Total Commander for Android: Difference between revisions

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| screenshot      = [[File:Total Commander for Android.gif|256px|center|Total Commander for Android screenshot]]
| screenshot      = [[File:Total Commander for Android.gif|256px|center|Total Commander for Android screenshot]]
| developer        = [[Christian Ghisler]]
| developer        = [[Christian Ghisler]]
| latest release  = Android:<br />[http://www.ghisler.com/android.htm#download 2.91] / 16 Oct 2018<br />BlackBerry:<br />[http://www.ghisler.com/android.htm#download 2.041] / 12 Feb 2014
| latest release  = Android:<br />[http://www.ghisler.com/android.htm#download 3.20] / 21 January 2021<br />BlackBerry:<br />[http://www.ghisler.com/android.htm#download 2.041] / 12 Feb 2014
| latest beta      = Android:<br />3.0b15 / 10 Feb 2020 ([https://www.ghisler.com/betatc Google Play]/[http://ghisler.com/tcbeta.apk APK])
| latest beta      = Android:<br />3.21b2 / 25 Feb 2021 ([https://www.ghisler.com/betatc Google Play]/[http://ghisler.com/tcbeta.apk APK])
| platform        = Android
| platform        = Android
| license          = Copyrighted freeware [http://www.ghisler.com/android/license.htm (view license)]
| license          = Copyrighted freeware [http://www.ghisler.com/android/license.htm (view license)]
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-->[http://www.ghisler.com/android.htm Homepage]<br><!--
-->[http://www.ghisler.com/android.htm Homepage]<br><!--
-->[http://www.ghisler.ch/board/viewforum.php?f=22 Forum]<br><!--
-->[http://www.ghisler.ch/board/viewforum.php?f=22 Forum]<br><!--
-->[http://ghisler.fileburst.com/android/history2.txt History of changes]
-->History of changes: [http://ghisler.fileburst.com/android/history2.txt stable] &
[http://ghisler.fileburst.com/android/history2beta.txt beta]
| product family  = [[:Category:Total Commander family|Total Commander family]]
| product family  = [[:Category:Total Commander family|Total Commander family]]
}}
}}
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* The supported processors are: ARM, MIPS, X86 (RAR unpacker only available in ARM+X86 version)
* The supported processors are: ARM, MIPS, X86 (RAR unpacker only available in ARM+X86 version)


"Total Commander for Android" v. 3.0 (currently beta version) requires Android 2.2 and newer<sup>[https://www.ghisler.ch/board/viewtopic.php?p=350475#p350475 1]</sup>. Last version with Android 2.0 support is [http://totalcommander.ch/android/tcandroid292b1.apk 2.92 beta 1] (final version of 2.92 has never been released.) and latest version with Android 1.5 support is [https://totalcommander.ch/android/tcandroid290.apk 2.90].
"Total Commander for Android" v. 3.0 requires Android 2.2 and newer<sup>[https://www.ghisler.ch/board/viewtopic.php?p=350475#p350475 1]</sup>. Last version with Android 2.0 support is [http://totalcommander.ch/android/tcandroid292b1.apk 2.92 beta 1] (final version of 2.92 has never been released.) and latest version with Android 1.5 support is [https://totalcommander.ch/android/tcandroid290.apk 2.90].


Requirements for the BlackBerry version:
Requirements for the BlackBerry version:
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** [https://www.ghisler.ch/board/viewforum.php?f=22 Official Total Commander for Android support forum] (also offers plugins support)
** [https://www.ghisler.ch/board/viewforum.php?f=22 Official Total Commander for Android support forum] (also offers plugins support)
** [http://www.ghisler.com/android/help.htm Total Commander for Android online help]
** [http://www.ghisler.com/android/help.htm Total Commander for Android online help]
** [http://ghisler.fileburst.com/android/history2.txt Total Commander for Android history of changes]
** [http://ghisler.fileburst.com/android/history2.txt Total Commander for Android history of changes (for release version)]
** [http://ghisler.fileburst.com/android/history2beta.txt Total Commander for Android history of changes (for beta version)]
* [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ghisler.android.TotalCommander Total Commander for Android on Google Play]
* [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ghisler.android.TotalCommander Total Commander for Android on Google Play]
* [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H4IHJ8M Total Commander for Android on Amazon Appstore]
* [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H4IHJ8M Total Commander for Android on Amazon Appstore]

Revision as of 09:12, 4 March 2021

Total Commander for Android
Total Commander for Android screenshot
Developer(s): Christian Ghisler
Latest release: Android:
3.20 / 21 January 2021
BlackBerry:
2.041 / 12 Feb 2014
Latest beta: Android:
3.21b2 / 25 Feb 2021 (Google Play/APK)
Platform: Android
License: Copyrighted freeware (view license)
Links: Homepage
Forum
History of changes: stable &

beta

Product family: Total Commander family


Total Commander for Android is a Total Commander version for smartphones or tablets with Android. It also works on the OUYA. On the OUYA it shows a different user interface. A separate version exists for the BlackBerry. For this version the binary library files are left out, because they are not supported on Blackberry. Therefore no encryption is supported on BlackBerry. Also, the .apk file is re-packaged to a .bar file (BlackBerry installer).

Requirements (for "Total Commander for Android" v. 1.x/2.x):

  • A smartphone or tablet with Android 1.5 or later
  • The supported processors are: ARM, MIPS, X86 (RAR unpacker only available in ARM+X86 version)

"Total Commander for Android" v. 3.0 requires Android 2.2 and newer1. Last version with Android 2.0 support is 2.92 beta 1 (final version of 2.92 has never been released.) and latest version with Android 1.5 support is 2.90.

Requirements for the BlackBerry version:

  • A BlackBerry with BlackBerry 10, BlackBerry Playbook

User interface

The user interface is divided into the following elements:

  • The title bar, showing the number of selected and total files/folders.
  • The current path of the folder currently shown
  • One or two file panels (configurable) showing the list of files/folders
  • In virtual panel mode, two buttons at the edge of the screen:
Arrow button to swap panels
Equal sign button to set the same folder in the other panel as in the active panel
  • The top item in the list allows to go to the parent, root or reload the current directory
  • A Button bar (toolbar) which contains buttons for some internal commands, but also allows to add external programs.
  • The Main menu, which is shown when pressing the menu button.


File operations

You can perform the following file operations with Total Commander/Android:


Main menu

The main menu contains the following commands:


Directory history

Shows the last visited directories.

Just tap on a directory to go there.


Bookmarks

Allows to save often used directories.

Just tap on a saved directory to go there.

To add a directory, don't come here via home screen! Instead, go to the directory first, then add it via main menu.


Search (Find files)

Allows to search for specific files:

Search for
File name to search for, also partial names and wildcards *,? allowed
Containing text
Search for text in files
Case sensitive
Consider upper/lowercase
Unicode
Search for text in Unicode files
Not older than
Search only files younger than a certain time
Size
Restrict results by size


Exit

Closes Total Commander for Android


New folder

Allows to create a new subfolder in the current directory.


Configuration

Allows to change Total Commander settings.

About/Version Information
Shows about box
Help/Licenses
Shows this help
Language
Choose the language of the user interface independent from Android
Show hidden files/folders
Show files/folders where the name starts with a dot
Hide files (ignore)
Hide files depending on their name, either system-wide (only name given), or in specific folders only
Fonts and colors
Choose font, foreground and background color for file lists. You can also increase the minimum line height if you have troubles to tap on files
Thumbnails
Turn thumbnails for jpg/gif/png/bmp files on/off. Choose to use a cache or not, clear the cache
List window arrangement
Show two lists side by side, or two virtual panels. Show one or two button bars
Side scroll
In the mode with just one visible file panel, you can use a wipe gesture to swap the two panels when this option is checked. Otherwise only the arrow button can be used
Exit via BACK button
Determines whether the BACK button is used for going to the parent directory or for closing the program


Copy/Move

To copy or move files, select them by tapping on their icons, or with the select button, then tap on the Copy/Move button.

In the copy dialog, you can now type a target directory. The default is the directory of the target panel.

To copy the file(s), click Copy, or to move them, click Move, or send them via Bluetooth.

If the source window shows the contents of a ZIP or RAR file, the selected files are unpacked.

If the target window shows the contents of a ZIP file, the selected files are packed into that zip file.

If the source window lists the contents of a plugin, the selected files will be downloaded.

If the target window lists the contents of a plugin, the selected files will be uploaded.


Rename

Allows to rename a single file in place: Hold down the finger/pen on a file until the context menu appears, then tap on "Rename".


Edit as text

Hold down the finger/pen on a file until the context menu appears, then tap on "Edit file". This loads the file under the cursor into the default file editor, or shows a list of available editors.

See Internal editor


Delete

With the X button you can delete the selected files.

Important note: The files will NOT be moved to some kind of Recycle bin, they will be deleted immediately!


Pack with ZIP

Allows to pack the selected files and/or subdirectories with the built-in ZIP packer.

ZIP files created this way are fully ZIP-compatible and can be unzipped on the PC or also on the device. To unzip, open the file with ENTER (or tap) and then Copy the files to any directory you want.


Unpack files from a ZIP/RAR file

To unpack files from a ZIP file, open the ZIP with a tap or ENTER, then select the files which you want to unpack and press the Copy button.

Total Commander can unpack all ZIP- and RAR-compatible files.


Properties

Shows the properties of the selected file(s) and allows to change the date/time. For folders, the occupied disk space is shown.


Reload dir

Reloads the current directory to reflect any changes made in other programs.


Send via Bluetooth

Allows to send the selected files via Bluetooth (OBEX standard protocol).

The OBEX standard is used by devices like PocketPCs, Palm(TM), and many mobile phones.


Select/unselect files

Allows to select or unselect files of specific types, e.g. all html files by using the wildcards *.htm *.html.

Type the wildcards you want or select previously used wildcards from the dropdown list, and click on "select" or "unselect". The files will be selected in addition to the already selected files!


Context menus

Context menus are invoked by holding down the finger/pen for about 1 second. They exist for the files in the file list, and for some buttons in the button bar:

The local file menu contains the commands Rename, Properties, Copy/Move to clipboard, Paste here.

All user-defined buttons also have context menus to change or delete them


Keyboard shortcuts

On devices with a keyboard, or when using a Bluetooth keyboard, Total Commander supports the following keyboard shortcuts:

1 PageUp
2 Rename
4 Edit
5/6 Copy/Move
7 New folder
8 Delete
9 Sort list
0 PageDown
SPACE Select single file
+/- Select dialog
* Reverse selection (files+folders)
ENTER Open file/folder
# / @ Properties
ESC/Backspace Up one level


Button bar

The button bar contains some predefined buttons, like Copy and Delete, and also allows to add your own buttons by tapping on the "add" button (the last one behind all user buttons). The button will always be added at the end of the button bar, but just before the "add" button.


Description of the buttons:

Selbtn.png Select/unselect files. You can also directly tap on the file icons to select them.

Copybtn.png Copy or move selected files, send via Bluetooth.

Zipbtn.png Pack files with ZIP packer.

Deletebtn.png Delete selected file(s).

Sortnamebtn.png Sort active panel by name, extension, size, or timestamp.

Secondarybtn.png Open secondary bar with user-defined buttons.

Addnewbtn.png Add current directory to button bar (default), or let the user choose an internal command or external application. Edit via Tap+Hold.


To modify a user-defined button, tap on it for more than 1 second. This will open the context menu, which allows to change or delete the button.


Button change dialog

This dialog allows to change the settings of a button.

Fields:

  • Function type: Choose what the button should do:
    • Change directory: Go to directory inside of Total Commander
    • Internal command: Start command inside of Total Commander
    • Launch app: Starts other program, usually without parameters
    • View file with app: Uses the VIEW option to launch a program, pass first selected file to it
    • Send to app: Uses the SEND option to launch a program, pass first selected file to it
    • Send shell command: Send command to the operating system. Command must be either sh or su (for rooted devices), parameter the actual command(s). A ? as the first character of the parameters opens a dialog to change the shell command. A * as the first character (or behind the ?) shows the results in a dialog box, and allows to copy them to the clipboard.
  • Command: Tap on the >> button to select an appropriate command for the chosen function type
  • Parameters: Parameter(s) passed to the program. See below for a list of supported parameters
  • Icon: Icon to be shown in the button bar

Internal commands:

100 - History
101 - Bookmarks
102 - Search
103 - Exit
104 - New folder
105 - Configure
106 - Properties
107 - Copy to clipboard
108 - Cut to clipboard
109 - Paste from clipboard
110 - Select
111 - Copy
112 - Pack
113 - Delete
114 - Sort
115 - Calculate occupied space
116 - New file
117 - Home folder
118 - Reload
119 - Remount (requires root access)
120 - Parent folder
121 - Copy names to clipboard
122 - Full names to clipboard
123 - Save names to file
124 - Full names to file
125 - Ignore list on/off
126 - Go back
127 - Go forward
128 - Show hidden files/folders
129 - Rename
130 - Reload (MTP+PC)
131 - Page up
132 - Page down
133 - System information
134 - Keyboard for quick search
135 - Unpack all selected
136 - New file (UTF-8)
137 - TC Media Player
138 - Play selected
139 - Enqueue selected
140 - Play selected (Sort: Random order)
141 - Play selected (Repeat all (loop))
142 - Play selected (Sort: Random order, Repeat all (loop))
143 - Enqueue selected (Sort: Random order)
144 - By Name, Ascending
145 - By Name, Descending
146 - By Extension
147 - By Extension
148 - By Size, Ascending
149 - By Size, Descending
150 - By Date/Time, Ascending
151 - By Date/Time, Descending
152 - Also Sort Folders
500 - Main menu

Available parameters:

(Multiple lines allowed, one parameter per line!)

file:/path/name
Send file name as URL

url:http://www.example.com/
Send any URL to app

stream:/path/name
Send name as STREAM extra field

type:text/plain
Set explicit MIME type

extra:NAME:data
Set extra field of name android.intent.extra.NAME with value data

extra0:NAME:data
Set extra field of name NAME with value data

extra2:NAME:data
Extra field requiring string list

Special parameters:

%P current path name (with trailing slash)

%N name of first selected file

%T current path in other panel

%M name of first selected file in other panel

Example: Send a mail with attachment to 2 recipients:

Command: Send to App: GMail
Parameters:
stream:%P%N
extra2:EMAIL:x@y.com
extra2:EMAIL:z@y.com
extra:SUBJECT:File for you
extra:TEXT:Here is the file %N


Internal editor

The internal editor allows to edit small files in Ansi and Unicode format.


Main menu:

  • Save: Save current file
  • Save as: Save with different name
  • Close: Close editor without saving
  • Settings: Choose font, colors, and word wrap
  • Find: Find text
  • Find next: Continue search

Note: Copy/Paste can be performed via the context menu


Plugins

Plugins can be accessed via the home screen.

The following plugins are currently available:


Installed Apps Plugin

The Installed Apps plugin lists all the installed third party applications

You can perform the following operations on them:

  • Uninstall by selecting some apps and tapping on the delete button
  • View application settings by tapping on an app
  • Backup apps to SD-Card with the Copy button
  • Add apps from SD-Card with the Copy button


FTP Plugin

The ftp plugin allows to make connections to ftp servers.

Tap on <New connection> to create a new connection. Then enter a connection name.
You can now specify server name and port, user, password, remote directory, commands to send on connect (separate multiple commands by a ;), server type, firewall, passive mode and file name encoding.

Connection

Tap on a connection to connect. After connecting, the packer icon will change to a connection icon. Use this icon to change the transfer mode (binary, text or automatic), and to disconnect. Only a single connection is supported at the same time per panel.

Server type

If your server isn't detected, you can define a server type in Total Commander for Windows and import it into the Android version. To do this, open your wcx_ftp.ini, and look for a section like this: [Unix1] Template1=pppppppppp !S* TTT DDDDDDDD n*

Save this to a file called (in this example) Unix1.ini, transfer it to the SD-Card of your Android device, and then use the option "load detect string".

Firewall

This opens another dialog for the configuration of your firewall. All firewall types of the desktop Total Commander are supported, except for the HTTP type. Leave the user name and password fields empty if your firewall doesn't support them. The first type is the most common, so try this first.


LAN Plugin

The LAN plugin allows to access often accessed servers in the LAN (local area network) via smb (Windows file sharing).

  1. Tap on <new server>
  2. Enter a name for the list, e.g. Server1
  3. Enter the server name in the network

To be able to connect, you need a real LAN connection to your network (e.g. via WLAN).


Problems+Troubleshooting

Here are some known problems and possible solutions:

Q - Total Commander for Android fails to access some network shares.
A - Try to use the numeric IP address instead of the server name
Q - Total Commander for Android fails to send a file via Bluetooth on my custom ROM.
A - Some custom ROMs (e.g. Villarom 12.0.0 on HTC Hero) do not implement Bluetooth correctly. Try with a different Bluetooth program like Blueobex whether this is the case. Please contact us if other Bluetooth tools work but Total Commander doesn't.


Tips & tricks

Settings files

Settings files (xml) are in this folder: /data/data/com.ghisler.android.TotalCommander/shared_prefs/

If you don't have root access:

- create a new bookmark with path /data/data/com.ghisler.android.TotalCommander, or
- create a new button of type "Change directory" with command /data/data/com.ghisler.android.TotalCommander

FTP or LAN master password reset

If you forgot FTP or LAN master password, or entered a master password by mistake, e.g. by confirming an empty password:

Go to folder /data/data/com.ghisler.android.TotalCommander/shared_prefs/ and open the file TotalCommander.xml.

The key "AESVerify" is used for the master password. You can delete that key or the entire file TotalCommander.xml. Then you have to close and re-open TC.


Deleting the file with the encrypted passwords

Go to folder /data/data/com.ghisler.android.TotalCommander/shared_prefs/ and delete the file plugin_pass_WebDAV.xml

Then you have to get Total Commander somehow out from the memory, for example with a task killer, or a reboot.


Creating FTP log file

You can create a log file to see what is going on when using FTP plugin.

  1. Go to the home screen (tap on the house icon)
  2. Tap on SD-Card
  3. Check whether a folder .TotalCommander exists. If not, create it with "Create new folder" button.
  4. Open that folder
  5. Hold down your finger on the topmost line (..) until the context menu appears
  6. Tap on "New text file"
  7. Enter name: log.txt
  8. Close Total Commander via its menu, and start it again


Writing to a protected file system

To be able to write to a protected file system like /system/app, there are three conditions:

  • The file system must be read/write. To change it from read only, add a button to the button bar:

Button type: Internal command
Command: 119
The button will show "r" for read only file systems, "rw" for read+write. You can tap on it to change the state.
Note that Android uses separate file systems for some folders like /data!

  • The folder in which you work must allow writing too! You can check the folder permissions by holding the finger down on the folder until the context menu appears, then open the properties.
  • To modify a particular file, you need to have write rights to that file. You can check that in the properties of the file.

See also: How To Enable Writing To Read-Only Partitions


Quick tips

Multiple selection: To copy or move, pack or unpack, download or upload multiple files, select them by tapping on their icons.


Creating a new TXT file: Holding down ".." (parent dir) on top of the panel can create a new TXT file.


You can replace some of the default shortcuts on home screen (SD-card, Photos, Downloaded files) by holding a finger on the link until the context menu with option "Change location" appears. You can't change the icon.

External links

Total Commander for Android
Plugins



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