TotalFinder for Mac

TotalFinder for Mac offers a number of powerful upgrades over the default tools found in OS X Finder. While the file browsing experience on a Mac is good, TotalFinder adds tools that many users have been requesting for years, all natively laid over the existing Finder tools so you don't need to use a separate app. It just runs in the background when installed.

After installing TotalFinder, it will replace the Finder icon in your Dock whenever you open it, so you automatically have access to these tools. You can turn it off at any time by closing the taskbar icon, but it runs without prompting. The most visible change is the addition of tabbed browsing of your files. At any time, you can open a new tab within Finder instead of having to manually open a new folder or lose your place in your current window. You can also use a dual pane mode, organize your folders and files in more intuitive ways (as they are on a Windows machine), and you can see your system files, which is missing in OS X. The interface is smooth, fast, and feels built-in. Everything looks and feels the same as OSX's finder, but it runs with these added tools and you can choose to use them or not as you please.

If you are frustrated by the lack of certain features in Finder, then TotalFinder is a powerful, feature-rich upgrade you should consider for your Mac. It will provide a more effective, faster means of sorting through and organizing your files, and because of how it installs, it never requires technical knowledge to utilize. The app is free to try for 14 days, after which you'll need to pay $18 for the full version.

Editors' note: This is a review of the trial version of TotalFinder for Mac 1.5.2.