Many users are a bit tired of Windows Explorer. Not only because it still adheres to the one-window principle, but also because it looks rather boring. Imperium has tinkered with both ‘shortcomings’, with a double window, including tabs, in a beautifully animated interface.
Empire
Price
For free
Language
English
OS
Windows and Linux (64-bit)
Website
www.dreamcrafter.dev
7 Score 70 
- Pros
- Beautiful design
- Tabs and Groups
- Many commands (with hotkeys)
- Negatives
- Slightly slow startup
- Not portable
There are several alternatives to Windows Explorer, and many of them are little more than a clone of Total Commander (is it telling you anything)? Empire, available for Windows and Linux, is such an alternative, but one with its own approach.
Standard Features
The start-up of Imperium is a bit slow, but we are not bothered by it during operation. Three panels will initially appear, but the left side panel is only useful in some circumstances (see below). The second panel contains the selected folder, while the third is for previewing images and certain document types.
Of course you can click your way through your folder hierarchy, but from the jumplist you can also type in the path yourself. You achieve that with Ctrl+J, and there are also hotkeys for tons of other functions, all customizable from within the Settings menu.
Commands and Tabs
As soon as you enter a few letters, Imperium automatically filters for items that correspond to them. The tool also provides a context menu, with options to open, delete and copy folders or files, but also, for example, to create an archive file (zip or tar/gzip). Of Ctrl+K by the way, you open a menu with even more commands.
Imperium gets all the fun with tabs. You can also create tab groups, each with tabs pointing to different paths. You manage the management from the side panel.
Also the built-in search function (Ctrl+F) is quite useful and supports both wildcards and regular expressions. Filters are also available for file size and date and for file content. The search results become available in the side panel.
Imperium can be further manipulated in all kinds of ways, via the gear icon and from the Settings menu.
Conclusion
Imperium knows how to charm with a beautiful interface, a well-thought-out tab management and an extensive arsenal of commands, almost all of which can also be accessed via a hotkey.
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