This File Manager Has ALL The Options

Today I talk about Double Commander, a file manager with a TON of options.
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==== Referenced ====
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==== Time Stamps ====
0:00 Intro
2:06 First Look
2:19 UI Issues
3:51 Documentation
5:46 Options Galore
6:37 Mouse Reactions
8:04 More More Options
8:31 Keybindings Galore
9:42 Fonts
10:33 Even More Settings
11:51 Some More Negatives
14:09 Making Changes to the UI
15:59 Finding Settings
17:30 My Favorite Features
20:29 Am I Switching?
22:54 Wrapping Up
#doublecommander #filemanger #thelinuxcast

[@serrialerror6103]

Oh my goodness, I have been following this channel for probably about a year now and the whole time I thought that he was a linux youtuber with millions of views on each video and maybe 500k subs. I did not realize this guy only has 30k subs! This guy deserves more attention. I only realized that he wasn't that big of a youtuber because he asked to like the video. This is the only time I have heard him say this, and now I realize he really needs the likes. I encourage everyone to like and subscribe to his channel and to recommend it to all of your linux friends/tech friends. Thank you for all of your amazing videos, I love your channel!

[@TheLinuxCast]

Thanks for the kind words!!!

[@Flackon]

😆

[@user-gp8ub8vh7i]

He and DT need to research, rehearse and edit their videos before posting them.

[@unklebonehead]

@@user-gp8ub8vh7i They dont and thats their appeal. It keeps them percieved as "real" people. I'm willing to bet that the vast majority of people who consume content on sites such as KZbin do not want to watch highly polished content. We can get that from TV and news stations. People are tired of the super fancy edits. DT & Matt are doing just fine and are much more credible than the high production "Pro" channels. We love their videos just the way they are.

[@BG101UK]

​@@unklebonehead I'm in total agreement with that. It's a good reason why I watch these videos. None of this self-promotion, living in a nice pad with all the luxuries in an area most of us can only dream of visiting and still dishing out the begging-bowl cobblers.

[@pallandobaggins8172]

DC is fantastic. Btw: With favorites you can define a layout for different tasks or projects. With one click you can open all directories you need for a project and change it back again. Very powerful.

[@MarkusHobelsberger]

Nice to see you trying out DC. It's my file manager of choice from the first hour of me using Linux. Shoutouts to alexx2000 (who is basically maintaining DC as one-man-army) for building it up to the current state. As for its codebase: There are actually 2 versions of DC. A GTK2 and a Qt version. I usually prefer the Qt version, since I used to encounter some little bugs with the GTK2 version (like my clicking not always working) and it looks a little prettier overall. AND the icing on the cake: It's also available for Windows. While this might sound weird to Linux users, I have to use a Windows machine at work, so it's handy to have the same file manager around there, too.

[@peppe540]

Welcome to the club! Before you got me into Krusader I have been using DC all the 5 years I'm on Linux now. There used to be some theming issues for me in the QT version, but after this video I will certainly revisit.

[@OpenSingularity]

Awesome breakdown, Matt! fantastic theming btw!

[@studiokadaver]

I have never had single click enabled, and I don’t think I would ever want that. That seems absolutely disastrous.

[@TheLinuxCast]

It is definitely an acquired taste. Now I find it hard to go back to single click after so much time away from it

[@softwarelivre2389]

@@TheLinuxCast single click makes it much harder to perform actions, such as rename and delete. With double click, you just click the file, hit F2 or Del and done. And for navigation, click + Enter is better than double click for me. But that's my 2 cents.

[@codychan4992]

DoubleCmd is great, fewer dependencies than pcmanfm and more features. Although I rarely use GUI file manager. I've replaced pcmanfm with it as my backup file manager. Thank you.

[@BG101UK]

I've not tried DC in years, but considering some of my workflow, it might prove really useful. I use Dolphin as my go-to GUI FM and really love its functionality, but I do think DC will have a use-case for me, with some operations. Great that there's a Qt version, as I do prefer Qt over GTK (just a personal preference).

[@TrueNorthRecon]

Love the new intro!

[@CageTheTurtle]

Think of favorites as permanent or longterm bookmarks, and hotlist is current project/work flow/important/rush type of stuff per say

[@anon_y_mousse]

I try to leave a like on every video I watch that I like and I'm told that comments help with engagement so for smaller channels I try to leave one of those too. As for the subject at hand, seeing that it's written in Object Pascal has me intrigued. I don't see many programs these days that are written in Pascal or one of its derivatives, so that's neat. It was one of the first languages I learned and it's actually a lot of fun, even if somewhat verbose with its keywords.

[@russellrussell5495]

You CAN turn double pane off on DC. I've set mine up to show either left pane, right pane or both and imported buttons to do so.

[@TheLinuxCast]

It doesn't surprise me that it's possible 😂

[@DesordenadoPeroUtil]

DC is superb, considering it's a clone for total commander (a great drop-in replacement for windows, if you want). I love it has same commands and behaviour, plus extensibility. Simple, bloatless, super small (maybe 5 MB installed?). I recommend it too.

[@pietervheerden]

I agree, the Double Commander settings window is a bit of a mess. I use Total Commander on Windows which is my preferred file manager, and while it also has loads of settings, they seem a bit better organized (or maybe I'm just used to the layout?). While DC is decent (but I haven't given it a go in quite some time), I very quickly miss the way my Total Commander is set up and all the apps integrated as part of a "portable app" on Windows. In fact, one of the reasons I've found it difficult to commit to Linux as my primary desktop, is because Total Commander is key to my workflow... Just can't get used to DC as a full replacement for TC.

[@XFT8]

What can total commander do that double commander can't?

[@llothar68]

I'm currently working on a total new File Manager, thats why i watching your videos to get user feedback. Hope you will try out my little commerical file manager when it is ready in a year or two. And i agree totally with the overwhelming options. These programs all came from the late 1990s early 2000s and their UI/UX totally suck nowadays. Functionality wise i have to say little changed in the core and we still have no good handling for the four big programs: symbolic links, hardlinks, files with 0 holes and extended attributes. But the UI and our devices changed a lot. Therefore for my business idea i do not see any of the free existing solutions as a huge competition.

[@PhilsHarmony]

Thx for the vid, I have one question: Sometimes I need to jump around more than 2 folders at the same time. Now, DC afaik only shows the left and the right column, making you able to transfer quickly between two different folders. Is there a way to extend the 2 folder view to, let's say 4? So that there's a grid of 4 folder views instead of just 2 left and right. And I'm not talking about tabs here, tabs you can have in endless amount. I mean the big folder view window containing drives, tabs, address bar and individual folders (there's 2 by default, one left and one on the right). I haven't found a solution or option to this, does anybody know how to achieve this?

[@Dennis-Earl-Smiley]

How do i switch or dual install file managers in cinnamon de?

[@santonopoulou]

All I can think of after your intro is that meme with the guy and his girlfriend and he’s looking at the other lady hahahaha that’s you with crusader and this FM ;)

[@johnsouthern7413]

Are there any other GUI file managers that allow more than two panes? Both 4Pane and SpaceFM can handle 4 panes, but only Konqueror seems to be able to handle more. While Konqueror is not pretty it does support fish://m.n.o.p which is also in midnight commander and I think in Krusader.

[@leanvo3880]

Q-dir supports more than 2 panes. By default, it is 4 panes

[@neelsb7889]

I've been using Double Commander for about 2 years on Windows 10, and one thing in DC that really annoys and frustrates me, is that often when I drag and drop files / dirs onto another (sub) dir, it would move the sources files and/or dirs into the *wrong* subdir (one above or below the target I dropped them on). And yes, I was very careful to drag & drop onto the *correct* subdir. Has anyone else experienced this issue? Is it only an issue with it on Windows or also on Linux? My primary reason for switching to DC, is because I'd been using Total Commander for a very long time before that, and Double is literally a clond of TC (it is / was pretty much stated as such on the DC website)... That would also be the reason why some things are the way they are in DC (e.g. the dir hotlist). Another frustration (because I am used to Total Commander's way of operation) is that in TC on Windows, if you start typing the beginning of a file, it will go down to the first occurrence of a matching filename... and then you could still go up/down with the arrow keys on the kbd, to *any* other file above/below it, even if such files have completely different filenames... on DC however, you get "locked in" to the search pattern / filter and can then only jump between other files matching that pattern, unless/until you press ESC to get out of the quick search / filter mode.

[@denizkendirci]

i used to install thunar or ranger out of habit when i do a fresh linux installation, but mostly i don't use a file manager anymore. i didn't make an extra effort to be more efficient at tty file management, it just happened, honestly i didn't even realized until i started to write this comment.

[@anon_y_mousse]

I've got shell variables set up for common locations and even a whole swatch of functions to look at my files in different ways. My most common use is of lrt() which lists the N most recent files, N being a parameter to the function if I need more than the default of 10.

[@jetalone00]

Great video man. I often play your videos while modifying my config files or writing python scripts. Helps keep the Linux mojo flowing lol keep up the great quality 👍

[@areeburrehmankhan1166]

Dude I almost watch all your videos and you have taught me a lot thanks man.

[@claytonreardon42069]

Algo bump

[@issiewizzie]

trying to rename a couple of folders based on a csv file ... this this possible?

[@oldpain7625]

I left a like despite the Angry Birds poster. Nobody should have an Angry Birds poster.

[@TheLinuxCast]

Correction: everyone should have an angry birds poster. Everyone. Thank you for the like

[@YannMetalhead]

I like to use the Terminal to manage my files; after creating a few scripts it's just perfect for me.

[@heroe1486]

If I'm in a terminal cd ls mkdir mv etc + few aliases like mkcd are more handy and efficient to me, add to that tools like Zoxide and no file manager can match that. If I want a file manager it's because of functionalities that can't be done in a terminal like drag and dropping so I go for GUI ones.

[@anon_y_mousse]

@@heroe1486 I feel like we terminal users should make a club. Though I am curious when you need drag and drop support?

[@YannMetalhead]

@@heroe1486 Exactly. With a lot of aliases and a few scripts I can do pretty much anything instantly. For example: If I want to play the movie Metropolis, I would type "videos" to go to my video folder and have all files listed automatically, than I would type "play metro", and it would play Metropolis on VLC; because it contains the name metro. If I want to delete multiple files, I would type "del word1 word2 word3" and it would show me a list of the files containing the words and ask me if I want to delete them. If I want to make a back up of a save file from the Elden Ring video game, I would type "elden + whatever-name-I-want-the-save-to-have". If I want to overwrite the current save with a previous back up I would type "elden + whatever-I-have-named-the-save". Once you learned how to use it, the terminal is unmatched.

[@YannMetalhead]

​@@anon_y_mousse Yeah, we should! Well, I'm old school so I rarely use drag and drop... I think this is one of the main reasons why I don't miss graphical file managers.

[@anon_y_mousse]

@@YannMetalhead Interesting aliases, though for video playing I use vp for video play, and have a series of aliases for different file types, like iv for image view. Plus I have deep organization of my files so I use aliases for folders instead of whole words to shift to them, like $g is my games folder and I can run any game by directly calling it through the shell variable. I love that tab completion works through shell variables.

[@sotecluxan4221]

Better than Explorer, with columns, e. g. "Duration" for mp4?

[@CageTheTurtle]

I like an alternate version called Ghost Commander, it's amazing

[@TheLinuxCast]

oooh, something else to try out! cool

[@RandomGeometryDashStuff]

ghost commander is only for android

[@patpopov]

Thunar 'til I die.

[@guycohen4403]

What window manager are you using?

[@TheLinuxCast]

That was qtile

[@WildVoltorb]

I use vifm and i ❤ it

[@TheLinuxCast]

I use Ranger in the terminal.

[@zeocamo]

@@TheLinuxCast LF is Ranger but better, Brodie made a few good videos

[@TheLinuxCast]

@@zeocamo I made a video too. Lol.

[@zeocamo]

@@TheLinuxCast ohh yea i remember, ohh for you own good Matt, you need to learn to be more objective about tools, you fall in love with something, and then any other tools can be the best tool in the world with all the feature you need, "but my file manager start with a K" :P i love you're videos, i try to watch them all :D

[@jokroast6912]

I would use this if I can make it single pane and make it look like Dolphin / Thunar.

[@homfes]

Does it also have its own command line panel?

[@TheLinuxCast]

No, like everything else, the terminal opens in a separate window. Krusader does though.

[@MENTOKz]

Matt the guy that loves to customize everything says look there is so many options its a mess lol

[@user-gp8ub8vh7i]

5:27 "...Double Krusader..." 😀😀😀 I will stick with my mc (Midnight Commander)

[@VojtaJavora]

The best filemanager

[@wills8869]

The intro reminds me of Megaman...cool stuff bro 🔥

[@Linuxdirk]

Holy cow, that's a lot of options! While I basically love options I totally prefer ROX-Filer here. It's so basic and simple. It's like using the file system directly but with a GUI 😄

[@BG101UK]

ROX .. you mean the one used by (at least some versions of) Puppy Linux? That's basically just a GUI wrapper for _dd_ !! (Yes, I used it whilst setting up such a system. Not meant to be permanently installed but I did it anyway, using DSL with cfdisk to modify partitions as Puppy had already grabbed the swap partition).

[@tomas-wi8dy]

I love your staff, but I never get the point of dual panel file manager, just not fit for my workflow (I rarely (twice in years) move one files from on place to another ... so why I (suppose to) need two panels?)

[@TheLinuxCast]

I do it hundreds of times a day.

[@rasix86]

Double Commander is great, but sadly it's also quite slow on linux. The windows version does not have this issue. Also it's written in pascal, so one really cannot expect it to be speedy. Also at least the operations window can be merged with the main window. It will then be a little panel at the bottom.

[@TheLinuxCast]

I didn't notice it being slow at all, but then I've not really had to transfer anything over a couple gigs lately.

[@rasix86]

@@TheLinuxCast The UI stalls for a little moment, esp. when transferring to network shares. Also the mentioned transfer panel is quite laggy.

[@rasix86]

@@TheLinuxCast Another thing: Double Commander can use total commander plugins, which is awesome.

[@zeocamo]

@@rasix86 i think this is your system, i never seen this at all

[@ags_1905]

Using DC in Windows and Linux for a long time and it has some shortcomings, but being slow is not one of them. Also, being written in Free Pascal is an advantage. Definitely not the reason it is slow on your system.

[@itsfish8672]

GVM

[@htx80nerd]

>going spelunking my man

[@jokroast6912]

Is it persistent? Does it remember where you where when you last closed it like Dolphin and K Commander do? I care about that deeply.

[@TheLinuxCast]

Yes

[@yrjo5050]

Well done Matt. Thank you, I'll take DC to my toolbox.

[@iaminyourballs]

All the options except not looking like its software from 1995 it seems

[@LordHog]

Thanks for sharing as I will have to give it a try. What thing that keeps me on Windows is the lack of a good file manager on Linux. I can’t find another DirectoryOpus like FM on Linux

[@WarmProp]

I pity the fool who doesn't know about DOpus.

[@Flowxp]

yes ! for me there are ONLY two file managers. In Windows - Total Commander (THE King), in Linux - Double Commander. And God knows I tried them all the others.

[@zeocamo]

it was made as a clone of Win Commander(now call Total Commander,(wincmd)) and it can share the config file with WinCmd. i was using Total Commander all the time on work as i was force to use Windows, but when i move to Mac/Linux only then i start using Double commander for 14 days, and then i found that you don't need them on a *nix system if you got structure in your folders. all i need is my Terminal

[@MarkusHobelsberger]

Agreed. It's the same for me. Apart from double pane, the most important features for me are a tree view (I'd prefer 2 like in TC, but ok), different colors per file type (a GODSEND) and the image size plugin to display the measurements for images. Also thumbnails and folder thumbnails are a must, but they are more common features for file managers.

[@huljaxful]

Options?!? You want options?!? You can't handle options! 😂

[@BytebroUK]

Nah. Not dissing you by vanishing early from the vid viewing thing, but I will never use a FM like that. Still struggling to find a really good one for *buntu or Mint. Not a fan of the default.

[@anon_y_mousse]

I find these types of videos fascinating because I don't use a file manager. I move, copy and even rename from the command line and I keep shell variables for the locations I visit the most in my ~/.bash_aliases. Any files I create myself will always have the right naming scheme and location sorting, ones I download I rename and sort as I download them.

[@DiogoGDF]

Are you back on Arch? Have you dropped your Debian challenge?

[@eriksiers]

I've used Double Commander in the past. It's fine, but on non-Windows systems I tend to stick with muCommander. (On Windows I use Altap Salamander, another graphical Commander clone.)

[@hexisXz]

tbh i dont feel a need for a file manager. the terminal is good enough for me.

[@DanCanning]

Yet again I find myself thinking "Get behind me Satan!" when i watch one of Matt's videos. I moved to Krusader after Matt recommended it and I love it. Now... Satan Matt is tempting me with something new to spend endless hours tweaking... Must resist...Must resist...Must...It's so shiny... What would be the harm in just looking... I would only be looking...That's OK... I can look. I just won't... 😃

[@TheLinuxCast]

😂

[@JoseMartinez-iq3xq]

This File Manager is not easy. Have you checked Polo?

[@zeocamo]

You're Problems is that you are NOT used to it yet, you do this a lot Matt. this is a clone of Total Commander, from Windows and all the features was design to work in a DE, that is why it is new windows, but why is this a problem ?? you can get the class of the windows(settings, file copy, etc) and added them to you're WM config as floating Windows. this is a problem that you made as a WM user, not Double Commander, i love my Hyprland setup so don't take this the wrong way.

[@OG900Aero]

File manager? Only lf file manager. Very fast, responsive, and more and more customize.

[@wisnoskij]

Never really gotten into the double pane file managers as general file managers. Most of the time you are not copying files between folders, so dual pane is just unnecessary and turns a half or quarter monitor window into a entire monitor application, but maybe with scratch pads or multi desktop that would be less of an issue. Tho half your app being worthless real estate I think is just universally bad. I think an argument might be made that with the increase in search capabilities, maybe the only job of a file manager is to copy files around.

[@Crazy--Clown]

Made in China

[@MH_VOID]

Serious question: why ask for a like at the beginning? Why not wait until the end, or at least a large way through? Do people actually Like videos before watching enough of it to think it deserves the like?? I personally only really ever Like videos in their last minute, though there are occasional exceptions around halfway-through if the video is really really good.

[@raskolnikov3799]

I don't know his reason in particular but I think it might kind've plant the idea of liking in your head, like it's framing the rest of the video in your mind as something you explicitly could decide to like, so it's more likely you do later. Not sure though, I know lots of big youtubers ask at the beginning so I'd assume there's some strategic reason. Hell, KZbin is a big enough platform I bet there's some research about there about the most effective ways to ask for likes/subscribes.

[@TheLinuxCast]

Because only about 10% of the people watch all the way to the end.

[@anon_y_mousse]

@@TheLinuxCast Probably why I'm so far behind in watching my 359 subs, because I watch to the end of nearly every video.

[@treequin]

I like videos from channels I'm subscribed to right away, before even pressing play, and any other video I click on I like as soon as I'm sure I'll watch it, so usually within the first minute. To me pressing like is an acknowledgement of the time and effort it takes to make a video, as well as a way to help the creator. I don't need to see if it "deserves the like", I can always take it back later if it's a bad or harmful video.

[@scottb4029]

Just because you find other women attractive, doesn't mean you don't love your wife.

[@llothar68]

Hahaha, now i just found out that non of these can't unrar anymore. Thats when you use nautilus integration in your "commanders" and Gnome breaks it and doesn't fix it for 5 month now. THis would never happen on Windows. Linux sucks.

[@ex0ja]

You are cheating on your file manager bro

[@razek666]

Used for a month, never got used to the interface. I had to go back to krusader