Double Commander is a dual-pane file manager. It is a free and open-source software licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License. It is designed to be operated by a keyboard, a mouse, or by both at the same time.

Double Commander
Developer(s)Alexander Koblov and others
Initial releaseFirst Alpha December 26, 2007; 16 years ago (2007-12-26) [1]
Stable release
1.0.11[2][3] Edit this on Wikidata / 2 April 2023
Preview release
1.1.9[4] Edit this on Wikidata / 14 January 2024
Repository
Written inObject Pascal (Free Pascal/Lazarus)
Operating systemWindows, Linux, Mac OS X, Unix, BSD
Size8.2 to 11.5 MB
TypeFile manager
LicenseGPL-2.0-or-later
Websitedoublecmd.sourceforge.net

It has support for tabs, bookmarks, customizable keyboard shortcuts, compressed files, checksums, and custom file list colors.

The default keyboard shortcuts and default functionality are inspired by the Total Commander for Microsoft Windows only.[5] This makes it similar in operation to the original Norton Commander for DOS, which popularized the basic concept in the 1990's. It is a modern application, designed for use with the latest operating systems.

Design

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Double Commander 1.0.11 running on Windows, configured for a plain look

The basic concept of operation traces its roots to the popular Norton Commander for DOS. While Double Commander can be operated by mouse just like other modern file managers, it also enables easy operation by keyboard only, like its conceptual predecessors did.

The file manager features a highly customizable design with extensive and detailed configuration options. Many of its toolbars can be hidden or shown, configured in detail, colors changed, and keyboard shortcuts assigned.

The usability of a dual-pane file manager depends on it providing an extensive amount of commonly desired functionality and features, and on quality of implementation of those functionalities and features. Double Commander attempts to provide a large number of well-implemented features.

Features

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Double Commander has all the basic functionalities of a common dual-pane file manager. Those include the copy, move, rename and delete operations applied on individual files or directories, or the same operations applied on a selection of files and/or directories. Additional features that are not always present in other similar file managers are given in the following list.

  • Customizable keyboard shortcuts: Includes an ability to assign multiple shortcuts for the same action.
  • Directory bookmarks:[6] Dubbed "Directory Hotlist". A shortcut key opens a bookmark selection dialogue, which can be used to quickly select a frequently used location.
  • Archive support (zip, 7z, tar, bz2, tbz, gz, tgz, lzma, tlz):[citation needed] Allows existing archives to be browsed, new archives to be created from a selection of files, files to be extracted from existing archives, and files to be added to existing archives.
  • Unicode support: Supports file names written in all of the world's major writing systems.
  • Tabbed panels interface: Multiple locations in the filesystem are made quickly available by switching through open tabs.
  • File search tool: Various search options include regular expressions and search for duplicates.[7]
  • Directory size calculator: Triggered by pressing the space key when the selection line is over a directory.
  • File checksums creation and verification: Multiple algorithms are supported, including the SHA and BLAKE series.
  • File viewer: Views files in a text, binary, hex, or decimal format.
  • Directory compare: Directories (all or only selected) can be compared and synchronized both symmetrically (two-way) and asymmetrically (one-way). This feature shows differences between two locations by directory and subdirectory, and can make a fully automatic backup of files that have been added, changed or deleted.
  • List view ordering: Several sorting options.
  • File icons and thumbnails: Images can also be viewed as thumbnails of user-defined sizes.
  • Copy-paste and drag-and-drop support: Allows files and directories to be copied from/to other file managers.
  • Background operations: All operations can be queued in the background.
  • File wipe: Files can be wiped securely.
  • Transparent archive handling: Files (and folders) in archives are handled as if they were in an ordinary disk partition. All decompression and compression processes work in the background.[9]
  • File comparison tool: Visual file comparison, difference and merge operations.[10] While comparing, both files can be edited and saved, also in binary mode.
  • Multi-rename tool: May be used for renaming a group of files. Supports regular expressions and flat view, which allows renaming files in subfolders
  • HTML file viewer: HTML files are displayed in a simple offline browser, provided by an attached plugin.
  • File comments tool: A mechanism for creating, maintaining and displaying file comments (4DOS descript.ion).
  • Plug-in support: Supports Total Commander WCX, WDX, WFX and WLX Windows plug-ins.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Double Commander / News". SourceForge. 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-10-06.
  2. ^ "Release 1.0.11". 2 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  3. ^ "Double Commander 1.0.11 released". 2 March 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  4. ^ "Double Commander 1.1.9 beta released". 14 January 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Double Commander for Mac". MacUpdate. 29 June 2020.
  6. ^ "DC - Directory Hotlist". Retrieved 2018-04-13.
  7. ^ "Changes in version 1.0.0 · doublecmd/Doublecmd Wiki". GitHub.
  8. ^ Humpa, Michael. "Double Commander (64 Bit) Version 1.0.0". CHIP Online (in German). Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Chapter 21. The Z File System (ZFS)". FreeBSD Documentation Portal. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  10. ^ Condorache, Robert (1 November 2021). "Download Double Commander 1.0.1 Beta". Softpedia.
  11. ^ "Double Commander". SourceForge. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  12. ^ alexx2000. "Double Commander - Download". SourceForge. Retrieved 4 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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