BEST FILE MANAGEMENT Far2l
Version: v2021-06-30_alpha Web: https://github.com/elfmz/far2l
Alongside the command line shell, file management is a key computing topic. Over the years of reviewing file managers for HotPicks we’ve identified two major groups of these programs. One replicates the original desktop metaphor introduced in early Apple Macs and made popular by Windows. That’s generally what Dolphin in KDE, Nautilus in Gnome and Nemo in Cinnamon achieve. We’ve also reviewed some worthy alternatives, such as KDFM (LXF278), which is the only file manager that has the Cover Flow carousel view.
The other group consolidates various twin-panel file managers that inherit the legacy of Norton Commander and Far Manager. We’ve featured various clones of them here, including the ever-popular Midnight Commander and Wal Commander. In fact, the contest for the best clone of Far Manager could never end if only there were no official Far Manager version for Linux. And we have it! The project has existed since 2016 and still receives many frequent commits. Far2l (its shortened name) isn’t just another deep-blue, old-school program for grey-bearded users. We explored many of Far2l’s features in LXF271. In brief, it simply works better and more predictably in various non-standard cases. To name a few, you can expect Far2l to display correct filenames inside ZIP archives even if a different encoding has been used (such as OEM/DOS). Far2l knows how to handle password-protected archives and also how to open tar.gz files.
Yet perhaps its coolest feature is the Netrocks plugin that enables Far2l to access remote locations via ftp[s], scp, sftp, nfs, webdav and even Samba! Some basic multi-tasking is also supported: you can continue using Far2l while a background network operation is running. All this works in a pure console mode – no graphical environment required.