Total Commander – Why (Re)Try It and How to Use It to the Fullest | Part 1: Basics of Efficient Work

26. March 2025

By: ccadm1n

Reading time: 1:57 min

SK

Some might think writing about Total Commander in the 21st century is outdated—but for those of us who grew up in the MS-DOS era, Norton Commander was a lifesaver from the black command line. Even today, Total Commander remains my go-to file manager and the first thing I install after setting up Windows. While some of its features have since made their way into Windows itself, it still offers plenty of advantages that make it irreplaceable. In this two-part series, I’ll share 12 tips that show why I still rely on it—and why you might end up loving it too.

Do you remember the legendary dual-pane file manager for Windows? Total Commander was created in 1993 as a response to the popular Norton Commander from the MS-DOS era. Developed by Swiss programmer Christian Ghisler, it aimed to offer a more efficient and powerful alternative to the built-in Windows Explorer.

It quickly gained popularity among IT professionals, system administrators, and power users thanks to its wide range of file management features, FTP support, advanced search, and plugin extensibility. Despite the rise of modern alternatives, it remains a valuable tool for anyone who wants to work efficiently—and it’s still offered as shareware without a freemium model.

In the next two articles, I’ll share 6 + 6 practical tips and tricks to help you get the most out of Total Commander. These insights come from years of daily use, and I hope they’ll help you speed up and streamline your file management workflow.

1. Quick Search

While Windows Explorer now offers basic search functionality, Total Commander still delivers a faster, more intuitive, and more convenient experience. You can simply start typing the name of a file or folder directly in the panel—no need to open a separate search window. However, you’ll need the right settings enabled for it to work properly.

How to Set It Up

Go to Configuration → Options → Quick Search
Under the Letters section, select: “Letters – with search dialog“
– This will display a small search box at the bottom of the panel as soon as you start typing.

2. Search

If you often find yourself digging through different parts of your disk, Total Commander’s search function can save you both time and frustration. There’s no need to wait for indexing—results appear instantly, and you can work with them right away: copy, move, or delete directly from the search results.

How to Use It

1. Press Alt + F7 or click Search from the Commands menu.

2. A search window will appear, where you can enter:

The keyword (e.g., vylet)
The location (current folder or entire drive)

3. Click Start Search to begin.

4. Your search queries are saved, so you can easily repeat them later when needed.

3. Selecting Files by Extension

Need to quickly select all files with a specific extension? Total Commander makes it easy with a simple keyboard shortcut.

How to Use It

Press Num + (on the numeric keypad) and type the desired extension, for example:

*.jpg – This will select all files with the .jpg extension.

You can also enter multiple extensions at once, like:

*.jpg *.png *.gif – This will select all image files in those formats.

Perfect for batch operations like copying, moving, or deleting files by type.

4. Checking Folder Size

Need to quickly find out how much space a folder takes up? Total Commander lets you do it with a single key press.

How to Do It

Navigate to the folder you want to check.

Press the Spacebar – Total Commander will instantly calculate the folder’s size and display it in the size column.

5. Calculating Folder Sizes in Bulk

Want a quick overview of how much space your folders take up? Total Commander makes it easy with two powerful tricks:

Instantly calculate the size of all folders in a directory
Change the size display format to something more readable (MB/GB instead of bytes)

How to Do It

To calculate the size of all folders at once, press Alt + Shift + Enter

To show file and folder sizes in MB or GB:

Go to Configuration → Options
Navigate to Tabstop Data / Data Formats

Set both options to:

Size display: Dynamic (x.x k/M/G)
Header/Footer: Dynamic (x.x k/M/G)

6. Quick Rename

If you want to rename a file but only change the name without touching the extension, Total Commander has a simple trick that makes it much easier.

How to Do It

Select the file you want to rename.

Press Shift + F6 – a rename field will appear.

Press F6 again – the cursor will automatically move to the filename only (excluding the extension), so you won’t accidentally overwrite it.

As you can see, even Total Commander’s most basic features have huge potential. Whether it’s quick searching, selecting files by extension, or instantly checking folder sizes, these tools can significantly speed up your workflow.

If we’ve convinced you that this classic tool is still relevant, don’t miss Part 2, where we dive into more advanced features that turn Total Commander into a truly powerful workhorse.