Total Commander: File Management Power Behind a Beastly Exterior Total Commander Features and Pricing Joseph Moran
Features
Assuming you can get past the Total Commander's old-school appearance and behavior (and frankly, we think that's gonna be tough), you do find that it offers a number of handy capabilities you don't get in Windows Explorer. One nice feature is the ability to compare the contents of two different files-- Total Commander displays the files side-by-side and highlights the differences between the two in red (for text files) or blue (for binaries).
You can also easily synchronize the contents of two folders. Total Commander also includes the ability to rename multiple files in batch mode, though this feature takes some time to figure out. And those who spend a lot of time downloading files from FTP servers will find the Total Commander's built-in FTP client helpful.
Not all of Total Commander's features are particularly compelling. For example, Total Commander lets you transfer files between systems via a direct cable connection. That could be useful were it not for the fact that the feature doesn't support USB connections, only parallel cable ones. While the parallel port was a perfectly legitimate way to move files say, a decade ago, we don't think that too many people would care to use such an antiquated transfer method in the year 2006.
There's also a built-in search tool that lets you search for files using lots of customizable parameters. But while this feature could have been somewhat welcome several years ago, it's much less necessary in an age of powerful (and free) desktop search utilities from the likes of companies like Google and Copernic.
Pricing and Availability
Total Commander runs on every version of Windows from 95 through XP. You can download a fully-functional version of the utility for a 30-day trial, and registering the software after that will set you back $34. (If that price seems odd it's due to being tied to the exchange rate of another currency – the Franc – which is used where the program's author is based, which also means the price is subject to change.)
Total Commander's author puts you on the honor system to delete the program after the trial period if you decide not to buy it, because it will continue to work past that point. Unfortunately, from the very first time you run Total Commander you must click one of three buttons to dismiss a nag screen before using the program, and the button is different each time you run the program.
While we understand the need to dissuade those who would keep using the unregistered program after 30 days, we don't think it's necessary to subject those who are legitimately trying to evaluate it to these annoying measures. We'd much rather the author simply disable the software after trial period ends, or at the very least wait to turn on the nag feature at day 31.
Conclusion
Total Commander seems to have one foot in the present and the other in a bygone era. It has a few genuinely useful features, but we don't think they make up for a highly unorthodox and rather confusing user interface. Those with the time and patience to master Total Commander's UI will probably find it to be a powerful tool, but most users will probably be better served sticking with Windows Explorer or trying another file manager.
Cons: Archaic and rather cumbersome interface, several outdated features, nags during eval period, majority of functionality now handled by Windows Explorer
