5 ms·

I say this with love for Linux. Controversially, I don't think there is a file manager available on any platform as good as Windows file explorer. MacOS finder

I say this with love for Linux. Controversially, I don't think there is a file manager available on any platform as good as Windows file explorer. MacOS finder is an actual joke. Gnome's files is a less feature-rich finder and Dolphin comes close but still lags behind Windows explorer IMO. I'd love to see a shameless rip of of Windows explorer for Linux

BoppreH 1y ago
That's fine, it's a very subjective choice. Here a few reasons why I preferred Dolphin: - Tree view on main panel (can expand folders without navigating into them). - Checksum validation under "properties". - Filter function (like search, but faster and persistent across navigation). - When dragging and dropping, explicit distinction between "move here", "copy here", "link here", and "move into new folder". - Browsing SFTP drives natively. - Native Git integration. - Well integrated notifications for long operations. - Disk usage statistics (technically "filelight"). Like WinDirStat, but with circles.
- GreenWatermelon 1y ago
  Also: - Press F4 to bring up a console that stays in sync with your window. Extremely powerful.
fluidcruft 1y ago
What specifically in Windows file manager are you talking about? I quite like Gnome's Files but mostly I like MacOS 's column mode and which it were elsewhere. I think it depends on what tasks you reach to the file manager for though.
xxs 1y ago
> file manager available on any platform as good as Windows file explorer. How come? I can't think of a single redeeming feature of windows file explorer that I need (or use). Heck, it effectively doesn't have text search (grep -R) and b/c it's so bad there is the "window search" service that even worse. It has the absolutely worst imaginable zip file (erm folder) reader as a side bonus. Security file permissions management is just horrid (along with the fact some of them are coupled with registry paths) I don't recall seeing a correct file system operation time estimation. Edit - since explorer.exe is both the shell and the file manager, and the former craps itself often enough (task manager or taskkill /im explorer.exe), it's another negative point.
kwanbix 1y ago
It depends on your definition of perfect. For me the perfect file manager is Total Commander or Midnight Commander or Double Commadner.
jakubmazanec 1y ago
Not Windows Explorer; but I can't live without Total Commander.
1718627440 1y ago
> as good as Windows file explorer In what way is the MS Windows file explorer good? It neither has tabs, side-by-side view, pattern selection, performant search, an UI, that doesn't regularly blocks and becomes unresponsive, etc... . What feature does it have, that some other file manager, doesn't have? I can't think of any?
- florbo 1y ago
  fwiw Windows 11 Explorer does have tabs.
  - 1718627440 1y ago
    Oh is that new? I haven't noticed that yet. Is it obvious how to use it? How do you use it? (C-T, C-W, C-Shift-T, ...?)
    - plqbfbv 1y ago
      Yep, close to regular browser tabs from my point of view. I don't know all the shortcuts, but the few that I used - CTRL+{T,W} - behaved like Chrome or Firefox.
- rkagerer 1y ago
  I've been running tabs in file Explorer since windows 7. QtTabBar.
- wkat4242 1y ago
  The unresponsive thing is because the whole explorer.exe still seems to be one big single threaded process. One thing hanging kills everything. Including stuff completely unrelated to the file manager like the task bar. So weird.
  - philistine 1y ago
    Whenever something is weird about Windows, it's for backwards compatibility reason. There must be no way to keep win32 and rewrite explorer.exe.
mihaaly 1y ago
> don't think there is a file manager available on any platform as good as Windows file explorer Good joke, made my day! : ) (very sorry, it is late, would love to collect and expand in a dedicated thread later. a prime reason for hating to turn on my work computer - no Windows at home! -, me, the tech enthusiast since learned how to hold a screwdriver, is Windows Explorer. so many senseless inconsistencies with unfinished junk petrified into unmutable practicies that changing line of work where never ever need to use Windows again is getting increasingly attractive very fast. even goat herding sounds a sensible alternative sometimes)
emeril 1y ago
check out directory opus - pretty much unmatched
0x073 1y ago
I tried to love the Linux file manager, but it's a mess with current fedora kde dolphin crashes randomly, mounted nas storage with smb or NFS (synology nas) is slower and depending on how you mount the storage some apps can't open the files. Maybe the crashes could be solved with a more stable os like debian, but the explorer shell integration is on windows on another level with network storage.
- rizalp 1y ago
  regarding dolphin mounted NAS storage issue, it could be due to KIO-Fuse location is not fixed https://invent.kde.org/system/kio-fuse/-/issues/18 https://invent.kde.org/system/kio-fuse/-/issues/18
112233 1y ago
Does it still show "this folder is empty" while the OS is loading folder contents? And does Ctrl+A Enter stll launch all programs and files at once?
- httpsterio 1y ago
  what else should ctrl+a and enter then do?
  - 112233 1y ago
    Nothing. Opening selection of apps is such an arcane corner case it should not be the easiest to do thing, put it into twice nested menu. Same as typing should not delete selected text if there is no undo.
sensanaty 1y ago
I would've agreed back in the Win10 days, but Win11 explorer is shit. I have a 9800x3d, literally top of the line CPU with a crazy fast brand new NVMe SSD, and Win11 explorer takes a good 3 seconds from time to time to load any folder on my system. VERY often, the explorer window is even blank as if it's loading a web application (it is) for a few seconds! There's some decent QoL like tabs and stuff like that, but I can't believe how fucking sluggish it is in regular operation, alongside all the other terrible changes M$ decided to make. I upgraded back down to Win10 and plan on making it my absolute last Windows version I ever use, Win 11 is just unbelievably shit in so many ways even by M$ standards.

BoppreH 1y ago

That's fine, it's a very subjective choice. Here a few reasons why I preferred Dolphin: - Tree view on main panel (can expand folders without navigating into them). - Checksum validation under "properties". - Filter function (like search, but faster and persistent across navigation). - When dragging and dropping, explicit distinction between "move here", "copy here", "link here", and "move into new folder". - Browsing SFTP drives natively. - Native Git integration. - Well integrated notifications for long operations. - Disk usage statistics (technically "filelight"). Like WinDirStat, but with circles.

GreenWatermelon 1y ago
Also: - Press F4 to bring up a console that stays in sync with your window. Extremely powerful.

fluidcruft 1y ago

What specifically in Windows file manager are you talking about? I quite like Gnome's Files but mostly I like MacOS 's column mode and which it were elsewhere. I think it depends on what tasks you reach to the file manager for though.

xxs 1y ago

> file manager available on any platform as good as Windows file explorer. How come? I can't think of a single redeeming feature of windows file explorer that I need (or use). Heck, it effectively doesn't have text search (grep -R) and b/c it's so bad there is the "window search" service that even worse. It has the absolutely worst imaginable zip file (erm folder) reader as a side bonus. Security file permissions management is just horrid (along with the fact some of them are coupled with registry paths) I don't recall seeing a correct file system operation time estimation. Edit - since explorer.exe is both the shell and the file manager, and the former craps itself often enough (task manager or taskkill /im explorer.exe), it's another negative point.

kwanbix 1y ago

It depends on your definition of perfect. For me the perfect file manager is Total Commander or Midnight Commander or Double Commadner.

jakubmazanec 1y ago

Not Windows Explorer; but I can't live without Total Commander.

1718627440 1y ago

> as good as Windows file explorer In what way is the MS Windows file explorer good? It neither has tabs, side-by-side view, pattern selection, performant search, an UI, that doesn't regularly blocks and becomes unresponsive, etc... . What feature does it have, that some other file manager, doesn't have? I can't think of any?

florbo 1y ago
fwiw Windows 11 Explorer does have tabs.
- 1718627440 1y ago
  Oh is that new? I haven't noticed that yet. Is it obvious how to use it? How do you use it? (C-T, C-W, C-Shift-T, ...?)
  - plqbfbv 1y ago
    Yep, close to regular browser tabs from my point of view. I don't know all the shortcuts, but the few that I used - CTRL+{T,W} - behaved like Chrome or Firefox.
rkagerer 1y ago
I've been running tabs in file Explorer since windows 7. QtTabBar.
wkat4242 1y ago
The unresponsive thing is because the whole explorer.exe still seems to be one big single threaded process. One thing hanging kills everything. Including stuff completely unrelated to the file manager like the task bar. So weird.
- philistine 1y ago
  Whenever something is weird about Windows, it's for backwards compatibility reason. There must be no way to keep win32 and rewrite explorer.exe.

mihaaly 1y ago

> don't think there is a file manager available on any platform as good as Windows file explorer Good joke, made my day! : ) (very sorry, it is late, would love to collect and expand in a dedicated thread later. a prime reason for hating to turn on my work computer - no Windows at home! -, me, the tech enthusiast since learned how to hold a screwdriver, is Windows Explorer. so many senseless inconsistencies with unfinished junk petrified into unmutable practicies that changing line of work where never ever need to use Windows again is getting increasingly attractive very fast. even goat herding sounds a sensible alternative sometimes)

emeril 1y ago

check out directory opus - pretty much unmatched

0x073 1y ago

I tried to love the Linux file manager, but it's a mess with current fedora kde dolphin crashes randomly, mounted nas storage with smb or NFS (synology nas) is slower and depending on how you mount the storage some apps can't open the files. Maybe the crashes could be solved with a more stable os like debian, but the explorer shell integration is on windows on another level with network storage.

rizalp 1y ago
regarding dolphin mounted NAS storage issue, it could be due to KIO-Fuse location is not fixed https://invent.kde.org/system/kio-fuse/-/issues/18 https://invent.kde.org/system/kio-fuse/-/issues/18

112233 1y ago

Does it still show "this folder is empty" while the OS is loading folder contents? And does Ctrl+A Enter stll launch all programs and files at once?

httpsterio 1y ago
what else should ctrl+a and enter then do?
- 112233 1y ago
  Nothing. Opening selection of apps is such an arcane corner case it should not be the easiest to do thing, put it into twice nested menu. Same as typing should not delete selected text if there is no undo.

sensanaty 1y ago

I would've agreed back in the Win10 days, but Win11 explorer is shit. I have a 9800x3d, literally top of the line CPU with a crazy fast brand new NVMe SSD, and Win11 explorer takes a good 3 seconds from time to time to load any folder on my system. VERY often, the explorer window is even blank as if it's loading a web application (it is) for a few seconds! There's some decent QoL like tabs and stuff like that, but I can't believe how fucking sluggish it is in regular operation, alongside all the other terrible changes M$ decided to make. I upgraded back down to Win10 and plan on making it my absolute last Windows version I ever use, Win 11 is just unbelievably shit in so many ways even by M$ standards.