NetFinder: A Finder-like FTP Client

Looking at the sheer number of OS X FTP clients, one gets the impression that the only thing Mac users do is transfer files. If you happen to be one of those people and have yet to find an FTP application that suits you, version 3 of Ortabe’s NetFinder has been released.

NetFinder has all the features you’d expect from a modern FTP application. All standard FTP protocols are supported, including iDisk access through WebDAV. There are advanced synchronization and mirroring tools, as well as external editing support and integrated file previewing. A feature unique to NetFinder is the ability to add color labels and comments to files on remote servers.

Ortabe advertises NetFinder as Finder for the web, but a casual glance at the application will make you realize that the developers don’t mean the unified Finder of OS X 10.5. Rather, NetFinder resembles the multi-window spatial Finder from the Classic Mac OS.

The result is an application that looks like an old OS 9 application running under emulation. NetFinder’s interface isn’t poor per se, but feels outdated and out of place in OS X. You won’t find the usual OS X aqua interface quirks in NetFinder: drawers, sidebars, and standard toolbars are noticeably absent in NetFinder. Icons are flat and boxy.

Like the classic Finder, NetFinder uses a multiple window paradigm, so instead of finding all the tools you need in a unified window, tools are scattered about in contextual menus and buried deep in the menu bar. Opening up more than one connection and drilling down a few directory levels will likely drown your screen in a sea of various windows.

NetFinder isn’t a bad program, useful features are implemented well enough, but there are simply better alternatives. Both Transmit and Yummy FTP are cheaper rivals that integrate more fluidly with OS X. Or if you prefer free open-source software, Cyberduck reproduces nearly all the functionality of NetFinder for free. NetFinder’s only worthwhile asset is the remote labeling and commenting. Or nostalgia I guess, if you really miss the pre-OS X era.

NetFinder requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later and can be purchased from the developer Ortabe for $35.