Windows

Total commander installation of additional programs. Working in Total Commander

Hello dear users! In this lesson, you will get acquainted with such a program as Total Commander.

What is Total Commander?

I can no longer imagine my work at the computer without this wonderful program. If you do not know what this program is, and have not worked with it, then I strongly advise you to get acquainted with this program, install it on your computer, and every time you turn on the computer, start working with this program.

Those. turn on the computer and first of all launch Total Commander. Because it is very convenient program which replaces the standard Windows Explorer. Saves time when copying, moving files, etc. Better check it in practice, and below I will tell you with pictures how to install the program and how to work with Total Commander.

Installing Total Commander

First you need to download setup file Total Commander. To do this, go to the wincmd.ru website and download the installation file. Or you can find it through Yandex or Google.

How to work with Total Commander

The window is immediately visible, divided into two parts - (1,2). Selecting a disk for each window - (3). Function buttons - (4).

Let's say you want to copy / move a file from one folder to another. To do this, in one of the windows open the folder with the required file, and in the other - the folder where you want to copy / move this file.

Then you can simply drag the file with the left mouse button to another part of the window. Or you can use function buttons or press the corresponding key: f5 - copy, f6 - move and press OK:

Hello dear readers of the blog site. Today we will talk about such an indispensable program for any computer user (and webmaster, in particular) as Total Commander. Probably, for many people, the presence of this file manager on their computer has already become a vital necessity, and for some it (nee Windows Commander) is a kind of portal from which they start working on their PC.

Do you use Total or its analogues in your work? Are you using standard Windows Explorer? Strange, but understandable at the same time. What an unprepared user sees right after installing this program on his computer may puzzle him a little.

A bunch of "unnecessary" information about files, a lot of incomprehensible drop-down menus and not the best (in my opinion) initial set of settings inevitably lead to the fact that the user draws the wrong conclusion (the conductor is a must-have, and this is not clear what). With this article I want to try to show the potential of the commander and tell how exactly it can be made "handsome".

Total Commander history, installation and nuances

First, let's plunge a little into the history of the creation and development of this file manager, and then we'll see what exactly can be molded from this initially not very pretty, but at the same time ingenious creation. In general, the idea of a two-window version was implemented almost at the dawn of the era of computers.

Probably, some of the readers still remember Norton Commander, which was for many a window into the file world of Dos. Users opened all programs, games and other things from this manager. Well, and, accordingly, copied, deleted, replaced and moved. Two-window operating mode was very convenient and did not require the use of a mouse to perform various operations, for this was assigned the appropriate hot keys.

Then, with the appearance of the first versions of the graphical operating Windows systems, the conductor integrated into the "windows" became more and more widespread. But, alas, it was not so convenient. The emphasis was placed on using the mouse (selection, dragging, context menu right button) and, most importantly, a departure from the two-window mode of operation was carried out.

People suffered, groaned, but continued to use Windows Explorer, because they did not know that there were alternative options, and when they found out, it was already too late, because they were getting used to it. It is to eliminate this drawback under Windows that programs of two-window file managers began to appear very reminiscent of their appearance blue windows Norton Commander.

The most prominent representatives were the Far Manager and Volkov Commander that still exist. In appearance, they were very reminiscent of the classic Norton. It was these programs that I used at the beginning of my acquaintance with Windows, because the conductor seemed to me then (and it seems now) an unsuccessful solution from all points of view.

But then I decided to try Windows Commander(Until 2002, Total was called just that, but then the small ones asked the developer to remove the word they patented from the name). Actually, this is where the era of my mastering this file manager begins.

Total Commander is, in my opinion, a very good solution, because Far Manager and Volkov, with their DOS appearance and graphics, made me feel melancholy and discordant with the general surroundings of the windows.

Well, when I began to slowly delve into its functionality and feel the full power of its endless possibilities and settings, it actually became for me the main program on the computer.

Do you know why Total Commander evokes so many enthusiastic responses from those users who were able to comprehend it? But because it allows you to save time on routine operations (we most often save, copy, delete or move objects or folders on a computer) and in addition, it makes it possible in two clicks to do what you could only dream of, seeing the impotence of the conductor the tasks before you.

So, the first release of the program (then with the word Windows in the title) was released back in 1993. And for almost two decades now, it has been very firmly occupying a leading position in its niche. During this time, a lot of clones of Total appeared (among which there are many free distribution), which were no worse, and in some places even better than the original, but due to the reasons given below, the original is still ideal for many.

This is largely determined by the strength of habit, but the main factor of such vitality has become the presence of a huge number of plugins(additions) for the Commander, which allow you to implement an unimaginably wide range of tasks using this file manager. Among the plugins, both green lamers and incredibly smart guru-programmers will find something interesting for themselves.

Even the developer of this miracle himself, Christian Giesler, said in an interview that initially he did not believe in such a power of plugins (although their support was originally added to the manager) and much of what is now implemented in Total through plugins would never have come into his head. A little later we'll talk about where you can download the extensions you need, what types they are divided into and how you can install them.

Also, the popularity of Total Commander is largely determined by the very weak degree of protection of its payment (until recently, it was considered “cool” in Runet when you have a full computer of expensive software). Yes, I forgot to say that this program is distributed under a Shareware license, which implies its free use for a month, after which you will have to pay an amount of about four tens of dollars.

But in fact, even after a month, the program will work properly, except that just before starting the program will continue to ask you to press one of the three buttons:

Actually, it's probably worth saying that you can download the Total Commander (endless trial) of the current version on the page official site... On the this moment it is 32 and 64 bit 8.01 final. In fact, there is not much difference in them, but users think rather inertly and they need the same number of bit programs for a 64-bit operating system.

Since 2009, support for the Russian-language interface has already been wired into the distribution kit of this file manager (however, the help will still be in English - it will help you). During installation, you will be asked about the desired language and your intention to install all other language files.

Full Russian translation with the Russian help for the Commander (in the upper right there is a "Help" button) can be downloaded from the official website. When you try to enter this archive through Total (this manager allows you to enter archives as in regular folders), then it will offer you to install this Russification:

If you don’t want to install the Russian help, you can use its version of the online site with the Russian help for Total Commander.

It should be noted that when installing the program to select a folder location of configuration files, you will need to click on the "Set the path to ini files" button (when changing the operating system or transferring the settings of your Commander to another computer, it is very convenient to use a simple copy of these ini, and not remember where and what you set up there - thirty years ago ).

Yes, and your friends, relatives or acquaintances can install Total and immediately replace the existing wincmd.ini with your own(and copy the folder with your plugins to expand the functionality), thereby demonstrating not the ugly default Commander, but the masterpiece of usability and functionality you have created.

Immediately after installation, the program window will look something like this:

I don't like the default bold font, do not like what is selected verbose mode display, which simply scares an unprepared user with an abundance of information. I also do not like the names of the directories in square brackets, showing extensions separately from files, paucity of toolbars, and more. My current version of the ideal Total Commander looks like this:

In the left column you will find a list of organized sections with plugins, by going to which you will see them detailed description, screenshots and download links. Although this site looks a bit abandoned, it nevertheless provides a lot of useful information.

In general, plugins for Total Commander are divided into several types. This becomes clear from the corresponding tab of the program settings:

I have quite a few extensions installed, for example, for the internal viewer (F3 - the viewer will open in an external tab or Ctrl + Q - the file will be viewed on the adjacent panel). These plugins have the extension .WLX and you can see all the extensions of this type installed on your site by clicking the "Configure" button in the appropriate area:

Such an abundance of plugins in my Total Commander allows by selecting the desired file on the panel and pressing Ctrl + Q, see its contents on the adjacent panel, be it video, audio, Word document or any other object of a common format. If you use the arrows on the keyboard to navigate through the files, then, thanks to these plugins, their contents will be displayed in the next viewport.

In general, in my version of the program, all sorts of extensions are crammed, even beyond measure, but the stock, as they say, does not tear your pocket. In addition to the site mentioned just above, plugins can also be downloaded from the TotalCMD.net site.

If you are too lazy to look for yourself suitable extensions, then you can use my plugins... True, this will reset your Total settings and replace them with mine. If this suits you, or you are able to rip out the lines related to plugins from my Wincmd.ini yourself.

You just have to unpack it and copy the Plugins folder to the root directory of your manager (totalcmd), and the Wincmd.ini configuration file (it contains installed plugins) drop it either to the root of the totalcmd folder, or to the location that you specified for storing Wincmd when installing the Commander (see above).

Now let's talk a little for toolbar which you can customize as you see fit. This is done quite simply - right-click on an empty space (or on the icon) of the toolbar and select the item context menu"Change". If you clicked on the icon, then along with the above item, you will be able to delete, copy or cut an existing icon from the panel:

As a result, a window for adding a new item to this panel will open:

You will be able to create a button:

For each button you create on the toolbar, you can select an icon. Moreover, if there is nothing suitable in the default library, then no one bothers you using the button with two >> to find another icon library on your computer or select separate file with an icon (for example, with the png extension). I will not teach you where to find a lot of beautiful icons, because it goes against the religion of this blog (well, or something like that).

What Total Commander Can Do (main)

It is difficult to sort through its main features. It is clear that it allows a user-friendly way to sort, delete, copy and view information about all objects located on your computer or on network drives... Using plugins, you can even view the content of mobile devices.

But besides this, Total Commander can and has a lot of useful things:

Search in it (Alt + F7) is in many ways superior to the search capabilities of the operating system. Webmasters will be especially useful search by file content(it helped me find the signatures). Remember I told you about such a wonderful tool as. When you use it to study your site, then with the search for CSS rules that are responsible for something on the web page, there are no problems, because the firebug itself will prompt the name of the style file and even the line in it.

Another thing is the search for the desired object in the folders of the site engine (CMS can contain several thousand separate files), which forms Html code of this or that section of the web page. This is where the search for Total by the contents of any number of files comes in handy. You can download the entire folder to your computer, or you can connect to the FTP site using the integrated into this FTP manager a client that is essentially no worse than the one I have already described:

But even a regular search by name through Total Commander has a very flexible settings(estimated weight range, creation date, available attributes), which are hidden in the "Advanced" tab:

The FTP client integrated into this file manager allows you to connect to your website via FTP and work with its objects exactly as if they were on your computer. To select a connection, just press CTRL + F, and if you have not configured any connections yet, then in the window that opens, just click on the "Add" button. The settings are not much different from the one I described with FileZilla, but according to rumors, Total Commander has a problem with password security, which prompted me to switch to filezilla.
P.S. It turns out that Filezilla is also insecure, as it stores passwords unencrypted. Recently they were taken away from me, and after. However, I found a solution for myself that allows you to safely work with sites using FTP, both through Total Commander and through Filezila. If you are interested in this topic, then read about and.
Show all files without subdirectories(Ctlr + B) - if you are too lazy to climb through all the subfolders of the directory open in one of the tabs, then you can use this function. If desired, then all these files can be copied (moved) to any folder open on the adjacent panel. It can be very useful sometimes.
Batch rename(Ctlr + M) - select on any tab the required number of files to be renamed using a specific mask. The tool is very sophisticated and you can do wonders with it:
Directory Synchronization - Available from the Commands menu. Allows you to compare and supplement catalogs, for example, from a laptop and a desktop computer.
Internal associations - available from the "Files" menu. All objects that you open from Commander with a double click can be associated (configured to open them) with any programs on your computer. And this can be done contrary to what associations you have configured in the system.
Depending on the number of archive plugins installed in your file manager, you can unpack (Alt + F9), pack (Alt + F5) and check (Alt + Shift + F9) archives of the types supported by these extensions directly in it. You can enter archives as in regular folders which is very convenient.
You can print to the printer a list of all the objects you have selected (it is also possible with subdirectories). Available from the "Files" - "Print" menu. You can also get a list of files using the corresponding commands of the Total or by selecting the appropriate item from the top menu "Start".
In the "View" menu you can configure different ways display. Verbose mode is used by default, but less pressure on the brain is, in my opinion, "brief".
You can use the mode to view thumbnails of images. Thumbnail View(their size is set in the Commander's settings). Of course, to view and work with photos, it would be better to use specialized programs (for example, my favorite), but sometimes it is not advisable to run a separate application for this.
It is possible that now this is not very relevant, but nevertheless, the opportunity of this manager may occasionally come in handy. I'm talking about the ability to cut a file into pieces no larger than the specified size, and then glue it together. Points split and collect files are available from the menu of the same name.
There it is also possible to create and check a checksum for files.
As I have already mentioned and shown above, for a million other commands provided in Commander, you can customize sets of hot keys or add buttons to the toolbar. The possibilities in this regard are simply endless.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site

What are plugins and how to install them

There are four types of TC plugins: archiving plugins (with the WCX extension), file system plugins (WFX), internal viewer plugins (WLX), and content plugins (WDX). Archiving plugins are used to work with archives that are initially not supported in the file manager or are supported with limitations. In addition, with the help of archiving plugins, support for working with a number of other file formats- CHM, MSI, ICL, DLL, etc. File system plugins are available in TC via network(fig. 1) and provide access to disks, remote systems, internal Windows modules, carriers with others file systems... Internal viewer plugins allow you to view file formats not supported by Lister internal viewer - images, tables, databases, etc. Content plugins are designed to access advanced information about files - MP3 tags, information in EXIF headers in JPEG images, etc.

Rice. 1. TC window with Network Neighborhood open on the left pane

Today there are already more than one hundred plug-ins for TC, and it is impossible even to simply list them within the framework of the article, and it does not make much sense, since many plug-ins, if they do not duplicate each other, have a very similar purpose. We will focus only on those solutions that may be of interest to a wide range of users.

The most popular and well-established plugins, along with their brief descriptions, are presented on the official website of the program (http://www.ghisler.com/addons.htm), as well as on the Russian-language website "All About Total Commander" (http: // wincmd .ru /). New plugins are available from the unofficial TC site (http://www.totalcmd.net/).

You can install plugins automatically or manually. Automatic installation does not cause any difficulties: you just need to open the downloaded archive with the plugin in the file manager and the program itself will offer to install the detected module (Fig. 2). True, such automatic installation not available for all plugins.

Rice. 2. TC window with a proposal to install the plugin

Connecting additional modules manually is done in the settings window, called by the command Configuration -> Setting where in section Plugins click on the button with the right type plugin and specify the location of the installed module. For archiving plugins additionally in the list Files with extension you will need to specify the extension of those files that should be associated with the plugin being installed (Fig. 3). If there are several such extensions, then the operation of specifying a module with a plug-in is performed several times, each time entering a different extension.

Rice. 3. Installing the archiving plug-in through the Settings window

Comfortable viewing

The built-in file manager viewer (Lister) allows you to view a fairly limited list of file formats when you press the F3 key. The situation is easy to fix by installing the appropriate plugins.

After connecting the plugin IEView(http://wincmd.ru/plugring/ieview.html) it will be possible to view files in a variety of formats. This plugin uses the same engine for viewing files as Internet Explorer, and is perfect for viewing hypertext documents (including documents in MHT and CHM formats). In addition, it allows you to view documents of other formats through the software installed on your computer - PDF documents (if you have installed Acrobat Reader- rice. 4), Word / Excel documents, PowerPoint presentations (if MS Office is available), etc. You can also configure the viewing of files in DjVu format by installing the Browser Plugin and uncommenting in the section file ieview.ini the corresponding line. The viewing of AutoCAD documents is configured in the same way (an appropriate viewer is required - for example, VoloView), etc.

Rice. 4. View PDF document using IEView

IEView plugin can also be used to view files Shockwave Flash... However, it is more convenient to use specialized plugins for this purpose - for example SWF Lister 2.0(http://wincmd.ru/plugring/swf_lister.html; Fig. 5), since there is a scroll bar for playback.

Rice. 5. Viewing a SWF file via SWF Lister

With the help of this plugin in the file manager, it will be possible to create and unpack archives in 7z format, as well as view their contents. To use the plugin, for example, to pack files, you need to select them, press the Alt + F5 key combination, in the window that opens, in the list of archivers' extensions, select option 7z and, if necessary, adjust the archiving settings by clicking on the button Customization(fig. 9).

Rice. 9. Creating a 7z archive using the 7Zip Plugin

Working with CD / DVD-disks and images

If you want to make working with CD / DVD discs more comfortable and reliable, then you should get a virtual CD drive by installing the plugin Virtual Disk(http://wincmd.ru/plugring/virtdisk.html). In such a drive, it will be possible to mount images of CD / DVD discs much faster than inserting them into a real drive, and at the same time without any harm to the discs themselves, which often cease to be read from active use. This plugin allows you to emulate a virtual CD drive and connect images (in ISO format, as well as some BIN and NRG images) made from unprotected CDs into it. In addition, it can be used to emulate local hard disk or a floppy disk.

For the plug-in to work, in addition to installing it in automatic mode, you need to install a driver virtual disk calling in Windows Explorer from the context menu on the Program Files \ totalcmd \ plugins \ wfx \ VirtualDisk \ VD_Driver \ vd_filedisk.inf command Install... And then restart your computer.

The principle of mounting images into the virtual drive created after installing the module is very simple: copy it in the file manager to the folder Virtualdisk(this folder will appear in Networked environment after installing the plugin) the necessary image files, and then to mount one of them on the virtual drive, double-click on this image, select the mode CD / DVD and click on the button To plug(fig. 10). You can also enable the checkbox Recover on reboot, which makes sense if you have to work with the mounted image on a regular basis. After that, the required virtual drive with the connected image will appear in the rollout of disks in TC and in the Windows Explorer window.

Rice. 10. Mounting the image into a virtual drive VirtualDisk

There is another option - install the plugin ISO(http://wincmd.ru/plugring/iso.html). With its help, it will be possible to read images in ISO, BIN, IMG and NRG formats without mounting them into a virtual drive. This will allow, for example, to quickly view the files from the image (Fig. 11) and copy all or part of them to HDD for further work.

Rice. 11. Viewing the contents of the image through the ISO plugin

Data cataloging

It is not easy to navigate among folders and files stored on a variety of disks, because most users of CDs alone have dozens, if not hundreds, of pictures, documents, audio recordings, and even more. Therefore, without the use of some kind of cataloger, which would provide an opportunity to quickly find out where the desired disk or a file is indispensable today. If the cataloged data is relatively small, then it is quite possible to get by with the capabilities of specialized TC plugins.

Is a mega-functional file manager. It is a favorite of many advanced users, but, alas, it is not without some drawbacks. And among them is such an important thing as the lack of a function for export-import of settings. With that set up inside you can do a lot, especially if horizontal and vertical toolbars are actively used.

The developers have thought out a mechanism for saving settings in case of reinstalling the program, and when you remove it from the system, by default, all settings are saved.

Due to the fact that this data does not disappear from the catalog , the next time you install it, it will instantly be brought into working condition. And it will start with our interface settings, individual functions, toolbars, with our selected catalogs and history of open paths. If the file manager is activated license key, the activation file will also be present among this data. The manually added by us to the installation directory will not be deleted either. content such as folders with portable programs and icons.

So if we are talking about reinstalling the file manager, you don't need to do anything special. But if the need arises to reinstall Windows or change seats with a fine-tuned for yourself Total Commander to another computer device, without unnecessary red tape, it will be possible to do this only when using it portable version... If the work is carried out with regular version file manager - the one that is installed in the system, you can reduce the red tape with the settings to a minimum, if in the installation directory replace some files after its new installation. What exactly can be replaced?

Open the file manager installation directory in Windows Explorer, usually this is the path:

C: \ totalcmd

In the explorer search engine, enter:

* ini

This request will filter all files with the extension ".Ini"... This is the configuration data of the Total Commander, in which, in fact, its individual parameters are stored. In our test case, 2 types of files were found ".Ini" .

In principle, there are several types of them, but all of them will be present in the program installation directory only in rare cases when using the file manager's capabilities to the maximum. But some will show up on all users.

File "Wincmd.ini"- the main. It stores basic settings :

Appearance of the program (scale, fonts, colors, tabs, view of toolbars) ;
functional (associations, basic operations, etc.) ;
open tabs;
selected catalogs;
etc.

Another config file to be in each case is "History.ini"... It keeps a history of open paths.

Also, when installing the filter, other configuration files may be found:

"Wcx_ftp.ini"- built-in data storage FTP-client;
"Usercmd.ini"- storage of user commands;
"Contplug.ini" , "Lsplugin.ini" , "Fsplugin.ini" , "Pkplugin.ini"- storages of plugin parameters.

All detected files ".Ini" copy and store, for example, together with the installer .

Another type of configuration data that can be transferred to another computer is with the extension ".Bar"... We enter the filter into the explorer search engine:

* .bar

We will find 2 files that can be copied for transfer:

"Default.bar"- these are the parameters of the horizontal toolbar, the one at the top of the program window;
"Vertical.Bar"- these are the parameters of the vertical toolbar, the one in the center, between the working panels of the program. If, of course, such a panel is enabled in the component settings .

Directly view of toolbars - type of icons (modern or classic) , the appearance and style of buttons - stored in the main config file "Wincmd.ini" . "Default.bar" and "Vertical.Bar" they define the contents of toolbars, i.e. what exactly is displayed on the toolbar - internal functions Total Commander, system functions, shortcuts for launching third-party software.

All this can also be transferred along with a new installation of the file manager. That's just the case with shortcuts for launching programs installed in new system on a different path, you will have to manually edit these paths.

Saved files ".Ini" and ".Bar" after installing the file manager in new windows placed in its installation directory (remember, this is usually the path C: \ totalcmd) ... When copying, you must select the option to replace them.

such an advanced file manager that its creators could well envy its capabilities operating systems release up to the middle 90 -s. Assembling Total Commander with portable software for various needs on board can eliminate the need to integrate third-party software into the system. Such assemblies come with mostly free software. Other benefits include no risk when installing on Windows ON from dubious sources.

And with potentially unwanted software in addition, less clutter on the disk WITH and system registry, lack of third-party software services at startup. And, of course, there are fewer steps in the process of reinstalling Windows itself.

One of the specifics of Total Commander is autonomous work with associated software. The file manager is configured to work with its own non-Windows file associations. Whereas in the explorer Windows files by double click will be played by means of some programs, inside the same files will open with the help of others. A portable file manager with its own default programs can become stable and independent of Windows environment (including portable on a USB flash drive) to work with content stored on a computer disk. Some assemblies with portable software on board are initially supplied with file associations already configured. In these assemblies, the most commonly used file extensions are configured to be opened with the portable programs that come with the assembly. How to set up "Clean" Total Commander edition to interact with their programs by default?

Both installed and portable programs can be associated with files inside Total Commander by setting the selection on the file of the required format and selecting the item in the menu.

The format of the selected file will be displayed in the window that opens. (in our case it is “ .txt») ... We press.

If one of the programs needs to be associated with several file formats, at the first stage, click not, but.

And we manually enter file extensions through a space, putting in front of each of the extensions asterisk and point as shown in the screenshot below. We press "OK".