Best Finder alternative

[allan.nyholm]

The developer team behind ForkLift is bringing in a new pricing scheme for their future released as laid out here:
binarynights's blog article "New Business Model"

My comment: It's not a subscription, but if you want to continue using ForkLift 4 you'll eventually have to subscribe to another year worth of updates or continue using your current ForkLift 4 version.
Sketch does this too, but the developer team behind Sketch wants around $99 for a renewal.
(ForkLift 4 isn't yet out FYI - just mentioned in that blog post)

 

[prometheus12]

All these links are little more than paid reviews/links. I know, because I ran a site and received the same offers from developers to publish lists and reviews.

There are only three "Finder Alternatives" (Pathfinder, Forklift, and Commander One), the rest are simply add-ons that bring a few features to the existing Finder. To me, those are not Finder alternatives because you're just enhancing the existing Finder.

Of the three that actually REPLACE the Apple Finder, Commander One is ok, but very "Windows port" in look and feel. Forklift is probably the most Apple-like of the three, but the support of the app has come under questions as of late. Pathfinder is the most "mature" of the three, but it's almost overkill and tries to do way too much, and doesn't do anything really well.

In my opinion, you're almost better off adding the utilities for the features you want, rather than trying to replace the Finder completely.

Who made you the authority to declare all the other links are from paid users? That's right, no one. And yours is just another opinion which in my opinion is a bad one.

 

[MacGizmo]

Who made you the authority to declare all the other links are from paid users? That's right, no one. And yours is just another opinion which in my opinion is a bad one.

I was referring to the sites that create these lists and PR posts. They are in fact, paid (either cash, trade or free software). It's common practice and everyone knows it. You think all these sites came up with the exact same idea for a blog post, containing the exact same list within one month of each other? Then did it again a year or two later with the same exact updates?

I've worked for several national and a few international online publications, as well as my own site which was quite popular back in its day - I can tell you with absolute confidence and certainty that it's not my opinion, it is fact.

 

[prometheus12]

I was referring to the sites that create these lists and PR posts. They are in fact, paid (either cash, trade or free software). It's common practice and everyone knows it. You think all these sites came up with the exact same idea for a blog post, containing the exact same list within one month of each other? Then did it again a year or two later with the same exact updates?

I've worked for several national and a few international online publications, as well as my own site which was quite popular back in its day - I can tell you with absolute confidence and certainty that it's not my opinion, it is fact.

ah, my bad. I thought you were referring to the links posted by other users here. Agree with that.

 

[tosbsas]

All these links are little more than paid reviews/links. I know, because I ran a site and received the same offers from developers to publish lists and reviews.

There are only three "Finder Alternatives" (Pathfinder, Forklift, and Commander One), the rest are simply add-ons that bring a few features to the existing Finder. To me, those are not Finder alternatives because you're just enhancing the existing Finder.

Of the three that actually REPLACE the Apple Finder, Commander One is ok, but very "Windows port" in look and feel. Forklift is probably the most Apple-like of the three, but the support of the app has come under questions as of late. Pathfinder is the most "mature" of the three, but it's almost overkill and tries to do way too much, and doesn't do anything really well.

In my opinion, you're almost better off adding the utilities for the features you want, rather than trying to replace the Finder completely.

I agree fully with you. Support for Pathfinder and Forklift is a nightmare and Commander One doesn't even support Touch Bar. I am really missing my total commander a lot. I would be happy to get at least Dualpane but so far nothing is showing up. If I could code or knew how to right a good script I would be able to make a lot of money )

There are some apps like xtrafinder but they need SIP to be disabled permanently and that's something I am not sure I want to assume the risk

 

[AZhappyjack]

I agree fully with you. Support for Pathfinder and Forklift is a nightmare and Commander One doesn't even support Touch Bar. I am really missing my total commander a lot. I would be happy to get at least Dualpane but so far nothing is showing up. If I could code or knew how to right a good script I would be able to make a lot of money )

There are some apps like xtrafinder but they need SIP to be disabled permanently and that's something I am not sure I want to assume the risk

I have had a few interactions with both PathFinder (previously used this one) and Forklift (currently using this one). PathFinder's support and customer interactions, indeed, a nightmare. Any response that I got had a boorish and condescending tone to it.

However, I have had a few recent interactions with BinaryNights (Forklift), and they have always been responsive, helpful and courteous. IMO, the Forklift support people have been very helpful, and they appear happy to do so.

 

[posguy99]

I notice that it has some good syncing facilities, but the sales page seemed to suggest syncing is done via dropbox. If I don't use dropbox, can I still have it auto-sync say a remote ftp site with a local folder?

No, the documentation doesn't say that. Forklift can sync favorites between separate installs (separate machines). It uses Dropbox to do this.

 

[posguy99]

It reminds me of some aspects of Mac that they seem reluctant to improve upon. An example is the two minimise buttons on the Mac, the x and the -. I mean what is that all about?

It's not about anything. There are not two minimize buttons, there is only one. Red closes the window. Yellow minimizes the window. Seems rather obvious.
[automerge]1602084070[/automerge]

You can edit the behaviour of the x button with the more recent versions of macOS. But before that, x and - were the same, AFAICT.

They weren't. Not even close.

 

[posguy99]

Forklift is probably the most Apple-like of the three, but the support of the app has come under questions as of late.

This topic keeps saying that about Forklift, but no one offers any evidence?

 

[MacGizmo]

ah, my bad. I thought you were referring to the links posted by other users here. Agree with that.

I should also say that in the case of software developers, I would receive numerous emails per week with a free license to their app in exchange for a review. In many cases, I accepted the license, actually put the app through the paces, and decided that the app absolutely sucked and I wasn't going to post a "review" of said suckiness simply to fulfill my moral obligation. In all but one case, the developers were actually cool with it—probably because they understand that no review is better than a bad review.

Sadly, almost all of these "list" posts are nothing more than re-puking the developer's press-release or list of features. In most cases, I would be willing to bet the authors of those posts never even installed the apps, let alone actually used them long enough to present a fair review of them.

I miss the days when sites weren't pressured to make 15-25 posts per day and could actually take the time to write a thoughtful, honest article.

 

[Amigaman]

I use Forklift and haven't had any issues with it. Not sure where all this "support" stuff is coming from because BinaryNights routinely updates the app. The last update was just a few weeks ago.

 

[posguy99]

I use Forklift and haven't had any issues with it. Not sure where all this "support" stuff is coming from because BinaryNights routinely updates the app. The last update was just a few weeks ago.

Linuxers decide an app is dead and unmaintained if it doesn't have near-constant version churn.

 

[AZhappyjack]

Of the three that actually REPLACE the Apple Finder, Commander One is ok, but very "Windows port" in look and feel. Forklift is probably the most Apple-like of the three, but the support of the app has come under questions as of late. Pathfinder is the most "mature" of the three, but it's almost overkill and tries to do way too much, and doesn't do anything really well.

I'm calling "BS" in ForkLift support issues. Any interaction that I have had with BinaryNights (ForkLift) has been cordial and helpful. Not so much with Pathfinder, which, in my opinion, is quite the train wreck.

 

[svenmany]

I use ForkLift for remote access and Path Finder for local stuff. I find Path Finder more powerful. I love the modules (like the file preview and info) and the little utilities (like calculating hashes and launching a diff program for comparing two files).

The key to my happiness with Path Finder is lowered expectations. I love the feature set and do my best to ignore or work around the bugs. There are two age old bugs that come to mind.

Every now and again all my favorites are lost. The left side bar is just reset to defaults. My work around? Don't have many favorites. I'm just that tolerant.

Every now and again some pop out drawers (that hold the modules) refuse to open. My work around? Set Path Finder to full screen and open the drawers. Every time I have to do that I only gasp slightly.

Both these issues have been discussed for years on the Path Finder forums and have never been solved. If those kinds of things drive you crazy, then run for the hills.

Be aware that Finder, ForkLift, and Path Finder all have different opinions about what is the contents of the iCloud Drive. It seems they are each interpreting the contents of ~/Library/Mobile Documents differently. I remember reading on the Path Finder forums that Apple doesn't make the API to the iCloud Drive public, so they were out of luck getting it right.

 

[AZhappyjack]

The key to my happiness with Path Finder is lowered expectations. I love the feature set and do my best to ignore or work around the bugs. There are two age old bugs that come to mind.

Every now and again all my favorites are lost. The left side bar is just reset to defaults. My work around? Don't have many favorites. I'm just that tolerant.

Every now and again some pop out drawers (that hold the modules) refuse to open. My work around? Set Path Finder to full screen and open the drawers. Every time I have to do that I only gasp slightly.

Both these issues have been discussed for years on the Path Finder forums and have never been solved. If those kinds of things drive you crazy, then run for the hills.

Herein lies the rub. Any computer program with 100 lines of code or more probably contains bugs. It's the nature of the process... but with Pather Finder's new pricing scheme, I find it beyond belief that some of these bugs have continued to exist as long as they have... and I am not above looking the other way at an annoyance or two, but c'mon, man...

I made the decision just over a year ago to move to ForkLift, and to use your phrasing, I ran for the hills.

 

[posguy99]

Be aware that Finder, ForkLift, and Path Finder all have different opinions about what is the contents of the iCloud Drive. It seems they are each interpreting the contents of ~/Library/Mobile Documents differently. I remember reading on the Path Finder forums that Apple doesn't make the API to the iCloud Drive public, so they were out of luck getting it right.

Apple themselves can't keep track of what the contents of iCloud Drive are. I like my data, so the contents of my iCloud Drive are zero.

 

[sgtaylor5]

There's another way to think about the Finder and its alternatives. Would something like EagleFiler work for the OP? It's spendy, but maybe also Devonthink, which is what I use.

The idea is not to use the Finder, but another program that stores all your data (not your Photos Library, though).

 

[warp9]

It's not about anything. There are not two minimize buttons, there is only one. Red closes the window. Yellow minimizes the window. Seems rather obvious.
[automerge]1602084070[/automerge]

They weren't. Not even close.

No one seems to be getting this.

When clicking on the red x, we expect it to close the *app* but instead it closes the *window*. Closing just a window seems pointless to me and still leaves everything running in memory. It's also a different behaviour than all other OSs so unless you've been a mac user forever, it comes as a surprise.

 

[warp9]

I'll offer an unusual alternative: XnView MP.

It's technically a photo manager but switch from "thumbnail view" to "detail view" and it becomes a file manager. It's also the only app on macos with an actual treeview, just like Windows Explorer. It's highly customizable too. It doesn't have tabs or dual pane view but it works as a lightweight, fast, "windows-like" file manager.

 

[posguy99]

No one seems to be getting this.

When clicking on the red x, we expect it to close the *app* but instead it closes the *window*. Closing just a window seems pointless to me and still leaves everything running in memory.

Yes, isn't it great? You don't need to launch the app again.

It's also a different behaviour than all other OSs so unless you've been a mac user forever, it comes as a surprise.

So if you are working on *this* spreadsheet, and now you're done and are going to work on *that* spreadsheet, you think Excel should close and be re-opened? MS wishes they understood what MDI means.

 

[warp9]

Yes, isn't it great? You don't need to launch the app again.

No it's not great because it didn't do what I thought I asked it to do. If you're ok with having Apple make your decisions for you, that's your business but stay out of mine.

 

[posguy99]

If you're ok with having Apple make your decisions for you, that's your business but stay out of mine.

Huh? I rather think the Windows experience says more that MS is making the decision for me.

 

[HDFan]

I have no problem with it. For most apps (usually single window) it closes the app, but for apps where it doesn't make sense (Excel, Word) it just closes the window.

 

[svenmany]

I just use command-W to close current window and command-Q to quit the application. The distinction between the windows and the application as a whole is very important to me, but that discussion would be a topic for another thread.

And how does this relate to the current thread - the same command-W and command-Q work in Finder, Path Finder, and ForkLift (except that you cannot quit Finder). And, generally for all three, closing a window does not close the application. So, if you prefer the Windows way, these Finder alternatives will not help you.

 

[tosbsas]

Pathfinder 10 has improved a lot. Try it If you can