Double Commander - TC done right?

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kalokagathon
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Post by *kalokagathon »

Your response was beautifully civilized and polite. This is one of the best forums I know for courteous exchange.
My post could have been interpreted as a "scolding" or angry remark, and I'm glad you didn't - it was more in the spirit of a clarification. This too... :smile:
Best of all to you.
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sekular
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Post by *sekular »

So far double commander is a poor (ok maybe a good) copy of total commander. Although it is still in its early stages and does not have a decade of development behind it, it has a long way to go.
whytea
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Post by *whytea »

DC looks good as a beta product although there are still many rough edges. One thing to look for (at least for me) is the scripting capability. I hope it's something like the macro language to some of the text editors, e.g. vi or emacs, just load and run

/Y.T.
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Balderstrom
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Post by *Balderstrom »

At least a handful of the commander's that I know of, have implemented a scripting language that minimally has direct access to things like TC's ButtonBar % args, (e.g. %P).

Thus you are able to use many (or most) of the program's internal Commands along with selected files, paths, etc. Add those commands to a button, alias, run it from the command-line, etc.

It's unfortunate, to me, that Mr.Ghisler sees no value-add in something like that. The streamlining of the ButtonBar, Command-Line, Directory Hotlist, StartMenu and MainMenu is a longstanding wish of mine. If they all used the same format/syntax then you could have things like:
1) User Commands/External Programs in the Main Menu.
2) Button Commands that set the Target and/or Source path before performing an action.
3) Direct access to TC internal commands on the command line and usage of TC % args.

By using the buttonBar fields as the base, you add 2 more to them. The Source/Target "CD" from the DirectoryMenu. Then --- at least to start with --- the ButtonBar, StartMenu and DirectoryHotlist could be streamlined to have the same functionality.
*BLINK* TC9 Added WM_COPYDATA and WM_USER queries for scripting.
drac
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Post by *drac »

I've started using Double Commander on Ubuntu 10.10 because there is no Total Commander for Linux.

Double Commander is also written in Pascal/Lazarus like Total Commander for 64-bit.

Sure DC is beta, crashes from time to time, but it's better than mc / Gnome Commander and it seems to be actively maintained.
whytea
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Post by *whytea »

drac wrote:I've started using Double Commander on Ubuntu 10.10 because there is no Total Commander for Linux.

Double Commander is also written in Pascal/Lazarus like Total Commander for 64-bit.

Sure DC is beta, crashes from time to time, but it's better than mc / Gnome Commander and it seems to be actively maintained.
mc is great if you don't need drag-and-drop. One great advantage is that it runs in a plain shell - that means you can run it in an ssh shell. It's a great time saver if you need to work remotely.
pol098
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No CD Tree

Post by *pol098 »

Old topic, but if you come here from a search, as I did: DCMD is still around in late 2015, still in beta but progressing. Big advantage: it runs on many platforms (Linux, Mac OS). If you use several operating systems you can use DCMD on the non-Windows ones, or on all to avoid using different software.

The big downside to DCMD as far as I'm concerned is the lack of CD Tree (jump to directory without drilling down). That (and the two panes) is the only reason I originally went for Windows Commander (later TCMD), though of course I found many other useful features after buying it.

By the way, the Windows 3 (maybe earlier too?) File Manager was a 2-pane file manager for Windows, and Directory Manager (DM) was a useful one for MS-DOS. DM had some useful features for its day.

Best wishes, pol098
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Brumm
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Re: Double Commander - TC done right?

Post by *Brumm »

I have tried DC and TC side-by-side this weekend. While the Double Commander (IMO) has a nicer UI, except the grotesque file list, and more obvious defaults, its SFTP support is incomplete and trying to use the TC SFTP plugin leads to various crashes. edit: Double Commander 0.9 finally has key-pair authentication for SFTP.

Other than that, the differences between both have become surprisingly small.

edit 2: I noticed that the Double Commander also temporarily has a worse resource usage. With less tabs open, it eats more CPU and RAM, both Private Bytes and Working Set. The difference is not obvious (only a few megabytes), but it is there. After a few minutes of idle time, some kind of "garbage collector" seems to kick in though, leaving the TC behind by large. If you have a weak(ish) computer, the Double Commander might be your best choice between those two.
Last edited by Brumm on 2018-08-13, 21:14 UTC, edited 3 times in total.
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Gannet
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Re: Double Commander - TC done right?

Post by *Gannet »

As computer user since 1982 I of course had my time with all kinds of dual panel tools including Amiga's CLIMate, then DirOpus, or PC's Norton Commander, etc.. WindowsCommander, later TC, was what I have loved and used for years now as I was always very file-centered and never liked icon-clicking. These tools were constantly in use; many came and were deleted faster than one could say SchroedingersCat. Each and every instance of course included a more or less steep learning curve, even more so as functions and possibilities over time have greatly increased.

This does not make comparisons easier, and most people I know tend to call something useless just because it does not match their ideal to 150% plus; this is what I call the White Knight syndrome, similar to the "WoW 1st MMO" meme. If people repeat nonsense often enough, other folks will believe it.

I compare programs based on required functions and spend much of my spare time testing software under realistic workloads, for fun. I've used DC on Linux for quite a while now but it's still some 0.8.3 beta, after all these years. One can not deny that the coders involved orientate themselves on TC but the tone some people use implies that a certain bloated ego hates TC with passion. Over time I have seen some posts here that - in my eyes - were created by DC trolls trying to kick up a fuss. Then again I am not the only person who knows that software quality has nothing to do with which side has the best troll base, on the contrary.

Cutting a long story short, DC is (at the moment) probably the best dual panel tool *FOR LINUX* as it's closest opponent Krusader has developed into a clunky, unorganized mess with bugs resulting from older bugs or incompatibilities (as external tools on which Krusader relies changed, got replaced, or vanished completely). Many cooks ruined the broth in this case. Not that Krusader would 'lag', but one can feel that there is a minimal difference in reaction times compared to DC, which also appears better organized, function/menu wise. Sure, some functions are missing compared with other dual pane tools, but the product so far is relatively well done. Crashes? Yes, I had a few cases in which DC locked up and froze the screen, if not the whole rig. Never found a definite reason but I have to guess that this may be because of too deep folder structures in combination with multiple locales (folders/files in multiple languages).

As some people imply, DC in some sections is a "blatant TC clone". Well, one can only invent the wheel once and many functions were around before their inclusion in TC, but bragging off how much better the DC implementation of Function [XYZ] is shows that some people should step down and stay away from the Vodka. DC trolls only help showing how great TC is when they have to throw all their energy into a personal crusade against TC; in my eyes that only helps to distract people from the obvious flaws in DC. If DC users and coders would invest their energy into the product in the same way that TC users and Mr. Ghisler do, then - and only then - would they stand a chance of creating a directly comparable product.

I can not avoid mentioning that I personally have been deeply disappointed by DC. My eyesight is deteriorating and I would have greatly enjoyed - and funded - certain elements which would have increaed the usability of DC (TC already has them, or similar) for people like myself. This disappointment however further strengthened my confidence that TC will always be the best for PC.

I only have to look at the great user base backing TC: unlike the DC brats, people never laughed at me, my age, and my illness.

And that says it all.
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HerbieH
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Re: Double Commander - TC done right?

Post by *HerbieH »

To Gannet.
Thank u for your input. ++Support!
A forum that tolerate people mocking other people, asking for help. Wow! :evil:
..look at the great user base backing TC
I guess DC people too uses the better TC forums assiduously. 8)
HerbieH*
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trevor12
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Re: Double Commander - TC done right?

Post by *trevor12 »

DC is only poor clone of TC. What is interesting for me is Krusader. It has feature to search inside archives and list the results to feedbox and work with them (unpacking and packing different archives types on the background). I think that TC would have in the future add fundamental core useful functions as mentioned above and not some insignificant features for daily usage.
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Re: Double Commander - TC done right?

Post by *petermad »

2Balderstrom
It's unfortunate, to me, that Mr.Ghisler sees no value-add in something like that. The streamlining of the ButtonBar, Command-Line, Directory Hotlist, StartMenu and MainMenu is a longstanding wish of mine. If they all used the same format/syntax then you could have things like:
1) User Commands/External Programs in the Main Menu.
2) Button Commands that set the Target and/or Source path before performing an action.
3) Direct access to TC internal commands on the command line and usage of TC % args.
1. There is no problem using User commands in the MainMenu, and you can open external programs via a User command, hence in the Main menu as well.
2. It doesn't come right out of the box, but I can think of at least two ways to set the Target and/or Source path before performing an action.
3. You do have direct access to TC internal commands on the command line, but admittedly not access to the use of TC % args on the command line.
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TC 11.03 32+64bit on Win XP 32bit & Win 7, 8.1 & 10 (22H2) 64bit, 'Everything' 1.5.0.1371a
TC 3.50b4 on Android 6 & 13
Try: TC Extended Menus | TC Languagebar | TC Dark Help | PHSM-Calendar
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obeg
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Re: Double Commander - TC done right?

Post by *obeg »

petermad wrote: 2018-11-15, 22:55 UTC 2Balderstrom
It's unfortunate, to me, that Mr.Ghisler sees no value-add in something like that. The streamlining of the ButtonBar, Command-Line, Directory Hotlist, StartMenu and MainMenu is a longstanding wish of mine. If they all used the same format/syntax then you could have things like:
1) User Commands/External Programs in the Main Menu.
2) Button Commands that set the Target and/or Source path before performing an action.
3) Direct access to TC internal commands on the command line and usage of TC % args.
1. There is no problem using User commands in the MainMenu, and you can open external programs via a User command, hence in the Main menu as well.
2. It doesn't come right out of the box, but I can think of at least two ways to set the Target and/or Source path before performing an action.
3. You do have direct access to TC internal commands on the command line, but admittedly not access to the use of TC % args on the command line.
Just remember that you reply to a "complaint" made 7 years ago. I don't know how it was then, but this is a bumped thread.

br
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petermad
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Re: Double Commander - TC done right?

Post by *petermad »

2obeg
Just remember that you reply to a "complaint" made 7 years ago
Thanks - Indeed, I had overlooked that :oops:
License #524 (1994)
Danish Total Commander Translator
TC 11.03 32+64bit on Win XP 32bit & Win 7, 8.1 & 10 (22H2) 64bit, 'Everything' 1.5.0.1371a
TC 3.50b4 on Android 6 & 13
Try: TC Extended Menus | TC Languagebar | TC Dark Help | PHSM-Calendar
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