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Best Finder alternative

I've given up on PathFinder. It was good when I first using many moons ago it but it's just horrible now. And it somehow upgraded the version I have (v9) on my Macbook Pro 14 to v10 without me acknowledging I wanted it - at least I don't remember approving the upgrade. it's now blacklisted on my list of apps.

I've been playing around with Forklift and it's all I need.

To the developers of Forklift, thank you for still making it free on the App Store, appreciate it!
 
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MacBH928 said:
he split his answer in two. There are file managers and there are add-ons
Click to expand...
MacGizmo wrote this...
MacGizmo said:
There are only three "Finder Alternatives" (Pathfinder, Forklift, and Commander One), the rest are simply add-ons ...
Click to expand...
...which is as wrong now as it already was in 2020.

There are (and were) a lot more fully stand-alone full-blown file managers than there ever were "simple add-ons".
 
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Janichsan said:
...which is as wrong now as it already was in 2020.
There are (and were) a lot more fully stand-alone full-blown file managers than there ever were "simple add-ons".
Click to expand...
Would you please mind listing/linking to at least 4 or 5 of them? I still haven't found a complete Finder replacement outside of those three I mentioned in my post a few years back.

This thread being "resurrected" has inspired me to look at these apps again. From what I can tell, ForkLift is still the best of the bunch, but I would love to see what other options are out there.
 
MacGizmo said:
Would you please mind listing/linking to at least 4 or 5 of them?
Click to expand...

GUI:
Of those, I have not tried MaxCommander yet (no free trial...), and Hifile is still a very early version (far from complete). The others are quite good, with very different strengths. FWIW, I prefer dual-pane file managers, so there might be more "Finder-like" alternatives of which I'm not aware.


CLI:
 
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Any spatial file managers out there? With screens getting bigger and bigger, I think it's time for return of spatial file managers. IMHO, file managers should not be like internet browsers because working with files and directories is not like browsing the Web.

Edit: John Siracusa wrote a long article 20 years ago about spatial Finder, and since then, Apple only kept distancing itself from this concept.

arstechnica.com

About the Finder…

If Mac OS X has a secret shame, it's the Finder.
arstechnica.com arstechnica.com
 
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it wasnt me said:
GUI:
Of those, I have not tried MaxCommander yet (no free trial...), and Hifile is still a very early version (far from complete). The others are quite good, with very different strengths. FWIW, I prefer dual-pane file managers, so there might be more "Finder-like" alternatives of which I'm not aware.


CLI:
Click to expand...
You can add CRAX Commander and Fileside to that list.
 
it wasnt me said:
GUI:
Of those, I have not tried MaxCommander yet (no free trial...), and Hifile is still a very early version (far from complete). The others are quite good, with very different strengths. FWIW, I prefer dual-pane file managers, so there might be more "Finder-like" alternatives of which I'm not aware.


CLI:
Click to expand...

So I guess I was wrong there were others but there is some confusion. I was under the impression that "finder alternative" is something that can be installed to be the default file manager over Finder (do not think this exist) where it will be the default file viewer and editor for your files.

This seems more like a file manager "apps" . I see the difference now.

I looked into many of them and saw some things they claim as features but feel like they are already part of the finder.

1-See inside zipped files: - Not sure what is the use case but I guess why not?
2-Batch rename:- I think Finder can do this already but not very sophisticated
3-Connect to servers:- Can't finder do this? There is connect to server option (cmd+K)
4-Find Files: Spotlight?
5-Archive files:- You can already do this with right click?
6-Connect FTP+SFTP: I am not sure if FTP is still a thing
7-Preview Files: click space on any file to preview in finder
8-Tabs: already in finder
9-Double Pane:- Maybe not ideal but you can open two finder windows next to each other

I really feel like I am missing something here

QSpace caught my attention as it has many different ways to layout windows

------------
Pros
------------

  • I noticed they have a more advanced selection processes for selecting files, I didn't learn it as it seems to have a learning curve but I see the advantage of that.
  • Syncing folders : I can see the advantages of this
------------
Cons
------------

  • Some use untraditional keyboard shortcuts which adds to the confusion
  • I am worried about privacy. A file manager means it can see all files on my device and I am wary of that in the data collection and sharing world we live in.
-------------------

Looking to hear from others I feel I am out of the loop here
 
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MacBH928 said:
I was under the impression that "finder alternative" is something that can be installed to be the default file manager over Finder (do not think this exist) where it will be the default file viewer and editor for your files.
Click to expand...

When I used Path Finder, I used it as a Finder replacement. "Open in Finder" opened Path Finder. I replace Finder's desktop with Path Finder's. I never saw Finder at all. You can even tell Path Finder to prevent Finder from launching. I never bothered with that since I thought it might be a good escape hatch if Path Finder didn't satisfy my needs for some particular thing.

MacBH928 said:
1-See inside zipped files: - Not sure what is the use case but I guess why not?
Click to expand...

That is important if you have a large archive and just want to grab some files from it or see what it contains without having to expand the whole thing. Windows Explorer provides this. On the Mac I use BetterZip for that. It would be nice to have that directly in Finder.

MacBH928 said:
3-Connect to servers:- Can't finder do this? There is connect to server option (cmd+K)
Click to expand...

I've not really explored the limits of Finder; I've only ever connected to simple file shares (smb protocol). I know that ForkLift offers much more. I see the options of SFTP, FTP, FTP TLS, WebDAV, WebDEV HTTS, Amazon S3, Backblaze B2, Google Drive, Rackspace CloudFiles, SMB, AFP, NFS, and VNC.

MacBH928 said:
4-Find Files: Spotlight?
Click to expand...

Occasionally I've found that Spotlight refuses to find the file I'm looking for or gives me too many irrelevant answers. I know there's a full query language but I haven't really learned it. There is a tool that is a graphical front-end to Spotlight, but I can't remember it's name.

I sometimes just have better luck with a third party tool or the terminal (using grep/find). When I really need to count on finding things, I keep them indexed in DevonThink. That company also has EasyFind which assists in searches. I would appreciate a more sophisticated search that has a shallow learning curve built right into Finder.

MacBH928 said:
9-Double Pane:- Maybe not ideal but you can open two finder windows next to each other
Click to expand...

If Finder provided dual pane, I would just stop looking for a Finder replacement. This is the one feature that I really want. I'm so often opening multiple finder windows to copy or just look in two different places at the same time. When I used Path Finder, and when I use ForkLift now, I really appreciate have two panes. I guess the importance of this one depends on how often you are using two windows.
 
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svenmany said:
There is a tool that is a graphical front-end to Spotlight, but I can't remember it's name.
Click to expand...
HoudahSpot. I use it lots.
svenmany said:
I'm so often opening multiple finder windows to copy or just look in two different places at the same time
Click to expand...
I use Keyboard Maestro action to open two side by side Finder windows. Could also do it with Better Touch Tool, AppleScript, or some other automation tool.
 
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svenmany said:
When I used Path Finder, I used it as a Finder replacement. "Open in Finder" opened Path Finder. I replace Finder's desktop with Path Finder's. I never saw Finder at all. You can even tell Path Finder to prevent Finder from launching. I never bothered with that since I thought it might be a good escape hatch if Path Finder didn't satisfy my needs for some particular thing.



That is important if you have a large archive and just want to grab some files from it or see what it contains without having to expand the whole thing. Windows Explorer provides this. On the Mac I use BetterZip for that. It would be nice to have that directly in Finder.



I've not really explored the limits of Finder; I've only ever connected to simple file shares (smb protocol). I know that ForkLift offers much more. I see the options of SFTP, FTP, FTP TLS, WebDAV, WebDEV HTTS, Amazon S3, Backblaze B2, Google Drive, Rackspace CloudFiles, SMB, AFP, NFS, and VNC.



Occasionally I've found that Spotlight refuses to find the file I'm looking for or gives me too many irrelevant answers. I know there's a full query language but I haven't really learned it. There is a tool that is a graphical front-end to Spotlight, but I can't remember it's name.

I sometimes just have better luck with a third party tool or the terminal (using grep/find). When I really need to count on finding things, I keep them indexed in DevonThink. That company also has EasyFind which assists in searches. I would appreciate a more sophisticated search that has a shallow learning curve built right into Finder.



If Finder provided dual pane, I would just stop looking for a Finder replacement. This is the one feature that I really want. I'm so often opening multiple finder windows to copy or just look in two different places at the same time. When I used Path Finder, and when I use ForkLift now, I really appreciate have two panes. I guess the importance of this one depends on how often you are using two windows.
Click to expand...

1-That sounds like a great use case but in my decades of computer use it never came up. Usually zipped files are small number of small sized files that will unzip in couple of seconds. I didn't even know you can take out a single file without unzipping first.

4-I use FindAnyFile , no file is spared! although I do not think it searches inside documents. (it does i just checked)
 
MacBH928 said:
Usually zipped files are small number of small sized files that will unzip in couple of seconds. I didn't even know you can take out a single file without unzipping first.
Click to expand...
Yeah, for me too. Most zip archives are small, so it's not a super big deal. But, I am often expanding archives and then just deleting the result after dealing with the contents in some way. Windows Explorer is super nice for this. Just as you double click a folder to look inside it, you just double click an archive. Then you're presented with a completely analogous display, as if it is just a folder on the file system. You can work with it just as you work with any other folder with subfolders.

MacBH928 said:
I use FindAnyFile , no file is spared! although I do not think it searches inside documents. (it does i just checked)
Click to expand...

Nice, I'll check it out.
 
gilby101 said:
I use Keyboard Maestro action to open two side by side Finder windows. Could also do it with Better Touch Tool, AppleScript, or some other automation tool.
Click to expand...

I wish I knew how to do that with BetterTouchTool; I've only owned it for a week. I'll research. That's great idea and would really help with the lack dual-pane pain.
 
it wasnt me said:
GUI:
Of those, I have not tried MaxCommander yet (no free trial...), and Hifile is still a very early version (far from complete). The others are quite good, with very different strengths. FWIW, I prefer dual-pane file managers, so there might be more "Finder-like" alternatives of which I'm not aware.
Click to expand...
Thank you for listing these. This is one time I'm happy to be proven wrong. But...

I took a look at the website of all of them and by the screenshots alone, Marta is the only one I would even consider trying. The rest of them would take great effort to make them any uglier than they are. Given that all of these Finder replacement apps offer almost the exact same features, the GUI is really the only thing (other than cost) that differentiates them for me.

I see that a few of them offer a few interesting ideas, like Fileside's "unlimited panes," but just looking at it gives me anxiety. LOL. To each his own, though.
 
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MacGizmo said:
Thank you for listing these. This is one time I'm happy to be proven wrong. But...

I took a look at the website of all of them and by the screenshots alone, Marta is the only one I would even consider trying. The rest of them would take great effort to make them any uglier than they are. Given that all of these Finder replacement apps offer almost the exact same features, the GUI is really the only thing (other than cost) that differentiates them for me.
Click to expand...

Thank god, I thought I was dillusional because most of them have similar feature different GUI so I thought there was something I do not understand
 
I've been playing around with Forklift, Path Finder, and Marta for the last few days and have pretty much settled on Path Finder.
  • I LOVE how Path Finder makes it easy (via checkboxes in the preferences) to completely quit and REPLACE the macOS Finder. I know you can do this with ForkLift, but it takes some hacking around in the Terminal and can mess with the system should something go wrong.
  • I LOVE the ability to choose the Fonts and Font sizes in the file browser (as well as the Desktop) in Path Finder, and to some extent, in ForkLift (a few more options in Path Finder, such as the ability to turn on/off shadows on icon text).
  • Path Finder's Sidebars... OMG!!!
 
MacGizmo said:
I've been playing around with Forklift, Path Finder, and Marta for the last few days and have pretty much settled on Path Finder.
  • I LOVE how Path Finder makes it easy (via checkboxes in the preferences) to completely quit and REPLACE the macOS Finder. I know you can do this with ForkLift, but it takes some hacking around in the Terminal and can mess with the system should something go wrong.
  • I LOVE the ability to choose the Fonts and Font sizes in the file browser (as well as the Desktop) in Path Finder, and to some extent, in ForkLift (a few more options in Path Finder, such as the ability to turn on/off shadows on icon text).
  • Path Finder's Sidebars... OMG!!!
Click to expand...

hmmm...most people here seem to be upset about Pathfinder saying it causes lots of errors around macos and have migrated to Forklift
 
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