BinaryNights today announced the official release of ForkLift 1.7, its popular file manager and FTP utility. The release adds several tasty features including folder synchronization, merge, and duplicate file feature. They also revamped their website for the better. I’ve reviewed Forklift before. If you haven’t tried it yet, now is the time.
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A common battle cry among experienced Mac users is the plea for more power to the built-in Finder application. As a result, there is no shortage of third-party solutions. I seem to collect them like some people collect stamps. I’m not all that unhappy with the built-in Finder. I just love the ability to stretch the geek muscles.
One particularly good file management application is BinaryNights’ Forklift, which I previously reviewed. The gang at BinaryNights has been hard at work improving Forklift and with the release of version 1.6, I thought it was time to kick the tires, again.
Forklift provides a dual pane interface in which you can select any source for file manipulation. I use the term “any source” rather liberally. It is really more like an “all you can eat” file buffet on your Mac. This includes your local drive, remote drives, network storage, your Amazon S3 account, and FTP storage. The application remembers your logins and makes transferring data between diverse locations as easy as dragging a folder from one pane to the next. It provides a fast, reliable platform for FTP work. I use it for all file management at MacSparky.com.
While the application was originally developed to handle FTP projects, it has matured into a Finder replacement. It includes several useful features such as spotlight integration, smart folders, spring-loaded folders, and Growl support to make this application perfectly competent for file management needs.
With the newest version, several helpful features have been added. The user interface, which used to be exclusively dual pane, now may be used in a single pane mode. This is helpful when you’re operating on a small screen or simply don’t need the complexity two panes. While this is a welcome addition, I still find Forklift most useful with two panes. Thankfully, the developer appears committed to continuing support for dual pane and indeed explains on its website that several of the future modules will still support (and even require) the dual pane mode.
Another welcome addition is the adoption of a tab metaphor for switching between locations on individual panes. This implementation works better for me. If, however, you prefer the prior method for keeping track of your locations with the side panes, Forklift has a setting to bring them back. For keyboard jockeys, the new version also supports a great deal more keyboard control. In total, Forklift version 1.6 represents a substantial update without an update fee. I like that.
Forklift is, in my opinion, the “middle way” solution for people seeking a Finder replacement. While it doesn’t have as many features as some of its competitors, it sports an excellent “Mac-worthy” interface that is well designed and fun to use. The developer is enthusiastic and the application continues to improve. A license for Forklift will cost $45. There is a student license for $25. You can also download a free 15-day trial from the website, www.binarynights.com.
You can hear the below review in MacReview Cast #113.
My experience with Path Finder is an interesting one. When I first switched to my Mac, a friend told me to forget about the Apple Finder and use Path Finder. Well I downloaded it when my Mac was shiny new and it didn’t grab me. I used it a few times but found myself going back to the less intimidating Apple Finder.
Well I know quite a bit more about OS X now than I did during that failed trial and decided to give it another go. Now I can’t imagine ever working without it.
Path Finder is the Swiss Army Knife of file management tools. When you first open the application there is a group of six windows that are fully customizable. You can display a variety of data from your running applications, file and folder histories, volumes, selection paths, information, permissions, attributes, console, and even a terminal window. The binary view makes me laugh but hey, it must be useful to somebody. With so much variety you can make Path Finder can change to suit your needs rather than forcing you to change to meet the application’s needs as is so often the case.
In the main display window it has a Path Navigator that visually tells you where you are and where you have been as you drill down. Like the Apple Finder, Path Finder supports all standard view modes including list, icon, and hierarchical. Also, control clicking on an item in Path Finder gives me a lot more options than I am used too. Of course you can do the normal file management tasks like copying and moving but you can also email, compress, create a disk image, open in terminal and a variety of other options.
This program is very feature rich. So much so that in the week I’ve been using it I won’t pretend to say I’m familiar with them all so I’m going to focus on a few that really grabbed me.
The customizable bookmark bar is very nice. Taking a page from Safari and other web browsers, Path Finder has a bar of common file locations across the top of the screen with drop down menus. It has the usual suspects built in: Documents, Music, Movies and the likes. But you can also create your own custom drop downs like “downloads” or anything else you need frequently.
Another great feature is the Drop Stack. When I open a finder window it is usually to work on several files. With the Drop Stack it gives me a place to temporarily drop files while I’m navigating through multiple menus. Once I’ve assembled everything I need to work on in my drop stack, its all in one place and easy to get too. This just doesn’t mean moving and copying. I can also burn and compress items straight out of the Drop Stack.
Like Forklift and Leopard’s Finder, Pathfinder has an excellent preview pane that handles most image and HTML files and even quicktime movie files. I set one of the larger panes for preview and it is very helpful when moving or cleaning image files.
Using the “File History” setting, Pathfinder keeps a running tally of my most recently accessed files. This is nice as I’m going through my day if I am working on several projects.
Path Finder also brings some extra muscle to searching your Mac. I’ve found Spotlight to be very good at ferreting out lost files but occasionally something will get misplaced into a location that Spotlight doesn’t look. Path Finder has its own separate “Fast Search” engine that will search the entire system.
You can’t beat Path Finder for compression. A version of the StuffIt compression engine is built right in. When sharing with your PC friends, it also allows for ZIP compression.
Another nice feature is the application window. By holding down command-F8 you open up an attractive window that displays icons for all of your applications. This is great when I need to open an application but forgot its name.
Did I mention it has a built in console window, text editor, and easily allows you to see hidden files?
Looking at the preferences you will see that Path Finder is even more adaptable giving you control over the entire look and feel of the application.
Reflecting on the way I manage files I must give a nod to Quicksilver. Once you get accustomed to Quicksilver, you can’t really beat it for down and dirty file management. With just a little practice, you can move, copy, and trash files as quickly as it takes to open Finder or one of its replacements. I really use Path Finder and Forklift on file management tasks that take some heavy lifting.
Path Finder is my finder replacement. It is robust and bends to fit my needs. I would give Forklift the advantage for FTP but generally found Path Finder more useful for the way I compute. I will be keeping both programs and I am certain I will be using them both. If you are looking for just one, you should download and give each one a week or two on your machine to see what fits you better. Like Forklift, Path Finder also has a free trial period. If you get hooked, it will run you $34.95.
This review was recorded and posted on Surfbits MacReview Cast #112
When working in Apple’s Finder I often find myself opening multiple finder windows to allow me to work with files across different locations. Sure you can technically do this within one finder window but it never seems to work quite right and it inevitably leads to a lot more clicks than necessary. Somebody at BinaryNights must have had the same revelation because when you open up Forklift, the first thing that strikes you is the dual pane window. This isn’t rocket science but the simplicity of it is refereshing. You can assign the left and the right panes to different locations and file management will suddenly get much faster and much easier. It even supports tabs and drawers so you can have collections of locations on each pane making the set up of of your source and destination even easier.
When I say “destinations” I’m not just talking about a few directories on you home drive or an external USB drive. Forklift gets the whole enchilada: FTP, SFTP servers, Amazon S3, iPods, Bluetooth devices and just about anything else you can plug into or airport link with. Using forklift I am able to upload files to my FTP server just as easily as if I were transferring between two directories. It even can look at archived files as if they were unscrunched. I don’t have an Amazon S3 account but reading the forums and other web postings this appears to run fine. I spent some time trying to get it to talk to my Verizon Treo 650 but was ultimately unsuccessful. I don’t think this has anything to do with Forklift and a lot to do with and phone. Except for that hiccup it really felt as if I was working on a local drive the whole time.
The application gives you multiple ways to find and sort items from spotlight searches to smart folders to favorites tabs. Whether you are the neat and tidy hierarchical type or a bit more of an anarchist that relies on sorts and smart folders, Forklift will accommodate you.
Another nice feature is the “Preview”. I know a lot of people are excited about the Quicklook feature in Leopard. Forklift has a similar, though not quite so slick, version built in. When you click an image or pdf you see a little version in the icon view. It is very helpful for sorting through images, especially when I am not disciplined in naming them. It does not render previews for all file types. For instance, OmniPlan and OmniOutlilnes just give you an icon, whereas OmniGraffle, pdf, and photo files give you an accurate representation.
Forklift fully supports Growl so my Mac can still tell me when it is done with a file transfer. Likewise it has the spring loaded folders like the Tiger Finder but I rarely used them since the dual panes made it unnecessary.
In addition to providing an excellent file management tool, it also has an application deleter. This is an additional tool in Forklift that hunts down all related files for any application you want to delete. This helps keep the junk off your drive. I ran it against AppZapper and it was comparable. One time, with ChronoSync, AppZappers found a few files Forklift didn’t, but just that once out of ten tests.
I really tried to make it work using keyboard navigation but never got the hang of it. I’ve only been using it a week and perhaps that would sort itself out with some time but I constantly found myself simply resorting to the mouse.
Forklift is an upgrade over the Tiger Finder. The simplified, dual pane interface, the previews, and the seamless integration with FTP and other media make this a no-brainer. You can pick it up at BinaryNights.com for $29.95. They also have a 15 day trial so you can check it out before buying.
This review, however, is not the end of my quest for Finder alternatives. Following this review I am shutting down Forklift and I will spend the next week working exclusively with Path Finder. It will be very interesting to compare and contrast these two applications next week and see how they all sort out.
As I sink deeper into the depths of Mac Geekdom, I’m becoming a bit dissatisfied with the Apple Finder. Fortunately, there are several very good replacements. I just spent the last week playing with Forklift and prepared a review that I’ll post after it airs on the next MacReviewCast. I’m spending this week working in Pathfinder. I’ll be reviewing that one next week and hopefully I’ll have a few intelligent recommendations. Of course I’m not forgetting Quicksilver which I actually use for quite a bit of file management.
Check back and see how it all pans out!
