xplorer² vs Directory Opus

It's hard to find a free or low cost alternative that is as quick, and stable, especially managing NTFS volumes on a remote NAS. It still freezes and chokes, just not as often as newer applications, like XYplorer, Free Commander, etc.

Full search, sync files & folders, show folder sizes, robust copy, native file viewer, tabs within panes, very configurable display, command shell, bookmarks, etc.

xplorer² gives users the ability to save the state, so the program will open with the same state the next time it's used.

Search based on numerous file attributes. Search in ranges. Search inside files. Save search parameters for future use.

Let's say you are located in a given subdir that has 5 subdirs. You can see the contents of all the files located in those subdirs as if they were stored in a single dir. Very useful when you want to locate files that you don't know exactly where they are located and searching is not an option.

There is a free version available, xplorer² Lite, for non-commercial use.

Let's say that today you are going to update a letter located in subdir X, continue developing a spreadsheet located in subdir Y, review a presentation located in subdir Z, review a project located in subdir W, etc.. You can drag and drop all these files to the Scrap Area and open and work with them, save them, open again, continue tomorrow and the files will be updated in their respective original locations. No need to navigate and navigate and navigate.

Can display the size in bytes of every folder listed in the current branch of the tree.

Pay once, get all future updates. Standard version licenses are also available.

Allows customizing toolbars and keyboard hotkeys. Has a full scripting interface that allows in-depth customization options.

Unique Explorer Replacement mode provides a full replacement for Windows Explorer.

Can easily synchronize files and helps the user in finding and deleting duplicates.

Allows batch renaming, viewing and editing file metadata.

Available in both 32 and 64 bit versions.

This is done with Directory Opus' inbuilt label and its Status system.

Supports SFTP (Secure FTP via SSH, port 22)
Also supports FTP via SSL (port 990) and FTP via with TLS.
Caution: FTP is a paid additive to the product although in relative terms it's not too expensive (around $12).

Supports archive formats like Zip, 7Zip and RAR.

The scripting capabilities of DirectoryOpus extend from version to version. You can do a whole lot of unheard stuff with that.

Custom columns, custom commands, handling events etc. just to name a few things. It even has a GUI editor to allow for custom interfaces for your file management and scripting tasks. Even though mastering it is not easy in the beginning, it's worth it in the long run.

From powerful RegEx renaming to batch macro renaming, Directory Opus can compete with any third party renaming tool.

You can launch via a toolbar button or user definable custom context menu items.

Directory Opus allows users to customize the status bar to display helpful information based on several different factors, including file counts, types, disk space, and others. The status bar can also be customized separately for dual displays.

Image marking adds the images you select to a different file, making it easy to sort through a large number of them.

Directory Opus has tabs for each view, which are customizable in size, appearance, functionality, etc.

The Directory Opus community has created everything from dark themes to themes emulating other applications.

Directory Opus includes 8 standard layouts, including Commander, Dual Horizontal, Dual Vertical, Explorer, Filmstrip, Images, Metadata and Single. In addition, users can create and save their own layouts to suit specific needs and file processes.

Directory Opus includes a comprehensive configuration backup and restore feature. Users can backup their customized configuration at any time and restore a previous configuration as needed.

Directory Opus allows users to create custom filters that can be saved and recalled as needed.

Directory Opus includes a powerful independent image viewer with configurable toolbar, menus and hotkeys.

Directory Opus allows users to sort files as they want in manual sorting mode.

Directory Opus allows the user to use a single tree or dual independent trees with the dual file display.

Directory Opus has an option to include relative size and date graphs. These can be displayed independently, in their own columns, or nested behind the size and date columns respectively. They can also be toggled on and off with a simple button as needed.

Directory Opus offers an extension of standard color labeling in the form of status graphics that can be shown as an additional column in the file display. Standard graphics include "Checked" and "Flagged." Users can also create and use customized status labels.

Directory Opus supports both 4K and 5K monitors.

Directory Opus includes integrated image conversion functionality, allowing users to convert images to different formats, rotate and flip images, and resize images. Functionality can be used on a single image or large batch of images.

Directory Opus includes over 150 standard columns in various groups, ranging from "Name and Path" to "Metadata." In addition, users can create custom columns using a script.

This applies to both local and network drives.

Directory Opus users can use vertical tabs instead of horizontal tabs, if desired.

Directory Opus works with the Everything search program. A custom-built script allows users to conduct searches and view results within the Directory Opus file display.

The viewer in Directory Opus supports a huge array of file extensions (more can be added as plugins).
It is even able to show webpages in the viewer, when you select .url or .html files.

The customer support is very good.

Directory Opus has native support for Listary, allowing users to move even more quickly between directories and perform searches.

Lets you write scripts that have their own user interface with buttons, lists, checkboxes, text fields, etc.

Directory Opus offers thousands of user preferences. To help users find the preference they want, Directory Opus offers a search function within the Preferences dialog that identifies and highlights specific preferences associated with the user's search term.

Directory Opus supports TeraCopy.

Directory Opus is able to sync your photos with Flickr.
You can customize which file collections to sync, and the save location for each file collection

Script functions can be written in WSL Script, DOS Batch Mode, VBScript, JScript or directly calling Opus or External applications. /mnt/c paths understood by path fields. WSL mode in Find As You Type (FAYT). Copy path names in WSL format or Windows format.

Since it makes your folder structure rather transparent and allows to easy checks through dual tabbed layout, it helps you to not delete files wrongly.

More often than not, developers reply within minutes (even seconds) on their great forum. Never seen anything like it before.

Ways for sound designers to play and stop audio files for fast previewing.

Directory Opus gets updates all the time -- fixes, significant improvements and often new features are released multiple times a month. Improvement and feature requests by users are taken in consideration and you can often find your bug report resolved or improvement request fulfilled in one of the beta versions that follow soon.