Nautilus is the default file manager used in Gnome by most of the Linux distributions, now even though nautilus is extremely user friendly and has wide array of features (including ability to extend it's feature set with scripts and extensions). All these features does make nautilus bit resource hungry especially if you are using older machine.

An extremely fast and lightweight file manager for X.PCMan File Manager is a gtk2 based file manager for the X Window System.

Dolphin was intended to replace Konqueror as the default file manager in KDE 4. The scope of Dolphin was to only provide a compact and easy-to-use file manager, without all the features and uses Konqueror has. And (I think) it succeeded. In the beginning most of the users were reticent regarding this idea, since Konqueror provided anything one could possibly ask from a file manager.

Thunar is a lightweight file manager included in the Xfce desktop environment. It has a simpler interface compared to Nautilus, the default file manager which ships with GNOME. So, what are the features which come with Thunar, and what makes it a viable alternative to Nautilus?

There may well be some of you out there who are currently thinking, “It’s not that bad…” to which my response is: in terms of user interface, there are much better file managers available for GNOME than GNOME’s default file manager (two, off the top of my head: Thunar, default for the Xfce Desktop Environment and PCMan File Manager, or PCManFM).

File management is not a sexy job, but it is something you probably do a lot of. Nautilus, the default Gnome file manager, does a pretty good job, but it does have a few shortcomings. Of course you are not limited to Nautilus, and I have found the LXDE file manager PCMANFM quite handy. Here's why.

This little tutorial will explain how to maintain a clean desktop and at the same time have quick access to your data. It makes use of Compiz widget layer and a lightweight File Manager by creating a folder to store all your Desktop icons/files and make it into a widget where you can access it easily.

PCManFM is the default file manager in LXDE, the Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment. Its goal is to offer a fast execution speed, providing in the same time enough functionality for a file manager of its class.

One of the greatest mysteries to me is why most file managers don’t have tabs - it makes performing tasks so much simpler.
I’ve found a lightweight file manager for Ubuntu called PCMan that gives you most of the functionality from Nautilus, but also has tabs.