Kick the Windows Explorer Habit and Go Commander! Total Commander

If you have been frustrated and confused with using the Windows Explorer file manager, this review should help you discover another program that offers a wealth of features that will make accessing and navigating your files a snap. Total Commander is a combination file manager, file view, ftp client, archive program, search program and much, much more.

Total Commander is a windows based program that offers all the features of Windows Explorer (WE) but is much easier to use. Total Commander uses the function keys and a split window panel to perform many useful functions that require multiple other programs to perform. Total Commander, which was formerly called Windows Commander, is similar in functionality to the old Norton Commander program that was around in the old DOS days but offers all the latest features necessary to survive in a Windows operating system world.

The program is shareware and version 6.56 is available for download online at http://www.ghisler.com. Version 7.0 public beta 2 is also available for download but I will address the features of version 6.56. Total Commander uses a two-window panel that allows you to view the contents of two different drives, folders, or subfolders at the same time. This makes copying and moving files between different drives or folders much easier than WE. When using Explorer, I often found it necessary to open two separate windows in order to ensure I was properly copying or moving files between drives or folders. One of the features I like most is the ability to use a function key, F3 to view a text file or F4 to edit a text file. You don't have to deal with the cumbersome process of WE that requires you to specify which program such as Notepad to view a file. Just highlight the file and hit F3. Closing the file is a simple as hitting the ESC key. It comes with a default internal file editor but you can easily configure it to use any external file editor. You can use the two panel feature of Total Commander to compare the contents of the two similar files, similar drives, or folders.