Exclusive Giveaway for Raymond.CC Forum Members ----> Total Commander

[Murphy]

Hi guys,

I guess all of you work daily with files ( move, copy, archive , view , open ) and you are using for these operations a file manager , pehaps the Windows built in file manager , I mean ..... Windows Explorer .

Okay guys , maybe you like the Windows file manager but I personally prefer a different type of file manager so let me introduce you a file manager about which Wikipedia says the following :

Total Commander is an Orthodox File Manager (OFM) software for Windows, Windows CE, Windows Mobile, and Android. Some features include a built-in FTP client, file compare, archive file navigation, and a versatile multi-rename tool with regular expression support.

This application is written by Christian Ghisler in Delphi 2^[4] (32-bit version) and Delphi 1 (16-bit version). The program is extensible by programmers via an open plugin-API and it has the ability to bind external programs for viewing or editing files. Many plugins are freely available for e.g. different packer formats or file viewer for special file formats. As well, a large variety of internal functions (commands) are available and ready to assign to icons, although some study might be needed to discover them.

Total Commander ----> Homepage

- WOT scorecard ----> Excellent ;
- URLVoid ----> CLEAN ;
- Sucuri Site Check ----> Here ;
- hpHosts ----> This site is NOT currently listed in hpHosts .

Here's what the developer says about Total Commander

Total Commander, Version 7.57a, is a Shareware file manager for Windows® 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP/Vista/7, and Windows® 3.1.

Download page ----> Here ( version 7.57a of Total Commander ) .

''Additional languages (not included in normal download)'' ----> Here .

Some features of Total Commander :

General features:

• Both 32 bit and 16 bit versions available!
• Long filenames in Windows 95/98 and Windows NT (16 and 32-bit version)!
• Direct access to Network Neighbourhood
• Supports Drag & Drop with Explorer/the Desktop etc.
• Command line for starting of programs with parameters, simply by typing the program name or by pressing CTRL+ENTER or CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER.
• Configurable button bar and Start menu (User-defined commands) to place your frequently used DOS or Windows programs into a drop-down menu. The actual directory and/or the file under the cursor can be delivered to the application.
• Configurable main menu.
• Built in file viewer (Lister) to view files of ANY SIZE in hex, binary or text format, using either the ASCII- (DOS) or the ANSI- (Windows) character set. The line width and font size can now be changed. You can even view files inside archives! New: Support for Unicode UTF-8 format.
• Bitmap viewer in Lister, additional formats through Irfanview (see addons).
• HTML- and Unicode-Viewer in Lister.
• ..............................................................................................

File handling:

• Extended copying, moving, renaming and deleting of entire trees (Enables deleting "full" directories).
• Compare files by content, now with built-in text editor.
• Synchronize directories (with subdirs), or a directory with a ZIP file.
• Encode/Decode files in UUE, XXE and MIME format.
• Split/Combine big files.
• Search for duplicate files.
• Show/select files with specific search pattern, size, date or contents.
• Restore selection as it was before the last file operation (NUM /).
• Enhanced search function with full text search in any files across multiple drives, even inside archives.
• Multi-rename tool: Allows to rename multiple files in one step (Hotkey: Ctrl+M)
• Overwrite dialog allows to show preview images and custom fields
• Work with Windows Vista user rights model (user account protection)

FTP client:

• Built-in FTP client supports most public FTP servers, and some mainframes
• FTP and WWW proxies for FTP connections; new also SOCKS4+5.
• FXP: Send files directly from one remote server to another.
• Resume aborted downloads.
• Add files to download list (through context menu) and download later.
• Download in the background (separate thread).
• Secure FTP over SSL/TLS, enter the URL as follows: ftps://ftp.servername.com .
  Needs OpenSSL dlls from www.openssl.org.

Archive handling:

• Archives are handled like subdirectories. You can easily copy files to and from archives. The appropriate archiving program is automatically called. pkzip, arj, lha, rar, ace and uc2 are all supported.
• Built-in ZIP-compatible packer, supports long filenames! This packer is based on ZLIB by Info-Zip.
• Internal unpackers for ZIP, ARJ, LZH, TAR, GZ,CAB, RAR and ACE formats.
• Additional packers can be added as plugins. See addons page.
• Pack large archives in the background (separate thread).
• Copy files directly from one archive to another.

Useful Total Commander Add-ons ----> Here .

- Additional languages (not included in normal download)
- Tools
- Plugins

Total Commander Plugins ----> Here .

Plugins are extensions of Total Commander with additional functions. Please note that most of these plugins are written by third parties, see the column "Author home".

More plugins can be found on the inofficial plugins site www.totalcmd.net. This site is independent from us and also hosts new and beta plugins.

TOTALCMD.NET ----> Here .


Now let's see the ''real life'' .


1. Installation

- Installation was quick and easy ;
- I encountered no problems ;
- Everything is simple and clear even for a beginner ;
- Everything was okay for KIS 2012 and WinPatrol .

But let the pictures / images ''speak'' ....









You can change the ''.ini'' file location by pressing on ----> ''Change ini file location'' .
BTW ----> I put the ''.ini'' file in Total Commander's installation directory .







2. At the first start of TC we'll see :




The nag screen will ''disappear'' after activation of Total Commander .
BTW ----> After activation we'll ca see under ----> Help / About Total Commander :
[ The registration key must be saved it to the Totalcmd directory . Do not try to OPEN the key (e.g. by double clicking), this will not work. ]

[Murphy]

3. Total Commander's Layout


----> First time .... without changes :





----> After changes :




----> These changes can be done here ----> Configuration / Options / Layout :



BTW ----> Program's interface ----> at the bottom we can see some shortcuts ( using keyboard ), ie. :
----> F3 ----> View ( for TC"s internal viewer ----> ''Lister'' ) ;
----> F5 ----> Copy ;
----> F6 ----> Move ;
----> F7 ----> NewFolder ;
----> F8 ----> Delete .

3. Total Commander's Button Bar

As you can see ( above .... first 2 images of this post ) on the Button Bar the last button is ''Notepad'' .... but we can change this .... I mean ..... we can add more buttons which are integrated in Total Commander .

How ?
1. ''Configuration / Button Bar...'' or
2. Right cick on Button Bar and press on ''Change'' ....



.... and then look for what we want to add .

How?
Once again let the pictures / images ''speak'' :







Here's what I did ----> I added 4 more buttons :

1. ''Rename file under cursor'' ;
2. ''Delete files'' ;
3. ''Copy files'' ;
4. ''Move ( F6 ) .




But that's not all . Perhaps you have a program whose shortcut you want to have on hand while working with Total commander . Is simple .... just ----> Drag and drop the executable on toolbar .


4. Some of Total Commander's menus

- Files



- Commands

[Murphy]

- Net




5. Total Commander's Configuration

How we do it ?
----> Under ----> Configuration ----> Options

Some examples :

a.) Display settings :




b.) Operation settings :




c.) Packer settings :

Here are , as you will see , some internal packers ( ARJ , LHA , RAR , UC2 , ACE , TAR ) .

But what happens if you have installed one of the above packers and want to use it ?
It is very simple .... just choose the path to the program .

Here is an example in which ''the protagonist'' is ----> WinRAR .

----> with the internal RAR packer




----> with external RAR packer




d.) Total Commander's internal Zip Packer settings :




e.) After you done all the settings which are needed for you please do not forget one of Murphy's Laws ( ''If anything can go wrong, it will .'' ) and save the changes .

How ?
Under Configuration menu :
----> press ----> Save Settings .



f.) Let's suppose that when Total Commander is opened you want to see in the left tab ''D:'' and in the right tab ''E:'' .

How to do this ?
----> Open in the left tab ''D'' and in the right tab ''E:'' and
----> Under Configuration menu press ----> Save Position .


6. Using ( adding ) plugins

Let's see how to do this .

A. Imagine 1.0.8
Download page ----> Here

Imagine - Image & Animation Viewer for Windows

TC Lister Plugin

B. Sumatra PDF based plugin 0.8.1
Download page ----> Here

Integrated Sumatra PDF based PDF viewer. No external apps required.

TC Lister Plugin

In both cases download the plugin ( which is an archive ) and after that double click on archive and follow intructions .

After installing ''Imagine'' plugin I can see much more image file types in Total Commander :

Under Show menu press ----> Quick View Panel .



( Or just select the image and press F3 .... image will open in a new window . )

Given what I've presented above what I could say about Total Commander ?

Only a few , but important , things :

- His interface , besides is easy to understand and use , can be modified as we want ( adding / deleting buttons for example ) ;

- Functionality ( which is very good as is ) can be extended using plugins ;

- Since it has integrated internal packer(s) there is no need to install other packers ( archivers ) ;

- Can be used and configured easily even by a beginner .

Giveaway

I would like to say a big Thank you , for his generosity and kindness , to Mr. Christian Ghisler , Total Commander's developper , who has given us , Raymond.CC Forum members , three ( 3 ) licenses to be given away .

What can I tell you about the licenses ?

My question :

The licenses are only for the current version ?''

Mr. Christian Ghisler's answer was :

No, they are for all versions, both all olders and also all future versions!

Giveaway procedure

A. As before ( I mean as in other Giveaways ) :

A1. Mr. Raymond will open the Giveaway here ----> ''Draw Entry'' ;

A2. Winners thread will be posted here ----> ''Draw Results'' .

B. The novelty :

B1. Winners will send to me ( Murphy ) their name and e-mail address through PM ( Private Message ) .

Note: To avoid any inconvenience please send me a good / available e-mail .

B2. I will send this information ( name and e-mail address ) to Mr. Christian Ghisler who will contact you for further details regarding you activation key .

Best regards and Good luck !

PS. The Giveaway will start , Monday - May 14, 2012 , when Mr. Raymond will update this thread .

Also at that time the thread will be open for comments .

UPDATE

From Mr. Christan Ghisler :

a single licence allowsa user to use Total Commander on all his computers.

[Murphy]

Hi guys ,

Giveaway page ----> Here

• Status: Active
• Start Date: 05-14-2012
• Enter Through: 05-16-2012
• Draw Date: 05-17-2012 at 03:00 PM
• Entries Per User: 1
• Number of Prizes: 3

Best regards and good luck !

[BigGuy]

Thank you Murphy for this great giveaway and for another fine tutorial on how Total Commander works. You rock!

[william_of_palerne]

great giveaway, good luck to everybody.

[Murphy]

Hi gusy,

From Mr. Christan Ghisler :

a single licence allows a user to use Total Commander on all his computers.

Best regards !

[comphelp]

Thanks Murphy for very nice Review. Thanks Mr. Raymond and Mr. Christian Ghisler for tjis really great giveaway and chance to win a license for really best File Manager -TotalCommander! My respect to professionals! Regards.

[hechtsuper0]

please be so kind to count me in. Thank you

[JayCub]

Nice Murphy, i remember back a few years putting software on my first pc, mostly from magazines and little help although they have improved over the years... sometimes it's just great to see a step by step installation and review, and not to assume everyone knows how to install and use programs or even how they can help production....