File manager
The File manager is a dual-pane (Commander-style) browser: two panels side by side, each pointing at either your local disk or a remote SFTP host. Copy and move between them, and the transfer just works — local→remote, remote→local, even remote→remote.
Panels
Each panel is independent. A panel can show:
- Local — files on this device.
- SFTP — a directory on any saved or ad-hoc SSH host.
Pick the source from the panel header. The focused panel is the active one — its directory drives copy/move targets and keyboard actions. Click a panel (or use Tab on Desktop) to move focus.
Each panel also picks its own view — Detail (sortable columns), List (name only) or Tree — from the view-mode menu in the panel header. In Detail view, the gear icon in the column header chooses which columns are shown.
Copy, move, and the rest
- Copy / Move between panels — the destination is the other panel's current directory.
- Create folders, rename, delete in place.
- Selection works on multiple files; the copy/move/delete prompt shows how many items are marked.
- Items can also be dragged between panels; on Desktop you can drop files from the system file manager onto either panel.
- Copy options cover following symbolic links, preserving permissions and modification times, and overwriting without asking.
- If a name already exists at the destination, a prompt lets you overwrite, rename or skip — once, or for all remaining items.
- A running transfer can be paused and resumed, sent to the background, or aborted.
Remote panels reuse a live SSH connection when one already exists for that host — opening a second view costs only an SFTP channel, not a fresh login.
Viewing files
Enter / double-click (or tap) a file to open it in the built-in viewer. Remote files are read in windowed chunks — even a multi-GB log opens instantly. The viewer has Text and Hex modes plus in-file search with case-sensitive, whole-words and reverse options. Some types get a dedicated view: Markdown renders formatted, images show a preview, and Windows (PE) / Linux (ELF) executables show a header summary — format, architecture and more — even when the file has been renamed.
Browsing archives
ZIP / JAR, TAR (including tar.gz / tgz) and ISO archives open like folders: enter one and browse it, copy files out with a normal copy. Detection looks at content, not just the name — a renamed or extensionless archive still opens. Remote archives on SFTP panels work too; ISO images are read in ranged chunks, so a large image is never downloaded whole. Backspace (or the .. row) leaves the archive.
Multiple workspaces
You can open several File manager instances at once, each with its own pair of panels. Every instance is a first-class session in the tab bar / Active Sessions list (labelled left / right, e.g. Local / prod-db), so switching away and back restores the exact panels you left.
The remembered layout is kept for the running app only — it is not written to disk. A fresh start opens a clean Local view and never dials the network until you ask it to.
Keyboard shortcuts
Commander is fully keyboard-driven (Norton / Total Commander style). Keys act on the focused panel in the list/detail view; switch panels with Tab.
Navigation
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Tab | Switch the active panel (left ↔ right) |
| Up / Down | Move the cursor |
| Home / End | Jump to the first / last item |
| Page Up / Page Down | Move a page at a time |
| Left / Right | Move a page at a time (FAR-style Page Up / Page Down) |
| Enter | Open the folder / activate the file under the cursor |
| Backspace | Go up to the parent folder |
| Alt+Enter | Properties of the item under the cursor |
| Ctrl+Space | Return focus to the panel's address bar |
Selecting files
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Space | Mark / unmark the item under the cursor |
| Insert | Mark the item and step down |
| Shift+Up / Shift+Down | Extend the marking while moving |
| Ctrl+A | Mark everything in the panel |
| Ctrl+Shift+A | Clear the marking |
| + / - (numpad) | Mark / unmark files matching a pattern |
File operations
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| F2 (or Ctrl+R) | Re-read the active panel |
| F3 | View the file under the cursor |
| F5 | Copy marked items to the other panel |
| F6 | Move marked items to the other panel |
| Shift+F6 | Rename the item under the cursor |
| F7 | Create a new folder |
| Shift+F4 | Create a new (empty) file |
| F8 / Delete | Delete marked items |
| Alt+F7 (or Ctrl+Shift+F) | Find files |
| Ctrl+P | Edit permissions (chmod) |
| Ctrl+H | Show / hide hidden files (active panel) |
In the viewer
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Esc / F3 / F10 | Close the viewer |
| F4 | Switch Text / Hex mode |
| F2 | Toggle line wrap (text mode) |
| F7 (or Ctrl+F) | Find; Shift+F7 finds the next match |
Quick search
Press Alt + a letter or digit to start a quick search in the focused panel, then keep typing to jump to a matching name. While the search box is open: Up/Down jump to the next/previous match, Backspace deletes a character, Enter opens the match, Esc cancels, Tab switches panel.
File-operation keys are paused while a transfer is in progress.
Detach into its own window
A docked File manager can be torn off into a standalone window (the detach control in the title bar) and re-docked later — the same detach / re-dock that works for any session (see Windows & tray). The underlying panels stay alive across detach/re-dock — no reload, no re-login.