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File Managers
A Comparative Review
Copyright 1986 Nelson Ford
Have you ever needed to copy some, but not all, files from one disk or
directory to another? You do a DIR to see the file names and start copying
one file at a time until the DIR listing scrolls off the screen, then you do
another DIR, copy some more, etc. And you go through a similar routine when
you want to delete old files to clean out a directory. A file manager ("FM")
will make these kinds of jobs a lot easier by letting you keep the listing of
files on the screen as you view, copy, delete, print and perform other file
management functions. In many cases, FMs will let you do things that can't be
done at all with normal DOS commands.
The progenitor of today's file managers is the Sweep program from the old
days of CP/M. Sweep was line-oriented rather than full-screen oriented like
most of today's programs. You could scroll the file names up and down, but
the cursor stayed on the same line at the bottom of the screen. Most of the
new file managers provide a full-screen display of the file names and let you
move about the screen with the cursor keys.
Not included in this review are the utilities that add a lot of features to
DOS's COPY and DELETE commands, but are not full-screen, menu-driven programs
like the ones in this review. The first such utility was VDEL, still on the
library, which prompts you for each file name before doing a wild-card delete
of files. Other such utilities include MOVE, DX, PCOPY, PFILER, G-WHIZ, FILER2.
(Some of the programs in this review offer additional features or explain
certain features in the documentation only to those who send in money. Since
we do not have these features to test or in other cases, do not have the
documentation that explains those features, they will be treated as if they do
not exist for the purpose of this review.)
Explanation of Chart Captions:
An FM that displays the tree structure of the disk not only provides that
additional information, but usually lets you change directories by simply
pointing to the directory that you want to be in. Others just show the
directory names in the same list with the file names, which we find to be a
little cluttered and confusing. A few may not show directory names at all.
Since a very common use of a file manager is to copy files from one disk to
another or from one directory to another, a very useful function is to be able
to see both directories at once. Only Bill Neidert's FFM and its clone,
Qfiler, let you view two directories side-by-side.
The "file mask option" means that you can specify files to be displayed using
wild cards. For example, "A*.*" would display all files starting with "A".
Some FMs show the size, date and time for every file on the screen while
others only show this information for the file being pointed to.
Under "Tagging", librarian Duane Hendricks' prime measure of a FM is whether
or not it will automatically advance the cursor to the next file name when you
press the key to tag a file. When doing dirty ol' down-in-the-trenches file
maintenance work, it's little things like this that make the work go more
quickly and easily. We also found it to be a nuisance when a function key or
other key off the main keyboard was used to tag files. The easiest FMs to use
make use of mnemonics, such as T for Tag, C for Copy, etc.
Showing the cumulative number of bytes of files marked helps enormously when
selecting files to copy onto floppies since it lets you know when you have a
disk full. This is how we put together the Additions disks each month.
Under "Functions", changing an attribute means that you can hide, unhide,
protect and unprotect files.
Some FM's make you tag before you can copy just a single file, which is a
nuisance, so look for a "t" on the chart to indicate which functions require
tagging. A couple of the FMs will only let you copy or delete a single file at
a time, which is not too nifty. So look out for the "s" too. An "e" means it
will work either way.
Some FMs let you edit or view files. Those that do may use their own internal
routines to do it or will call up your favorite editor or file viewer (such as
LIST), which is what is meant by "Internal or External". (The "view" function
is sometimes called "list", "type", "read", etc.) One program, Zip, lets you
override its internal viewer and editor and use your own favorites instead -
the best of both worlds.
Searching for a file means the program will locate a file anywhere on a hard
disk, not just the current directory. Being able to Execute a program and
return to the FM when done can be handy if you have enough memory, since the
FM remains in memory.
Under "Other", a resident FM is one that can be called up while you are in
another program. Chaining to DOS allows you to leave the FM in memory and run
another program, but to call it back up, you must exit the other program
first.
"Colors selectable" - a "y" or "n" indicates that the program uses colors and
that the colors are either selectable by the user or they are not. Programs
that use colors that are not user-selectable may not be viewable on green- or
or amber-screen monitors. The "*y" indicates that colors may be turned off,
though the colors, when on, are not user selectable.
Shareware price is the amount of money requested by the author to make you a
registered user of the program. The author may promise more features for those
who pay, but since you can't test those features before paying, you should
feel like the features you already have are worth the money, which is usually
the case. Then any other features are icing on the cake.
Program size is the disk space the program uses, not the amount of memory
required. Most of the FMs use around 192k of memory, counting program size
and directory information loaded into memory. Auxiliary files size includes
files used by the program when it is running, but not the documentation file
size, since you needn't keep it on your working disk.
The Contenders:
The following lists the file name of each program, followed by the actual
program name, version number, author, and a description of any major features
unique to that program or any major limitations not covered by the chart or
discussed above.
The ideal file manager would combine the unique features of each of these and
leave out the weaknesses. A few of these redraw the screen every time you
rename or delete a file. Renaming a file in the middle of the second screen
and suddenly finding yourself at the beginning of the first screen again is a
major nuisance. (Bill, Nat: youse guys listening?)
In selecting one for your own use, study the accompanying chart carefully and
the comments below to see which features you can or can't live without. You
might want to have more than one on hand for different jobs. You could probably
find times, for example, when you would need the specialized features of QFILER,
SDIR51, or DS, as well as the all-round power of one such as PFM or ZIP or the
resident capabilities of GETDIR.
01. CWEEP214 [1-UT-273] - Cweep ver. 2.14 By Gary M. Berg.
Mostly of interest to CP/M converts and for historical perspective.
02. FFM [1-UT-273] - PC DOS Filer ver 3.2 By Bill Neidert.
Shows two DIRs side-by-side and also offers mouse support.
03. FMU400 [1-UT-273] - File Mananger Utility 4.0 by Suncoast Software.
04. SDIR51 [1-UT-273] - Super Directory ver. 5.1 by W. Lawrence Hatt. The only
FM to let you enter and save file descriptions. As the name indicates,
this was intended as a Super Directory lister with some file-managing
features rather than a full-fledged file manager like the others.
05. COMMANDO [2-UT-284] - File Commando 1.0 by Shane & Sandy Stump.
Has an emergency abort key to stop a function once started.
Edits binary files in Hex. Will squeeze and unsqueeze files but does
not support ARC files which are now pretty much the standard.
06. DS [2-UT-593] - Directory Scanner 2.12 by LCDR Nat Marino.
Stores tree structure of up to two hard disks in memory so that they
don't have to be re-read the next time DS is run.
07. PFM [2-UT-543] - Personal File Manager 2.22 by Paul Culley has a large
variety of functions while retaining speed and efficiency of use.
The trick is that it has a multi-file mode and single file mode so that
you don't have to choose between the two on every command the way you
do with some other FM's that have lots of features.
08. SR [2-UT-295] - Still River Shell ver. 1.33 by Bob Howard.
No tagging. Works on individual files or wildcard specs only.
09. TSH [2-UT-509] - Tshell 1.10 by Josiah C. Hoskins.
Has an interesting directory tree display. Does not work with EGA.
10. GETDIR [1-UT-436]- Getdir 3.25 by John J. Newlin. Stays resident so that
it can be used while in another program. Shows subdirectory names along
with file names or on seperate screen for entire hard disk.
GETDIR may not work on the AT.
11. WFU - Wagner File Utility 1.0 by Wagner Systems.
Shows the tree structure of both the source and destination drives,
but only the files in the source directory are shown. Instead of the
destination tree, you can elect to show more file information.
Immediately shows contents of dir. as you move through tree structure.
12. ZIP - version 0.86c4 by Edward V. Dong. Voted "Most Versatile" because it
allows you define the command keys to your own taste. For example, "E"
uses a built-in routine to Edit a file, but you can redefine "E" to have
Zip use your favorite editor instead. The documentation is excellent.
Drawbacks are that it lacks a Tag-all and Untag-all feature; that
attributes can only be changed on one file at a time and that the file
list can only be sorted by file name. [disk 2-UT-545]
13. QFILER - version 2.1 by Ken Flee. Looks exactly like FFM, including allowing
you to see two directories, but has a lot more functions.
The next two file managers work much differently than the others. Rather than
having the functions built in, you create and save (or not) your own functions.
14. FILES [2-UT-543] - by Edmond Software, Inc.
Lets you define up to 50 commands to copy, move files, etc.
15. PC-FLIST [2-UT-543] - version 1.10 by CodeCrafters. Modeled after IBM's
VM/CMF FLIST. Space beside each file name for entering DOS commands,
then execute all at once. Commands can be assigned to function keys.
Shows two or more DIRs once by appending one to the end of the other.
Several other file managers were tested but not included in this review:
File Manager 2.0 by Stouse. Looks very nice, but has limited features.
DutchTreat 2.0. Operation seems confusing and awkward. For example, I like to
leave NumLock on and Dutch kept forcing it off - one of my pet peeves.
Direct probably would have been included if we had received it earlier, though
its lack of a "tagging" features limits its usefulness and some of its
features were also confusing.
Vfiler 2.8 is limited in its features and has a bug in the mass-Untag feature.
Still, its small file size (12k) is attractive to those without hard disks.
A couple of ones that did make it into the review might not have if we had had
all the FMs at the beginning that we had at the end. Some changes in our
library will be made.
To keep the chart a little cleaner, a "n" response is usually left blank.
Only functions that are built into the program are indicated.
An "*" means you should read the comments in the accompanying text.
Display: 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15
------- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Show dir. tree y y y y y
Two dirs at once y * y *
File mask option y y y y y y y
Size, Date & Time y y y y y y y y y y y y y
File Attributes y y y y y y y y
Disk Free space y y y y y y y y y y y
Space used y y y y y y y y y y y y
Show volume label y y y y y y y y y y
Sort files by -
Name y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y
Extension y y y y y y y y
Size or Date y y y y y y y y y
Inverted sort y y
Unsorted y y y y y y
Tagging: 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15
------- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Auto-advance n y n y n n y y y n
Show cumulative size y y y y y y y y
Show cum.# of files y y y y
Tag all y y y y y
Wildcard tag y y y
File Functions: 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15
-------------- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
s=works on a single file only, t=tagged files only, e=either
Change Attrib. e s e t e t s s s
Copy e e t s e t e s t t t t e
Delete e e t s e t e s t t t t e
Move filename(s) e t e t s t t
Print file s e t e e t s
Rename file s s e s e s s e
Edit - Internal or
eXternal editor I X X X *
View - Int. or eXt.
file viewer I I I I X I I I I *
View in hex. y y y y y
Search for file y y y y
Execute program y y y y y y y y y y
Other: 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15
----- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Directory: Create y y y y y y y y y
Backup y y y y y y y
Rename y y y y
Colors selectable *y y n y n y n y *y n y
Chain to DOS y y y y y y y y y y
Resident y
Save file descrips. y
Shareware price 0 $35 $10 $10 $30 0 $45 $35 $38 $25 $30 $40 $20 $25 $21
Program size (k) 27 54 32 7 66 35 34 77 60 42 79 70 65 28 31
Aux. files size (k) 10 71 15
01 CWEEP 02 FFM 03 FMU 04 SDIR 05 COMMANDO 06 DirScan. 07 PFM
08 SR 09 TSH 10 GETDIR 11 WFU 12 ZIP 13 QFILER 14 FILES
15 PC-FLIST
------------------------
From the newsletter of
The Public (Software) Library
P.O.Box 35705
Houston, TX 77235-5705
(713) 721-6104
Reprints by community user groups are allowed as long as proper credit is
given. Any other use or distribution of this file is allowed only with the
express written permission of Nelson Ford.