28 Comments for Directory Opus 9

• Jan 28 2010 12:52am
  Jonathan Potter (Visitor)
  @Steve Dunn: Minor upgrades are free, major upgrades are charged for with a substantial discount for registered users (and free if you have purchased recently). All licenses include a free laptop license.
  
  @D C: As O M has already said, Directory Opus is updated frequently. All "point" updates are free for registered users.
• Jan 29 2010 12:47am
  Jon Koerner (Superstar)
  My two-cents on "Is it worth the seemingly high price???"
  
  This is the best price discount (40%-off) that I have ever seen for Dopus. [Thanks, BitsduJour, for negotiating this!) Until now, the best discount was a 30%-off "holiday" sale that they ran during last December -- I bought a 5-user license (which, like the single-user license, allows an additional [6th] installation on a laptop computer) then. [Question: Is this BitsduJour discount also good on their 5-user license??]
  
  Dopus is the most expensive enhanced Windows file manager that I'm aware of, but it is probably the most fully-featured one. Xyplorer Pro, which was in a BitsduJour sale recently, is perhaps the second best one, in terms of sheer number of truly useful enhanced features, and it is less expensive than Dopus (though not exactly "cheap"). I think Total Commander, while being far more useful than Windows Explorer, is not nearly as enhanced as either Xyplorer or Dopus.
  
  But I have actually purchased both Xyplorer & Dopus, because they are both very useful and each has useful features that the other does not have.
  
  Though expensive, compared to other "utilities" software, I consider the expense justified since a "file management" is the utility program that I use far and away more than any other utility software program - probably 50-100 times per day or more. So the time savings obtained by using the features of an enhanced file manager add up quickly to a substantial amount.
  
  Because of that, I have been buying and using various enhanced file managers since 1981, starting with some written for CP/M (called Z-something), and then some for DOS, like Norton Commander and 4DOS and its 4Files add-on, and then many for Windows, like XTree, and later PowerDesk (which was really amazing at the time, until it got sold and destroyed). Probably I've spent more dollars on file managers than on operating systems, since Microsoft NEVER managed to produce a decent one.
  
  Anyway, my point here is that, for those who are hesitant to purchase these products because of the seemingly high cost, you should give them a thorough trial and consider how much time savings you might realize. The problem is that it really takes longer than the typical 30-day trial period, and some serious effort, to learn them well enough to discover how useful they might be.
  
  People spend $500 or more on a program like Photoshop, but it takes them a couple of years or more to learn it well enough to get their money's worth out of it. So I'm just saying you should keep that in mind -- you can't really evaluate, or compare Total Commander et al., to Dopus by doing a casual two or three-hour tryout.
• Jan 29 2010 10:09pm
  Nick Kobe (Visitor)
  Hi!
  
  I previously used a trial version of the product. I liked it. However, it is a single computer (+ one laptop). I have also tried several other desktop explorer products. I purchased xplorer2 and can use it on all 7 of my personal (single user) computers for $14.95 (BDJ discount). I'd buy and use Directory Opus 9 at $45.93 if I could use it on all my computers. It is THAT good to justify its licensing policy and is another product that ENCOURAGES software piracy. When will they ever learn?
  
  Nick
• Jan 30 2010 10:34am
  Dor Mouse (Visitor)
  Strange that so many of the comments are about the high price when the offer actually gives a substantial discount against that price. And a fair amount of bitterness from people who have never even used the program. I do have a licence for DOpus - and for a fair number of other file explorers.
  
  About DOpus. It is expensive, no getting away from that. Major upgrades aren't cheap either - but they don't happen that often, and so overall upgrade price may not be that much higher than some other programs. I can't see that they're going to rethink their pricing strategy because of comments here - they have been going successfully for a very long time; maybe the economic downturn will affect their business enough for them to rethink. But the offer here seems a bit of a rethink anyway. The one thing a major price reduction is guaranteed to do us upset many current customers, so I can't see they'll choose to do that at least before the new version; cheaper upgrade pricing would be popular with existing customers though. I see no reason to believe a new version is just around the corner, and even when it does come, they continue to support older versions.
  
  And, although it is expensive, it is the best and most complete of the available file explorers. Well supported and frequent free upgrades. Easy enough to use without much knowledge - but you will only get full value by developing a good understanding of what it can do and setting it up to suit your workflows. If you don't have that much work for it, then you might well be better off with a simpler, cheaper program.
  
  My current file explorer usage also includes Shellless (cheaper) and Q-Dir (free) primarily because I find the limit of 2 panes (+ tabs) too limiting for lots of simple uses. Q-Dir has 4, Shellless as many as you set up. But for complex or intensive or image related stuff I go back to DOpus.
  
  TC is cheaper and complex, but much functionality comes through plugins. It's never suited me in appearance or way of working. XY is getting dearer by the year and only just got to dual panes. X2 is very good at what it does but has fewer functions and upgrades aren't cheap there either. So I may well end up upgrading when the time comes - but that decision will depend on price and what I think I will gain from it. That's the downside (upside?) to Dopus pricing - every upgrade or purchase price means that you really have to think about whether it is worth it, but it is a very good product. And they do give time to evaluate it (the trial is for 60 days though there's obviously not many days before this offer has gone).
• Jan 30 2010 9:21pm
  Glen H (Visitor)
  Yes, i agree with Dor Mouse. I paid approx $90.00 AUD plus an extra $11 for the USB option a year ago, That was with a 10% Xmas special inc GST so the current price is a fantastic buy for a program of this standard. The FTP feature and search/replace is worth that alone. I've missed out on this excellent deal though i hope that the company may look at looking after their existing customers with some good upgrade offers when the time arrives. The ability to customize this software to your own liking and the endless features make s this program worth every cent if used on a regular basis.
• Jan 31 2010 8:09am
  T Raynor (Superstar)
  I suggested this program for Bits many months ago. I have been using it for quite a while now and it's invaluable. Yes, it isn't cheap, but you get what you pay for. File explorer, media player, photo viewer, duplicate finder, ftp, Dual Pane View and so much more. They update it quite often and the program checks for updates weekly as I have it set that way. I tried the others, but this program really works for me.
• Jan 31 2010 12:37pm
  software guy (Visitor)
  Directory Opus is an excellent file manager. It is targeted at a select group that need to use it's many advanced features. And for that privelege they must pay. But realistically, most users will be very happy with a simpler, less expensive alternative. As an example, XYplorer was offered here on bitsdujour earlier at about half thediscounted Dopus price for a 5 license, usb capable file manager.
  So, my suggestion is to appreciate Directory Opus for what it is, and that is a top level file manager targeted at an exclusive audience. But most will be happy with alternative file managers, periodically discounted here on bitsdujour.
• Feb 1 2010 8:44am
  Tony Jacobs (Visitor)
  Directory Opus and Total Commander are both great products with a long history and fanatical users. Their features overlap by about 90%, but they serve different markets.
  
  Total Commander is aimed at more technical users. The key bindings will not be familiar to a Windows user and it does look like something from Windows 3.1 by default. Spend a few hours working with it and you will have it looking and working however you like. You may need to edit an .ini file and install a plugin or two. If that sounds too difficult then TC is not the product for you.
  
  If you want a more modern looking program that needs less setting up initially, then Directory Opus is the file manager for you. The downside as others have mentioned is that it's more expensive, especially if you have two or three computers. This deal makes Directory Opus much better value, which is why we are all here, right?
• Feb 1 2010 10:36am
  Barnet Rawitch (Bright Spark)
  If "Advanced FTP" is purchased, what are the additional features that are available?
• Feb 1 2010 2:29pm
  Jonathan Potter (Visitor)
  @Barnet: The Advanced FTP options enable Secure FTP and SSH.
  
  Also everyone please note, re licencing: Opus uses the same model as most commercial software these days - per machine licencing. Although it might not be obvious, all licence packs include a free laptop licence - so for example, the single licence for ~$45 actually covers you for 2 computers. If you need more than 5 licences please contact us directly as the volume discounts get even greater (and yes we'll honour the Bits du Jour discount for larger purchases as well).
• Feb 1 2010 3:40pm
  Jim McGowan (Visitor)
  Directory Opus is not inexpensive but I presently have one full license, which covers one primary computer and one notebook, plus a USB Export license. I have owned my licenses for almost three years. No major upgrades have been released during that time frame, but there have been many updates - some have been significant updates, and all have been free. They do not operate on the yearly "upgrade whether it's needed or not" concept that many developers do. I am very pleased with Directory Opus.
  
  Jim
• Feb 1 2010 9:56pm
  T Raynor (Superstar)
  As I said I like the program so much I asked BDJ to feature it. I bought a 2 license pack before, and I am going to buy another license tomorrow. It is on my must have list.
• Feb 2 2010 2:20am
  Ronald King (Rising Star)
  My question is about license counting. I understand that it comes with an additional laptop-use license, but how is it counted? What I mean, is that with Adobe Acrobat, for example, every installation is counted by the company against a list of allowed installs. The thing is, un-installs are also counted, and so I can move it to a fresh machine at will, or in my case, a freshly-reinstalled OS on the same macvhine without losing my ability to re-install, as long as I don't forget to un-install first to deactivate that license.
  
  Most software though only counts installs or activations i.e. Microsoft Products. So if I reformat my computer four times this year, I get four ticks against my allowed installs, and uninstalling or deactivating doesn't add back to it.
  
  So how does Directory Opus count licenses? When I reformat my computer next month, and I reinstall it, will that count against me, or can I uninstall first to get a use/license added back to my pool of allowed installs?
  
  I hope I'm phrasing this understandably; I know most people don't reformat as much as I do. I'm not looking to install it on more than two machines at a time, and I wouldn't use it on more than one simultaneously. But the way it counts licenses will pretty much determine whether I buy. I know my case is unusual, and I've lost the use of expensive software before because of this, which is why I ask.
• Feb 2 2010 2:27am
  Greg Perry (GP Software Vendor)
  Licences are not locked to individual machines - we trust the honesty of our users to respect the hard work we put into the product and our IP and licence conditions to ensure they have purchased the appropriate number of licences for the number of machines on which they wish to run the product.
• Feb 2 2010 7:03am
  Mitchel Haas (Visitor)
  This is, by far, one of the best applications available for the windows platform. Microsoft would learn well from this application, since it's done right in every way. I've owned DO for over 3 years now, and don't know what I'd do without it. I now find it to be an essential part of my everyday computer usage for both my personal and business life.
  
  I shudder to think of the idea of going back to use Windows Explorer. This being the case, I made sure I also got the portable version, so I could use it at my workplace on my thumb drive.
  
  If you find yourself using windows explorer more than casually, Directory Opus is a tool you cannot live without.
• Feb 2 2010 11:15am
  Nico Westerdale (Superstar)
  There are a couple questions here about licenses. Please note that for the newer promotions we now feature the license information overview in the top right panel.
• Feb 2 2010 11:51am
  Joshua Cowan (Frequent Flyer)
  Over the years, Windows Explorer has gotten incrementally better. However, I've still found it frustrating occasionally when I needed to do some heavy file management. I've tried every piece of software mentioned on this page, and by tried I mean used it for several weeks. None of them satisfied my needs or "took".
  
  Since I only found a need to use something more powerful on occasion (and I'm by no means a neophyte), I didn't think buying a file manager was really justified, much less one of the most expensive. I tried DOpus during the holiday season sale last year. A few days later, I bought a license. I will never go back. It's that good.
  
  Yes, you will probably only use a small subset of what it's capable of. That's because it will tend to fit your workflow and not the other way around. It's absolutely worth the cost if you value your time. There is a big community, and you'll be surprised what you missed once you use it for a while. Contrary to my expectations, I use it all the time.
  
  I'm sure my situation isn't unique and I wondered for a long time why somebody would spend money on a file manager. I know there a enough DOpus evangelists out there already, but I just wanted to say something.
• Feb 2 2010 12:07pm
  Kevin Andresen (Visitor)
  Using the trial, I was startled by the ability to arrow-key through my Arg. Tango move demo videos where each would start immediately in the preview pane. I'm sure it's not a unique feature but it sure makes me want SOME app like this. Dance video thumbnails tend to all look the same. Very cool.
• Feb 2 2010 1:09pm
  James Evans (Visitor)
  My computer is set up for multiple boot using Paragon Hard Disk Manager software which enables booting to either of 3 partitions, on the same hard drive, in the same computer. The boots can not run simultaneously - it is either, or - one at a time. One boot is XP Pro for music & photos & watching Netflix at night. One boot is Vista which is almost totally unused (hate it) and the third boot is XP Pro used during the day for emails, word processing, and watching my retirement funds dwindle, mostly (sigh!)
  
  Would a single license suffice in this case; same computer, same hard drive, different partitions?
  
  Jim
• Feb 2 2010 3:59pm
  Jonathan Potter (Visitor)
  Jim: Yes a single licence would be fine for that!
• Jul 26 2010 12:09pm
  curtis bennett (Bright Spark)
  Ok.  I've had it with all the other 'best of file managers' and 'free file managers that work'; because simply put, it's all a bunch of BS.  I just wish DOpus wasn't so expensive.  I tried DOpus a couple of trial sessions and absolutely loved it but when time ran out I ran off with another file manager.  Been doing that dance since Vista first emerged.  But after my final straw with Q-Dir's constantly crashing and slowing down with every new build, and the much touted Xplorer2's lack of a plug-in/add on system, well, that's pretty much all I can take.  I have tried just about every File manager imaginable and none can match up with DOpus.  Total commander may have more technical functionality, but that's not necessarily a good thing when you want productivity and not a 2 day session in how to modify your Drive buttons.  It's Windows vs Linux all over again with these two.  
• Jul 26 2010 12:31pm
  Nick Kobe (Visitor)
  Curts (Bright Spark) - Have no idea to whom your comments are directed.  I like Opus 9 and used it as a demo.  However, for ANYONE with 7 computers it isn't worth the price (would be the same comment for a fewer number).  I settled on Xplorer2 due to pricing (can install on ALL of the computers I use) and frankly it works and works all the time.  My background is marketing and with the low cost o destops/laptops more and more people are buying several computers.  The Opus 9 licensing process as well as other companies that use similar licensing doesn't fit the 21st Century and breeds piracy!  Software costs are in the development, promoition, and support (assuming there is any).  The cost of downloading software is "cheap" and if you are as well known as Opus they'd make a lot more money by selling user licenses instead of computer licenses.  They could save a lot of money by firing the person that made the computer license decision.  I'd buy the product if it were user licensed!  Have a great day.
• Jul 26 2010 7:05pm
  Mitchel Haas (Visitor)
  I've been using DO for years now, and have never regretted my decision.  Actually, I liked it so much I bought my wife a license at the full price (they didn't have the dual install licenses at that time).  If I remember correctly, I also purchased a USB license, although I'm not sure if they offer that.  Not once have I thought my purchases were a waste of money.   DO is a integral part of my work at home, as a freelance developer.   It's FTP features alone are almost worth the price alone, even without it's file manager features.  

  I've said it before, that Microsoft would be proud to call this product their own, and doubt they could have done a better job at it.
• Jul 26 2010 9:01pm
  curtis bennett (Bright Spark)
  @ Nick Kobe (Visitor)  I wasn't commenting @ or to anyone in particular. I read a few other file managers mentioned in several comments such as from 

  Glen H (Visitor)

  T Raynor (Superstar)

  software guy (Visitor)

  Tony Jacobs (Visitor)

  Dor Mouse (Visitor)

  and my feelings were echoed 5-fold.  Yeah, I agree with you on the license issue; although my opinion on that is strictly from a single portable license.  And about xplorer2, I really do like it.  It's great.  In the past few months that I used Xplorer2, in conjunction with Q-Dir on 3 monitors as well as a WHS stand alone unit for media and backups with it's own 64bit file manager, it really has been one of my favorites.  However a couple of issues that reared their heads at my initial trial phase never went away and support has not been able to help either.  The licensing and add ons aren't cheap either I hear.  But my problem was that somehow X2 developed it's own thought pattern and created it's own themed window set with colors so melded as to be eye straining to read as well as font being in Symbol.  No matter what I try, even uninstall, system restore, this theme will always appear if I attempt to open Xplorer2 directly from shortcut.  If I open file or folder from Windows Explorer, then selected desired item to auto open in Xplorer2 it was fine.  
• Jul 26 2010 9:21pm
  T Raynor (Superstar)
  I agree that the cost of multiple licenses for DO is quite prohibitive.  That is why I suggested it to BDJ and luckily they came through.  I originally purchased a 2 pack directly from DO which included a laptop license.  Later an additional 1 or 2 through the BDJ deal.  I probably only use a fraction of the features of the product, but it does those better than any other product I have tried.  

  The big detractor for me with software in general lately is a per computer subscription model.  I personally run 7 computers at home and that model won't work.  A per user and not per computer license would be much more attractive.
• Jul 26 2010 11:05pm
  Nick Kobe (Visitor)
  Hi Curtis and ALL...
  
  Curtis, on BDJ I paid under $15.00 for xplorer2 Pro and the license applied to all 7 computers.  Even if you could, conveniently, use OPUS 9 on 2 computers the cost for me would have been roughly $170.00!  Though I would agree that OPUS 9 can do everything you mention and there are aspects of the software (windows layout/color) I wish were differed the difference in price is a stronger factor in the decision making.  I'm constantly replacing laptops and upgrading/replacing desktop with newer and better computers.  I don't need the hastle of software licensing when I change computers or processors.  I ALWAYS recommend eplorer2 (not to say there aren't other good eplorer replacements with better pricing), because of the relative value when compared to OPUS 9.  Currently, I don't know of any of anyone in my circle that use OPUS 9 for the same reasons I've stated.  By the way, TABBLES is an up and coming software program previously on BDJ that is forward reaching and worth the money.  Goods folks and they will work a deal with you when you buy more than a couple of licenses.  Better stop otherwise I'll get kicked off for using this as a forum.  Take care!
• Jul 28 2010 8:10pm
  James Marten (Visitor)
  @Nick Kobe: Why don't you just use the USB version if you don't want to buy it for all your computers? Presumably you don't need to run it on all of them simultaneously. That's what I do and it works fine for me.
  
  I don't really understand why you find it so hard to accept the licence conditions. Presumably you had to pay for all seven computers, had to buy licences for Windows for all of them - why should other software be different?
  
• Jul 28 2010 8:22pm
  Roger Thomasson (Bits du Jour Admin)
  @ Nick

  
  

  You took the words right out of my mouth :-)  Perhaps it's time we all agreed to disagree on the license issue.

  
  

  Thanks!

  
  

  -r

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