When it comes to the Mac’s Finder app, most of us have a love hate relationship.
The Finder has been around forever and then some, but it’s not the only game in town to find files, move files, copy files, manage files on your Mac. There’s Path Finder, the Finder with super powers. And, for less money there’s the capable DCommander.
The Non-Finder Finder
DCommander doesn’t really bill itself as a Mac Finder replacement app, though you’ll find more similarities than expected, and enough differences to justify using it.
This very useful utility looks more or less like the Mac’s Finder app, including a spacious and mostly familiar Toolbar across the top.
The differences are just as obvious as the similarities.
DCommander’s claim to fame appears to be window tabs and the dual window pane, neither of which you’ll find in the Mac’s Finder.
The side-by-side file windows are immensely useful, especially when copying or moving files from one folder to another.
While not as feature laden as the aforementioned favorite, Path Finder, DCommander has plenty of useful options that take you well beyond the Mac’s Finder.
For example, you can sort files in a folder by name, size, kind, and date, and view hidden files and folders with a click.
Quick Look is built-in so there’s instant preview of basic Mac files.
DCommander does the standard drag and drop to copy and move files, and gives you one click access to other Mac utilities, including Console, Activity Monitor, Disk Utility, and Terminal.
It creates new folders and new empty files. You can navigate throughout the Mac’s file hierarchy using the keyboard.
Customization? Can do. DCommander supports customizing fonts, size, and color, and has customizable color schemes.
Still, the two features worth the price of admission are the basics– dual open folder windows in one window, and user customizable tabs for easier and faster file access (something the Mac’s Finder has needed forever).
What I’d like to see is the Sidebar that’s present in both the Mac’s Finder and Path Finder. Otherwise, DCommander is a worthy utility for those bored with the standard Finder.
