OS/2 e-Zine! - the Rave: File Freedom v1.5a

the Rave: File Freedom v1.5a - by Noah Sumner

I'm always on the lookout for good OS/2 software and I have found many such pieces of software that I believe to be very well designed. However, rarely am I able to find a piece of software as good as File Freedom. I used a copy of FileStar by SofTouch systems for a while and even upgraded it to version 2. I no longer use that product however, because I have found File Freedom to be much better.

I first downloaded File Freedom at version 1.0. Even then the product was good, but not really worth writing about. Since then though, in a very short period of time it has been improved in dozens of ways. I have never had a problem with File Freedom since I started using it, but I often download updates; not because of bugs but because of new features (isn't that a nice change?).

The Basics

File Freedom (GIF, 13.9k) is a very powerful file management program. When you want to do something there is only one problem: you have to decide which of the various ways available you wish to accomplish your task. The author has made File Freedom very easy to use by making it so that users may complete tasks in any way they find intuitive. This makes File Freedom much easier to use than any of the other products for OS/2 I have seen. In fact, I can't even begin to tell all the ways you can accomplish most tasks, there are that many! However the important thing to note is that everything can be done by mouse or keyboard with ease.

Also, new in v1.5 of FileFreedom, the developer has added drag and drop support for most file actions. This provides even more choice and increases the product's native OS/2 feel.

One of the nicest features included in File Freedom is the ability to create a Desktop object with only a having to hit a few buttons. Just two simple mouse clicks and you can have a ready-made program object of your favourite application.

All the features most people use on a regular basis are included and easy to use in File Freedom. There is something that almost everyone will find hard to live without. For instance, the ability to view the contents of a ZIP file without uncompromising it, right in the File Manager!

File Freedom is also very configurable. There is a particular package which I really like to use to view text files, and without any difficulty I set up File Freedom to load that program when I click on any text file. And the one feature I missed from FileStar (undelete), I was able to add to File Freedom as well without any difficulty.

All this and great support too!

The true strength of File Freedom has to be the wonderful support that the author provides. If you have a problem, the developer will probably have sent a response within 24 hours!

But nothing's perfect...

One drawback I found though is that the program is relatively simple; if you want some of the advanced features included in other products, File Freedom may not be for you. In fact, I still use FileStar at times for a few of these features.

Still, the kind of support Bruce Henry provides for only Cdn $10 (less than US$7!), compared to FileStar (which sells for about Cdn $80) makes this product well worth looking into. I encourage you to download a copy today!

File Freedom v1.5a
by Red Paint Software
download from the OS/2 Supersite (ZIP, 113k)
Registration: US$10.00

Noah Sumner is a member of TeamOS/2 and the Toronto OS/2 Users Group.

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