When comparing Path Finder vs TextWrangler, the Slant community recommends Path Finder for most people. In the question“What are the best power user tools for macOS?” Path Finder is ranked 36th while TextWrangler is ranked 65th. The most important reason people chose Path Finder is:
Path Finder is built around a modular interface with six customizable views. Show only the information you need, when you need it.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Heavily customizable
Path Finder is built around a modular interface with six customizable views. Show only the information you need, when you need it.
Pro Dual finder panes allow seeing two folders side-by-side
Pro Tabs
Pro Integrates useful utilities, protocols, viewers and editors
Path Finder can be configured to automatically open and edit word documents, text, and image files. It also has an integrated terminal, hex editor, can archive type files, and can handle file network protocols, such as ftp and afp.
Pro File tagging
Pro Batch renaming support
Pro Powerful file search
Pro Permissions
Pro Drop stack allows temporarily collect files for operations
Pro Git and Subversion
Path Finder has built-in support for Git and Subversion version control systems.
Pro 30-day free trial
A full-featured version of Path Finder can be evaluated for free for 30 days.
Pro Fast to start up
It starts up fast because is not bloated. It has all the essentials of a text editor.
Pro Free
Free but capable alternative to BBEdit.
Pro Built-in FTP/STFP browser
Edit remote files easily.
Pro Robust
Cons
Con Buggy
- Heavy load on the system after network drive activity
- Crashes sometimes without warning
Con Expensive
Con Inserted disks or mounted volumes do not show up in the left pane in Path finder
You have to dig into the menu bar to mount a disk in the pathfinder, a royal pain. Disks should just show up when inserted.
Con No Longer Maintained
Bare Bones, the developers of TextWranger, recently ended maintenance and support for the product. Per the Bare Bones website (https://www.barebones.com/products/textwrangler/): "We have sunsetted TextWrangler, and we encourage anyone interested in TextWrangler to download and use BBEdit instead."
Con Not Compatible with macOS High Sierra (10.13+)
Per the Bare Bones website (https://www.barebones.com/support/new-os.html): "TextWrangler is not compatible with High Sierra. We suggest that you use BBEdit as an alternative . . . ." Since Bare Bones officially sunsetted the product, it will unlikely be compatible with subsequent macOS release versions either.