Replace Finder with a dual pane file manager on the Apple Mac

Finder in macOS is not outstanding and it is merely OK. It does the job of enabling you to manage files, but in some ways is clunky. Commander One is a free dual pane better alternative.

If you don't get on with Finder and think it is awkward to use, try Commander One from Eltima Software. It is free in the Mac App Store and it works differently, but it has clear advantages when you have to perform a lot of file management on the Mac. Tasks are often easier to perform and it has extra features that are not in Finder.

Dual pane file manager

The most noticeable feature of Commander One is the dual pane display and that makes it quite different to Finder, which either uses tabs or separate windows to show two disk locations.

The app is split down the middle and it shows two disk locations, the source on the left and the target on the right. There is an icons view, list view, and brief view, and each side can have different views.

Each side, left and right, can have multiple tabs. So you could have three tabs on one side with three different source locations and two tabs on the right with two different target locations. You could then switch between source and target locations using the tabs.

When performing a copy, move or zipping archives, files from the source location on the left are copied, moved or zipped to the target location on the right. The source and target can easily be switched if you want to move, copy or zip files the reverse direction.

As with Finder, files can be sorted by clicking the column headers, such as name, size, modified date and so on. Extra columns showing more file attributes can be added to the display.

There is a simple switch at the top to show hidden files and a button to Quick Look files. There are a few minor irritations, such as the spacebar is used for Quick Look in Finder, but it selects files in Commander One. Enter opens files in Commander One, but edits the filename in Finder. You get used to it soon enough.

Work with zip and other archives

Finder can compress files, but Commander One has more features. For example, there is the usual zip archive format, but also several others. There is also a slider that enables you to choose between five speed and compression settings. Archives can be password protected too.

Finder will not let you look inside zip files, but Commander One can. Zip archives open as easily as opening a folder and files can be selected within the zip and copied from the source to the target location.

Working with Windows

Commander One has all the abilities of Finder. For example, I have Windows 10 installed in Boot Camp and it is possible to select the Bootcamp partition, browse the Windows files and copy them to the Mac disk.

A remote Windows computer on the same network could also be connected and I could log in and access all my Windows files.

Search for files

Finder is a bit awkward to use for finding files and building complex search queries is clunky and slow. Commander One makes the task faster and simpler by allowing wildcards like man*.jpg to search for all .jpg images files that start with 'man'. There is also regex support - a super powerful searching feature.

Commander One Free vs Pro

All the basic file management features in Commander One are available in the free version. If you need more features, there is a Pro version and most of the benefits are concerned with accessing various types of online storage.

The (UK) £28.99 Pro pack enables you to mount Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive to perform file management functions. WebDAV and Amazon S3 can also be connected, and there is FTP, SFTP and FTPS so you can access things like web servers and other online storage. There is also support for a few more archive file formats, such as RAR and TarGz.

Conclusion

Finder is simpler for managing files, but Commander One is more powerful and has more features. If you often have to perform a lot of file management, it is worth having. Even if all you need is a better zip handler, it is worth it.

Some people will need the Pro pack to work with online storage and that costs extra, but most people will be happy with the free version of the app.

App: Commander One (Mac App Store)
Price: Free (optional Pro Pack: UK £28.99)
By: Eltima Software
Size: 18 MB
Verdict: A great file manager that in many ways is better than Finder.