an idea of the setting placement and how it is done. Notice too that the icon size can be adjusted from 22 to 48 pixels in size: ![]() At the bottom of each section is an information bar that gives you all your drive information ON THE FLY! This is very handy for filling up MP3 players as it lets you know when you're getting close to your maximum allowed storage limit for your player media without having to right click all over the place to get information. If your into keyboard shortcuts more than using the mouse, FreeCommander has an excellent shortcut adjustment window giving you tons of features for which you can assign keystrokes. Here's a pic of the adjustment window: ![]() Another great feature of FreeCommander is its 'Favorite Tools' area where you can setup your own shortcuts to your favorite programs and utilities. This list is then available from the icon in the toolbar. FreeCommander also contains a file splitter which allows you to separate one large file into a number of parts. This is handy for email purposes on a server that has an attachment limit involved. The splitter allows for a specific number of files created or you can adjust it by MB/Kb size. It even creates a self install .exe file which will assemble the split file at the 'other end' without the need for the installation of FreeCommander! A nice little feature. Here's a screenshot of the file splitter window: ![]() FreeCommander also comes with a compression utility which will open up .zip, .rar and .cab files as well as the ability to create .zip and .cab files too. Their 'Pack' and 'Unpack' utility has many settings and is very easy to use. Here's a screenshot of the compression utility: ![]() FreeCommander comes with all of the above plus: Built in viewer for binary, hex, text and image files, folder comparison and synchronization, file modification, file searching including archives, dos command line, multiple language support, create and verify MD5 checksums, pane swapping, portable (runnable on a USB storage unit or CD) and so much more. Well, I seem to sense a bit of lag when first started which may be due to the fact that I usually have a bunch of progams open and running at the same time! :) Also, I noticed that if you are placing a pane in image thumbnail view and your folder has a bunch of photos, it will take a bit of time for each one to be developed and shown in the pane however, this is quite normal in many other file managers. The program has worked flawlessly for me so far and I've replace my previous file manger with this baby. Conclusion.... As you might be able to tell from my 'File Utilities' listing in my previously reviewed programs area, I just LOVE file managers! This is a keeper and will be installed on my computer for some time to come. Download a copy and check it out. Cheers! Buzzy :) |
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