Until recently, I didn’t think there were a lot of alternatives to the Windows 11 File Explorer. When I reviewed Files, I actually thought that was pretty much the only option you had, outside of apps that can tweak the native File Explorer in different ways, with StartAllBack being a personal favorite.
But after that review, I found out there are actually quite a few alternatives. One of them is FreeCommander (officially called FreeCommander XE), which was referred to me by one of our readers. Of course, I had to check it out, and honestly, it’s pretty nice. I do think File Explorer replacements need to do a lot right to be worth installing, though, especially considering you can’t easily make them your default file manager. I won’t be replacing FIle Explorer with FreeCommander anytime soon, but it’s definitely a worthy alternative.
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Design and performance
FreeCommander doesn’t look the most modern, but it works well
Right off the bat, when I use an app on Windows 11, I really like it when it fits in with the design language, and in that regard, FreeCommander fails. The app seems to be designed for Windows 10, as the icons all remind me of the ones Microsoft was using during this time, particularly in its Office apps.
The UI can also feel a little overwhelming if you’re coming from the plain old File Explorer, with two panes and a lot of icons shoved in your face to boot.
But first impressions aren’t everything, and getting acquainted with FreeCommander isn’t that difficult. The icons at the top are all fairly useful, allowing you to change the view for each of the panes, copy, move, or delete files, and a few other things. Meanwhile, the icons down the middle are for actions that involve the two panes, so you can move files between the two folders, or compare the files in each folder.
I do find some of the options to be a bit unintuitive at first, though. For example, the button to hide or show the navigation tree on the left side is in the middle of the toolbar, when it feels like it should be in the corner (where the navigation tree is). Still, nothing you can’t get used to, it’s not like you’ll be toggling the navigation tree that frequently, I’d assume.
Before getting into some of the more specific features, I will also point out that FreeCommander is noticeably faster than File Explorer most of the time. Clicking on a folder opens it instantly without the little stutter you’d see in File Explorer, and that alone can be a good boost to productivity.
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What I like about FreeCommander
Dual panes make file management way easier
The most obvious feature of FreeCommander is its dual-pane interface, though you do have the option to turn it off. By default, you see the two folders side-by-side, though you can also stack them vertically. Having two panes makes file management much faster, and it works pretty well here.
Since it’s the default interface, you never really think about when you should use it. You just use one pane if you only need one, and if you need the other, it’s always there. I find it very useful when I download a lot of files in one go and store them in the wrong folder, since it just makes it that much faster to get organized. The buttons along the middle help, too, so you don’t have to copy and paste, you can just click a single button to move or copy a file from the primary pane to the secondary one. There’s also a button to swap the panes’ positions, which is useful because the buttons in the middle only work in one direction, strangely enough.
What’s even cooler is that each pane also has tabs, so you can go even further with the way you access different files and folders and manage them. It’s all well-thought-out, you can move tabs from one pane to the other to suit your needs at any given time, and if you use the favorites feature, you can even add a favorite that includes folders to open in both the active and inactive panes, so you can quickly get to a combination of folders you open frequently.
File containers
An interesting feature of FreeCommander XE is called file containers. Basically, you can open a file container and drag any items from your PC into it. This won’t actually move the files there, though. It will basically create a shortcut to them. This way, you can create a launchpad for files that may be stored in different places on your PC, making them all accessible in one location.
In reality, it’s nothing too crazy, since you can easily create a folder with shortcuts to anything in the standard File Explorer. Still, the way it works in FreeCommander makes it a bit easier to use.
The feature is a bit too obscure, though. There’s no clear button to create a new file container, so you have to open a new file container tab, add files to it, and then save the file container as a file so you can access it more easily. Even then, seeing your existing file containers is just as hidden until you add them to your favorites, so it’s a bit cumbersome.
It’s highly customizable
Something else I like about FreeCommander is that you can customize a lot about how it looks and feels. In fact, there are far too many options for me to dive deep into all of them, but for one thing, you have a few different color themes to choose from, and as a fan of dark mode, I greatly appreciate that.
More importantly, though, you can also customize the toolbars, so you can add or remove icons for features you need more frequently (and there are a ton of options) or simply reorganize them so they’re in positions that feel more intuitive. You can change button sizes, whether they should be labeled, and even create additional toolbars with more shortcuts.
Plus, you can change your view settings and save them as a layout, so you can easily swap between different layouts or restore a layout to its default state.
It tries to do more than manage your files
One aspect of FreeCommander that’s also kind of interesting is that it’s not just a file manager. FreeCommander comes with features like the ability to preview certain file types without opening an external app, which is pretty neat. Plus, it kind of tries to be your main interface to use your PC as a whole, with a sort of Start menu replacement that lists all your classic apps (Microsoft Store apps are not supported), and a Control Panel menu that unfortunately only works in the 64-bit version of the app.
FreeCommander even includes a screenshot tool, for whatever reason. It’s definitely feature-packed.
The problems with FreeCommander
It can’t rename multiple files at once
To me, this is one of the biggest knocks against any file manager, and it’s one of the biggest reasons I can’t really fathom switching to FreeCommander full time. Much like the Files app, FreeCommander lacks the ability to rename multiple files in one go, something File Explorer can do just fine.
This is a fairly crucial part of my work. If I download images in bulk that come with all kinds of random names, or if I take a string of screenshots, I need to rename multiple files at once, and not being able to do that is a huge bummer.
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There’s a learning curve
I already kind of mentioned that the app is convoluted, but I think it bears repeating. FreeCommander offers a ton of features and options, but learning all of them can be a problem, and I don’t think it does a good job making them easy to find. I’d say that’s a common problem with apps that are geared towards more proficient users, which makes them harder to use for those with less experience, and it can make them seem less useful at first. A replacement for File Explorer should play to its strengths and highlight its best features to keep users coming back.
At times it feels like it also tries harder to cram more obscure features in than to nail the basics. For example, there’s no easily accessible button for creating a new folder by default. Considering space will usually be filled with items, finding an empty area to right-click and create a new folder is difficult, and I don’t know why creating a new text file is a bigger priority than that.
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Some features require you to pay
Having a paid app isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s something worth considering, especially when you consider FreeCommander isn’t a perfect solution. The thing is, FreeCommander is free, but it’s only available as a 32-bit app. If you want the 64-bit version, you have to pay a small fee.
That 64-bit version comes with some extra features, though, which is a bit odd. For one thing, it adds the Control Panel menu mentioned above. It also includes a built-in PDF viewer, the ability to search text in file types like DOCX and PDF, and more frequent updates. Those are useful features, but it’s strange to have the 64-bit version of a free app locked behind a paywall.
You can’t make it your default file manager
Potentially the worst part of it all, though not necessarily the fault of the app, is that you can’t set it as the default file manager in Windows. Any time you try to open a file from a browser or something, you’ll be taken to File Explorer, so it’s a bit of extra work to use this app all the time. It certainly affected my usage of it, and it will probably affect yours.
The Files app I keep mentioning did have a method for changing the default file manager in Windows through a registry hack, and while you can probably do that manully for this app, it’s not a process everyone wants to go through, and it could have unexpected side effects.
FreeCommander has some perks, but it’s not for me
At the end of the day, I think FreeCommander is an app worth checking out if you feel like File Explorer has been holding you back for one reason or another. It’s snappy, and the dual-pane layout definitely makes it easier to manage files across different folders. For users willing to put some time into learning how to use it, I can see how this could be a very powerful tool.
However, if you’re not willing to learn a whole new app that’s actually somewhat confusing, then you’re probably better off sticking to File Explorer. The quest for a proper replacement continues, and I have a few more apps lined up to test in the near future.
