I concur with others who have said QSpace is slow with some tasks. Forklift is fast (at least in my experience).
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Best Finder alternative
- Thread starter JonL12345
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I tried QSpace. While it performed acceptably, I found it way overblown with features to the point it was cumbersome to work with. It feels like the crammed-in features with no plan on how to implement them.
Also, I do have two folders showing in columns and sometimes an extra tab or two open in one of those columns, I just don't have the need to have 10 folders open at any given time, so QSpace was overkill from the start.
And finally, I found QSpace to have a fairly "utilitarian" GUI. I prefer Forklift's more Mac-like interface, or even Path Finder's.
Also, I do have two folders showing in columns and sometimes an extra tab or two open in one of those columns, I just don't have the need to have 10 folders open at any given time, so QSpace was overkill from the start.
And finally, I found QSpace to have a fairly "utilitarian" GUI. I prefer Forklift's more Mac-like interface, or even Path Finder's.
I've been a fan of Forklift since I moved on to a Mac (5 years ago), but last week moved on to QSpace Pro, it does take a bit of getting used to, but I think I'll be sticking with it. Productivity wise it works for me. It did take me 2 days though to get it configured how I want it 
I've been a fan of Forklift since I moved on to a Mac (5 years ago), but last week moved on to QSpace Pro, it does take a bit of getting used to, but I think I'll be sticking with it. Productivity wise it works for me. It did take me 2 days though to get it configured how I want it
could you give a brief pros/cons on each? I am trying to decide between the two
The two are very similar in use and operation if you can adjust to the 'workspace' operational differences between the two. For my workflows I'm usually working with file movement between Mac and iCloud or network shares on my NAS. So I'm typically not dealing with large files.
Both are somewhat on par with one another excepting that QSpace has a lot more 'twiddly' bits you can adjust to suit.
Forklift is certainly better than all other file managers I've used and as I said I've used it for years. QSpace I tried when it first came out, didn't like it and went back to Forklift. It now seems to have matured nicely and I'm glad I revisited it. It's now my manager of choice.
I've only had to go back to Forklift copy out some custom paths, but apart from that I've never moved back.
Both have trial periods so all I can recommend is trial both and see which you prefer.
Both are somewhat on par with one another excepting that QSpace has a lot more 'twiddly' bits you can adjust to suit.
Forklift is certainly better than all other file managers I've used and as I said I've used it for years. QSpace I tried when it first came out, didn't like it and went back to Forklift. It now seems to have matured nicely and I'm glad I revisited it. It's now my manager of choice.
I've only had to go back to Forklift copy out some custom paths, but apart from that I've never moved back.
Both have trial periods so all I can recommend is trial both and see which you prefer.
Do any of these more popular alternatives have the tags set up where the whole line is the tag color?
While a small detail, it's one of the things I really like(d) about PathFinder versus the small colored dot off to the left in Finder and some of the others.
With my upgrade to Sonoma, it appears to have broken something in Pathfinder for me, so that all of the "tags" are now just gray, so they don't really differentiate the way they did before. I am currently testing the free trial for forklift, and even though I picked colors for tabs, they too just show as gray dots. So, maybe it's Sonoma that is the issue rather than the finders, but still looking for something that may provide whole row color other than Pathfinder.
I emailed their support, but from what I've seen online, I may never get a response from them, and if I do, it might be a month from now.
While a small detail, it's one of the things I really like(d) about PathFinder versus the small colored dot off to the left in Finder and some of the others.
With my upgrade to Sonoma, it appears to have broken something in Pathfinder for me, so that all of the "tags" are now just gray, so they don't really differentiate the way they did before. I am currently testing the free trial for forklift, and even though I picked colors for tabs, they too just show as gray dots. So, maybe it's Sonoma that is the issue rather than the finders, but still looking for something that may provide whole row color other than Pathfinder.
I emailed their support, but from what I've seen online, I may never get a response from them, and if I do, it might be a month from now.
QSpace has that. You can set the tag style to one of "Badges", "Ribbon", or "Badges and Ribbon". The ribbon choice sets the color on the whole line.
Thanks. My only concern with QSpace is some of the stuff I've read about their data collection practices and how secure things are if you use it. Admittedly, I haven't dug into it too much, but these days, privacy seems to be on the forefront of things.
Any concerns that you all have on this front as it relates to QSpace?
Agreed.
I'd be more interested in QSpace if the developers could demonstrate that their privacy and data practices are benign, and that their work has long-term viability. Otherwise, Forklift seems the better option.
Get tired of PF bugs, using Forklift now.
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Let me tell you of a file manager / File Sharing beast that can do that and more in a fabulous manner: DropShare, Even if you don't find your cloud service, you can import it yourself or better yet, ask the developer to include it.
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I guess every file manager allows access to iCloud Drive. Or do you mean something else?
I queried the developer concerning the QSpace Pro privacy issues mentioned in this thread and got the following reply.
After reading that I'm more than happy to continue using it
I queried the developer concerning the QSpace Pro privacy issues mentioned in this thread and got the following reply.
After reading that I'm more than happy to continue using it
yeah, maybe I am paranoid, but I have hard time trusting developers
Google settles $5 billion privacy lawsuit over tracking people using 'incognito mode'
The class-action lawsuit said Google misled users into believing that it wouldn't track their internet activities while using 'incognito mode.' Terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.
www.npr.org
Looks like its a confusion on my part, I do not know why I got the idea I can't use icloud drive. Sorry...
I'll agree 100% over not trusting Google
US and European consumer protections laws are relatively strong. They are considerably weaker in China.
That's not intended to cast aspersions that Chinese developers have nefarious purposes, but if they did, there's little any of us could do about it after the fact, and even if you trust the developer, they are at the mercy of the Chinese government. This is the rationale for the US and others pushing for the transfer of TikTok ownership. The difference from a user standpoint is that TikTok can only collect data that I like watching funny cat videos. TikTok doesn't have access to my entire hard drive.
It's really unfair to the QSpace developer, but I'd be a little less wary if they were US/European-based for an app like this. FWIW, I use Little Snitch, and I did keep an eye on QS while I was trialing it, and didn't notice any unusual network activity (though I'm aware that apps can check if you're using Little Snitch).
File mangers can access iCloud Drive, but unless the files reside locally, the files aren't visible to 3rd party file managers (not any that I'm aware of, not sure if that's recently changed).
It made it impossible for me to reliably use iCloud with 3rd party file managers.
US and European consumer protections laws are relatively strong. They are considerably weaker in China.
That's not intended to cast aspersions that Chinese developers have nefarious purposes, but if they did, there's little any of us could do about it after the fact, and even if you trust the developer, they are at the mercy of the Chinese government. This is the rationale for the US and others pushing for the transfer of TikTok ownership. The difference from a user standpoint is that TikTok can only collect data that I like watching funny cat videos. TikTok doesn't have access to my entire hard drive.
It's really unfair to the QSpace developer, but I'd be a little less wary if they were US/European-based for an app like this. FWIW, I use Little Snitch, and I did keep an eye on QS while I was trialing it, and didn't notice any unusual network activity (though I'm aware that apps can check if you're using Little Snitch).
It does worry me that QSpace is from China. Unfortunately, it is so far and away the best file manager that I've found, that I am willing to risk it.
I wonder if it's safer using the app store version since it's supposedly been reviewed. Even if the review is careless, the developer would have to be very careful to not plant anything that could be discovered.
If people here think it would be safer, then I might buy the app store version and switch to that.
I find it difficult to believe there are features in QSpace that presumably aren’t available elsewhere that warrant taking this huge risk.
Really, it's not even close in terms of features and usability. I can prepare a long list if you want it. It will take a bit of work to put it all together. But the simplest thing is the ability to have four panes. I can't believe I thought two was enough.