explorer vs PowerDesk (xp sp2)

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I was a big fan of PCTools and later switched to PowerDesk for file moving, starting programs with specific data files, etc.
PowerDesk has become a recalcitrant dog, i.e. hanging up, not closing out completely, taking 10-15 seconds to delete a file, etc.

what I would like is 2 horizontal panes with Windows Explorer (WE) capabilities. I can obviously load 2 copies of WE, but when I alt-tab I only get one of the screens.

is there another file management program out there?
is there a way to load 2 copies of WE and have them displayed together so when I alt-tab or click both screens are shown?

thanks.

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See the thread beginning with post 465,094 for some links to Explorer replacements, some free and some commercial.

I used to use PowerDesk Pro but switched to Directory Opus due to problems with PowerDesk Pro crashing. I think Directory Opus is an excellent product but it is a commercial product.

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thanks for the reply, info, and thread posting!

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I’m a big fan of Total Commander, a kind of “Swiss army knife” utility with lots of functions, based on a 2-pane Explorer replacement. It’s shareware so you can try it out for free. It really is worth the price in my opinion.

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The first 3 entries under [File Manager] have had a good rap from the alt.comp.freeware mob. All ware of course.

Alan

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thanks to all for the suggestions.
I’ll work my way through the trial versions. Opus at $70 was too pricey. I’m tryinging Universal Explorer now. It has what I want for $40. We’ll see.

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I was a big fan of Central Point Software (makers of PCTools) and still haven’t forgiven Symantec for buying that company for the sole purpose of shutting it down.

More to the point, I made a lot of productive use of the fact that you could save a search in the PCTools file manager that (1) involved multiple separate folders, (2) allowed you to set “search subfolders” separately for each folder in the saved search, and (3) allowed you to set different filespecs for each folder in the saved search.

Over 12 years later, Windows still won’t let you perform such a search, much less save it for future use, nor does any 3rd-party file manager I’ve ever looked at. I’ve looked at Total Commander and the 3 programs referred to in Alan’s post and none of them seem to be able to do this either.

I don’t know if that functionality is on your want list or not, but if whatever program you end up settling on actually has it, I’d appreciate it if you’d let me (and anyone else who’s interested) know by doing a follow-up post in this thread.

Thanks, and good luck.

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I have been using PowerDesk for many years, but still use version 4.0, because I love the Dialog Helper, and that seemed to get lost from the later versions. Is there any other alternative that provides such a function?

Chris

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