Finder and Finder Alternatives

 

See also

 

Standard Finder

Tweaks

  1. Add ‘Quit’ option to Finder
    defaults write com.apple.finder QuitMenuItem -bool true; killall Finder
  2. Show full path in Finder windows AND in Finder’s Window menu list:
    defaults write com.apple.finder _FXShowPosixPathInTitle -bool YES; 
    killall Finder
  3. Always show Library folder
    chflags nohidden ~/Library
    (Change is immediate in Finder)
  4. (Big Sur) Change back to old (10.x) window title style, with title at top of window and not pushed into side of icons in tool bar:
    FINDER-alone:
    defaults write com.apple.finder NSWindowSupportsAutomaticInlineTitle -bool false
    killall Finder

    ‘All’ apps, change in general, incl Finder, but also Mail, and which else TBD:
    defaults write -g NSWindowSupportsAutomaticInlineTitle -bool false ; 
    killall Finder

References

 

File Managers

techtarget.com/searchmobilecomputing/tip/What-are-the-best-file-managers-for-Mac-devices#:~:text=Finder%20is%20the%20default%20file,those%20in%20Windows%20and%20Linux.

Single-Pane and Dual-Pane

Alternatives to Standard Finder

Installation Note (Alternative Finders, ~macOS 11.x+)

Not sure exactly when Apple introduced the extended security measures, but expect to do tweak settings to allow any alternative finder application to have access to file system.

  1. Apple menu > System Preferences…
  2. Security & Privacy section
  3. Privacy tab
  4. Full Disk Access in left column
  5. Click lock to unlock settings
  6. Add application to list of apps to have access
  7. Check checkmark box, to enable access
  8. That’s it.

Applications – Finder Alternatives

The ‘Full’ List, or at least aiming to, alphabetically:

Application -Pane Eval Dev Status License M L W Notes
Commander One /
Commander One PRO Pack
Dual- 1/5 (2024-01) /
0/5 (not tried)
1 alive (2024-01) $0 Free /
$30
    mac.eltima.com/file-manager.html
CRAX Commander Dual- 1/5 (2024-01) 1 alive (2024-01) $20     crax.soft4u2.com
DCommander Dual   1 alive (2024-01) $40     devstorm-apps.com/dc
Double Commander Dual 2/5 (2024-01) 1 alive (2024-01) $0 FOSS (GPL) doublecmd.sourceforge.io
FinderPath     3 dead~ v0.9.5, 2015 $$       bahoom.com/finderpath/
Fman Dual   2 alive~? (2024-01) $$ (€39) fman.io, ‘Dual-pane file manager for Mac, Windows and Linux’.
2024-01: a bit unclear on when last release, and if has Apple Silicon/Universal
Forklift Dual   1 alive (2024-01) $$     binarynights.com/ (v3.. . Sep ’21)
HoudahSpot (Single) (!Finder.Alt) 1 alive (2024-01) $$     houdah.com/houdahSpot/ – More search engine than file manager
JumpFm     3 dead ~ v1.0.5, 2017 $0 FOSS     jumpfm.org, plug-in system github.com/JumpFm/jumpfm/releases
Liquifile     3 dead ~ v1.8, 2011 $$     liquifile.info; v1.8 – 12/2011 – hasn’t been updated since then…
muCommander Dual 0/5 (2024-01) INTEL only 1 alive (2024-01) $0 FOSS (GPL) mucommander.com, ‘implemented in Java, which makes it universal for many operating systems’ alive (v0.9.7, 2021) Latest release: muCommander 1.3.0 (July 8, 2023) per 2024-01
2024-01-10: Can’t get to run also in VM env w Rosetta/Intel support., security issues, ‘damaged app’
Nimble Commander /
Nimble Commander Pro /
Nimble Commander single-user license ($25)
Dual   1 alive (2024-01) $0 Free /
$25 / 
$25
    magnumbytes.com/
Pro: in Apple store, Family Sharing
Not in Apple Store: No Family Sharing,, slightly more features than both ‘basic’ and Pro.
Path Finder  Single 3/5 (2024-01) 1 alive (2024-01) $36     cocoatech.com (v10, 2020)
Thunar     alive $0 FOSS (GPL)   en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunar, for UNIX-like OSs; gitlab.xfce.org/xfce/thunar; docs.xfce.org/xfce/thunar/start
TotalFinder     3 dead (notice Jan ’21) $     totalfinder.binaryage.com/
XtraFinder Dual 0/5 (2024-01) 1. alive (2024-01) $5     trankynam.com/xtrafinder/ (v1.7 Nov ’21)
2024-01: Super-messy installation, incl. must disable security…

On list format, with more details as deemed useful

Or at least aiming to, alphabetically

  1. Commander One (Free) – 
  2. Commander One PRO ($30) – PRO version of the above
  3. CRAX Commander’
  4. DCommander – 
  5. Double Commander
  6. FinderPath
  7. Fman – ‘based on the Python’, ‘Many open source plugins are available to customize’
    • https://fman.io/
    • Dual-pane file manager for Mac, Windows and Linux’
    • Tailor fman to your needs via its powerful plugin system. Install plugins created by others – or write your own and share them with the community.
  8. Forklift
  9. HoudahSpot –
  10. JumpFm – ‘compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux’, ‘status in Git’
  11. Liquifile – ‘work under the liquid browsing concept’
    • v1.8 – 12/2011 – hasn’t been updated for 9 years (2020-12)
    • liquifile.info
  12. muCommander
    • mucommander.com, ‘implemented in Java, which makes it universal for many operating systems’
    • FOSS (GPL)
  13. Nimble Commander
  14. Nimble Commander Pro ($25)
  15. Nimble Commander single-user license ($25)
    • magnumbytes.com/
    • NOT Apple Store (no Family Sharing), slightly more features than both ‘basic’ and Pro.
  16. Path Finder
  17. Thunar
  18. TotalFinder
  19. XtraFinder

‘Top Lists’, Resources

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_file_managers

  1. Mac Finder – Alternative Apps (2022) – macgasm.net/software/mac-finder-alternative/ (R: 2022-08-12)
    1. Commander One
    2. ForkLift 3
    3. Path Finder 10
    4. Nimble Commander
    5. TotalFinder
    6. XtraFinder
    7. muCommander
    8. CRAX Commander
    9. HoudahSpot 6
    10. fman
    11. DCommander
  2. beebom.com/finder-alternatives-mac/, Top 10 Finder Alternatives for Mac You Can Use, ‘Last Updated April 20, 2020’ per 2020-08-23
    1. Commander One v2
    2. Path Finder 9
    3. Forklift 3
    4. XtraFinder
    5. Nimble Commander
    6. CRAX Commander’
    7. DCommander
    8. Total Finder
    9. FinderPath
    10. HoudahSpot 5 – more search engine, and based on Spotlight (not own index)
  3. mac.eltima.com/best-finder-alternatives.html,
    Finder alternative: the list of best file manager for Mac with Big Sur, Nov 26, 2020
    (was ‘What are the best alternatives to Mac Finder?’, Dec 12, 2019)
    1. Commander One
    2. Path Finder
    3. Forklift
    4. muCommander
    5. HoudahSpot
    6. Fman
    7. Liquifile – ‘work under the liquid browsing concept’
    8. Nimble Commander
    9. CRAX Commander
    10. DCommander
    11. TotalFinder – totalfinder.binaryage.com/
    12. XtraFinder (new in 2020 list)
    13. (Thunar – not mentioned 2020)
    14. (JumpFm – not mentioned 2020 – ‘compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux’, ‘status in Git’)

 

Features – Requirement Specification, Wish List

# Criteria Finder Other xxx
1 Views      
1.1 (Finder) View: as Icons             ⌘1 Yes    
1.2 (Finder) View: as List                ⌘2     (Johan’s preference) Yes    
1.2.1 – List-view w/ drop-down icons on folders for easy expansion w/o moving into folder. One key feature Johan really like, and unfortunately less common in other file managers… (Finder has) Yes ForkLift HAS  
1.2.2 – List-view w/ size of folders (Finder has) Yes ###  
1.3 (Finder) View: as Columns       ⌘3 Yes    
1.4 (Finder) View: as Cover Flow   ⌘4    (Johan – once in a while) Yes    
2 Columns, List View      
2.1 Logical size. What Apple’s own tools are most commonly dealing with, size of content of item, NOT disk space occupied. Yes    
2.2 Physical size. GUI Info dialog in Finder, what du command shows – how much disk space occupied by item. Really useful for figuring out what’s eating disk space. ###Dropbox-related: size of Online Only source items (file/folder) No    
2.3 Number of items in Folder No    
2.3.1 Number of items in Folder – Recursively No    
2.4 Number of symbolic links in Folder No    
2.4.1 Number of symbolic links in Folder – Recursively No    
2.5 Hash(es) / Hash value (MD5, …; possibly even selectable/multiple algorithms) No    

 

  • Logical size is what Apple’s own tools are most commonly dealing with, somewhat unfortunately!
    • At least when try to clean up disk, free up more space, ### 
  • Physical size ###

 

  • WANTS
    1. List view like Apple, and (e.g.) ForkLift, with arrow to expand folder ‘in place’.
    2. Physical Size – column‘, to show how much disk space is actually used (Info GUI dialog, du CLI command). “For easier finding what’s eating my hard disk.”
    3. Items – column‘, to show how many items are below folder (Info GUI dialog, ### CLI command). “For easier minimizing no of items, as Dropbox ‘is slower when more than 500,000 items’.

 

Item Type Pros (+) Cons (-)
6s iPhone6s!(J) iPhone6sJ! 2015-11-06 – bought UNLOCKED Folder

+ Immediate access to items

+ Desktop search finds items

– Can be using many file system entries; bad for ‘Dropbox 500k’

6s iPhone6s!(J) iPhone6sJ! 2015-11-06 – bought UNLOCKED.dmg Disk image

+ One single file system entry; great for ‘Dropbox 500k’ 

+ No additional disk space needed when open, image is mounted ‘as is’

– Must open DMG, but then easy access

6s iPhone6s!(J) iPhone6sJ! 2015-11-06 – bought UNLOCKED.zip Archive

+ One single file system entry; great for ‘Dropbox 500k’

+ QuickLook DOES work.

– Must UNPACK archive before use

– Takes up more space, at least twice size of archive; how much depend on how efficient compression was

 

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=spotlight+search+dmg

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251766171

 

Applications – Notes on Selected

Commander One ($$)

mac.eltima.com/file-manager.html

1/5 (2024-01) score

  • (-) Implemented functionality of arrow keys is completely illogical, doesn’t match Finder’s
  • (-) Directories ALWAYS FIRST, I want strict Alphabetical order, independent of file or folder
  • (-) Dual-pane – NOT what I want

CRAX Commander ($$)

crax.soft4u2.com

  • (+) Implemented functionality of arrow keys at least works more like Finder’s (compare to (e.g.) Commander One)
  • (-) Directories ALWAYS FIRST, I want strict Alphabetical order, independent of file or folder
  • (-) Dual-pane – NOT what I want

 

 

Double Commander (FOSS)

DoubleCommander

doublecmd.sourceforge.io/

 

  • (+) Implemented functionality of arrow keys at least works more like Finder’s (compare to (e.g.) Commander One)
  • (+) Open Source
  • (+) Been around for a long time, and available on macOS/Linux/Win – can expect more community support
  • (-) Directories ALWAYS FIRST, I want strict Alphabetical order, independent of file or folder
  • (-) Dual-pane – NOT what I want
    • Maybe some way to fix?! It IS open source.

 

Path Finder ($$)

cocoatech.com

3/5 (2024-01)

  • (+) Implemented functionality of arrow keys at least works more like Finder’s (compare to (e.g.) Commander One)
    • Actually among the better seen, among most like Finder
  • (+) Been around for a long time, and available on macOS/Linux/Win – can expect more community support
  • (*) By default: Directories ALWAYS FIRST, I want strict Alphabetical order, independent of file or folder
    • BUT: CAN be fixed. (Settings… > Browser tab: unselect Smart Sort Order items will show items in alphabetical order)
  • (+) Single-pane – what I DO want
  • (-) How does built-in Search actually work …?!

 

 

Attributes, Files and Folders Attributes

File system entry attributes / properties / characteristics

 

  1. Name
    • (Base)name and file extension
  2. iCloud status icon, Dropbox status icon
  3. Date Modified
  4. Date Created
  5. Date Last Opened
  6. Date Added
  7. Size
  8. Version
  9. Kind
    • Through direct determination via file extension and/or by examination of content
  10. Comments
  11. Tags
  12. d

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From HoudahSpot 5 User Guide, ‘Appendix: List of short search field attributes’:

 

  1. added
  2. album
  3. alpha
  4. altitude
  5. anytext
  6. aperture
  7. appmanaged
  8. architectures
  9. audience
  10. audiobitrate
  11. audioencodingappli
  12. cation
  13. audiosamplerate
  14. author
  15. bitrate
  16. bitspersample
  17. bps
  18. by
  19. categories
  20. category
  21. channels
  22. chat
  23. city
  24. codec
  25. colorspace
  26. comment
  27. composer
  28. contact
  29. contactkeyword
  30. container
  31. contains
  32. content
  33. contentcreated
  34. contentmodified
  35. contributor
  36. copyright
  37. country
  38. coverage
  39. created
  40. creator
  41. date
  42. dateadded
  43. delivery
  44. description
  45. displayname
  46. dpi
  47. duedate
  48. duration
  49. editor
  50. email
  51. encodedby
  52. encoder
  53. encodingapplication
  54. exifversion
  55. exposure
  56. exposuremode
  57. exposureprogram
  58. exposuretime
  59. filename
  60. flash
  61. fnumber
  62. focallength
  63. font
  64. from
  65. fstop
  66. genre
  67. group
  68. headline
  69. height
  70. heightdpi
  71. id
  72. imname
  73. instructions
  74. instrument
  75. instrumentcategory
  76. instrumentname
  77. intext
  78. invisible
  79. isjunk
  80. ismidi
  81. iso
  82. key
  83. keysignature
  84. keyword
  85. keywords
  86. kind
  87. language
  88. lastused
  89. latitude
  90. layer
  91. location
  92. longitude
  93. lyricist
  94. mail
  95. make
  96. maxaperture
  97. media
  98. mediatype
  99. metering
  100. meteringmode
  101. model
  102. modified
  103. musicalgenre
  104. name
  105. organization
  106. orientation
  107. owner
  108. pageheight
  109. pages
  110. pagewidth
  111. phone
  112. phonenumber
  113. pixelcount
  114. pixelheight
  115. pixelwidth
  116. platform
  117. producer
  118. profile
  119. province
  120. publisher
  121. purchasedate
  122. recipient
  123. recordingdate
  124. redeye
  125. rights
  126. samplerate
  127. security
  128. securitymethod
  129. size
  130. source
  131. spotlightcomment
  132. starrating
  133. state
  134. stationery
  135. streamable
  136. subject
  137. tag
  138. tags
  139. tempo
  140. text
  141. theme
  142. time
  143. timesignature
  144. title
  145. to
  146. totalbitrate
  147. tracknumber
  148. url
  149. used
  150. version
  151. videobitrate
  152. wherefrom
  153. whitebalance