Commander One 2.1 review: Mac file manager now works with iOS devices

For common Mac customers, the idea of a separate software simply to handle information and folders in all probability seems like overkill. After all, the Finder is free, baked proper into macOS, and does nearly every little thing one might ever need. But file manager apps are not only for energy customers, and when you’ve gone dual-pane, it’s arduous to return.

Transmit and Forklift are among the many most recognizable names within the Finder different subgenre, however the of us at Eltima Software have additionally been busy cultivating their very own resolution in recent times, and in case you can deal with the less-refined Windows-style UI, has a number of distinctive methods up its sleeve.

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Master and commander

Featuring a dual-pane consumer interface with assist for tabbed home windows, Commander One 2.1 doesn’t look all that completely different from its predecessor. The very first thing macOS Mojave customers will discover is the app now helps system-wide Dark Mode, a welcome addition that offers the in any other case button-heavy UI a extra streamlined look.

Dark Mode assist alone doesn’t go fairly far sufficient nonetheless, because the background of the twin file browser panes stay brilliant white by default. Thankfully, Commander One’s personal colour settings come to the rescue—switching to the Unpositive preset paints your complete consumer interface with the identical degree of eye-pleasing darkness.

The solely catch is that, after a 15-day trial interval, you’ll need to pony up $30 for the Pro Pack improve to make use of themes, however that buy unlocks a protracted checklist of different options too. In addition to searching native and network-attached volumes, the Pro model works with FTP and WebDAV servers in addition to cloud companies, including Box and Backblaze to the unique lineup (Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Amazon S3).

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Another new Pro characteristic is the flexibility to mount iOS or MTP devices along with Android, though within the case of iOS, an administrator password is required each time Commander One is launched because of Apple’s restrictions. The solely approach round this limitation is to disable the iOS extension altogether, which will be executed from the launch immediate or Preferences Extensions panel.

Less finesse

Although a welcome addition to its arsenal, Commander One’s implementation of iOS machine assist isn’t any substitute for devoted utilities like iMazing or PhoneView, each of which current cellular information in a extra elegant, user-friendly approach. By comparability, the extension is a down and soiled, low-level method to accessing iOS information, however one higher suited to superior customers who know what they’re doing.

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Such energy comes…