Add to Chrome
Add to Edge
Add to Firefox
Add to Opera
Add to Brave
Add to SafariWhen comparing Avanquest PowerDesk vs fman, the Slant community recommends fman for most people. In the question“What are the best file managers for Windows?” fman is ranked 6th while Avanquest PowerDesk is ranked 21st. The most important reason people chose fman is:
Windows, Mac, and Linux are supported.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro In split verticle view, it has a tree & details view for each side
Font size is perfect and allows at least 65 lines on a 1920 X 1200 monitor.
Pro In split verticle view, it has a tree & details view for each side
Font size is perfect and allows at least 65 lines on a 1920 X 1200 monitor.
Pro Has a powerful file sync capability
Powerful file sync capability for keeping directory trees on two different drives in sync. Great when working with external drives or for backing up a laptop or smartphone to your PC Hard drive. Two vertical panes make it easy to copy files from one place to another using drag & drop
Pro Works on all operating systems
Windows, Mac, and Linux are supported.
Pro Simple to use
Pro Makes finding commands *by name* easy
Pro Slick
Cons
Con Lacking support / updates in recent years
Lacking signs of active support in recent years, which is too bad because it was the best Windows File manager out there back in the Windows 7 era. Avanquest had really blown it. But if you have unused licenses, it is still usable.
Con Slow & bug-ridden
This program used to be an outstanding file manager for the Windows platform (Mike Kronenberg's "WizManager"). Several acquisitions later, it's slow, bug-ridden & has had almost no developer input for many years. Don't waste your money on this one!
Con Another acquisition, no redemption in sight
PowerDesk 9 has this really neat annoyance that causes it to go back to its (current?) mothership and request that you re-enter the serial number so that you can continue using the program. It's hard to determine what causes this program to do this, but it does happen. If the serial number re-entry doesn't work, and oftentimes it doesn't, Tech Support recommends that you uninstall the program, then go to the Tech support website to get the "latest" edition that supposed to reinstall with the original serial number, but it doesn't work. This was once a great program but now VCOM owns them and no sign of updates, corrections, bug fixes, even low level customer notices.
Con No (text) file viewer
Con No explicit bookmark support for directories
It though remembers the visited directories and allows to search in this list in most-recently used order and by name.
Con Mainly for key-board-orientated users
The interface is most naturally navigated by arrows and keystrokes. The target market is software developers.
Con Has no menu bar
Hence it is not well suited for visually orientated users which find or remember commands by using a mouse and a menu. Even the fman's hero Sublime Text uses a menu bar.
Con Requires email address to download
Doesn't say what it will do with this data. It is in contrast to the new laws in Europe where only necessary information is allowed to be collected. A download should not require an email address.
Con Still quite buggy
So, for example, sorting only is remembered if triggered by command and not be clicking the table column header using the mouse.
Con Settings can't be found by the GUI
You need to know which files to edit.
Con Default dark theme
No choice between dull-dark or fresh-light.
Con No portable bundle available
On Windows only a net-installer is available.
