Expanding the functionality of Total Commander. Using Total Commander

Hello readers!

Standard Windows Explorer allows us to see folders, shortcuts and other information, but does not display system files.

In order to edit system files, we need a special manager, for example, Total Commander.

And also this manager is much more convenient than the usual explorer.

Not sure what it is? I will explain to you how to use Total Commander and, in fact, what this program is for.

Total Commander functionality

With the Total Commander manager, you can perform absolutely any operations with files and folders on your computer or mobile device.

Let's just say Total Commander is an improved version of the standard explorer.

Thanks to the integration of ZIP-packer, this manager is able to open, edit, pack and unpack archives without a pre-installed archiver. In order to perform this action, you just need to click on the archive in the program window.

If you are unfamiliar with such a concept as an archive, then read these articles:

But most of the users are attracted to this program for another reason. With Total Commander, you can cut large files, and then, using the same Commander, glue them back together. This is a very useful option, especially when a large image of a video game, for example, does not fit on one flash drive or disk.

Speaking about Total Commander, it should be mentioned that this file manager supports the Drag & Drop mode (drag and drop). Thanks to this function of the software interface, you can copy data to any section by simple drag and drop. But personally, I have always found it more convenient to use hotkeys, for example:

F5 - copy
F6 - Move
F7 - Create New Directory
F8 - Delete File or Folder

Among other things, Total Commander can work with hidden files (edit, copy, move or delete them).

Manager navigation

After we install and run this software, we will see 2 windows (program sections).

In each of the sections, you can open a specific media or folder. This can be done by clicking on the buttons at the top of the screen (there is a button for each disk).

You can copy or move data from one window to another by simply dragging and dropping files or using hot keys. No more messing with a dozen open Windows windows!

Plugins for Total Commander

Despite its huge range of possibilities, you can install additional plugins (libraries that extend the functionality of the utility) on Total Commander.

Thus, you can install a player in the application (for viewing multimedia), various Unlockers for deleting protected system files, etc.

But by and large, these plugins are designed to work with documents inside the program, access remote archives via a network connection and to get complete information about documents.

FTP client in file manager

This client will be very useful for those who store their data on online disks and for transferring files between Commander users.

FTP client is a protocol for transferring data to FTP servers.

By and large, this client is used by webmasters. With it, you can upload to your site or edit the files and folders of the site without any difficulties and hassles.

If suddenly you have a desire to create your own personal website or blog, then read the article:

File manager for smartphone

The Commander itself was originally developed for Windows, and was called Windows Commander, but now versions for Android have already been developed. This is a very strong breakthrough in the world of mobile technologies, since now you can manage your files in a few simple clicks, bypassing the standard file manager.

Mobile Total Commander also sees hidden and system folders on the device, which helps to get a closer look at your smartphone.

Ultimately, there is absolutely nothing difficult in using Total Commander, you just need to customize the program for yourself. Without a doubt, if you understand the navigation of this program, it will become simply an irreplaceable utility for you.

If you are still experiencing some difficulties, then I recommend taking the training course “ Secrets of productive computer work". The course describes in detail the work with the described file manager and more.

Share the information you received with your friends on social media. networks, take together the first step towards the new world of computer technology. Don't forget to subscribe to blog updates. See you!

Yours faithfully! Abdullin Ruslan

Surely, many of you at least once in your life had to use file managers... The most popular of this kind of programs is undoubtedly Total Commander... It has colossal functionality, an unusually convenient interface that you can customize individually.

I will not describe each setting item. I will only touch on those that, in my opinion, can really be useful for many users. We will consider the configuration features using the example version 8.01 , which is the most relevant at the moment.

To open the menu settings Total Commander, you must select in the main menu of the program Configuration --> Setting ... This will open a window containing a large number of different tabs.

Window view

The tab allows you to customize the components of the main Total Commander window. A check mark placed opposite each element, respectively, enables the display of this interface element.

Toolbar Is a special panel located under the main Total Commander menu. Contains a number keysthat may be useful when working.

Disk buttons - in my opinion, a very useful interface element. Located below the toolbar and contains buttons for all devicesinstalled on your system (hard disks, physical, virtual drives, flash drives, external media). Convenient in that you can switch between disks using the mouse pointer.

Two panels of disk buttons - disk panels are displayed above both panels in Total Commander.

Flat - disabling this item makes the disk buttons voluminous.

Disk selection window - the item is located below the disc buttons. Allows you to select a disc from the drop-down menu.

Folder tabs - the element allows opening several tabs at once within one panel. You can switch between tabs either using the mouse pointer or hot keys Ctrl + Tab , Shift + Ctrl + Tab .

File panel title (with current name) - the item is located below the folder tab. Contains complete way to the folder from which you are currently viewing files. The path can be copied using the mouse pointer.

Tab headings - in other words, the headings of the columns with the characteristics of the files being viewed (name, type, size, date).

Status bar - located at the bottom of the Total Commander window. Contains information about size selected files / folders, total quantity files / folders at this level.

Function key buttons - located at the very bottom. Serve to perform operations over files / folders (view, edit, copy, move, create a directory, exit). Each button has a label containing a hotkey associated with it. Those. can be controlled by both the mouse and the keyboard.

Flat interface - when turned on, some elements seem to merge with each other.

Show hidden / system files - turns on the display of hidden files, which is often useful.

Long filenames - the setting is necessary for the correct display of long file names, as well as Cyrillic characters in the names.

Show square brackets around folder names - for me personally, this setting is insanely annoying.

Sorting method - boldly put the alphabetical one.

Sorting directories - it is better to set As files, otherwise the folders will not be organized.

Tabulators

Here the interesting settings are only:

Display the number of folders at the bottom - will be displayed in the status bar.

Dimensions in panels + Status bar - sets the format for displaying file / folder sizes. It all depends on the user's preferences. For me, for example, it is convenient to display in the form floating (x.x K / M / G) - the size is displayed in kilobytes / megabytes / gigabytes rounded to tenths.

Folder tabs

Arrange tabs in multiple rows - when the setting is turned on, the tabs are arranged in a few next to each other. If the setting is disabled, then the tabs will have to be scrolled with the help of special arrows.

Open a new tab next to the current one - Someone may find it convenient.

Mark locked tabs with an asterisk * - any tab can be locked using the context menu called by the mouse. In this case, when you try to close this tab, the program will ask you for confirmation to delete the tab.

Basic operations

Prohibition of simultaneous launch of multiple copies of TotalCmd - when the setting is disabled, several copies of the program can be launched. Sometimes such a need arises.

Select file name only when renaming - very convenient, you do not need to perform additional actions to avoid editing enlargement.

Mouse selection - I am personally more accustomed to the left button.

Quick search

Search the current directory - sets the way to search for files. Those. You start typing a name on the keyboard, and Total Commander finds the files. In my opinion, the most convenient way is Only a letter.

I see no point in considering the rest of the settings. If someone needs it, I think we can figure it out for ourselves.

There are also some settings for the Total Commander interface available through the menu. On the menu View you can choose the type of display of the panel columns (short, detailed, comments, custom set of columns).

Menu View --> Panels one above the other allows you to change the location of Total Commander panels relative to each other.

You can also arrange the display of files (by name, type, date / time, size, no sorting).

It is convenient to switch between panels using a hotkey Tab... Source selection is also possible with Alt + F1 (for the left panel) and Alt + F2 (for the right).

With help Alt + F7 starts up search files. You can ask mask, if you know what specific file format you are looking for, in the form *.format ... This mask will find all files of the format format... You can set a specific search location (I mean a folder), you can search across all local drives, for a specific one.

On the search tab Additionally you can set the interval dateswithin which the search file was created. Here you can also set the sizerelative to which the search will be performed.

Highlighting files by pressing the key Space... At the same time, the size of the selected files / folders is calculated. A very useful function is contained in the menu Highlighting -\u003e section Copy ... You can copy just the filenames as well as the full paths to the files to the clipboard.

Sometimes one more function is useful - Files --> Change attributes ... It allows you to set the attributes of the selected files, as well as change the date of creation / modification of the file.

As a result, now you and I know how powerful file manager Total Commander is. And I have not yet described all of its capabilities.

The file manager Total Commander has truly outstanding functionality that most of its admirers do not even suspect about - usually only basic file operations and document viewing options are used. And in this article I have compiled the Top-5 of not the most famous, but very useful Total Commander functions that I use every day.

CTRL + B... This key combination allows you to show all files in a given folder and subdirectories without this very folder structure, that is, "all in one heap". For example, you need to see which file is the oldest or the largest (to delete them in order to clean up the disk), and also perform a batch rename. Otherwise, you would have to do it for each folder separately. Pressing CTRL + B again (or on the dial button) returns to normal view. Moreover, if you managed to move the cursor to the desired file, then pressing CTRL + B again will transfer you to the folder where it is, and the file itself will remain in focus under the cursor.

Batch rename... A powerful built-in function that allows you to perform renaming according to a specific algorithm for tens or thousands (and sometimes tens of thousands) of files at once. For example, you need to substitute a serial number at the beginning, change the extension to another, cut off or add part of the name, remove the extension, substitute the date or time, change the case of characters from lowercase to uppercase and vice versa, etc. Moreover, before performing renaming, it is possible to sort , by date, size or title. You can rename not all files in the directory, but only a few - then you need to select them first.

Counting the size of folders... Allows by pressing Shift + Alt + Enter to calculate the size of folders. It is very convenient to assess where the hard disk space has gone - the operation is performed in the root directory, or to find out which of the folders takes up the most space (for example, on a USB flash drive) and requires cleaning. The list output can be sorted by size (as well as files). The operation is similar to pressing the Space key on a directory, but it applies to all folders at once.

Create a copy of a file in the same directory, rename without changing the extension... Everyone is familiar with the F5 (copy) and F6 (move) buttons, but few people know that pressing Shift + F5 allows you to copy a file to the same folder (changing the name), and pressing Shift + F6 allows you to rename a file without displaying additional windows directly in the panel without affecting the file extension (it will not change).

Entering exe archives and CD and DVD images (iso, img) as folders... This function allows you to enter different archives as directories and perform standard operations, including those listed above (for example, calculating the size of directories). In addition, by pressing CTRL + Page Down, you can also enter self-extracting archives with exe extension or images of CD and DVD disks.

It is very useful. For example, to open an archived exe file without running it. If such an exe file has been infected with a virus, you can add or extract files from it without infection. It may also be necessary to extract one file from a CD and DVD image. Usually, for this you need to write the image file to a physical disk or mount it into the system (which only Windows 10 and later can do without installing additional programs).

Daily use of these functions will make working with files and documents much easier and will save you a lot of time. Let me remind you that, although Total Commander is paid, the author does not prohibit the use of the demo version, which has full functionality and differs from the purchased one only by displaying an additional window with a reminder at startup.

Hello dear readers of the blog site. Today we will talk about such an irreplaceable program for any computer user (and a webmaster, in particular) as Total Commander. Probably, for many people, the presence of this file manager on their computer has already become a vital necessity, and for some it (nee Windows Commander) is a kind of portal from which they start working on their PC.

Do you use Total or its analogues in your work? Are you using standard Windows Explorer? Strange, but understandable at the same time. What an unprepared user sees right after installing this program on his computer may puzzle him a little.

A bunch of "unnecessary" information about files, a lot of incomprehensible drop-down menus and not the best (in my opinion) initial set of settings inevitably lead to the fact that the user draws the wrong conclusion (the conductor is a must-have, and this is not clear what). With this article I want to try to show the potential of the commander and tell you exactly how it can be made "handsome".

Total Commander history, installation and nuances

First, let's plunge a little into the history of the creation and development of this file manager, and then we'll see what exactly can be made of this initially not very pretty, but at the same time ingenious creation. In general, the idea of \u200b\u200ba two-window version was implemented almost at the dawn of the era of computers.

Probably, some of the readers still remember Norton Commander, which was for many a window into the file world of Dos. All programs, games and other things users opened from this manager. Well, and, accordingly, copied, deleted, replaced and moved. Two-window operating mode was very convenient and did not require the use of a mouse to perform various operations, for this was assigned the appropriate hot keys.

Then, with the appearance of the first versions of the Windows graphical operating system, the explorer integrated into the "windows" became more and more widespread. But, alas, it was not so convenient. The emphasis in it was made on using the mouse (selection, dragging, right-click context menu) and, most importantly, a departure from the two-window mode of operation was carried out.

People suffered, groaned, but continued to use Windows Explorer, because they did not know that there were alternative options, and when they found out, it was already too late, because they were getting used to it. It was to eliminate this drawback under Windows that two-window file managers programs began to appear, very similar in appearance to the blue windows of Norton Commander.

The most prominent representatives were Far Manager and Volkov Commander that still exist. In appearance they were very reminiscent of the classic Norton. It was these programs that I used at the beginning of my acquaintance with Windows, because the conductor seemed to me then (and it seems now) an unsuccessful solution from all points of view.

But then I decided to try Windows Commander (Until 2002, Total was called that way, but then the small ones asked the developer to remove their patented word from the name). Actually, this is where the era of my mastering this file manager begins.

Total Commander is, in my opinion, a very good solution, because Far Manager and Volkov, with their DOS appearance and graphics, made me feel melancholy and discordant with the general surroundings of the windows.

Well, when I began to slowly delve into its functionality and feel the full power of its limitless possibilities and settings, it actually became the main program on my computer for me.

Do you know why Total Commander evokes so many enthusiastic responses from those users who could comprehend it? But because it allows you to save time on routine operations (we most often save, copy, delete or move objects or folders on a computer) and besides, it makes it possible in two clicks to do what you could only dream of, seeing the impotence of the conductor the tasks before you.

So, the first release of the program (then with the word Windows in the title) was released back in 1993. And for almost two decades now, it has very firmly taken a leading position in its niche. During this time, a lot of clones of Total appeared (among which there are many free distribution), which were no worse, and in some places even better than the original, but due to the reasons given below, the original is still ideal for many.

This is largely determined by the strength of habit, but the main factor of such vitality has become the presence of a huge number of plugins (additions) for the Commander, which allow you to implement an unimaginably wide range of tasks using this file manager. Among the plugins, both green lamers and incredibly smart programmers will find something interesting for themselves.

Even the developer of this miracle, Christian Giesler, said in an interview that initially he did not believe in such a power of plugins (although their support was originally added to the manager) and much of what is now implemented in Total through plugins would never have come into his head. A little later we'll talk about where you can download the extensions you need, what types they are divided into and how you can install them.

Also, the popularity of Total Commander is largely determined by the very weak degree of protection of its payment (until recently, it was considered "cool" in Runet when you have a computer full of expensive software). Yes, I forgot to say that this program is distributed under a Shareware license, which implies its free use for a month, after which you will have to pay an amount of about four tens of dollars.

But in fact, even after a month, the program will work properly, except that just before starting the program will continue to ask you to press one of the three buttons:

Actually, it's probably worth saying that you can download the Total Commander (infinite trial) of the current version on the page official site ... It is currently 32 and 64 bit 8.01 final. In fact, there is not much difference in them, but users think rather inertly and they need the same number of bit programs for a 64-bit operating system.

Since 2009, support for the Russian-language interface has already been wired into the distribution kit of this file manager (the help, however, will still be in English - to help you). During installation, you will be asked about the desired language and your intention to install all other language files.

Full Russian translation with the Russian help for the Commander (at the top right there is the "Help" button) can be downloaded from the official site. When you try to enter this archive through Total (this manager allows you to enter archives as in regular folders), then it will offer you to install this Russification:

If you don’t want to install the Russian help, you can use its version of the online - site with Russian help for Total Commander.

It should be noted that when installing the program to select a folder location of configuration files, you will need to click on the button "Set the path to the ini files" (when changing the operating system or transferring the settings of your Commander to another computer, it is very convenient to use a simple copy of these ini, and not remember where and what you set up there - thirty years ago ).

Yes, and your friends, relatives or acquaintances can install Total and immediately replace the existing wincmd.ini with your own (and copy the folder with your plugins to expand the functionality), thereby demonstrating not the ugly default Commander, but the masterpiece of usability and functionality you have created.

Immediately after installation, the program window will look something like this:

I do not like the default bold font, I do not like that the detailed display mode is selected, which simply scares an unprepared user with an abundance of information. I also don't like the names of directories in square brackets, showing extensions separately from files, the paucity of the toolbar, and much more. My current version of the ideal Total Commander looks like this:

In the left column you will find a list of organized sections with plugins, by going to which you will see their detailed descriptions, screenshots and download links. Although this site looks a bit abandoned, it nevertheless provides a lot of useful information.

In general, plugins for Total Commander are divided into several types. This becomes clear from the corresponding tab of the program settings:

I have quite a few extensions installed, for example, for the internal viewer (F3 - the viewer will open in an external tab or Ctrl + Q - the file will be viewed on the adjacent panel). These plugins have the extension.WLX and you can see all the extensions of this type installed by you by clicking the "Configure" button in the appropriate area:

Such an abundance of plugins in my Total Commander allows by selecting the desired file on the panel and pressing Ctrl + Q, see its contents on the adjacent panel, be it video, audio, Word document or any other object of a common format. If you use the arrows on the keyboard to navigate through the files, then, thanks to these plugins, their contents will be displayed in the next viewport.

In general, in my version of the program, all sorts of extensions are crammed even beyond measure, but the stock, as they say, does not tear your pocket. In addition to the site mentioned just above, plugins can be downloaded from the TotalCMD.net site.

If you are too lazy to look for suitable extensions yourself, then you can use my plugins... However, this will reset your Total settings and replace them with mine. If this suits you, or you are able to rip out the lines related to plugins from my Wincmd.ini yourself.

You just have to unpack it and copy the Plugins folder to the root directory of your manager (totalcmd), and the Wincmd.ini configuration file (the installed plugins are written in it) either also to the root of the totalcmd folder, or to the location that you specified for storing Wincmd when installing the Commander (see above).

Now let's talk a little for toolbarthat you can customize as you like. This is done quite simply - right-click on an empty space (or on the icon) of the toolbar and select the "Change" context menu item. If you clicked on the icon, then along with the above item, you will be able to delete, copy or cut an existing icon from the panel:

As a result, a window for adding a new item to this panel will open:

You will be able to create a button:

For each button you create on the toolbar, you can select an icon. Moreover, if there is nothing suitable in the default library, then no one bothers you using the button with two \u003e\u003e to find another icon library on your computer or select a separate file with an icon (for example, with the png extension). I will not teach you where to find a lot of beautiful icons, because this is contrary to the religion of this blog (well, or something like that).

What Total Commander can do (main)

It's hard to sort out its main features. It is clear that it allows a user-friendly way to sort, delete, copy and view information about all objects located on your computer or on network drives. Even the content of mobile devices can be viewed using plugins.

But besides this, Total Commander can and has a lot of useful things:

Search in it (Alt + F7) is in many ways superior to the search capabilities of the operating system. Webmasters will be especially useful search by file content (it helped me find the signatures). Remember I told you about such a wonderful tool as. When you use it to study your site, then with the search for CSS rules that are responsible for something on a web page, there are no problems, because the firebug itself will prompt the name of the style file and even the line in it.

Another thing is the search for the desired object in the folders of the site engine (CMS can contain several thousand separate files), which generates the Html code of a particular section of the web page. This is where the Total search for the contents of any number of files comes in handy. You can download the entire folder to your computer, or you can connect to the site via FTP using the FTP client integrated into this manager, which is essentially no worse than the one I have already described:

But even a regular search by name through Total Commander has very flexible settings (estimated weight range, creation dates, available attributes), which are hidden in the "Advanced" tab:

The FTP client integrated into this file manager allows you to connect to your site via FTP and work with its objects exactly as if they were on your computer. To select a connection, just press CTRL + F, and if you have not configured any connections yet, then in the window that opens, just click on the "Add" button. The settings are not much different from the one I described with FileZilla, but according to rumors, Total Commander has a problem with password security, which prompted me to switch to filezilla.
P.S. It turns out that Filezilla is also insecure, because it stores passwords unencrypted. Recently they were taken away from me, and after. However, I found a solution for myself that allows you to safely work with sites using FTP, both through Total Commander and through Filezila. If you are interested in this topic, then read about and.
Show all files without subdirectories (Ctlr + B) - if you are too lazy to climb through all the subfolders of the directory open in one of the tabs, you can use this function. If desired, then all these files can be copied (moved) to any folder open on the adjacent panel. It is sometimes very useful.
Batch rename (Ctlr + M) - select on any tab the required number of files to be renamed using a specific mask. The tool is very sophisticated and you can work wonders with it:
Directory Synchronization - Available from the Commands menu. Allows you to compare and supplement catalogs, for example, from a laptop and a desktop computer.
Internal associations - available from the "Files" menu. All objects that you open from Commander with a double click can be associated (configured to open) with any programs on your computer. And this can be done contrary to what associations you have configured in the system.
Depending on the number of archive plugins installed in your file manager, you can unpack (Alt + F9), pack (Alt + F5) and check (Alt + Shift + F9) archives of the types supported by these extensions directly in it. You can enter archives as in regular folderswhich is very convenient.
You can print to the printer a list of all the objects you have selected (it is also possible with subdirectories). Available from the "Files" - "Print" menu. You can also get a list of files using the corresponding Total commands or by selecting the appropriate item from the top menu "Start".
In the "View" menu, you can customize various display methods. Verbose mode is used by default, but less pressure on the brain is, in my opinion, "brief".
To view thumbnails of images, you can use the mode View Thumbnails (their size is set in the Commander settings). Of course, to view and work with photos, it would be better to use specialized programs (for example, my favorite), but sometimes it is not advisable to run a separate application for this.
It is possible that now this is not very relevant, but nevertheless, the opportunity of this manager may come in handy occasionally. I'm talking about the ability to cut a file into pieces no larger than the specified size, and then glue it. Items split and collect files are available from the menu of the same name.
There is also an opportunity to create and check a checksum for files.
As I already mentioned and showed above, for a million other commands provided in Commander, you can customize sets of hot keys or add buttons to the toolbar. The possibilities in this regard are simply endless.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site

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Total Commander functionality

The most useful functions, because of which this utility is popular with many, include:

Various types of operations with folders and files;
(Inner packing, Inner unpacking for ZIP, RAR, ARJ, GZIP, TAR, LZH and ACE file formats);
Cutting and assembling large files;
Function of group renaming of files and synchronization of file directories;
Built-in FTP-client, with SSL / TLS support, which allows opening up to 10 active connections;
Multi-tasking file search engine, including text search in any files, including multiple drives and FTP; search for copies of files; search within archives is organized;
Drag & Drop support (grabbing an element in one window and dragging it to another place);
Built-in file browser (lister) to view files of any size in binary, hexadecimal or text format using various encodings including "DOS", "ANSI" / "Windows", Unicode, UTF-8 and others;
Lots of hotkeys for editing, viewing, copying and deleting files (full keyboard control without a mouse has been initialized).

Because you are all familiar with the standard functions and key combinations under control, we will not talk about them, Total Commander supports all of them (remember always the standard key combinations);

Total Commander hotkeys

Now let's go through the main hotkeys that you see at the bottom of the window:

F1 - viewing any file using the lister plugin;
F4 - editing a file using Notepad or Notepad ++ (if this program is integrated into Total Commander);
F5 - Instantly copy a file or directory to the opposite directory, which is on the opposite side;
F6 - Moving files, directories to the opposite directory;
F7 - Create a new directory with the name of the current selection;
F8 - Delete fragment.

For example, if you press the Alt + F1 or Alt + F2 key combination, then you will see a menu for selecting a hard disk or removable media, in the first case from the left, in the second, respectively, from the left. For more information on hotkeys, see the help menu or F1.

Be sure to try the built-in FTP client, it is quite user-friendly and is often used for hosting. You can initiate a connection using the Ctrl + F key combination, or click the FTP icon in the toolbar, a menu will open, in which you need to click on the "Add" button and fill in the connection settings. After that, you need to save the changes and click on the "Connect" button. If all the settings are correct, then in one of the windows you can see the files from the server - you can perform various operations with them - copy, delete, rename, edit, etc. In the "Configuration" - "Settings" menu, you can manage many additional parameters, but in today's mini-review we will not talk about them.

So, today we reviewed the popular file manager utility Total Commander. I hope that the information provided will allow you to further explore all the complexities of the Total Commander program, which will help you completely abandon the mouse, as a result of which the speed of your work at the computer will increase significantly. You can download Total Commander from the manufacturer's official website, which will not be difficult to find.