FreeCommander: A free app you will wonder how you lived without

If there is one activity that typifies the majority of your time spent on your desktop or laptop, it’s managing files.

Over the course of the day, there are numerous times where you are copying, transferring, zipping, unzipping, renaming and downloading files--all of which form the ‘white noise’  part of our computing lives. These activities are so menial and mundane that we never really consider a better, more efficient  way to get these things done. It so happens there is, and it’s in the form of a free, little-known app called FreeCommander.

I’ve been using this tool almost every day for over seven years, and it’s one of those apps that I cannot use a computer without. Think of it as a Swiss Army knife for file management. A tool that will instantly replace your Windows Explorer and leave you wondering what you ever did before it. And did I mention it is free?

This application is designed on the simple assumption that nearly every file operation has a 'before' and an 'after' — for example, copying files from folder A to folder B, selecting and renaming a set of files and compressing them to a ZIP archive and more.

The application’s interface comprises two large panes that give you a simultaneous view of any two folders on your computer or network. The drives, current path, tools and menus are all on a single screen so no need to switch between multiple windows. You can also create tabs just as you do in your web browser — each one displaying the contents of a different folder. With all your important drive locations in a single view, it is a snap to drag and drop files between these panes. No more having to click through multiple folders and navigate through long paths each time you need to locate files.

FreeCommander's feature list is huge and it’s best to discover it firsthand. But some of my favourite features include:

- The Favourite Folder button that lets you define frequently-used folders that you can reach in two clicks.
- Powerful functionality to compare and even synchronize the contents of two folders
- One-click access to popular system folders and applications
- The ability quickly select similar files within congested folders *(eg. select all files with a jpg extension)
- A shredding tool that completely and irrevocably erases files
- Keyboard shortcuts for virtually every function
- Powerful batch renaming of files or folders using approaches like appending incrementing numbers (file-1.doc, file-2.doc etc)

Best of all, you can also download FreeCommander as a portable app that lets you install it to your thumb drive and carry everywhere with you. So the next time you use a friend’s laptop, you’ll be thankful for not having to subject yourself to the frustration of using Windows Explorer.

Have a favourite desktop app that you absolutely cannot live without? Tell us about in the comments here, or ping us on Twitter @dna.