Manufacturer: SkyTag Software, Inc.

Price: $39.95

Utilities

System Utilities

System Requirements
File Buddy 5 requires a Macintosh computer with System 7.1 or later and Color QuickDraw.

Details: Interface
The File Buddy interface is straightforward and easy to use. All of the main features are accessible from the File bar menus. (See image "Menus")

Details: Get Info
Within the Finder, if you Get Info on a directory that contains a large number of files, the System Folder for instance, it can often be a slow process to find out the size of the directory and the number of items contained therein. With File Buddy, directory file sizes are calculated much faster than within the Finder. File Buddy also calculates the number of items like the Finder, but also gives the exact number of files and folders. When working with large directories of files, this is a useful feature for checking the size of the directory and it is a great deal faster than the Finder. (See images "System Folder Info, Standard" and "File Buddy System Folder Info" to the left.)

Details: Find
File Buddy offers an extensive set of search criteria. Items can be searched for by any file property, name, label, file type and creator, date created or modified, file size, and more. File searches can also be enhanced with plug-ins, extending file search capabilities even more. File Buddy can also be used as the default file finding application by using the File Buddy CP control panel. (See image "Find" to the left.)

Details: List
The List feature allows you to browse the contents of a directory or directories, select specific items, save the List for future use or open previously used Lists. The List feature is utilized by the Find function, but can also be used by itself. The results of a Find search are displayed in a List window and any of the functions of the List may be used.

The List window displays the directories name or given search criteria, the total size and number of those items and the number of files and folders. It also gives information on the creator and type codes, the size of the files, when the files were created and modified as well as the location of those files. The List window toolbar provides functions for working with the listed files. Some of the features include reveal selected items in the Finder, open selected items, print selected items, copy the selected items, move to desktop, and move selected items to the Trash. (See image "List Window" to the left)

Details: Cleaning
File Buddy offers a variety of search tools that allow you to purge from your hard drive the useless bits of data that collect. Functions include find empty files and folders, orphaned files, duplicate files, broken aliases, and unused preference files. These searches are fast and allow you to quickly identify and remove unneeded files. (See image "Cleaning Menu" to the left.)

Details: Special
One of the interesting functions available in File Buddy is the ability to restart the Finder. When this function is used, File Buddy quits the Finder application and restarts it. I have yet to discover why this is of use, but it is nevertheless interesting! From the Special menu, the trash can also be emptied.

Details: Droplets
With File Buddy you can create droplet applications that automatically apply changes to items when dropped on them. This is a feature that I found extremely useful and a real time saver. To test the droplets feature, I create a droplet which I named "DropJPG". When I drag and drop a file or directory of files upon the droplet, the droplet changes the creator code of any JPG files to "ogle" the creator code for the QuickTime PictureViewer. The droplet also removes any custom icons and comments that the files may have, changes the file's extensions to lowercase, and removes the top version string. I found this droplet extremely useful when dealing with large numbers of JPG image files. The droplet standardizes the image viewer and removes unwanted information. (See image "DropJPG Droplet" at left bottom.)

Details: Trial
A 30 day trial version of File Buddy is available for download at the SkyTag web site. This is an excellent way to evaluate the software and assess whether to purchase it.

Details: Purchasing & Upgrading
For purchasing and upgrading information, visit : http://www.skytag.com/filebuddy/purchasing/purchasing.html

Conclusion
While File Buddy carries a high price tag of $39.95, it is an indispensable and highly useful utility. If you work with a bunch of files, File Buddy can dramatically speed up and ease your work load. In this review I have tried to cover some of the most useful functions clearly yet thoroughly and I hope I have done so.