Best Mac File Management Software
File Browser by Astro (File Manager) FreeVIEW →. Astro is the best file manager and memory cleaner app to make the most out of your internal and external storage and boost phone memory. Jan 13, 2019 If you actually shell out money for a file-transfer app, expect fancier features such as more connection options, droplets, and sophisticated synch abilities. But while on average, paid apps work better than free ones, some are far more worth paying for than others. Commander One / CloudMounter ($30/$45 each, Eltima Software, mac.eltima.com).
By Adela D. Louie, Last updated: April 24, 2020
Mac has its very own file manager and that is what we called Finder. However, there are still some Mac users who are completely satisfied with what the Finder can do. That is why they are resulting to have another file manager for their files and other data. That is the reason why in this article, we are going to show you FOUR top best file managers for Mac.
File managers are made for you to be able to enhance the performance of your Mac. And having disorganized files or those large and old files that you have on your Mac does not only makes your Mac run slow but it has also a negative effect when it comes to the efficiency of your Mac. That is why having the best file manager for your Mac will be able to help you in removing all the junk files and organize your Mac files and of course, for you to speed up the performance of your Mac.
Here are 4 top best file managers that you can have in case that you would want to replace your Finder.
#1. Top Best File Manager for Mac - FoneDog PowerMyMac
There is one new best file manager that you can have on your Mac in 2020. This file manager is actually very easy and simple to use for you to be able to organize all the files that you have on your Mac and also shred those that you no longer need. The application that we are talking about is no other than the FoneDog PowerMyMac. With the FoneDog PowerMyMac, you will be able to do anything that you want all in one application that other Mac application cannot do.
Now for you to be able to know on how the File Manager feature of the FoneDog PowerMyMac works, go ahead and check out the guide below.
NOTE: The FoneDog PowerMyMac can work in two ways. One is that it can be a file viewer and the other one is that it can become as a file crasher.
Option #1: File Viewer – FoneDog PowerMyMac
Step 1: Download and Install
First off is that you have to download the FoneDog PowerMyMac from our official website. And then after that, have the application installed on your Mac.
Step 2: Launch PowerMyMac
Once that you have completely installed the FoneDog PowerMyMac, then go ahead and launch the program. As you can see on the main interface of the program, you will be able to see three options at the top of the window screen. The “Status”, the “Cleaner”, and the “Toolkit”. If you are going click on the “Status” option, you will be able to see on your screen the system status of your Mac.
File Management Software Free
Step 3: Choose The Module
After launching the FoneDog PowerMyMac and checking your system status, all you have to do is to click on the “Toolkit” option. From there, the FoneDog PowerMyMac will then show you a list of actions that you can do. From that list, go ahead and click on the FileManager module.
Step 4: Select the View Files
After that, go ahead and enter the FileManager. Once that you are in, you will be able to see two options on your screen. The “View Files” and the “Crush File” options. From there, go ahead and choose on “View Files.
Step 5: Drag Some File to View
After that, go ahead and drag a certain file from your Mac that you would wish to see its detail. As you can see, the file name will be located on the left side of your screen and the detail information of the file will be shown on the right side of your screen. This includes the path of the file, the size, and the time that you have created it and as well as the last time modification had taken place.
NOTE: You can just go ahead and continue on dragging and dropping files for you to be able to view the details of the rest of the files that you have. This way, it will be easier for you to view them rather than going back to the original page.
Option #2: Crush File
As what we have mentioned earlier, it also comes with the “Crush File” tool. For you to be able to get rid of the files that you want, let us continue with the guide.
Step 6: Select the Crush File Option
If you want to try this feature, all you have to do is to click on the arrow icon for you to be able to go back on the homepage of the FileManager module. From there, go ahead and choose “Crush File”.
Step 7: Drag the File You Want to Crush
After that, go ahead and drag and drop the file that you would want to remove from your Mac. Here, you will be needing to drag the file to the screen.
NOTE: Make sure that the file that you are going to put in this section is the one that you no longer need. This is because once that you have crashed the file, you will not be able to recover it anymore.
Step 8: Shred the File You No Longer Need
After choosing the file that you want to delete, go ahead and confirm the action and then click on the “Crush” button located at the right side of your screen. And then once that the process is complete, you will be able to see a message that says “Shred Success”.
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#2. Top Best File Manager for Mac - Commander One
After that the Finder’s very smooth interface, the Commander One may seem a bit cluttered on first look. This is because of the dual-pane view and all the active toolbars and button that this application has. That is why what you need to do is to turn off all the elements that you actually do not need. You can do this by click on the “View” menu for you to have a better visual experience.
If you are going to look for the File menu, then you will be able to notice that the Command One actually supports and the basic functionality that the Finder. You will be able to preview any files, have them duplicated, getting them moved, making shortcuts and a lot more. And once that you hold down on the “Option” key, then you will be able to view some more functions. Same thing that you do with the Finder application on your Mac.
And if in case that you forget your basic functions, then you do not have to worry. All you have to do is to is have a quick glance at the bottom of the window and you will be able to find them there. You can also have a custom hotkey from the application’s preferences. And because of its added functions, it actually makes your work a lot easier.
#3. Top Best File Manager for Mac - Path Finder
The PathFinder comes with a lot of options. Now, you are one of those people who are actually a casual user, then you might end up on uninstalling the application instead of trying all its functionalities. So why don’t you sit back and relax and try out the application’s feature?
If you are going to look at the sidebar of the application, it is a little bit the same with the Finder application that you have on your Mac. The difference is that it actually has a handy search preset such as “Today”, “Yesterday”, “All PDF Documents” “All Movies”, and “All Images”. You will also have multiple sidebars and that you can easily switch them by simply using the gear icon located at the bottom left of your sidebar.
Another feature that you will see on its sidebar is the drop stack. This feature actually makes your bulk operations a lot easier. All you have to do is to click on the bullseye icon of your sidebar for you to be able to see this feature. And then after that, go ahead and drag and drop the files from different locations in the drop stack and then you can have those files moved, copied or compress all at the same time.
Another feature of the Path Finder is that you have the ability to launch on the Home folder and as well as the subfolder and its content from the Bookmarks bar. You can also drag and drop some files to this part so that you can make a bookmark to them.
You can also set up the panels that you want on the bottom shelf or on the right shelf to display them and have quick access to your choice.
#4. Top Best File Manager for Mac - ForkLift
The ForkLift file manager application is one of the most popular, just like the FTP. However, it is just a simple file manager with robust FTP support in it. This application also looks and does the same thing as your Finder application on your Mac but it has some extra features that come with it. An example of which is that you have the option to edit any text file from the preview column view. It also allows you to make a presets for your batch remaining files which really comes in handy.
In using the ForkLift, you will also be able to toggle the file visibility, track your queued file operations, compare your files, and a lot more which are all located at the toolbar of the application. It also comes with a built-in mechanism for you to be able to remove any last traces of any of your application that you have uninstalled from your Mac.
Its app delete also comes in place if you are going to press on the keys Command > Move to Trash. You can also do this by pressing the combination Cmd + Delete. An in using ForkLift application, you will also be able to browse on both your local and as well as your remote archives as a regular folder. However, for you to be able to do this, you must first enable the “Treat archives as folder” option from the application’s settings.
And if you are going to look for the ForkLift Mini icon from the main menu, and you will be able to mount your favorite remote server as your local drives for you to be able to access it easily.
And using the ForkLift application will also let you sync your folders, bookmarks location, be able to save your custom layouts, commit any changes to Git, and have your very own rules when it comes to transfers and a lot more. Basically, if you are looking for a certain clone of Finder, then this file manager is for you. However, the ForkLift comes with some extra more features that the Finder does not have.
As you can see, there are a lot of file managers that you can use as an alternative to your Finder on your Mac. All you have to do is to choose which one will actually best fit your needs. But as a great recommendation, you can go ahead and choose the FoneDog PowerMyMac instead because it is safer and simpler to use.
FTP, or file transfer protocol, is simple: Connect to a far-off computer. Send your stuff to it, or get stuff from it. The end. And though we now live amid a plethora of cloud file storage services – Dropbox, Amazon S3, Google Drive, ad infinitum – the basic idea remains the same.
But finding the right app to make those transfers happen can get tricky. Search for 'FTP' in the App Store, and you're swiftly buried beneath a pile of contenders clamoring for your cash. Keep reading to discover which ones we liked best.
A few ground rules
Every app in this roundup supports good old reliable FTP and its more secure cousin, SFTP, usually with several intermediate flavors of security in between. And unless otherwise noted, every app here works with WebDAV, which does everything FTP can do on an HTTP-centric Web server. When an app supports cloud services beyond those basics, we'll let you know.
Project Management Software For Mac
Free FTP apps
You can find several FTP apps for a cool zero dollars. They don't tend to be as feature-rich as the paid apps we'll discuss later, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're a poor choice.
Mac OS X's built-in FTP capabilities
Let's just say there's a reason people make, sell, and use third-party apps. Technically, you can use the Finder's Go > Connect to Server…
command to log into FTP or SFTP servers. But in my tests, this ran relatively slowly, and I could download files but not upload them. Unless you're desperate, consider other options.
FileZilla (The FileZilla Project, filezilla-project.org)
File Management Software Programs
FileZilla is an open-source, cross-platform app, and that means exactly what you think it does: a boxy, utilitarian, non-Mac-like interface designed by professional programmers, for professional programmers. Getting around FileZilla may be rational, but it isn't pretty.
The program works admirably fast when uploading or downloading your files, but that's about all it has in its favor. It won't remember your server passwords from one session to the next, which can be a real pain with a long, complex password. And its ridiculous update system, which downloads an entirely new copy of the app, then obliges you to copy it manually into the Applications folder every time a new version rolls out, would be less obnoxious if it didn't seem to roll out new updates every five minutes. Skip it.
Cyberduck (iterate GMBH, cyberduck.io)
This veteran contender boasts crazy fast file transfers and an impressive roster of cloud service options: Amazon S3, Google Drive, Google Cloud Storage, Azure, Backblaze, Dropbox, OneDrive, and DRACOON. It also offers the ability to synch up a local and remote directory, a powerful feature more often found in paid apps. But it loses points for a dated, unattractive interface – including when synching – and for its baffling decision to use a single-pane layout.
Rather than use two panes — one showing a folder on your local computer, the other showing the remote directory to which you've connected, so that you can easily drag and drop files between the two – Cyberduck's single pane obliges you to drag files to and from a separate Finder window, a needless bit of extra hassle.
And while the program's technically free, it'll nag you to pay up often, and charges App Store downloaders a lot more ($24) than it does folks who purchase a registration key on its own site (a minimum donation of $10). If you're going to pay for an FTP client, you have better choices than this one.
Best free system monitoring software. The Best Free Monitoring Software app downloads for Mac: TrackView Perfect Keylogger Lite Keyboard And Mouse Recorder Spy Cam Xeoma Video Surveillance. Oct 31, 2019 Talking about open sources, XRG for Mac is a functional system monitor tool that you could try if you do want to monitor your Mac’s performance for free. Yes, it is free to use and comes with almost all the features that a performance monitoring app should have.
ViperFTP Lite (Naarak-Studio, viperftp.com)
This isn't one of those better choices I mentioned above. The opening screen for this junior version of a fuller-featured app features a cheesy come-on for both its paid big sibling and a selection of other low-rent apps from the same company. Any bad vibes you get from that welcome quickly multiply once you're in the app itself.
I give ViperFTP Lite credit for incorporating Amazon S3 and, uniquely, YouTube in its list of connection options. But the interface is a dud, transfers feel sluggish, and in my tests, the app once crashed entirely while trying to open a new connection.
ForkLift 2 (BinaryNights, binarynights.com)
ForkLift's creators are giving version 2 away for free on the App Store to promote their newer version 3, which we'll get to later in this roundup. But version 2's nothing to sneeze at. It offers respectable (though not amazing) transfer speeds, and a clean, Mac-like interface I found intuitive and appealing. In addition to the usual FTP and WebDAV options, ForkLift can connect to Amazon S3, AFP, and SMB servers.
You definitely get what you pay for: Neither ForkLift version will remember your server passwords or store them in the Keychain, and in ForkLift 2, Droplets — a mini-app that lets you transfer files to a specific destination just by dragging and dropping files onto it, without opening ForkLift itself – just didn't seem to work. Still, if you need a free app simply to move files to and from an FTP server, you could do a whole lot worse than this.
Paid Apps
If you actually shell out money for a file-transfer app, expect fancier features such as more connection options, droplets, and sophisticated synch abilities. But while on average, paid apps work better than free ones, some are far more worth paying for than others.
Commander One / CloudMounter ($30/$45 each, Eltima Software, mac.eltima.com)
If you imagine a typical file-transfer app as the center point on a spectrum, then Commander One would exist way over on the 'MORE' side of that line, and CloudMounter far in the opposite direction on the 'LESS.' Both let you move files to and from remote servers, but CloudMounter pares down that process to its simplest form, whereas Commander One piles on features for power users. Each is available for $30 on its own, or with a 'lifetime upgrade guarantee' for a total of $45.
You can download Commander One for free as a file manager and replacement for the Finder, with potent searching and sorting powers. Paying up for its 'Pro Pack' adds FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, Dropbox, Amazon S3, OneDrive, and Google Drive connections, among other advanced features.
But while it's written entirely in Swift for maximum Mac-friendliness, Commander One suffers from an interface that's more or less intuitive, but too crowded and boxy to appeal to most users. I also found its transfer speeds middling at best. Its file-transfer features aren't worth paying for unless you really love using the app as a file manager as well.
If you want to try before you buy, make up your mind quickly; my promised 15 days of free access to the Pro features somehow elapsed in less than five.
I mostly praised CloudMounter when I previously reviewed it, and an unobtrusive app that easily mounts remote drives directly in the Finder remains a great idea. But the more I used CloudMounter after my initial tests, the more its connection problems shifted from 'occasional' to 'frequent,' especially when I tried to access an SFTP server.
When I revisited it for this roundup, it bogged down and hung on a simple SFTP transfer that every other app handled with aplomb, and its connections tended to crawl under the best circumstances. It also lacks any of the sophisticated search or synch features other paid apps, including Commander One, offer.
And if you get it from the App Store instead of Eltima's site, you're stuck with in-app purchase options that turn it into a subscription product, charging $29.99 a year or $9.99 for three months. Despite its broad range of connection capabilities – Dropbox, Google Drive, Amazon S3, OneDrive, OpenStack Swift, Backblaze, and Box – I can no longer recommend it in its current form.
Yummy FTP Pro ($30, Yummy Software, yummysoftware.com)
Yummy FTP Pro offers a well-built but way-too-basic FTP client. Files transfer speedily, the app performs reliably, and the interface looks clean, if a tad crowded. Its synch features offer plenty of power and options, but they're not particularly intuitive. And Yummy FTP Pro can only connect to FTP, SFTP, and WebDAV.
If it were free, I'd embrace Yummy FTP Pro in a heartbeat. But even its Lite version costs $10, and at $30 for Pro, you have better options for your money.
A note to App Store users: The version of Yummy FTP Pro available here is older than the one on Yummy Software's site, and sells for $15.
ForkLift 3 ($30, BinaryNights, binarynights.com)
ForkLift 2's big sibling soared over my initial low expectations, with features and overall quality that seriously contend for first place in this roundup. I liked the crisp, logical, Finder-like interface, which tries to keep options and icons to a minimum.
Its respectable suite of file systems include Amazon S3, Backblaze B2, Dropbox (through the Finder, if you've already installed the Dropbox app), Google Drive, Rackspace CloudFiles, and – unlike most other apps here – SMB, AFP, and NFS. If you install the free, open-source Mac FUSE software, you can even mount any of these remote drives in the Finder.
A nifty little menubar icon enables remote mounting, along with a cool 'synclet' feature that lets you drag files directly into a pop-up window to upload them without opening the app – no Droplet icon or other shenanigans necessary.
ForkLift also quietly doubles as a file manager – one that looks and feels a lot friendlier to average users than Commander One does. Unique among the apps discussed here, ForkLift 3 can preview and play video files and edit text and HTML files directly within the app. It can even compare the contents of two files or images (though depending on which method you use, you may need to install Apple's Xcode developer tools to enable that).
ForkLift 3 may fall just short of my top choice here, but it's an excellent app nonetheless, and a terrific value for the money.
Transmit ($45, Panic Software, panic.com)
The big kahuna of Mac file transfer apps does nearly everything you've read about above, with a level of polish and user-friendliness that justify a price tag half again as high as any other app on this list.
I liked its clean, simple interface – though I'll confess that it took me longer than expected to figure out how everything worked. Connecting to a server caused me no trouble, but I struggled to determine just where and how I could add a connection to my Favorites, or turn it into a Droplet.
But that minor headache was the only one Transmit gave me. Every other facet of this app has been honed until it gleams. Transmit boasts tons of features yet never seems overwhelming, in part thanks to Panic's excellent, searchable, plain-English text files.
The app brims with clever features such as DockSend; specify a folder in the Finder and a remote server directory, and when you drag any file from that Finder folder to Transmit's icon in the Dock, it'll automatically get whisked to the right remote destination. Those transfers happen at hellacious speeds, too. And its list of compatible cloud services can't be beat: Amazon S3, Amazon Drive, Backblaze, Box, DreamObjects, Dropbox, Google Drive, Azure, OneDrive/For Business, OpenStack Swift, and Rackspace Cloud Files.
The designers seem to have thought long and hard about how actual humans would use Transmit. For example, the app doesn't just tell you that you'll need to install FUSE to enable desktop mounting of remote disks; it links you to a crystal-clear set of instructions on Panic's site that will walk you through the whole process.
And I absolutely loved Transmit's super-intuitive synch interface, which doesn't just offer abundant options, but also summarizes your choices in plain English sentences before you commit to them – a courtesy that saved me from making at least one thunderously dumb mistake in my testing.
In short, Transmit earns its sterling reputation, and then some.
Note to App Store users: Transmit 5 is available here as a free download with a $25 annual subscription price. Visit Panic's site for a one-time $45 purchase.
The winner's circle
Among paid apps, Transmit stands head and shoulders above the rest. If you're in a cash crunch, though, ForkLift 3 offers most of Transmit's finer points at two-thirds of its cost. And if you just need a free, simple way to move files from point A to point B, ForkLift 2 beats all contenders in its class.
Got a file-transfer favorite we overlooked here? Connect with us and upload your thoughts in the comments below.
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