Help for Total Commander

User interface

The user interface is divided into the following elements:

• The title bar, showing the number of selected and total files/folders.
• The current path of the folder currently shown
• One or two file panels (configurable) showing the list of files/folders
• In virtual panel mode, two buttons at the edge of the screen:
  - Arrow button to swap panels
  - Equal sign button to set the same folder in the other panel as in the active panel
• The top item in the list allows to go to the parent, root or reload the current directory
• A button bar (toolbar) which contains buttons for some internal commands, but also allows to add external programs.
• The main menu, which is shown when pressing the menu button.

Selecting files/folders

There are several ways to select files and folders in Total Commander:

1. Tap on the icons
2. Use the select button in the lower left corner
3. a. Long tap on icon to show selection menu
   b. Choose "Select files"
   c. Scroll to last item you want to select
   d. Tap on its ICON to select the entire range

File operations

You can perform the following file operations with Total Commander/Android:

• Copy/Move
• Rename
• Multi-Rename Tool: at least one file/folder selected
• Delete
• Edit as text
• New folder
• Pack with ZIP
• Unpack from an archive file
• Bluetooth send
• Send via Wifi

Main menu

The main menu contains the following commands:

• Directory history
• Bookmarks
• Search
• Exit
• New Folder
• Configure

Directory history

Shows the last visited directories.

Just tap on a directory to go there.

Bookmarks

Allows to save often used directories.

Just tap on a saved directory to go there.

To add a directory, don't come here via home screen! Instead, go to the directory first, then add it via main menu.

Search (Find files)

Allows to search for specific files:

Search for:
File name to search for, also partial names and wildcards *,? allowed

Containing text:
Search for text in files

Case sensitive:
Consider upper/lowercase

Unicode:
Search for text in Unicode files

Not older than:
Search only files younger than a certain time

Size:
Restrict results by size

Exit

Closes Total Commander for Android

New folder

Allows to create a new subfolder in the current directory.

Configuration

Allows to change Total Commander settings.

• About/Version Information: Shows about box
• Help / Licenses: Shows this help
• Language: Choose the language of the user interface independent from Android
• Date/time format: Choose the timestamp format for the file lists and properties
• Show hidden files/folders: Show files/folders where the name starts with a dot
• Hide files (ignore): Hide files depending on their name, either system-wide (only name given), or in specific folders only
• Fonts and colors: Choose font, foreground and background color for file lists. You can also increase the minimum line height if you have troubles to tap on files
• Sounds/Music: Configure sounds for background operations (message box and operation complete), and the context menu for the music player
• Internal associations: Define file associations bypassing the Android file associations
• Thumbnails: Turn thumbnails for jpg/gif/png/bmp files on/off. Choose to use a cache or not, clear the cache
• Full screen (no title): Turn off the title bar within TC
• Hide notification bar: Turn off the system's notification bar (android 2.3 or older)
• List window arrangement: Show two lists side by side, or two virtual panels. Show one or two button bars
• Side scroll: In the mode with just one visible file panel, you can use a wipe gesture to swap the two panels when this option is checked. Otherwise only the arrow button can be used
• Exit via BACK button: Determines whether the BACK button is used for going to the parent directory or for closing the program
• Root functions everywhere: Use root functions to read directory lists wherever possible

Copy/Move

To copy or move files, select them by tapping on their icons, or with the select button, then tap on the Copy/Move button.

In the copy dialog, you can now type a target directory. The default is the directory of the target panel.

To copy the file(s), click Copy, or to move them, click Move, or send them via Bluetooth or Wifi.

If the source window shows the contents of a ZIP or other archive file, the selected files are unpacked.

If the target window shows the contents of a ZIP file, the selected files are packed into that zip file.

If the source window lists the contents of a plugin, the selected files will be downloaded.

If the target window lists the contents of a plugin, the selected files will be uploaded.

Rename

Allows to rename a single file in place: Hold down the finger/pen on a file until the context menu appears, then tap on "Rename".

Multi-Rename Tool

Allows to rename all selected files with powerful rename options:
- Create a numbered file list
- Convert to upper-/lowercase via placeholders, e.g. [U][N][L]
- Replace a string in the name with a different string
- Add current date/time to file name
- Keep only certain characters of the file name

The results are shown immediately in the result box below the rename options, before the files are renamed.

Field descriptions

Name mask
With this field, you can create a definition for a new file name. The button [] allows to insert place holders for the previous name, parts of the name, a counter, or file date/time. The + button opens a list of older masks. Place holders are always in brackets [ ], while all other letters (without brackets) will be placed in the new name without a change.

See below for a description of all available placeholders!

Files can also be moved to other directories by specifying directory separators "/" (slashes) in the name. Directories which do not exist yet will be created automatically.

Ext.
Definition string for extension. In principle, all placeholders can be added to either of the two definition boxes. The rename tool will create a rename string like this: Fields in name mask + "." + Fields in extension mask. The reason why the two fields are separated is to prevent the accidental removal of file extensions, which would remove the association of files with a certain program.

Search for & Replace with
The string entered in the field 'Search for' is replaced by the string in 'Replace with'. The text in 'search for' is NOT case sensitive! Both fields support the placeholders (wildcards) * and ?. A * stands for any number of characters, a ? for exactly one character.
This function is applied AFTER the rename mask!
You can search+replace multiple strings in one step! The strings need to be separated by the vertical line (Button to the right of the field).

Example: Replace Umlauts+Accents:
Search for: ä|ö|ü|é|è|ê|à
Replace with: ae|oe|ue|e|e|e|a

Checkboxes:
^ Respect upper-/lowercase. Can be used to replace uppercase characters with other characters than lowercase.
1x Only replace the first occurrence of the search string if it appears multiple times in the file name
[E] Also replace the search text within the extension.
RegEx Use regular expressions.
Subst. Substitution: The entire file name will be replaced by the characters entered in the "Replace" field. If this option isn't checked, only the found expression will be replaced. You can work with subexpressions, e.g. $1 first expression in (), $2 second expression etc.

[...] Button
Opens a menu with the following options:
<Undo last operation>
     Tries to undo the rename operation in reverse order (last renamed file first). This also works AFTER closing the Multi-Rename-Tool! Just re-open it with any file(s).
<Default>
     Sets the default settings (no changes to the names)
<Save as...>
     Allows to save the current settings
<Delete>
     Deletes the last selected entry from the list
Entry names
     Loads settings saved earlier

<File list>
     Shows a list of all files being renamed. The modified names are shown below the original names. All changes to the above fields are immediately shown in this column, but the files are not actually renamed until the Start! button is pressed. If the rename mask contains an error, the string <Error!> is shown.

Individual items can be moved up/down with drag&drop of the icons. This is useful for changing the file order for the counter function.

START!
     Starts to rename files. There will be a warning message if there are name conflicts.

Back button
     Closes the dialog box without any further actions.

Here is a description of all available placeholders. IMPORTANT: Upper/lowercase is relevant!

[N] old file name, WITHOUT extension

[N1] The first character of the original name

[N2-5] Characters 2 to 5 from the old name (totals to 4 characters). Double byte characters (e.g. Chinese, Japanese) are counted as 1 character! The first letter is accessed with '1'.

[N2,5] 5 characters starting at character 2

[N2-] All characters starting at character 2

[N02-9] Characters 2-9, fill from left with zeroes if name shorter than requested (8 in this example): "abc" -> "000000bc"

[N 2-9] Characters 2-9, fill from left with spaces if name shorter than requested (8 in this example): "abc" -> "      bc"

[N-8,5] 5 characters starting at the 8-last character (counted from the end of the name)

[N-8-5] Characters from the 8th-last to the 5th-last character

[N2--5] Characters from the 2nd to the 5th-last character

[N-5-] Characters from the 5th-last character to the end of the name

[A] Old file name, WITH extension (All characters of the name), without the path

[2-5] Characters 2-5 from the name INCLUDING path and extension (other numbers as in [N] definition)

[P] Paste name of the parent directory, e.g. when renaming /directory/file.txt -> pastes "directory".
     Also working: [P2-5], [P2,5], [P-8,5], [P-8-5] and [P2-], see description of [N] above.

[G] Grandparent directory (usage: see [P]).

[E] Extension

[E1-2] Characters 1-2 from the extension (same ranges as in [N] definition)

[C] Paste counter, as defined in Define counter field

[C10+5:3] Paste counter, define counter settings directly. In this example, start at 10, step by 5, use 3 digits width.
     Partial definitions like [C10] or [C+5] or [C:3] are also accepted.

[C+1/100] New: Fractional number: Paste counter, but increase it only every n files (in this example: every 100 files).
     Can be used to move a specific number of files to a subdirectory,e.g. [C+1/100]/[N]

[Caa+1] Paste counter, define counter settings directly. In this example, start at aa, step 1 letter, use 2 digits (defined by 'aa' width)

[C:a] Paste counter, determine digits width automatically, depending on the number of files. Combinations like [C10+10:a] are also allowed.

[S] Paste file size, in bytes

[T1] After this position, use last modification date/time from renamed file for all date/time fields (default).
     Note: These are just switches! Use them with the other time placeholders, e.g. [T1][YMD] [hms]

[T2] After this position, use current date/time (when rename dialog was opened)

[T3] After this position, use current date/time (when rename options were last changed)

[d] Paste date as defined in current country settings. / is replaced by a dash

[Y] Paste year in 4 digit form

[y] Paste year in 2 digit form

[M] Paste month, always 2 digit

[D] Paste day, always 2 digit

[t] Paste time, as defined in current country settings. : is replaced by a dot.

[h] Paste hours, always in 24 hour 2 digit format (0-23)

[H] Paste hours, always in 12 hour 2 digit format (1-12)

[i] am/pm indicator in English, e.g. for time format 10.30pm. Use [i1] for just a or p, e.g. 10.30p.

[m] Paste minutes, always in 2 digit format

[s] Paste seconds, always in 2 digit format

[u] Convert all composite characters (e.g. separate a and ^) to precomposed characters (â). Must be the first placeholder in the command.

[U] All characters after this position in uppercase

[L] All characters after this position in lowercase

[F] First letter of each word uppercase after this position, all others lowercase

[f] Like [F], but using rules for English in titles (certain words like a, in, the, ... lowercase)

[n] All characters after this position again as in original name (upper/lowercase unchanged)

[%x%] Inserts environment variable "x". Also supports parts, e.g. [%x%1-5]

[[] Insert square bracket: open

[]] Insert square bracket: close (cannot be combined with other commands inside the square bracket!)

Edit

Hold down the finger/pen on a file until the context menu appears, then tap on "Edit file". This loads the file under the cursor into the default file editor, or shows a list of available editors.

Internal editor help

Delete

With the X button you can delete the selected files.

Important note: The files will NOT be moved to some kind of Recycle bin, they will be deleted immediately!

Pack with ZIP

Allows to pack the selected files and/or subdirectories with the built-in ZIP packer.

ZIP files created this way are fully ZIP-compatible and can be unzipped on the PC or also on the device. To unzip, open the file with ENTER (or tap) and then copy the files to any directory you want.

Unpack files from an archive file

To unpack files from an archive file, open the archive with a tap, then select the files which you want to unpack and press the Copy button.

Total Commander can unpack the following file types:
zip, rar, 7z, tar, gz, z, bz2, arj, lzh, iso, img, cab
It uses the free open source 7zip library. The source code is available via Licenses page.

Properties

Shows the properties of the selected file(s) and allows to change the date/time.
For folders, the occupied disk space is shown.

Reload dir

Reloads the current directory to reflect any changes made in other programs.

Send via Bluetooth

Allows to send the selected files via Bluetooth (OBEX standard protocol).

The OBEX standard is used by devices like PocketPCs, Palm(TM), and many mobile phones.

Send via Wifi

Allows to send the selected files via Wifi by creating a local WebDAV server. Needs the Wifi plugin.

The server URL will also be shown as a QR code. As a target, it's possible to use the Wifi plugin on other Android devices, or any QR-Code reader together with a Web browser.

Select/unselect files

Allows to select or unselect files of specific types, e.g. all html files by using the wildcards *.htm *.html .

Type the wildcards you want or select previously used wildcards from the dropdown list, and click on "select" or "unselect". The files will be selected in addition to the already selected files!

Context menus

Context menus are invoked by holding down the finger/pen for about 1 second. They exist for the files in the file list, and for some buttons in the button bar:

The local file menu contains the commands Rename, Properties, Copy/Move to clipboard, Paste here.

For audio and video files, there are additional menu items for the internal player.

All user-defined buttons also have context menus to change or delete them

Keyboard shortcuts

On devices with a keyboard, or when using a Bluetooth keyboard, Total Commander supports the following keyboard shortcuts:

Button bar

The button bar contains some predefined buttons, like Copy and Delete, and also allows to add your own buttons by tapping on the "add" button (the last one behind all user buttons). The button will always be added at the end of the button bar, but just before the "add" button.

Description of the buttons:

	Select/unselect files. You can also directly tap on the file icons to select them.
	Copy or move selected files, send via Bluetooth.
	Pack files with ZIP packer.
	Delete selected file(s).
	Sort active panel by name, extension, size, or timestamp.
	Open secondary bar with user-defined buttons.
	Add current directory to button bar (default), or let the user choose an internal command or external application. Edit via Tap+Hold.

To modify a user-defined button, tap on it for more than 1 second. This will open the context menu, which allows to change or delete the button.

See Dialog box - change button

Button change dialog

This dialog allows to change the settings of a button.

Fields:

• Function type: Choose what the button should do:
  • Change directory: Go to directory inside of Total Commander
  • Internal command: Start command inside of Total Commander
  • Launch app: Starts other program, usually without parameters
  • View file with app: Uses the VIEW option to launch a program, pass first selected file to it
  • Send to app: Uses the SEND option to launch a program, pass first selected file to it
  • Send shell command: Send command to the operating system. Command must be either sh or su (for rooted devices), or Comment:sh / Comment:su, parameter the actual command(s). A ? as the first character of the parameters opens a dialog to change the shell command. A * as the first character (or behind the ?) shows the results in a dialog box, and allows to copy them to the clipboard.
• Command: Tap on the >> button to select an appropriate command for the chosen function type
• Parameters: Parameter(s) passed to the program. See below for a list of supported parameters
• Icon: Icon to be shown in the button bar

Available parameters:

(Multiple lines allowed, one parameter per line!)
file:/path/name
Send file name as URL
url:http://www.server.com/
Send any URL to app
stream:/path/name
Send name as STREAM extra field
type:text/plain
Set explicit MIME type
extra:NAME:data
Set extra field of name android.intent.extra.NAME with value data
extra0:NAME:data
Set extra field of name NAME with value data
extra2:NAME:data
Extra field requiring string list
action:action name
Set explicit action, e.g. action:android.intent.action.MAIN
category:category name
Set explicit category, e.g. category:android.intent.category.LAUNCHER
list:
Send the list of selected files as URL list via putParcelableArrayListExtra.
Automatically sets MIME type to type common to all files, e.g. audio/mp3, audio/*, */*
Also changes ACTION_SEND to ACTION_SEND_MULTIPLE
list:NAME
Like list:, but sets name used by putParcelableArrayListExtra.

Special parameters:
%% single percent sign
%P current path name (with trailing slash)
%N name of first selected file
%T current path in other panel
%M name of first selected file in other panel
%C content://url of first selected file
%S All selected file names without path, surrounded with "" if they contain spaces, e.g. name.txt "second name.txt"
%P%S Like %S, but with full path, e.g. /storage/emulated/0/name.txt
   Note: Surround with ' to always add single quotes, " for double quotes

Example: Send a mail with attachment to 2 recipients:
Function type: Send to app
Command: >> GMail
Parameters:
stream:%P%N
extra2:EMAIL:x@y.com
extra2:EMAIL:z@y.com
extra:SUBJECT:File for you
extra:TEXT:Here is the file %N

Internal editor

The internal editor allows to edit small files in ANSI and Unicode format.

Main menu:

• Save: Save current file
• Save as: Save with different name
• Close: Close editor without saving
• Settings: Choose font, colors, and word wrap
• Find: Find text
• Find next: Continue search

Note: Copy/Paste can be performed via the context menu

TC Media Player

The internal media player allows to play audio and video files supported by Android itself, using the built-in MediaPlayer control.
It can stream music and video from the Internet and from (updated) plugins.

Main menu:

• Add files: Switches to TC and enables a special mode to add files with a single tap to the queue
• Load playlist: Loads playlist in pls, m3u, m3u8 or xspf format
• Save playlist: Save playlist in m3u or m3u8 (Unicode) format
• Exit: Close player

Description of the buttons:

	Only during full screen video playback (landscape mode): Allows to zoom the video. It can be zoomed as follows: 1:1 Square pixels are assumed 100% Full screen (no borders) 16:9 Zoomed to 16:9 format 4:3 Zoomed to 4:3 format
	Opens the equalizer. The icon is green when the equalizer is enabled. Requires Android 2.3 or newer.
	Play previous file in queue.
	Play/resume playing current file.
	Pause currently playing file.
	Play next file in queue.
	Close player and delete queue.

Plugins

Plugins can be accessed via the home screen.

Passwords for connections can be stored with the built-in password manager. You set a master password which protects the passwords with AES256 encryption. To change the master password, try to connect as usual. In the master password dialog, enter the old password, then click on the button CHANGE MASTER PASSWORD.

The following plugins are currently available:

• Installed apps (preinstalled)
• ftp
• LAN
• SFTP
• Cloud: (Google) Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive
• WebDAV
• WiFi (WLAN)
• USB-Stick

Installed Apps Plugin

The Installed Apps plugin lists all the installed third party applications

You can perform the following operations on them:

• Uninstall by selecting some apps and tapping on the delete button
• View application settings by tapping on an app
• Backup apps to SD-Card with the Copy button
• Add apps from SD-Card with the Copy button

FTP Plugin

The ftp plugin allows to make connections to ftp servers.

Tap on <New connection> to create a new connection. Then enter a connection name.
You can now specify server name and port, user, password, remote directory, commands to send on connect (separate multiple commands by a ;), server type, firewall, passive mode and file name encoding.

Connection:
Tap on a connection to connect. After connecting, the packer icon will change to a connection icon. Use this icon to change the transfer mode (binary, text or automatic), and to disconnect. Only a single connection is supported at the same time per panel.

Server type:
If your server isn't detected, you can define a server type in Total Commander for Windows and import it into the Android version. To do this, open your wcx_ftp.ini, and look for a section like this:
[Unix1]
Template1=pppppppppp !S* TTT DDDDDDDD n*

Save this to a file called (in this example) Unix1.ini, transfer it to the SD-Card of your Android device, and then use the option "load detect string".

Firewall:
This opens another dialog for the configuration of your firewall. All firewall types of the desktop Total Commander are supported, except for the HTTP type. Leave the user name and password fields empty if your firewall doesn't support them. The first type is the most common, so try this first.

LAN plugin

The LAN plugin allows to access often accessed servers in the LAN (local area network) via smb (Windows file sharing).

1. Tap on <new server>
2. Enter a name for the list, e.g. Server1
3. Enter the server name in the network

To be able to connect, you need a real LAN connection to your network (e.g. via WLAN).

SFTP plugin

The SFTP plugin allows to connect to SFTP servers (file transfers over SSH). For FTPS (FTP over SSL) you need to use the FTP plugin.

Cloud plugins

The following plugins for cloud services are currently available:

• Drive (Google Drive): Uses the Google account stored on the device
• Dropbox
• OneDrive (Windows Live): Access to the Microsoft cloud

WebDAV plugin

Connect to WebDAV servers, e.g. by GMX, OwnCloud or CPanel servers (port 2078).

WiFi (WLAN) plugin

Allows to send files and URLs between two Android devices, or from one Android device to any PC, tablet or smartphone with a web browser.

Send: Select some files, tap on and then on "via WiFi".

Receive: Tap on "WiFi Transfer" in the Home folder. Then scan the QR code, or enter the URL manually.

USB-stick plugin

Access to USB sticks via USB on the go on devices which normally don't allow the access, like the Nexus 7 and 10.

Problems+Troubleshooting

Here are some known problems and possible solutions:

Q: Total Commander for Android fails to access some network shares.
A: Try to use the numeric IP address instead of the server name

Q: Total Commander for Android fails to send a file via Bluetooth on my custom ROM.
A: Some custom ROMs (e.g. Villarom 12.0.0 on HTC Hero) do not implement Bluetooth correctly. Try with a different Bluetooth program like Blueobex whether this is the case. Please contact us if other Bluetooth tools work but Total Commander doesn't.