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Add to SafariWhen comparing Caja vs PCManFM, the Slant community recommends PCManFM for most people. In the question“What are the best file managers for UNIX-like systems?” PCManFM is ranked 10th while Caja is ranked 16th. The most important reason people chose PCManFM is:
General use, and most operations, are snappy and responsive.
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Easy to configure
Pro It has a reasonable set of features, out of the box
Not too much cluttered, but enough customizable.
Pro Caja script extension makes it more useful
Caja script extension adds your script in script menu, then passes the file name as a parameter. This allows you to run operation which is not included in Caja.
Pro Allows you to access remote or local locations
You can click the Files entry in the panel to access a specific location (remote or local), connect to a certain server (FTP, SFTP, SAMBA, etc.), access your bookmarks, open a new window, as well as to change its default functionality.
Pro Open or run as administrator in the right-click-menu of the mouse
Pro It just works
Customizable and clean, this is crushing that garbage nautilus, the overrated p.o.s. gnome destroyed.
Pro Lightweight
General use, and most operations, are snappy and responsive.
Pro Simple
PCManFM is a very lightweight and simple file manager.
Pro Can open folder as root
PCManFM can open different folders as root, this way you don't have to use the terminal to move around files for which you need root permission.
Pro Auto mounts drives
PCmanFM automatically detects and mounts available drives.
Pro Supports "quick-directory" typing
While in a PCManFM window, typing either a "~" or a "/" will automatically start typing into the location bar, allows for tab completion, and pressing Enter goes straight to the typed directory.
Pro More RAM is available for other processes, and the system uses less swap
Overall, the system becomes faster.
Pro Uses tabs instead of new windows
Tabs can practically be managed just as in a browser, so you don't end up with windows open all over your desktop. New tabs automatically start in the same location.
Pro Fastest starup
PCmanFM is the fastest GUI file manager to start.
Pro No back seat driver
Does not obstruct professional work by engrossing root warnings.
Pro Compact
Supports fast failure resolving in bulky configuration and log folders.
Cons
Con Frequently very slow to transfer multiple small files
Folders move fine, but it chokes on files, where other browsers take seconds.
Con Mostly unconfigurable
There are not many ways to configure Caja to fit your needs. Besides what can be seen in the settings button you can't configure it further.
Con Sort Order / Limited Configuration Options
It ignores special characters when sorting files and folders. Underscore, tilde, bracket, ASCII characters, .... everthing not recognized in numeric/alpha sorting. Also, I found no way to remove the triangle to reveal contents of sub-folders rather than opening... but I did quit looking after several seemly unalterable functionality issues.
Con Very slow to list thousands of files
Unusably so.
Con Can't extend with scripts
Unlike Nautilus and Caja, this can't extend with scripts. If script extension is added it can become a really good FM.
Con Some operations are slow
Because it tries to be as lightweight as possible and tries to use very little RAM. This can unfortunately lead to it being slow sometimes.
Con Right-click option choice limitation
You can only choose one option in the right-click menu instead of being able to select multiple at once.
Con Uses a bit more RAM than thunar
Thunar uses less RAM but you pay in slower startup and stability.
Con Directory trees can be confusing
Starts you off in a directory tree that is your home folder as if that is the very top. (Just use a single tree as it actually is and expand appropriately).
