I´m looking for the best file manager.
Please post your experiences.

Please list arguments separately and add the points to get better ranking results.
- features, you can´t live without 1-10points,
- dms replacement features 1-10points
- daily handling (time saving) 1-10points,

Feature-rich file manger with poor daily handling is not a good choice...
Feature-rich file manger with features you don´t need is not a good choice...

Ranking for general view (all in one review)
1
2
3
4

Ranking special for tagging features (tagging capabilities, daily tag handling)
1
2
3
4

Any suggestions?

I´m looking for the best file manager.
Please post your experiences.

Please list arguments separately and add the points to get better ranking results.
- features, you can´t live without 1-10points,
- dms replacement features 1-10points
- daily handling (time saving) 1-10points,

Feature-rich file manger with poor daily handling is not a good choice…
Feature-rich file manger with features you don´t need is not a good choice…

Ranking for general view (all in one review)
1
2
3
4

Ranking special for tagging features (tagging capabilities, daily tag handling)
1
2
3
4

Any suggestions?

You might be interested in checking out this thread at the DC forum. There is a poll on the first page, and Directory Opus is currently the leading file manager, though not by a huge margin (Total Comander and Explorer2 are close enough):

"What's your preferred File Manager"

http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=9958.0

There are loads of other threads on there as well discussing specific file managers, just use the search box to find them.

I'd tried Directory Opus and Explorer2 and settled on Dopus with Andy's customisation set-up:
http://www.dearopus.com/opus-interface-tour.html

thanks for posting
I prefer a systemic discussion and argumentation to make the best choice

Only some important features can decide it, so it is necessary to know the specific differences in daily work.

For example:
tagging features are very important

Is this an extra credit assignment?

http://xyplorer.com

FWIW, on my Mac I use OS X Mavericks as the basis of my hierarchical system, Hazel with help from Yep to tag and file, and DevontThink to index, search and most importantly, provide "See also" suggestions (all of which is probably overkill, but is partly legacy from using different systems over the years). DevonSphere Express might be an adequate replacement for DevonThink, were I starting from scratch.

Currently I'm trying to work out whether, in my use-cases, I could justify the expense of TheBrain providing multi-platform "from-ends" for this ad hoc system for particular projects and purposes, as Steve Z and Paul K imply (I'm extrapolating, perhaps incorrectly, from what they have helpfully written in another thread).

I've been experimenting with DevonSphere Express (thanks, Hugh), but would strongly recommend opting for the amazing FoxTrot Personal Search instead – it's much more powerful, and the results are much more reliable. Plus it has a built-in viewer that allows you to skip from one search result to the next, which is much more convenient. In DevonSphere, you have to open each document separately.

If you're really serious about searching, FoxTrot Professional Search is the one to go for, but it's quite a bit more expensive. So far, I've been impressed enough by Personal Search (much more powerful than Copernic Desktop) that I haven't bothered. But that may change... ;-)

As for tagging and stuff – I'm a new convert to the wonderful Yojimbo! What a little gem. Having said which, some kind of taxonomy system would be good, too. But then you're looking at something like Curio, which is spectacularly powerful. On the other hand, Yojimbo has a (basic, but okay-ish) iOS client, as does FoxTrot (yes, you can take your FoxTrot search indices with you and search through them on your iPad – a great feature).

DEVONsphere Express supports Quick Look previews - in the results list select an item, press the space bar, and a preview will open. This depends on the developer of the app that created the file to provide a Quick Look plugin for OS X -- which is the case with most common file types, Office, PDF, etc.

MadaboutDana wrote:

Plus it has a built-in viewer that allows you to skip
from one search result to the next, which is much
more convenient

Yeah, sounds like a lot of work for a simple question. Thanks for the link to Xyplorer. If I were going to buy a file manager, this one seems reasonable with lots of features. The Scripting option is nice.

Opus looked interesting but it seems very expensive.

I use FreeCommander - http://www.freecommander.com/ - because it has what I need at a great price. :-) Dual panes, keyboard shortcuts and the ability to move quickly through my system. I use the text preview function multiple times daily and the options to filter directories on the fly and the drop to DOS often enough to comment on it. It goes on every computer I use and most of my usb drives.

bobmclain wrote:

Is this an extra credit assignment?

http://xyplorer.com