Ever since I was a DOS user years ago, noodling around with file managers such as Lotus Magellan and Norton Commander, I’ve tried to keep my eye out for useful, unusual approaches to managing files. If you collect these tools, even the offbeat ones, you can boost your efficiency. In this post, I’ll round up three offbeat, free tools I use for handling files that can help you with file management tasks.

Mike Gunderloy previously covered Openomy which I’ve been using recently. This is a free online storage service, and because it only offers 1GB of free capacity (compared to ADrive, where you can get 50GB) it wouldn’t stand out in my eyes except that maximum capacity isn’t what it’s all about.
Openomy has a REST-based API and a unique, tag-based file system that allows you to expose some files you choose to store online to other applications. This is interesting to play with, and challenges the idea that online storage is just for securely backing up files.
ExamDiff is an interesting visual file comparison tool for Windows users. It can automatically update you when it detects changes to files that you want to track, or the visual displays of differences between files can be useful if you often work with a few versions of files.
If you’re a Windows user and Windows Explorer is your tool of choice for working with files, give Servant Salamander a try. It’s a very simple, two-pane file manager that often keeps me from having to open up more than one instance of Windows Explorer. Funny name, though.
For more unusual approaches to handling files, check my previous post. There, you’ll find unusual online tools for working with files, such as Box.net.
Do you know of any good, free file management applications?
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