A Powerful, Versatile and User-Oriented Dual-Pane File Manager for Your Mac

very good
key review info
application features
  • Intuitive keyboard shortcuts
  • (4 more, see all...)

If you are new to Mac OS X and you used to handle your files, documents and programs through Total Commander when you were using Windows, then you will be happy to know that there is a similar application for Mac.

DCommander is a fully featured and very practical application that comes with a clean and intuitive two-pane file manager capable to provide full control over all your Mac’s files, folders and apps.

To download and install DCommander, you need a Mac running at least Snow Leopard and a 64-bit processor. Like in the case of all other applications distributed via the Mac App Store, you can purchase, download and install DCommander with just a few mouse clicks. Before using DCommander, you also have to grant it filesystem access for the volumes you want to manage.

DCommander features a slick, user-oriented interface from which you can quickly and effortlessly go through your files, view, edit, copy, move and delete them using the standard function keys, just like you used to do in Total Commander. In addition, you can open multiple tabs in each panel and take advantage of the Quick Look integration in order to preview your files without opening them.

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From DCommander’s top toolbar, you can rapidly jump to your Home folder, view all available drives, swap panels, hide or show System files and connect to network drives. In addition, you can open a Terminal window, launch the Disk Utility, Activity Monitor or Console app and search for a specific file in the desired drive or folder.

What is more, DCommander allows you to sort all displayed files, folders, documents and applications by their name, extension, size, date or creation type.

The context menu helps you open the selected file with an application of your choice, rename it, edit or delete it, compress it, duplicate it or make an Alias. In addition, you can copy the full directory path, open the Info window and create a new folder or empty file.

If you do not want to use the context menu or the function keys, you can always use the bottom toolbar to view, edit, copy, move or delete the selected files or folders and even create a new folder.

Opening a new tab in each of the two panels is as easy as it would be in any modern web browser; you only have to press the CMD + T keyboard shortcut. You can even duplicate or close a tab and navigate through all opened tabs without lifting your hands off the keyboard.

The Lynx-like navigation system is smooth-running, feels natural and it will allow you to navigate back and forth through your directories by using only the arrow keys. All of this, combined with the entire system of keyboard shortcuts, make DCommander a reliable and must-have application for all Mac users who want to stay in control over their files and folders without having to rely on a mouse to do it.

The intuitive keyboard hotkeys also enable you to make or reverse selections, select files with the same extension and expand or shrink your selection. Although we find these hotkeys a time saver, you can still access the Mark menu to perform the above-mentioned tasks if you are not comfortable using so many hotkeys.

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Furthermore, DCommander offers a powerful and very easy-to-use Search function that enables you to find files and folders with just a few keystrokes. The best thing about the built-in search engine is its ability to search for words and text snippets inside all sorts of files.

You can easily and instantly swap between panels and “Equalize” them if you want to make multiple changes within the same folder. On top of that, the Network menu helps you connect to your network drives and open the Network or Sharing Preferences window if needed.

Another useful feature provided by DCommander is the “Terminal command at path” dialog box, from which you can run various commands in the Terminal application from within the opened folder.

Unfortunately, this function failed to perform as designed and did not take any commands typed in the dialog box. However, we contacted the developer, who explained that this is a problem related to the sandbox daemon and it will be addressed in future updates.

Moreover, DCommander is highly customizable and allows you to personalize the top toolbar by adding or removing buttons and icons. You can even hide it entirely and gain more space to work with your documents. Additionally, you can take the customization process even further and change the font style, size and color, change the background color or use one of the six available themes.

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You will be pleased to know that DCommander is kind to your Mac’s resources in standby and while copying large files from one folder to another. While idle, DCommander used 0% of the CPU resources and 24 MB of RAM.

During the copying process of a 2.35 GB archive, the RAM usage stayed the same, while the CPU load rose to a maximum of 5%. This is pretty good by all standards and especially compared to Finder, which required 7.1% of the processor resources and 45 MB of RAM for copying the same file.

Sadly, the performance differences between the two are not impressive. Finder managed to copy our ZIP file in 1 minute and 22 seconds, while DCommander did it in 1 minute and 19 seconds. It goes without saying that these values might change according to your Mac's processor performance and the write/read speed of the hard disks you have installed on your computer.

The difference between an SSD and an HDD are remarkable and can translate into much lower file transfer times. Be that as it may, this is not the main reason why you should think about purchasing DCommander in the first place.


The Good

All things considered, DCommander is an all-around user-friendly file managing app that features an intuitive and well-designed interface, from which you can easily and effortlessly control and organize all your applications, files, folders and documents.

The long list of hotkeys coupled with its customizable user interface, applications shortcuts and Lynx-like navigation system, make DCommander one of the best dual-pane file managers on the OS X platform.

The Bad

As mentioned earlier in the review, the “Terminal command at path” feature is not usable in this version; however, this issue is expected to be fixed in the updates to come.

During our testing period, we also observed that there is no way to change the file size measurement unit. By default, DCommander displays the file sizes in bytes, fact that can become pretty annoying, especially if you work with large files.

The Truth

All things considered, DCommander is a smooth-running and reliable dual-pane file manager that offers everything you need to stay in control over the files stored on your Mac’s hard drive.

user interface 5
features 4
ease of use 5
pricing / value 4


final rating 4
Editor's review
very good
 
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