pcmanfm-qt vs fman
When comparing pcmanfm-qt vs fman, the Slant community recommends fman for most people. In the question“What are the best file managers for UNIX-like systems?” fman is ranked 13th while pcmanfm-qt is ranked 36th. The most important reason people chose fman is:
Windows, Mac, and Linux are supported.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
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 Simple
PCManFM is a very lightweight and simple file manager.
Pro Has a lot of features
... that only Dolphin, Krusader, Nemo & Nautilus has onboard -
but this one is a small footprint reliable friend.
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 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 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.