Over at Linux Links, I read a review of fourteen linux file managers.  They didn’t draw conclusions, which certainly would have been interesting, but they presented a page on each of the fourteen managers.

This is a subject of great interest to me.  I don’t think I’ve been happy with a file manager on any platform since the days of Xtree (remember that?).  I have tried twenty or thirty Windows Explorer replacements because I can’t stand the original but there’s no clear winner; each has its strengths.  Back in linux, there’s no shortage of file managers of all types, all free open-source, of course.

They don’t seem to be divided up into categories so it’s up to us, if we care.  At very least we can divide them up into command line, single pane, and dual pane.  I don’t spend a ton of time doing file management at the command line so I don’t use them there.  Read the above article and see which one(s) you like.

Let me augment (or destroy) the Linux Links reviews by talking about some of the listed file managers I have tried:

• xfe - it’s very Windows-like.  I like it because it’s fast and somewhat smaller in appearance (or adornments) than the others.  Right now it’s my default.
• Konqueror - a friend reintroduced me to this one after talking about its versatility and showing me the service menus.  It’s a browser, a file manager, and a pancake maker.  Of course it got totally torpedoed in KDE4.  It’s one of the few KDE apps I have installed on XFCE.
• Dolphin - this is the new default file manager for KDE4.  BFD.  It doesn’t seem to bring anything new to the party.  It’s almost like software for software’s sake.  But try it for yourself - maybe you’ll like it.
• Krusader - this is a dual pane manager with some advanced features.  I used it a few times but liked Konqueror better.
• Midnight Commander - command line, self-explanatory
• Nautilus - works fine but I’m pretty pissed with it.  Certain Gnome apps take over XFCE and cause all sorts of problems.  This is a prime example.
• PCMan - I like this one too.  Used to use it a lot until it started behaving strangely.  Give it a try.  Very Windows-like.  Makes good use of tabs.
• Thunar - bore-ing.  Doesn’t do much.
• emelfm2 - very good dual panel file manager.  Highly modifiable.
• Endeavour2 - includes file viewer and other goodies

Please feel free to let me know what you have used and what works for you.