DirMaster v2.22 is a file manager that will give you complete control of your files and directories from a simple, clean interface. It uses a PM interface to let you perform all of your file operations simply by clicking in the right places.

I tested version 2.22 on an IBM PS/2 85 with a DX2 66, 24 MB RAM, and a XGA-2 graphics card. Installation is limited to a supplied batch-file to create an icon for DirMaster. However, there are no changes to your config.sys so you don't have to reboot to start the program.

Features

Just above the bottom status bar there is a bank of function buttons. This is where much of the power of the program lies; you can have as many as 96 buttons to perform regular file operations. While most of them are predefined, like copy, delete, move, makedir, and so on, you can also define your own. These can be buttons that you link to an external program to perform a certain task. For example, you can define a button to automatically load PMView whenever you double click on a JPG or GIF file. Also, you can automate your archiving and unarchiving of files. No more messing about with typing file names or entering the wrong path.

Aside from the buttons DirMaster also includes limited support for drag-and-drop techniques. It is possible to drag a file from one window to another. This will move the file to the destination directory. You may also drag a text file to the printer. This works reasonably well, but for daily use I found that it is actually easier to just click on a file, and then on a button to perform the desired operation.

If you have ever used an Amiga you may recall a popular program called Directory Opus. DirMaster is heavily influenced by this so former Amiga users should find themselves on familiar ground. One of the features of DOpus was called click-move-click. In DirMaster this optional feature is called click&click. To use it, the user clicks once on the file that he or she wants to copy in the source directory, and then quickly clicks once in the target directory. The file is copied at once. This also works with archives. Click once on the archived file, and then once in the target directory and the file will be unarchived with no need of using the 'Unarchive' button!

More Stuff

One very useful feature of DirMaster is that whenever you perform an action on a file with a 'Read only' attribute, you are asked if you want to skip it or perform the action. This can come in very handy when you want to delete a huge directory that contains write-protected files.

Configuration

The notebook is also where you assign functions to the buttons discussed earlier. You may use external programs here if you wish. It is also possible to assign buttons to open specific drives on your system, for example if you use OS/2 at work you probably use a few network drives that you would like to assign to a drive button. Unfortunately, you can't assign an icon to a button so the look of the program is far from exciting. Another feature that is lacking is the ability to view the directories in an icon or tree structure like you can do with the drives object in the Workplace Shell or some other file managers.

Conclusions

DirMaster is uncrippled shareware, so you have full opportunity to try it out before you decide to pay for it. For only US$39.50 it comes with a lot of power at a cheap price. Check it out!

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