I have also been searching for an opensource file manager and came across Saladin. The only other one that look very good is Explorer++
First of all, thank you very much for writing such an excellent application under an open-source license.
Open source is really a very important movement, - NOT because software is free and we don't have to pay for it. That's not the point. Its about freedom of knowledge, building communities that are not based only on a money-profit motive. I'll be happy to make a contribution as soon as this phd is done :)
The thing that surprises me the most however is why there are not more people excited about this great project?
When I went to install Saladin, the installer said it was Alpha software. I'm really rather hesitant to install anything that might destablize my system or lose files. I'm constantly moving research data from backup drives to my main system and could not bear to lose anything at all.
How stable is Saladin? And when might a Beta or full release become available?
Regards
R.
I totally agree with you regarding open-source development.
I've been constantly using Saladin for more than a year, even before the first version was released, and it never destabilized my system or caused anything to be lost. Saladin relies on Windows Explorer to perform most file operations, so I would say that it's as stable as Windows.
I consider it an "alpha" version because it still lacks a few important features. Version 0.1 did not have a built-in viewer, and the viewer from version 0.2 is quite limited - for example it will crash when trying to open a very large file. However it can safely be used for everyday work, and perhaps that warning in the installer is a bit of an exaggeration.
I'm planning to release a new version with improved viewer in about 2-3 months and it will be at least a "beta" version.
Regards,
Michał
I think there a lot of very socially-minded people out there who are tired of commericalism commodifying every single aspect of our lives. In fact, that is what my phd thesis is really about although it appears to be about secret religions in rural China.
I'm going to install Saladin then, and try it out. I will VERY much look forward to seeing the new release and hope you'll find the inspiration and encouragement to develop it into something great.
I was very surprised to find so few good open source file managers for Windows. Bizarre indeed. I'd still be using Linux if I could, but all the software I need is Windows only.
And speaking of that, is there any way that Saladin might one day be multi-platform?
I'll post the results of my experiences with Saladin. And keep up the good work!
Best Regards,
Ray
Thanks :). I will definitely keep working on Saladin, as soon as I get version 1.0 of WebIssues released.
In theory Saladin could be multi-platform, if the Windows-dependent back-end was ported to different platforms. In practice, however, I think it's hard to create a multi-platform file manager, because the file system itself is very platform specific.
Besides there are already quite a few excellent file managers for Linux, like Krusader (to which Saladin owes its name ;), and I see no point in competing with them. As you said, Windows lacks a good open source file manager, and I decided to try to fill this gap.
Regards,
Michał
I was trying out Saldin today. Seems quite nice, but I was dismayed to find that it does not offer a tree display panel. Maybe I just couldn't figure out how to turn it on?
I like to have a tree too show me exactly where I am in the harddrive directory. It is for this reason too that I never use icon view- only "detials" -- I want to know exactly where things are and what everything is precisely and at one glance.
If it does not have a tree, please consider implementing one. Also a more conventional menue like that of Explorer++ would be easier for most users I think.
Great work and please keep up your efforts!
Regards,
R.
There is no tree view, except when you press Ctrl+Shift+O. Maybe one day I will implement an embedded tree view, but personally I prefer navigating between folders using arrow keys.
Regards,
Michał
First of all thank you for this program and although i have not tried it, it seems a waste of your time when there is already an open source file manager for windows (and linux and mac) which looks pretty much just like saladin (from the screenshots) and it started development before 2011 for sure.. double commander. I mean no offense or advertisement, just wanted to inform.
Yup, I used Double Commander myself, and various little things that annoyed me inspired me to write Saladin :). Neither of these is perfect, but at least there's a choice, and that's what open source software is all about, isn't it?
Regards,
Michał