The number of files stored on the average desktop PC keeps increasing. Our needs change as we do, and every year we depend more on digital documents while our storage devices get bigger to keep pace. In short, the way we proudly arranged our files just a few years ago has become obsolete. The upshot is that you not only need an efficient assistant for the common task of dealing with your files, but also a workhorse for the next time you want to do some serious cleaning.

The Best Alternative File Managers for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Most people use their operating system’s included file manager, but many geeks prefer third- party.

This is why, even in these times of social desktops and cloud computing, file managers remain relevant. The litmus test for any file manager, then, is its ability to manage large numbers of files efficiently, and this is one of the two main criteria for the applications in this roundup. Our other primary concern is advocacy.

Could each file manager here help convince inexperienced Linux users that the OS can be either familiar and easy to use, or different in that it's much more flexible than what they've previously experienced? Kanye West 808 And Heartbreak Sharebeast. As such, we've given lots of space to the file managers of popular and novice-friendly desktop environments. However, we've also included applications that are in most Linux live CDs for low-end systems, plus a couple of outsiders to encompass the richness of the Linux ecosystem. Of course, we could have further demonstrated this by including equally valid programs such as Midnight Commander or EmelFM2, but these have all already been covered in relatively recent LXF articles and so we've chosen to pass over them here. Nautilus Fire up Nautilus in Fedora 14 and by default you'll see a multi-pane affair with a tree on the left, some icons along the top and plenty of space reserved for viewing files.

This is known as Browser mode. The alternative view is Spatial mode, which opens a window for each folder you access - almost as if each was a physical file. You can set whichever you prefer as the default using the app's Preferences menu. Your options don't stop there, though - Nautilus can display directory contents in List, Icons or Compact view, accessible via a drop-down menu.

You're also able to choose between single- or double-clicking to open a file, while thumbnails can be toggled off or on, and enlarged. To zoom in or out, click on the two small buttons to the sides of the current zoom level. Each click corresponds to a 50% variation, but we'd prefer a finer degree of granularity. What's more, you can have additional views of several folders all in one Nautilus window. To open a new pane just select View >Extra Pane. In our default Browser view, Nautilus shows the current directory with breadcrumbs - that is, a list of the path to the current directory you can use to retrace your steps. Right-clicking these Nautilus enables you to choose whether to move there or open that folder in a separate window or tab.

Other buttons in the top bar enable you to move through recently visited folders, or go up one level in the filesystem. Notably, whether files are local or remote makes little difference, since Nautilus can connect to FTP, WebDAV, SSH servers and Windows shares. You can also save frequently visited folders as bookmarks. The small arrow-like symbol at the right-hand end of the toolbar activates Nautilus's search functionality. With this, you can define which kind of files it should look for, and where. You can even name and bookmark a search as if it were a normal folder. Rad Xe4 Keygen Free. To aid you in finding files at a glance, Nautilus can attach Notes and Emblems - little pictures added to a file's icon - to your files.

To add a Note, right-click a file, select Properties, go to the Notes tab, type whatever you want and click Save. That text will then be visible in the left pane whenever you're in Notes Display mode.

Directx 0.9c Download on this page. In the case of Emblems, you can use them as visual reminders of the purpose or nature of each file. For example, you can add the Important Emblem to crucial files. If the predefined options here don't suit your needs, you can create your own: go to Edit >Background And Emblems, then click Emblems and Add A New Emblem. Unfortunately, there's no obvious way to use Emblems as search criteria. Finally, Nautilus opens a context-sensitive menu when you select a file or folder. This menu always has a Send To entry, which you can use to send files via instant messaging or email, to DVDs, or to compression programs.

A simple way to extend Nautilus's capabilities is to add your own actions to this menu. A Nautilus action is simply an executable shell script placed in a special directory, normally $HOME/.gnome2/nautilusscripts/. Its contents are shown in the Scripts submenu.