Best Free File Manager software for Windows 10

Total Commander is an excellent application that could almost be described as a professional file manager for the advanced user, although it looks pretty dull. In addition to using it with your mouse, it is optimized to be keyboard-controlled that you can work mainly via keyboard shortcuts. It offers handy shortcuts for common tasks like viewing, editing, copying, moving or deleting files. It includes extra integrated applications like an FTP client, a ZIP viewer, a renaming tool, a disk space analyzer and a file synchronizer, and allows you to control, manage and edit file associations so they're not suddenly messed up by a program that you just installed. But if you prefer more simple apps then you'd better stick to Windows Explorer.

This utility application displays your folders in a browser-like tab to make your multitasking easier. It is an extension of Windows Explorer and you can use it immediately without learning new file management operations. It provides multiple tabs like Google Chrome which allows you to open a new page with Ctrl + T, close the page with Ctrl + W, and switch the page with Ctrl + tab. Also, you can drag the folder directly into the bookmark bar, than view it quickly without multiple mouse clicks. However, Clover 3 does not intend to replace more complex file managers such as Total Commander and EF Commander. Its only purpose is to help you work faster and more efficient by adding tab support to your Windows Explorer.

If you are looking for a file manager giving you extra useful functions to Windows File Explorer, Q-Dir is the right app for you and it doesn't require installation. Having several windows pointing to different locations on your hard drive makes it much easier to move or copy data from one folder to another, and also makes browsing faster. Q-Dir supports different layouts with 2, 3 or 4 panes and each one of them can be configured separately. It features showing files in different colors according to the file type, such as blue for images, red for music and so on. Plus, this color code is totally customizable.

Directory Opus is a powerful file manager which makes moving files around much easier because you can instantly drag and drop files into other folders without having to open and close new windows. It shows two folders in separate tree-view panes and you can switch to the more conventional single-folder Flat View. It can handle a huge range of common tasks including viewing pictures, converting files, playing audio, opening Zip files, batch renaming and searching. Directory Opus also gives you ability to color-code your files, assign status icons, star ratings, tags and descriptions

FreeCommander is also a powerful file manager and its main features is similar to those on Directory Opus. FreeCommander has single or dual pane file display and folder trees which makes it easier to manage and organise file. Its built-in file viewer can view files in hex, binary, text or image format and it can handle archive including ZIP, RAR and 7z. You can make it your default FTP/SFTP client.

Listary runs in the background and all you need to open it is to press a customizable keyboard shortcut. When you enter your search keywords in Listary, the program will start displaying results as you type. Once you find what you are looking for, simply highlight it and press Enter. It includes a command mode that lets you run the terminal and browse system folders. But you will find that some of its most interesting functions are only available in the Pro version.

Everything is capable of automatically indexing any drives and folders you specify, showing search results in real time. You can indicate exclusions, match cases, paths, enable regular expressions, archives, pictures and movies and so on. Search results can be sorted by a wide range of criteria. Moreover, you can create and organize bookmarks, save the file list to file to resume it later, or export the search results to CSV or TXT files. There's also a portable edition available called Portable Everything, in case you want to directly run the tool from a pen drive.

QTTabBar is an application designed to increase the size of the standard toolbar provided within Windows Explorer. There are tons of settings available under Options to personalize the behavior of the plugin. It also offers a number of keyboard shortcuts to quickly switch close, clone, switch tab, and more. QTTabBar can personalize the appearance the tab size (width and height), tab title text font, text color, toolbar background color, and toolbar background with a few mouse clicks. Tab Bar realizes ... the tabbed browsing of folders. Command Bars offer various command buttons including ones added by Plug-Ins. Extra Views show extra folder view in a folder window. Once you enable them, QTTabBar installs some kind of hooks into the folder window and change the behavior of the Explorer to suit the need of advanced users. For example, a new tab will be opened by middle-clicking on a folder icon. Preview tooltip is displayed when you point image, text, and movie file by mouse cursor. Do you want to mark an important file? Change the color of the name of it. When you move mouse cursor over folder icons, you'll see a square with blue arrow. Click and access to contents of the folder instantly!

Xplorer² sports a tabbed dual-pane interface that gives users the possibility to make file comparisons and transfers with ease. It allows users to store files and folders for processing them in the batch mode. What’s more, the tool bundles a text editor and allows users to select an external one as well. There are plenty of customizable options when it comes to changing the looks of the application, as you can modify bookmarks and toolbar buttons, select the commands to be displayed on toolbars, and choose the color of the files according to their extensions. Last but not least, you are allowed to encrypt files to protect sensitive information, copy files with filters, backup your current settings, and work within ZIP archives by adding or removing items.