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A companion to the traditional Mac Finder utility that bulks it up with a number of new features

A companion to the traditional Mac Finder utility that bulks it up with a number of new features

Vote: (3 votes)

Program license: Free

Developer: Tran Ky Nam

Version: 0.17.3

Works under: Mac

Vote:

Program license

(3 votes)

Free

Developer

Version

Tran Ky Nam

0.17.3

Works under:

Mac

Pros

  • Unlimited trial
  • Robust Mac Finder alternative

Cons

  • UI can be a bit overwhelming

XtraFinder is an alternative to the Mac Finder utility that adds many sophisticated features.

XtraFinder is a powerful tool for Mac that lets you explore files, locations, physical devices, virtual devices and much more. XtraFinder is a free software in a sense. The developer offers an unlimited trial, which means you can download it, install it and use it as often and as much as you like without ever paying anything at all—forever. If you want to upgrade to a paid license, it will cost you about the price of a cup off coffee, and regular and business users are expected to upgrade but not required to do so.

In order to appreciate XtraFinder, it helps to be familiar with Mac Finder, which is often just shortened to Finder and sometimes call Finder for Mac. Finder is a powerful tool for Mac OS X that helps you find, organize, preview and otherwise manipulate your documents. It works with a wide range of document types, including photos, videos, text files, emails, contacts and so forth. Better yet, it accesses not just the internal storage of your Mac but external storage and virtual storage, such as iCloud Drive.

Finder may seem a bit barebones to some. After all, it is streamlined for the casual user, and if you’re a power user, you may want a more sophisticated version. Enter XtraFinder. XtraFinder has all the core Finder features: favorites, iCloud support, locations, tags, preview pane and search. XtraFinder adds a lot to that selection, including new file, copy to, move to, copy path, create symbolic links, launch new terminal here, attributes, contents and so on and so forth.

Many of these features are added to the context menu system, which means that you can access them from practically anywhere without having XtraFinder opened. The program even supports queue for actions like cut, copy and paste so that you can keep on working rather than waiting for a process.

Another area where XtraFinder really shines compared to Finder is in customization. There are pages and pages of settings within categories like Menu, Features, Appearance, Keyboard, Tabs, Dual Panel and Other. Dictate how the program loads or how a particular feature behaves, and if you don’t like a particular feature, you can simply disable it in many cases.

The development track for XtraFinder has been impressive well. Development has been ongoing and at an incredible rate. Reported bugs are often patched the very same day. XtraFinder does get updated a lot. The program does check for updates and notify you, but it does not yet support automatic updates, so you’ll need to download those files and install them yourself.

The UI can be a bit overwhelming. We’re not sure it’s as well-optimized as it could be, and while you can customize it substantially, there are some fundamental aspects you can’t change. Nevertheless, this is an amazingly powerful tool, and you’ll acclimate to the UI if you use it enough.

Pros

  • Unlimited trial
  • Robust Mac Finder alternative

Cons

  • UI can be a bit overwhelming