14 DAY TRIAL // When it comes to file managers, users generally stop to Windows Explorer. There are other alternatives out there that are as good as the Windows tool and some of them are even much better. Recently, I have seen a top 12 file managers. The leader was Total Commander. However, we should not stop to this only experience and give other applications a chance, too.
Stylet File Manager is a light tool designed to help you in your files manipulating tasks. It comes as a substitute for Windows Explorer and Total Commander. The design of this version is greatly improved and compared to the earlier version, the price suffered a cut off (from $21 to $18). Also, much of the options available in the previous version are greatly improved and the functionality of the application grew exponentially.
The trial period is the same as ever, but the 30 days available will allow full functionality and you will not be hindered by anything during the testing (except for the nag screen at application launch).
At a first glance, Stylet File Manager seems like a combination between WinExplorer and TC (Total Commander) as the multiple panel feature and the explorer view combine the two into a pretty good result. The looks of the software are similar more to an editing tool than to a file manager as the tools bar extends down in the left side of the window. The largest part in the center of the screen is occupied with the multiple explorer screens.
Actually what you get is an interface for opening more Windows Explorer windows and organize them the way you want it. They can be views in cascade, vertically/horizontally tiled or you can minimize them all and work with them one by one.
To be frank, Stylet File Manager borrows a little from Opera web browser, too. The option of saving and loading your file managing sessions is very familiar to the Norwegian application. The same applies for the bookmarking system implemented in Stylet File Manger, which comes in very handy when you want fast access to certain folders (no need to browse for them).
Just like any respectable file manager, the software in discussion comes packed with archiving possibilities for JAR, ZIP, TAR, TARGzip, TARBzip, LZH, Cabinet or BlackHole. Out of the eight compression formats Stylet File Manager successfully archived the files to JAR, TAR and ZIP, for the other formats displaying the "archive unsupported" message. Compressing to BlackHole or ZIP results in a ZIP archive.
A very unusual though handy tool included in Stylet is the file wiper that allows you to securely delete a file from your hard drive. The flexibility of the instrument goes as far as to let you set the number of wipes (up to 120) and the wipe pattern. To be frank, I was impressed with the thoroughness of the operation and I tested to see if I could recover any of the wiped files. I failed in this process.
Stylet File Manager allows you to open as many windows as you want and manage them by using the panel in the right. Opening multiple explorer windows and tiling them (either horizontally or vertically) may seem difficult to manage, but the software will automatically resize them all to perfectly fit the window. During my test I worked with seven windows and it was great with two little exceptions: dragging and dropping files will move them, not copy and in restore down mode of the application window it all turns into a nightmare (they are no longer shrunk and preserve their size).
Splitting and merging is pretty easy to use and the process will not take long. The option can be found in the File menu (top left hand). The user can choose between the preset sizes available or set his/her own size for each split. The pitfall here is that you will have to enter the value in bytes. Imagine trying to break a file in splits of 1GB. You will have to get a calculator and transform the gigabyte into bytes.
Merging the files does not require choosing a certain file and you can select any split you want as the result will be a perfect copy of the original. The biggest trouble here is that no matter the folder (which is in fact a volume on your hard drive) you choose the merged file will still be copied to the split files' folder. Also, there is no way to learn about the progress of the process.
A multi-rename tool is included in the application but the downside is that I whenever I defined the character to replace the original name with I was invariably displayed the "List index out of bounds (1)" error. The application did not crash, but obviously Stylet File Manager's multi-rename tool was not able to complete the job.
Very strange in a file manager, but equally useful is the encryption/decryption tool embedded in Stylet. The supported algorithm is AES with 256-bit key support but it it does not come flawless. At decrypting, if you do not enter the password correctly you will get no warning about it. Instead a file with the same name as the original will be created on the disk but it will be empty (0 bit size).
The Good
The application suffered a very well-deserved face lift and the interface looks great now. Also, the multi-window idea is very handy.
Additionally the bookmark tool proves to be an asset when it comes to quick accessing deep buried files.
Dropping a file in the "Go Back" button will move it in the previous folder.
The Bad
The issues related to good functioning of the application are present all over the place. Bookmarking a folder results in not displaying the name in the Bookmarks menu, but instead it takes you to the location.
Multi-rename tool won't perform the assigned job, delete function is available at key F8 (pressing Delete does nothing), the tree view does not refresh when deleting a folder from the explorer part of the window (unless you manually perform the operation), there are some issues with displaying the size of the files on the disk (in some cases they are rounded to a lower value) so on and so forth.
I think making the windows automatically resize when in tile mode no matter if the application window is restored down or maximized would be a good idea for Stylet File Manager.
The Truth
Stylet File Manager has improved a lot since the last reviewed version. However, there are still issues to be taken care of. I even got an error message at running the About window as the application could not load the SecondaryCredits.txt file.
The developer made major changes to both functionality and looks of the software in comparison to the previously reviewed version.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
