My Best File Manager: WinNc

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The best ever Windows file manager program that I’ve used is WinNc. There is a trial version that runs an unlimited amount of days.

It’s modelled after the DOS Norton Commander, if you remember that, and came out right after NC was no longer available. It’s kept the same two-panel format over the years and has upgraded from at least Windows 3.0 (or maybe even earlier, I started using it in Windows 3.0) and is now Windows 11-ready. The developers are in the Netherlands.

I use it primarily to synchronize my laptop with my PC. But, I’ve found it useful for comparing folders or files (including text files), and changing time stamps. You can also compress, decompress, create a self-extracting file, encrypt, decrypt, zip and mail, split files, merge files. It has commands for searching, renaming, editing, viewing, copying, moving, creating a new folder, deleting, calculating file size, creating a file list, saving a MP3 playlist, undoing, redoing, and more.

At the top of the screen across the two panels, you can create tabs and pin them for whatever two-panels you want to work with. You can also create tabs at the top and/or the bottom of each panel for whatever folder you want to show up in the panel. You can save your configuration and load or reload configurations at will.

At the top of each panel are navigation tools (back, forward, up, Documents, Desktop, Favorites, Drive, Network path, FTP) and at the bottom of each panel are tools for selection, deselection, refreshing, setting the path, and panel search.

It can be easily customized for Theme (various versions of Windows, Total Commander, Norton Commander, FreeCommander), Layout , Visual features (for toolbars, colors, presence or absence of tabs, colors, tab style, 16 different languages), Settings (search options, quick access options, synchronize options, undoing deletion to the recycle bin, turning off confirmation dialogs, setting the active panel for synchronization, file associations, ), Panel options (using a long time format, file size display, strict file compare time, natural sort order,…)

Here’s a snapshot of the configuration I have right now.

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Is there a difference between the free and paid?

cheers, Paul

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@Paul T

WinNc website says:

“Registering will grant you support by mail and from the help desk and will unlock the options panel for more features and customization. ”

Not sure what features and customisation would be enabled though.

Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 Core Ultra 7 155H 32GB Win 11 Pro 23H2 (22631.5335)
Dell Inspiron 15 7580 i7 16GB Win 11 pro 24H2 (26100.4061),
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Location: UK

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Tell me or show me what features you have with the free and I’ll tell you what additional features come with the paid. It has lots of features and I have no idea what is missing with the free, because mine is a paid one. I bought it over 20 years ago and I paid only once.

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After installing WinNc free, on first start, Kaspersky threw a wobbly thus:

Was Kaspersky being too cautious?

Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 Core Ultra 7 155H 32GB Win 11 Pro 23H2 (22631.5335)
Dell Inspiron 15 7580 i7 16GB Win 11 pro 24H2 (26100.4061),
Microsoft 365 Version 2504 (18730.20122)
Location: UK

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Well, I’ve used WinNc everyday for 20 years. It passes Defender and McAfee Internet Security, which comes from my IP provider.

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John

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@WCHS,

I’ve sent the report to WinNc on Facebook to see if they can shed any light but I have a feeling it’s Kaspersky being oversensitive. (Again)

Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 Core Ultra 7 155H 32GB Win 11 Pro 23H2 (22631.5335)
Dell Inspiron 15 7580 i7 16GB Win 11 pro 24H2 (26100.4061),
Microsoft 365 Version 2504 (18730.20122)
Location: UK

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I do believe that you are right on this. Perhaps, it’s because it’s the first time that Kaparsky has encountered it??

I ran my setup.exe (10.1.0.0 32-bit) through VirusTotal and it comes out clean in all 37 A/Vs listed there, including Kaparsky. I also downloaded setup.exe (10_1_0_0.exe 64-bit) and it comes out clean as well.

VirusTotal

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@WCHS,

The install is fine but the problem comes when (first) running WinNc.

Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 Core Ultra 7 155H 32GB Win 11 Pro 23H2 (22631.5335)
Dell Inspiron 15 7580 i7 16GB Win 11 pro 24H2 (26100.4061),
Microsoft 365 Version 2504 (18730.20122)
Location: UK

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OK, I get it now. What happens when you run it a second time? Does Kapersky have a whitelist? If needed, you could put the .exe file on its whitelist. Your earlier remark that Kapersky is oversensitive seems to be on target. But, if doesn’t get in the way of using WinNc, go ahead and try it out.

It has great features and I find it especially useful for synchronizing my two laptops, comparing files and folders, and changing time stamps, particularly when I have accidentally saved a file that didn’t need to be saved and I needed to have the old time stamp on it. The two laptops are connected via the Windows 10 home network.

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@WCHS, can WinNc perform text searches within files?

For example, if I know that I have a file somewhere on my computer containing the text, “Mary had a little lamb,” but I can’t remember the filename and have no idea which folder that file might be in–can I use WinNc to look for that text string? And if so, how long would the search take compared to Windows Explorer (or File Explorer, as they now call it)?

Thanks!

 

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Yes, it can search for specified text in files. I have attached an example of the search request for finding ‘compiled’ in the documents in the Documents folder. Notice that it can search in subfolders, can search in archives, and you can do some filtering, if you want. In addition, you can set files or folders to be excluded, as well.

The second attachment shows the search results, listing the files containing the search term. The search term was found in .txt, .exe, and .dll files. I have set the option to show the path of the found file, which is displayed in the second line

There are some differences between a text search in WinNc and in Explorer. WinNc does not check in program-specific files such as .docx, .xlsx, & .pdf files, but Explorer will. On the other hand, WinNc searches in .exe and .dll files, whereas Explorer does not. Also, Explorer finds the search term in file names at the same time it finds it inside a file and makes the distinction by highlighting the search term in file names; to find the file path, you have to right-click on the result, and choose ‘open file location’ from the context menu. WinNc can do a text search independent of a ‘find-in-a-file-name’ search

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Cybertooth

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The developer’s website lacks sufficient information, with even the screenshots being too small to discern details. Given these limitations, it’s unclear why we should consider purchasing from them.

That’s where websites like this one come in handy.

I’m in need of a File or Windows Explorer manager for a specific purpose: to quickly save and access recently opened folders and files from applications. This crucial feature was removed in Windows 10 (possibly Windows 8, but I transitioned from Windows 7 to 10 and then downgraded from Windows 11 back to 10).

Sure, you can create shortcuts to the Windows Quick Access menu to view your recent files, but you still can’t seamlessly open an application and retrieve the file you were last working on unless the application itself has that feature. When you open a file and want to save it in a recently used location, you can’t do so in Windows 10 or 11. For example, if I’m using Notepad and need to retrieve a recent file, the Quick Access menu appears, but my recent files and folders are nowhere to be found. Unless I’ve saved them in a folder already pinned in Quick Access, I have to search for the file.

So, does this utility fulfill my requirements? I avoid using applications like Windows Blinds or StartisBack like the plague, as past experiences have shown they cause instability or loss of functionality in Windows.

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You can make a shortcut to go here:

C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent

NOTE:  I’m running Win 10.  I’m assuming it will work in Win 11.

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You can put the shortcut (name it Recent Items) to C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent in Quick Access.

You can also put Recent Folders in Quick Access.

If you put them at the top of the Quick Access list, then if you put File Explorer on the Taskbar and you right-click on the File Explorer icon, you will get a jump list at the top of which is both Recent Items and Recent Folders.

Which means that you can access Recent Items and Recent Folders in two ways: via Quick Access or via the File-Explorer jump list.

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HMm wrote:

I avoid using applications like Windows Blinds or StartisBack like the plague, as past experiences have shown they cause instability or loss of functionality in Windows.

I use either StartIsBack or WindowBlinds on different post-Win7 PCs, and I haven’t observed any instability or loss of functionality. What have you experienced in this regard?

StartIsBack and Open-Shell will bring back the “Recent Items” list in the Start Menu. (I have little experience with Stardock’s Start Menu replacement, but use WindowBlinds to bring back the Vista/Win7 look.) I find this list of 15 items invaluable. These Start Menu replacements will also list recently or frequently used programs, each with its own link to its 10 most recently opened files. Together with the Recent Items list, I use these methods around 80-90 percent of the time in preference to other ways of opening files.

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