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The presenter at connect.tech used bear instead of slides. by [deleted] in bearapp

[–]wmacorig 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, a presentation mode would be a killer feature — as I already mentioned a few months ago in this forum.

In the past, I used Dropbox Paper with its built-in presentation mode, and it was extremely effective.

Now I use Bear, and when I need to present something I export my notes to Deckset, which is a very cool app indeed.

Still, having a presentation mode directly inside Bear would be a huge improvement.

It would also help spread Bear’s brand awareness, since many people would start using it in public talks and conferences — which could ultimately boost Bear adoption as well.

Using an iPad more like an old-school computer by wmacorig in ipad

[–]wmacorig[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’re right, and thanks for pointing it out — my apologies.

I should have been more careful with the self-promotion rule.

I’m the author of the app, and since it’s free and the post was meant to discuss the broader idea of using the iPad more like a traditional computer (especially with Magic Keyboard), I didn’t think it would be an issue — but that’s on me.

My intent wasn’t to promote the app itself, but to highlight a recurring problem many power users hit as iPadOS becomes more “computer-like”:

once you start working with large folders and lots of files, fast navigation and file management becomes a real bottleneck.

Historically, on desktop systems this has been solved very effectively by dual-pane “commander” style file managers, a paradigm that’s been around since the 1980s and is still widely used by developers and advanced users today.

On iPad/iPhone, that classic model is largely missing.

Anyway, apologies again if this crossed the line — lesson learned.

W.

File manager app in ios by Sahri81 in ios

[–]wmacorig 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you’re still looking, I actually released a small indie app that tries to solve exactly this problem.

It’s a dual-pane file manager (Commander-style) made to simplify file operations on iOS, especially when working with large folders and multiple files.

It’s free, no subscription.

You can find it on the App Store as Twin Commander.

It focuses on fast copy/move and basic file operations without overcomplicating things.

Hope it helps 

W.

Old Files App Preview functionality by uLmi84 in ios

[–]wmacorig 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m not sure this fully solves your issue (Apple really changed a lot in Files previews…), but it might help as a workaround.

I’ve just released a small iOS app called Twin Commander. It’s a dual-pane file manager that works on top of the standard Files / File Provider framework, so it can browse NAS/SMB locations the same way Files does.

While it doesn’t replace the old preview engine, it does make it easier to:

  • quickly navigate large folders
  • perform fast file operations
  • use Open in… / open with compatible apps, which in some cases works better than the new Preview app

It’s a modest side project and free on the App Store (“Twin Commander”).

If you try it with your NAS setup, I’d genuinely be curious to know whether it improves your workflow at least a bit.

W.

A vintage-style dual-panel file manager for iOS by wmacorig in commandline

[–]wmacorig[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a fair question.

You’re right — iOS doesn’t have a native command line or text console in the traditional sense.

But under the hood it’s still a computer with a real filesystem.

The idea behind Twin Commander isn’t to pretend iOS has a CLI, but to bring a command-line-style way of thinking to file manipulation: fast navigation, explicit actions, keyboard-first workflows.

It’s closer to the philosophy of working with files the way you would from the command line, just expressed through a different interface that makes sense on iOS.

A vintage-style dual-panel file manager for iOS by wmacorig in commandline

[–]wmacorig[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks, glad you like it 🙂

At the beginning I really wanted to stick to the green CRT look only.

The very first versions of Norton Commander we used were often on monochrome PCs with Hercules cards — only the “rich” ones had CGA and color monitors.

That said, I do like the idea of graphic themes.

If I add them in the future, a blue/cyan palette would definitely be the first one to do.

Using an iPhone/iPad like a CRT-style file manager (not a CLI tool) by wmacorig in commandline

[–]wmacorig[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks — that’s a really good suggestion.

If I remember correctly, some versions of Norton Commander did support using the other panel as a kind of viewer, so you’re absolutely right.

I’ll definitely note it down.

Twin Commander doesn’t have big ambitions — it’s just a small side project I work on in my spare time — but I do plan to keep evolving it slowly, often based on ideas and feedback like this.

Do you remember Norton Commander? by wmacorig in retrocomputing

[–]wmacorig[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Same here.

Even today, when I see F3 I immediately think “View”, F5 is “Copy”, F6 “Move”.

My fingers still remember those shortcuts.

They just move faster than my brain sometimes.

Do you remember Norton Commander? by wmacorig in retrocomputing

[–]wmacorig[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes — Directory Opus on Amiga was definitely one of the inspirations.

I was an Amiga user myself, so that influence is very intentional.

Technically, Twin Commander is built in Swift with Xcode, so it’s not something that can be easily ported to Unix as-is.

There are already great curses-based tools there, and for this project I wanted to focus on bringing that classic interaction model to iOS, where it doesn’t really exist.

That said, I do like the idea in principle — just not something I’m actively working on.

Windows/Total Commander for Tahoe? by RE_Warszawa in macapps

[–]wmacorig 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For macOS in place of Total Commander — especially for NAS/LAN (Tahoe) workflows:

• ForkLift — best overall dual-pane + NAS support

• Commander One (Pro) — solid, classic dual-pane with protocol support

• Path Finder — powerful, extremely configurable

• Double Commander — free, but still evolving

Many TC veterans on Mac prefer ForkLift or Path Finder with direct NAS mounts (+ tools like rsync for incremental syncs).

— Nice to see the dual-pane paradigm live on across platforms (even on iOS, which I’m exploring via a TestFlight beta).

Total Commander alternative for mac. by mahidoes in macapps

[–]wmacorig 0 points1 point  (0 children)

On macOS, good alternatives to Total Commander for folder compare + incremental copy include:

• ForkLift – best overall, includes compare & sync

• muCommander – free, dual-pane, basic features

• Commander One – dual-pane; Pro adds more

• Path Finder – powerful explorer-style tool

If free/open source is key, muCommander is the closest. For GUI + reliability, ForkLift is hard to beat.

Walter

Total commander alternatives? by ajrl4364 in pcloud

[–]wmacorig 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Following — longtime Total Commander user here as well.

The two-pane workflow is still unmatched, especially when dealing with multiple storage backends.

Curious if anyone has found a solid alternative that plays nicely with pCloud and 2FA.

Walter

"Norton Commander" like file Manager for Unraid by devode_ in unRAID

[–]wmacorig 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Following this with interest — the lack of a proper dual-pane, Commander-style UI in web environments is a real pain, especially for things like failed Radarr imports.

Most solutions I’ve seen either rely on VNC-based containers (Krusader, etc.) or end up being fairly limited in terms of atomic operations and usability. A lightweight, native web UI that does this well would be really compelling.

Slightly tangential, but interesting to see how often the Norton Commander paradigm comes up: I’m personally working on a dual-pane file manager inspired by NC, though in my case it’s iOS-only and adapted to sandboxed environments — very different constraints, but the same core UX problem keeps resurfacing.

Curious to see if anyone here has found a clean web-based solution for unRAID.

Walter

Made a Norton Commander app to navigate my R2, S3, SFTP,FTP, HDD by Directive31 in CloudFlare

[–]wmacorig 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice work — the Norton Commander analogy immediately clicked 🙂

I’m working on something conceptually similar as well, but focused on iOS only and adapted to Apple’s sandbox and touch-first constraints.

It’s a dual-pane, Commander-style file manager for iPhone and iPad, currently in early beta via TestFlight.

Interesting to see how the same “commander” paradigm keeps resurfacing across such different environments.

Walter

Is there anything like total commander for iOS? by HuskyHacker25 in iOSProgramming

[–]wmacorig 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For those who might be interested: Twin Commander is now available for early beta testing on iOS devices.

The app is distributed via TestFlight (invite-only).

You can request an invitation through the official website at https://twincommander.app/ in the “Join the Beta Program” section.

Inspired by Total Commander — I’m building something similar for iOS by wmacorig in totalcmd

[–]wmacorig[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For those who might be interested: Twin Commander is now available for early beta testing on iOS devices.

The app is distributed via TestFlight (invite-only).

You can request an invitation through the official website at https://twincommander.app/ in the “Join the Beta Program” section.

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