Get to know mc (midnight commander).

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Robert Hope: As you can see, Steve Ballmer was right in 2002 (?) when he decried Linux as "Communist software" because our answers demonstrate that we are a homogeneous group of like-minded users, all of one opinion -- and Joe Schmo discovered America. The wonderful thing about Linux is choices you won't find in Windows.

I use Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (long term support) version. I love it. But I hate the designed-for-kiddies Unity bar. So I just installed a DM (desktop manager) called Gnome and everything I need and want came with it, including a file manager called Nautilus, the subject of your question. Windows gives you exactly one DM. The thing is such a total part of Windows it doesn't even have a name (unless you're willing to grant that explorer.exe is an application name).

Try Linux. Experiment with the different releases and desktops. I think you'll find that it leaves Windows where it belongs, with the Little Leaguers.

Yes, you're missing file associations, for instance; when you open a video file on Dolphin, it will attempt to launch some KDE program like Dragon Player or Kaffeine. Open an image file and it will attempt to launch Gwenview. And so on. I guess it can be set up to use the programs that come with other DEs, but the default behaviour is to use KDE software.

Not to mention the fact that when you use Dolphin on another DE -- or any other file manager, in my experience -- it won't look as clean as it looks on its own DE, so you'll have the entire desktop using a set of icons and a specific look & feel, and the file manager will look quite different to the DE it is being used on.

Sure these may be minor issues, but saying there is no integration is not entirely true.

This would be a good time to bring up this link

I use nemo, which has native ssh,ftp, & other support. I can glob search in the gui "*.mp4" and searches take a lot less time. It also lets you run literally any command on any file & set that as default, supports split panel & It has both a basic view & tree view.
I find it to be very simple to use.

So I've been looking for a "replacement for explorer" for the past year as well. What I really wanted was a straightforward, not-too-ugly interface that has a breadcrumb navigation feature but with the ability to edit the path directly with the keyboard. Today, I've found Caja. It's not very pretty, and the switch from breadcrumb to edit-mode requires pressing an inconveniently placed button, but it's the closest thing I've found so far and it does the job. Also, the default view for every directory is a tile-view, which I don't like, so I have to press Ctrl+2 every time I enter a previously unseen subdirectory to display files as a list. Perhaps I will one day dive into the source code and compile my own version with improved button placement and default layout.

You don't have to recompile to get this functionality, just go into "Preferences" and change your settings as you desire. I use Caja in "detailed list" view as my default. Well, I do this with any Linux file manager, whether pcmanfm, spacefm, thunar, xfe, or whatever. They all have this option.

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it's an oldie, just like this thread, but still a goldie, and still the best answer to this sort of nonsense:
http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm

How about old Konqueror? Is that also dependent on KDE environment?

It is a good file manager like Dolphin, just more complex.

This is a very interesting thread and speaks volumes for why more users don't come over to Linux.

- they want something identical or nearly identical to what they are used to [this is not unreasonable];
- they want quick solutions [this is also not unreasonable];
- they get confused by all the choice presented to them;
- they get disinterested when offered options like pcmanfm [I love pcmanfm, but come on, it's not a snappy name nor does it, to the uninitiated, relate what the hell it is or does];
- they get further put off when offered a file manager which is apparently fantastic but which they have to change their DE for [what the hell is a desktop environment? You get several to choose from?];
- they get alienated when the community starts bickering in their thread and derailing the topic.

Good Lord, what a mess. I'd go back to Windows too.

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I'm sure that Thunar isn't too terrible, but as I recall the KDE file managers were the best and a lot more responsive?

Truth be told I haven't really looked at any of them for a few years. I use the command line... not a boast, as I'm hardly a command line aficionado, just a fact. I can get most things done there with cp(1), mv(1), ls(1), etc, etc...

But we all have different needs. If one has lots of personal files they need to organise, etc then it's probably much more useful.

(I should probably install a few and have a look to see how they've progressed.)

SpaceFM

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Perhaps, you are doing things with windows explorer that I never tried or needed, but off the top of my head I can't think of anything you could do in windows explorer that can't be done in KDE's Konqueror or Dolphin. At one time konqueror was the default KDE file manager (and browser), but now Dolphin has taken its place as the file manager. I was using konqueror to find a file (in Xfce) earlier this morning.

For KDE there is also, Krusader.

This thread was started over 4 years ago and the OP never returned or responded to anything. Reading his post my first question is, why not keep using windows explorer. The OP never explained why he couldn't or wouldn't continue to use it.

I'm not sure based on this, if the OP was serious. Doing an online search with the terms "Linux equivalent to windows explorer" gets 2 million hits so if the OP was serious, that might have provided a solution!

If the OP wants a quick solution to his problem, pay someone to resolve it. It's not the responsibility of volunteer member here or at any other forum to cater to the whims of other users.

If someone is confused by choices, then stick with something where you do not have to make choices, where all the choices are made for you.

I disagree -- I think it is completely unreasonable to expect to change OS and expect things to be the same. It is unreasonable to expect to chnage from a closed-source program you use and expect an open-source clone for many reasons.
It is also unreasonable to expect to change OS just to stay with the same functionality and workflow. It's a different OS and a different desktop environment -- if you don't want to different don't use different.

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The issue is that many Windows users don't have cognisance of what closed v open source really means. Secondly many don't have any experience or frame of reference about OSs outside of Windows. Given that, it's not unreasonable that they would expect things to be the same.

It's another extension of the Plato's Cave analogy: they've been shielded from what's actually going on and what's available. They're told about a new OS, get attracted by the fact that it's free, fast etc and then get shocked when it's not the same, so many run back to the safety of familiarity. Some people are actually scared of OSs that aren't Windows - and that's not an exaggeration.

It may seem unreasonable to some people here, but that's because we're on the other side - on the other side of the curtain, away from the shadows, out of the cave mouth. I don't blame Windows users for their ignorance, if anyone's to blame it's the corporations.