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In October of last year I wrote 15 Windows Explorer alternatives compared and reviewed - which was quite popular. To this day I get people emailing me or leaving comments on the original post suggesting I try out other Windows Explorer/file managers alternatives. So here’s a roundup of 10 other alternatives that have since been suggested to me.
| Name | Cost | Trial? | Rating (x/5) |
| AccelMan | 29.95 EUR | yes (30 days) | **** |
| FileAnt File Manager | donation-ware | n/a | ***¼ |
| FileQuest XP Gold | $67.95 USD | yes (50 days) | *** |
| Frigate 3.34 Pro Edition | $39.90 USD | yes | ***½ |
| Gyula’s Navigator | free | n/a | ***¾ |
| Idoswin Free | free | n/a | n/a |
| Magellan Explorer | $39.95 USD | yes (30 days) | ***½ |
| mtExplorer | free | n/a | **** |
| Unreal Commander | free | n/a | **** |
| WinBrowser | $19.95 USD | yes (60 days) | *** |
AccelMan
Requirements: Windows 2000, 2003, XP, Vista
Download: http://www.flexigensoft.com/download
Features:
Thoughts:
The AccelMan home page alone should give you an idea of their product. They have RSS feeds for their news/product updates, multi-language support etc. The AccelMan file manager was last updated in April of 2007 - so it’s still being worked on (unlike a number of the other file managers reviewed in this article). It supports Vista. It’s a bargain @ 29.95 EUR. Of this list of 10 Windows Explorer/file manager alternatives, it’s by far my favorite. If I used Windows more often, I’d seriously consider buying this.
Screenshots:
 default view |
 quick access drop-down |
 branch view |
 advanced commands |
 player preferences |
 sorting options |
 media player |
 floating quick-links |
FileAnt File Manager
Requirements: Windows 98SE, 2000, XP or 2003 Enterprise Server and IE 4+
Download: http://www.fileant.com/
Features:
Thoughts:
OK.. There are a lot of features. Tabs, an MP3 player, a file viewer/previewer, an FTP client.. you name it. A few um ‘complaints’ - everything is “ant”. DateAnt, AttrAnt, SyncAnt - it’s kind of annoying. I also experienced some graphics glitches - things didn’t refresh properly and parts of the preview remained even after the preview window was closed. The “MemoryLoad” in title bar is very cool, and a great way to display info without wasting space. Plus it gets credit for being donation-ware - if you like it, throw the dev some cash. He/she even has a coupons page for poor students.
Screenshots:
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FileQuest XP Gold
Requirements:Windows XP/2000/NT (Vista in beta version)
Download: http://www.piquest.com/filequest.htm
Features:
Thoughts:
For $67.95 I want it to do my dishes. It doesn’t. It does include a free copy of FastOpen XP, which appears to be some kind of Windows launcher (I didn’t download it). It’s also worth noting that there is another version of FileQuest, called FileQuest XP (drop the Gold). It’s less expensive, but doesn’t include FTP support or Preview files on the fly. On 06/16/07 Piquest (the FileQuest company) announced that there was now a beta version for Vista, and that they would be doing monthly versions, rather than 1-2 updates per year. So that does inspire some hope. Otherwise, I found FileQuest XP Gold to be rather slow and none of the features jumped out at me as being truly unique. It would have been cool if Tooltips (when you hover your mouse over a button a description appears) were enabled, as some of the buttons are a bit confusing/misleading. Also, something that may be influencing my somewhat negative review is that it constantly told me that my System Time and Date were not set correctly. Yes, they are (BIOS and all). The 50 day trial is a positive - if the screenshots lead you to believe this is a program worth checking out, at least you have quite a long time to give it a spin before you commit to the purchase.
Screenshots:
 default view |
 image preview |
 launch cmd.exe |
 email file(s) |
 performance options |
 text preview |
 view mode |
 4 crammed windows |
Frigate 3.34 Professional Edition
Requirements: Windows, probably most versions but not Vista.
Download: http://www.frigate3.com/download.php
Features:
Thoughts:
I’m going to start with the negatives and get them out of the way.
- I can’t figure out how long the trial is for. I can’t find the info in the help file, about file, web site or forums. The closest I got to an answer was in their forums where someone said “I used the trial for a few weeks and then decided to buy it”. So I’m guessing the trial lasts for a few weeks. Which is cool, but it would be nice to know up front if it was going to work for 1 day or 1 month. I know, a pretty small complaint, but a complaint nonetheless.
- Frigate 3 Pro or Standard hasn’t been updated since late 2005. That doesn’t bode well for a version for Vista.
- Those forums I mentioned in my first complaint? Yeah they have a grand total of 3 posts in 2007. None since April 20th, 2007. So they won’t be very helpful if you run into problems or have questions.
- There seems to be a number of people in the forums who purchased Frigate, and weren’t able to enter their registration number - it caused the program to crash. And when they emailed support, their messages bounced. Not really a good sign, but that might have been resolved by now.
- When I installed it the first time, at the end of the installation it crashed saying I was missing a DLL file. It suggested I re-install. So I did. Literally 30 seconds after I installed it the first time. Its been working since then, but that’s a pretty odd error.
OK and now on with the good - which there actually is plenty of. The integrated FTP client works exactly as you’d expect, and it’s fast. It’s very easy to set up, and anyone at all familiar with Windows Explorer won’t be intimated by Frigate. The tabs are mandatory (for me) and the ability to have unique tabs (one for viewing web pages, one for files, one for FTP etc) is excellent. Including the time/a clock in the upper right corner is neat, and so is the fact you can change its skin or turn it off entirely. The plugins available for Frigate are solid, and I like that they’re actually separate. Rather than add bloat, you can decide if the plugin is worth installing. The plugins are: TreeNotes Manager, Startup Manager, DBF and Access editor, AVI info viewer and WinAmp control. I gave it a 3½ instead of a 4 because the forums and the comments on them make me a bit nervous that if I registered the program, I’d possibly never be able to get support for it. But again, it’s a really solid file manager.
Screenshots:
 default view |
 detailed list view |
 adding FTP sites |
 opened FTP connection |
 built in file viewer |
 built in browser |
 advanced options |
 send to WinAmp |
Gyula’s Navigator
Requirements: Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP and Internet Explorer 4.0+
Download: http://www.wanari.com/products/gynav/
Features:
Thoughts:
Gyula’s Navigator is a 32-bit Norton Commander clone for Windows. So if you’re a fan of the commander-style file managers, this one is absolutely worth a look. It’s low on system resources, a 2MB install, and fairly customizable. The price is absolutely great (free). There’s a delay when using the mouse-hover feature, but that can be turned off anyway (which I did right away). The toolbar icons are straight forward and easily recognizable (unlike some other file managers). And there’s a forum if you ever need help or want to offer suggestions. In the most recent post on the forum (April of this year) Gyula mentions that he is indeed working on a new/updated version.
Screenshots:
 default view |
 select all |
 options |
 compare |
 with command line |
 drives shortcut |
Idoswin Free
Requirements: Windows 98/SE/ME/2000/XP.
Download: http://www.idoswin.de/idosfree.htm
Features:
Translated from German to English using babelfish:
Thoughts:
I can’t really give Idoswin a fair review, because I can’t read German. As far as I can tell, it’s a German language only File Manager - there doesn’t appear to be support for other languages. I could be wrong on that, but with the help of babelfish I couldn’t find any info on additional languages. So - if you prefer to accomplish your file managing tasks in a German language program, this one could be for you For what it’s worth, it appears to be pretty solid. Perhaps a German speaking (reading) person could leave a comment here letting us know their thoughts on Idoswin.
Screenshots:
 default view |
 explorer view |
 commander view |
 a menu |
Magellan Explorer
Requirements: Windows ME, 2000, XP
Download: http://www.enriva.com/MagellanExplorer/download.html
Features:
Thoughts:
As seen from the above feature list, Magellan Explorer does a lot. And it’s visually appealing. So what’s the drawback? It hasn’t been updated since October 7th, 2005. Though I didn’t test it on Vista, my guess would be that it doesn’t work. But you can try (and let me know via the comments!). The online documentation is detailed, helpful and straight forward, but if you were hoping for support forums you’d be out of luck. The system resources used by Magellan Explorer are pretty low, and it’s very speedy/responsive. If it was still being updated (and/or had tabs), I think I’d have given it 4 stars. If I had reviewed this software in 2005, I might have given it 4 and a half. With all of that said, it’s way better than the default Windows Explorer.
Screenshots:
 default view |
 dual pane list view |
 FTP manager |
 thumbnail view |
 advanced UI preferences |
 Quick Bar preferences |
 horizontal view |
 folder history |
mtExplorer
Requirements: Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2K, XP, 2003
Download: discontinued (?) domain appears to have been sold
Features:
Thoughts:
mtExplorer is a minimalist multi-pane file explorer, to say the least. If you’re wondering why I gave it 4 stars, it’s because of how unique mtExplorer is. All of the settings are accessed via a right-click menu - no buttons, no space is wasted. Certainly not the most ‘powerful’ file manager, but it really is fantastic for it’s minimalist and straight forward approach.
Screenshots:
 default view |
 right-click options |
Unreal Commander
Requirements: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/2003/Vista
Download: http://x-diesel.com/download.php?
Features:
Thoughts:
Unreal Commander is a very powerful commander-style file manager. FTP support, WIPE support and the WLX/WCX plugin support makes it top notch. Though it doesn’t require registration, it is free and will get rid of a couple of nag screens. It’s extremely customizable - pretty much anything you can think of, it’ll do. And the ability to add background screens is fun
Screenshots:
 default view |
 custom backgrounds |
 options |
 FTP manager |
 commands menu |
 show menu |
WinBrowser
Requirements: Windows 95, 98, NT 4, 2000, XP (not officially)
Download: http://www.winbrowser.com/download.htm
Features:
Thoughts:
From their home page - “WinBrowser is not just another Windows Explorer or File Manager copy. It represents a different and intuitive approach to file management originally made popular on high-end NeXT workstations”. So if you grew up w/ NeXT and loved their file browser/manager, you might really dig WinBrowser. Or, if you really like clunky looking software, you might really love WinBrowser. OK kidding aside, it is fast, small and mostly functional (the tabs, called “shelves”, don’t seem to work in XP). If you’re still using Windows 95, this is one of the few non-Commander style file managers that will work well for you. I’m fairly sure it hasn’t been updated since the year 2000.
Screenshots:
 default view |
 expanded pane |
 image preview |
 display preferences |
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Thanks for the information from AskTheAdmin
No Directory Opus!? That’s the classic one!
ok, nevermind. I’m stupid.
What about ExplorerPlus (Dual Horizontal Explorer Windows)
Have you ever tried AVANT
I use it in preference to any other now
http://www.avantbrowser.com
Tony -
avant browser the web browser? Does it act as a file manager now? Their site doesn’t mention that (at least in an obvious place). Or am I replying to comment spam that made its way through the spam filter.
yfki -
No but I probably should have included it in this overview. Someone else has suggested it as well.. Maybe I’ll update later when things die down (and after I try it for a while…). Cheers
I have been using Ultra Explorer and Highly suggest you give it special note If not add it. I’d bet it is superior to all the above.
http://www.mustangpeak.net/subdomains/ultraexplorer/index.html
Hi! I’m from Austria and therefore I speak German.
I’ve been using IDOSWin Free for some years now and here’s my opinion:
The best features of IDOSWin Free are:
1) Showing Recursive Directory Size (good for tidying up your drive) (CTRL-G)
2) A grid around files (Enable in Extras->Optionen->Dateifenster->Gitternetz), which makes it easier to match file sizes and file names.
3) Full Row Selection (Dateifenster->Gesamte Zeile markieren), it really sucks in Explorer, if you didn’t select a file with a short name, because the box you dragged was too small.
4) Integrated Hex Viewer and Commandline.
5) User definable Refresh Interval (Extras->Optionen->Anzeige - drag the slider), so you don’t need to press F5 all the time to find a new file.
The main negative aspect:
1) There’s no Network Neighbourhood in the Free Version.
2) No Image Viewer / Archive-Tool in the Free Version (I don’t care about it, as I want to use other software for this)
This tool is definitely much better than Explorer, but very similar in its handling, so it’s suited for beginners as well as advanced users.
I do have to mention, that I don’t have much experience with the other tools on this page. Most of them have more features, while IDosWin focuses on filemanager-topics, not on file-viewing oder editing.
totalcommander is the best
Drag And File
ftp://ftp.canyonsw.com/pub/canyonsw/df95.exe
Ver. 4.54g (1.4 Mb)
The BEST damn file manager around. Kicks File Manager’s and Windows Explorer’s butts! Among its many features is that it’s also an FTP program. What it can do that most other explorer replacements can’t do is give a “dual pane horizontal” (technically a quad-pane horizontal) interface ala the old Windows 3.1 File Manager. The only negative is that it is not freeware. I really wish that I could find a freeware replacement for it, preferably one that is still being updated. The program works wonderfully on Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP. It even worked great in XP x64, but it couldn’t see some system folders that Windows Explorer could. Since it wasn’t the only program that couldn’t see them, I think this is a conflict between a 32-bit app and the 64-bit OS than a fault of the program.
NOTE: The program is now called PowerFile and has gotten a bit bloated. Plus they removed one of the most useful features: Quick FTP Upload. So I still use Drag And File, and it looks like I will for quite some time. Another negative to PowerFile is that it hasn’t been updated since 2005.
Check this one out
http://thomaswolsey.com/software/jam/main.htm
Best and leanest i’ve ever seen: Q-Dir.
+freeware
+portable
+multi-panelled, multi folders/trees
+file-type-colored listing
+quick-links (bookmarks)
+drag&drop
+filtering
+english and german
etc.
http://www.softwareok.de/?seite=Software/Q-Dir&language=english
I use the same machine in 2 ways - sometimes attached to a LAN (with a proxy-server quota) and sometimes via a mobile modem. In Windows Explorer-type programs, if I’m not attached to the LAN, I have problems because it can’t find LAN-based directories I have listed and mostly hangs. I still want to keep those links - don’t want to recreate them every time. Does anyone have any idea (or any program suggestion) how I can get around this without removing those directory links?
Thanks!
Update on Accelman. It is now freeware!!!
AccelMan is a dog on VISTA and also continually locks up. Five time out of ten it loads in memory but does not initiate…
They have a lot of work to do with this product. Be warned…
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