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Windows Commander - Software Review and User Report

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Author/Publisher:

Christian Ghisler

Contact/Address:

www.ghisler.com

Software Review - Description

One of the very few freeware/shareware utilities you just can't do without. It magnificiently replaces the Windows Explorer (and formerly File Manager) and improves on it. It uses two parallel panes instead of only one, thus making managing files far easier than an Explorer-type interface ever will. The concept is far from new (you may recall Norton Commander for the good ole DOS, or perhaps CLImate for the good ole Amiga etc.) and was tried out even by MicroSoft themselves with their DOS Shell, yet it was abandoned in Windows for unknown reasons. I suspect they wanted so badly to impose a file manager of their own concept which would hopefully improve on that, that they forcefully and progressively abandoned the two-paned interface (File Manager still retaining some of the graphical outlook, but not the functionality, however) in favor of Windows Explorer (which is definitely not an improvement).

Software Review - Pros

The two-pane interface for one. Then, the capability to treat archives (zip, arj files etc.) as directories, drastically simplifying navigation and file management. Then, thorough control over your file structure, including the setting of the system attribute for files, quick viewing files in text, hex, binary and other modes, integration with another great freeware utility, IrfanView, built-in FTP (client), and so on.

Software Review - Cons

When moving files acroos directories on the same disk, it actually moves the file data and then deletes the original file! You can imagine how lightning-fast this process is when dealing with large files, say, over 50 MB... That's another assignment for the ole Windows Explorer which - thanks Gates! - just quickly shuffles some pointers in the FAT instead.
Doesn't treat Recycle.bin the way a Windows program should. It simply displays its contents as a cryptic directory listing instead of the corresponding NameSpace object. Actually, I'm convinced the author wanted it this way, since Windows Commander is meant as a more straightforward interface which will complement Windows Explorer rather than emulating it.
A heavier drawback is that Windows Commander sometimes doesn't delete to the Recycle.bin, although you tell it to, but simply deletes the file(s) from the disk (up to v4.54 at least); which may get quite annoying. Although that's nothing compared to the sheer incapability of Microsoft's own Windows 98 Explorer to correctly recognize the shift-del key combo - on my system, it consistently keeps prompting me do I wish to move the file(s) to Recycle.bin, although the whole purpose of this keyboard shortcut is exactly to let you physically delete file(s), not move them to the Recycled folder!

User Report - Tips, Tricks and Tweaks

There are lots of cracked versions of Windows Commander on the Net - however, at times, the nag intro screen is not all that's crippled: the program's functionality, too, gets crippled in the process. So I just wouldn't recommend downloading such versions - unless, that is, you don't mind if instead of zipping a directory, the program, say, formats your C: drive or something like that :(

You should keep in mind that, independently of the Direct Cable Connection, Windows Commander provides its own FTP-like parallel port connection as well. Here's an interesting excerpt from its Help file:
Troubleshooting

If the port connection fails, try the 'test' mode. To use it, select 'test' (instead of 'client' or 'server') on both sides! Windows Commander will then send a test pattern over the parallel port, which can be used by the receiving end to detect if the cable is OK or not. Both ends need to report that the cable is good, because each end can only test its side!
1. Both sides say 'the cable is good', but the connection still fails. Solution: Your cable is probably too long or the shielding isn't good enough. You probably need a shorter or better cable. Cables up to 5-10 m/yards should be OK.
2. Error 'could not load driver'. Solution: Make sure you have the cglpt9x.vxd in the wincmd directory (Win95/98), or you have the cglptnt.vxd installed (Windows NT, Windows 2000). Another possible reason: You have tried to create a shortcut to Wincmd32.exe on the desktop, but have copied the program instead! To fix this, delete the false shortcut and create a new one by right clicking on the desktop (new->link).
3. No reply at all. This can have several reasons: The wrong cable (not with crossed lines, but 1:1 connection), connected to wrong port, or non-standard ports. Solution: Make sure you have connected the cable to the correct ports (parallel, not serial), and you have chosen the right port number (LPTx). If this doesn't help, try a different cable!
4. Windows Commander detects that data is received, but shows a receive error. Reason: Wrong cable (wrong lines are connected), or a pin may be broken. Windows Commander will show which connections do not work.
Unfortunately we cannot offer any support for non-functioning parallel port connections.

The cable needs to have at least the following pins connected:
2 <----> 15
3 <----> 13
4 <----> 12
5 <----> 10
6 <----> 11
15 <----> 2
13 <----> 3
12 <----> 4
10 <----> 5
11 <----> 6
25 <----> 25 (Ground)
Windows Commander sports an extremely powerful batch-rename feature that can be invoked by pressing Ctrl-t.