WISH: OSX Version of Total Commander

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Would you be interested in an OSX version of Total Commander?

Yes
14
50%
No
14
50%
 
Total votes: 28

aristideau
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WISH: OSX Version of Total Commander

Post by *aristideau »

I have migrated to OSX both personally and professionally (PHP developer) and I have been able to find a OSX version of every tool that I had in the Windows world except for a TC replacement.
Some have come close (Commander One), but none have a plugin feature and only a handful come close to the features in TC.
I am curious if there are any other OSX users that would love to see an OSX version of TC (I just wish there was a decent version of Delphi for OSX to make the process easier for you).
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Lefteous
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Post by *Lefteous »

I would also love to see a MacOS version of TC but Christian Ghisler wrote many times that he won't do it. A few years ago there was no serious commander program on the Mac. This has changed quite a bit. Now the situation is comparable to the situation on Windows. There are many file managers on Windows but there is only one Total Commander.

UI technology isn't really the problem here I suppose. The 64 bit version of TC is written in Lazarus which also exists for Mac.
A program like a file manager requires many OS-dependent functions. I think this is solvable as well by some kind of actraction layer.
It becomes more effort though when OS-specific functionality must be considered.

Another often mentioned fact is that the mac platform is difficult to invest in when it comes to system tools like a file manager. Apple may restrict installations of such tools even more than now in the future.
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ghisler(Author)
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Post by *ghisler(Author) »

Indeed there are several reasons which prevent me from making a Mac version:
1. It would require a LOT of time. Even with Lazarus available, TC calls many Windows functions directly, so it couldn't just be ported easily.
2. Plugins: Plugins are just Windows DLLs, so they would all have to be ported to Mac too. When you look at the situation with 64-bit plugins, it would be even less likely to see Mac plugins.
3. The Apple store sandbox requirements make a file manager impossible. If Apple decides one day to only allow store apps, the whole development would be for nothing.

So I recommend that you either use a native Mac file manager, or use TC vie Windows emulator if you need a specific plugin or function.
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Lefteous
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Post by *Lefteous »

When using a Mac I personally use TC in a virtual machine. While it looks a bit strange in a Mac environment it works quite well - much better than using it in Wine or Crossover.

I'm currently thinking about writing plugins that could support me and other users having a similar environment. This could be e.g. formats like DMG or PKG or supporting Mac-style metadata.
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robinsiebler
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Post by *robinsiebler »

Personally, at work, I use Path Finder
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Lefteous
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Re: OSX Version of Total Commander

Post by *Lefteous »

Path Finder' has more columns to offer compared to Finder but I guess calling it 'custom columns' will hundreds of available fields and the bells and whistles that Total Commander offers in this field would not describe it exactly.
https://ibb.co/0YsPBvT
And that's just a single feature. We could go on and on. Despite its age Path Finder hasn't really matured to become an alternative to Parallels and Total Commander.
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truecolor
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Re: OSX Version of Total Commander

Post by *truecolor »

Since TC is not available for MacOS to date, I currently use "Double Commander". It is an open source software. Currently 0.9.9 beta build 9478 and it runs stable until now.

Nevertheless I would be very interested in a TC version for MacOS.
MBP Mid12 (MacOS 10.13.6)
TC 9.51 x64 (W10 / Parallels 11)
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Brumm
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Re: OSX Version of Total Commander

Post by *Brumm »

Double Commander is mostly a 1:1 clone of TC. You'd gain nothing.
If you want a native macOS TC-like file manager, Marta and the commercial Nimble Commander are rather good in my opinion.

I, personally, use ForkLift currently, but I am actively trying alternatives.
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Lefteous
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Re: OSX Version of Total Commander

Post by *Lefteous »

Brumm wrote: 2020-12-23, 20:37 UTC Double Commander is mostly a 1:1 clone of TC. You'd gain nothing.
If you want a native macOS TC-like file manager, Marta and the commercial Nimble Commander are rather good in my opinion.

I, personally, use ForkLift currently, but I am actively trying alternatives.
I have to admit that Double Commander actually made some really nice progress since my last attempts. There are certain areas in the app where you really feel at home immediately. Stability isn't so great for me so far though. For me it doesn't matter if it's technically native as long as it doesn't affect my experience.
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Re: OSX Version of Total Commander

Post by *Brumm »

Native integration into macOS is recommendable though. It has obvious advantages, e.g. making use of the menu bar and integration with/of the standard menus. Of course, some of it is a matter of taste.

I installed Marta by the end of 2020 and I decided to jump on the dev's Patreon train. I'm happy.
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Lefteous
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Re: OSX Version of Total Commander

Post by *Lefteous »

'Native Integration' doesn't require writing a Swift UI / Cocoa app, you can even get that in an Electron app. I'm not sure about a QT app like DoubleCommander, but it would be strange if there would be no support for such things.
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Re: OSX Version of Total Commander

Post by *Brumm »

Lefteous wrote: 2021-01-14, 11:33 UTC 'Native Integration' doesn't require writing a Swift UI / Cocoa app, you can even get that in an Electron app.
I have not seen any Electron "application" (well, chromeless website) yet that would provide a similar layer of system interaction. Are there even serious Electron file managers?
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Lefteous
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Re: OSX Version of Total Commander

Post by *Lefteous »

Brumm wrote: 2021-01-14, 12:27 UTC
Lefteous wrote: 2021-01-14, 11:33 UTC 'Native Integration' doesn't require writing a Swift UI / Cocoa app, you can even get that in an Electron app.
I have not seen any Electron "application" (well, chromeless website) yet that would provide a similar layer of system interaction. Are there even serious Electron file managers?
It's not about file management, it's about system integration. Electron can do dock icon badges, dock icon jumping, menu bar icons, menu integration and more. Electron was just an example of a development environment that isn't known to be 'native' so other envs. should have at least the same level of integration.
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Re: OSX Version of Total Commander

Post by *Brumm »

I stand corrected in my prejudices then. Thank you, I guess.
I tried fman a few weeks ago and it is pretty much a (not quite good) non-native application, so I was confused.
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Lefteous
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Re: OSX Version of Total Commander

Post by *Lefteous »

ghisler(Author) wrote: 2017-04-10, 13:21 UTC Indeed there are several reasons which prevent me from making a Mac version:
1. It would require a LOT of time. Even with Lazarus available, TC calls many Windows functions directly, so it couldn't just be ported easily.
2. Plugins: Plugins are just Windows DLLs, so they would all have to be ported to Mac too. When you look at the situation with 64-bit plugins, it would be even less likely to see Mac plugins.
3. The Apple store sandbox requirements make a file manager impossible. If Apple decides one day to only allow store apps, the whole development would be for nothing.
...
As DoubleCommander is open source I looked out for the code and found out that it's written in Lazarus, just like TC.
1. I guess as it can be done in a hobby project, this should be doable in a professional shareware app.
2. DoubleCommander also supports plugins, use the same interface as TC.
3. The Sandbox has developed in a nice way I think. Apps can just request full disk access and the user has to agree once.

Don't get me wrong. DoubleCommander isn't that bad, but TC is just so matured. That's nothing another file manager could ever deliver.
The Mac market share is currently developing really nicely - M1 is a great base for a computer.
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