Tern FilesCopy and move
Copying and moving work as in File Explorer, with a few safety nets on top: every job runs in the transfer queue, can be paused and lands in the history.
- Keyboard: select, press Ctrl+C to copy or Ctrl+X to cut, go to the target folder and press Ctrl+V. This also works between Tern Files, File Explorer and other apps.
- Mouse: drag files onto a folder in the list, into the other pane, into another window or into another app. On the same drive they are moved, onto another drive copied. Hold Shift to move or Ctrl to copy. A folder under the pointer shows a hint like Drop 3 files here.
- Two panes: F5 copies and F6 moves the selection into the other pane (see Dual pane).
Moving within a drive is instant. Across drives, Tern Files copies first and removes the original only when the copy is complete. File dates and attributes are kept.
If a file already exists at the target, the job asks what to do – see Transfers. Ctrl+Z undoes the last copy or move.
A file that another program has open can't be moved. Tern Files tells you which program it is, so you can close it and try again.
Create and rename
New folders, files and names are only a keystroke away.
- Ctrl+Shift+N (in dual-pane mode also F7) creates a folder called "New folder" and lets you type over its name right away.
- Right-click an empty spot in the list and open New: New folder, Text document and the templates Windows offers, such as a Word document. In dual-pane mode the New button in the toolbar offers folder and text document.
- If the name is taken, Tern Files adds a number, just like File Explorer: "New folder (2)".
To rename, press F2, choose Rename in the context menu or click the name of a selected item once more. The extension isn't selected at first, so you can type the new name straight away. Enter or a click elsewhere confirms, Esc cancels. If a name isn't allowed – because of characters like \ / : * ? " < > | or reserved names like CON – the field stays open and the status bar tells you why.
Create shortcut in the context menu puts a shortcut to the item next to it.
With several items selected, F2 opens batch rename (Pro).
Delete and Recycle Bin
Deleting is safe by default: files go to the Recycle Bin, and every deletion can be undone.
- Del or Move to Recycle Bin in the context menu moves the selection to the Recycle Bin.
- Shift+Del deletes permanently. Tern Files first asks Delete permanently? with the focus on Cancel, so Enter doesn't delete by accident.
- Network folders and many USB sticks have no Recycle Bin, and very large files may not fit into it. Then Tern Files always warns you before anything is deleted for good.
To get something back, press Ctrl+Z, use Restore in the history, or open Recycle Bin in the sidebar, right-click the file and choose Restore.
Under Settings › Safety & history:
- Always to the recycle bin – Shift+Del moves to the Recycle Bin, too.
- Ask before deleting for good – on by default.
- Protected places – Windows, programs and system files. Tern Files never changes anything there, not even after a confirmation.
Deleting a link or junction removes only the link, never the folder it points to.
Transfers
Every copy and move runs as a job in one queue shared by all windows, so you can keep working while it runs.
- The status bar shows the progress, for example "Copying 1 of 2". A click opens the Transfers panel with speed, time left and the current file; Esc closes it.
- Pause, resume or cancel each job – or all of them with Pause all. Drag a waiting job by its grip to change the order.
- Jobs to the same drive run one after another ("waiting for drive D:"), jobs to different drives at the same time.
- Verify after copying (on by default) compares each copy with the original; a copy that differs isn't kept.
- Afterwards: Do nothing, Sleep or Shut down once the queue is done.
If a file already exists at the target, the job asks: Skip, Replace if newer or Keep both. Compare shows the size and date of both files, and Remember for all further conflicts of this job spares you further questions. A replaced file goes to the Recycle Bin.
If a network drive drops out, the job waits and continues where it stopped. If Tern Files was closed during a transfer, it asks at the next start: Continue unfinished transfers? Until a file is complete, it carries the extension .ternfiles-part.
History and undo
The history is your safety net: every copy, move, rename, deletion, new file, tag change and rule run is recorded and can be undone – even after a restart.
- Ctrl+Z undoes the last action, Ctrl+Y redoes it.
- For older actions, open History at the bottom of the sidebar. Filter by Move, Copy, Rename, Delete or Rules, or search with the field File or folder. Actions are grouped by day.
- Click Undo next to an action, or select it to see every single file on the right. There you undo the whole action, or tick some files and choose Only selected (…).
Before undoing, Tern Files checks that nothing gets lost: a file that was changed in the meantime stays as it is, and you're told so. Deleted files come back from the Recycle Bin.
A few things can't be undone. Permanently deleted files are marked Deleted permanently, can't be undone, and copies to and from phones are done by Windows and don't appear in the history.
Tern Files keeps the history for 30 days. Change this with Keep history under Settings › Safety & history.
Quick actions Pro
Quick actions do small jobs on the selected files without an extra program. Right-click and open Quick actions; Tern Files only offers what fits the selection. For a single folder, the actions for its content appear under "For the content of …".
- Resize images … – to at most 1920 or 1280 px wide, or to 50 % or 25 %. The result lands next to the original, or replaces it (the original goes to the Recycle Bin).
- Convert to … – WebP, JPEG or PNG, with an estimate of the saving.
- Remove metadata – all metadata or only the location (GPS) of JPEG, PNG and WebP photos. The pictures themselves stay unchanged.
- Merge PDFs … in the order you choose, or Split PDF into pages.
- Compress to ZIP and Extract – free, see ZIP archives.
Create own action … runs a command line of your choice on the selected files, with placeholders such as {path}, {name}, {dir}, {ext} and {selection}. You can limit it to file types, run it once per file and let it ask before running.
Quick actions run as jobs in the transfer queue and land in the history, so Ctrl+Z removes the new files again.
ZIP archives
Packing and unpacking ZIP files is free, also after the trial. You find both in the context menu under Quick actions.
- Select the files or folders to pack, right-click and choose Quick actions › Compress to ZIP.
- Check the suggested file name – the name of the selected item or of its folder – and confirm. The archive appears next to the files.
To unpack, right-click one or more ZIP files and choose Quick actions › Extract. Each archive gets a new folder next to it, named after the archive: "design.zip" becomes "design". Nothing is overwritten; if the name is taken, the folder gets a number.
Both run in the transfer queue and can be undone with Ctrl+Z. Files that another program has locked are skipped and reported. For your safety, entries whose paths would lead outside the target folder are left out.
To look into a ZIP file without unpacking it, select it and press Space – see Preview. Tern Files packs and unpacks ZIP only; for other archive types use a program of your choice.
Phones and cameras
Phones and cameras connected by USB show up under This PC, just as in File Explorer. You can browse them and copy photos and files in both directions.
- Connect the device and allow file transfer on it.
- Click This PC in the sidebar and open the device – photos are usually in the folder
DCIM. - Select files, press Ctrl+C (or Ctrl+X to move), go to a folder on your PC and press Ctrl+V.
For these devices Windows does the copying: it shows its own progress window and asks about files that already exist. The other direction works the same way – copy on the PC, paste into a folder on the phone. In dual-pane mode F5 and F6 work, too.
- You can't drag files off a phone or preview them directly on it – copy them to the PC first.
- Because Windows performs these copies, they don't appear in the history and can't be undone with Ctrl+Z.
Compare and sync folders Pro
Compare two folders to see what differs – for example your photos on the PC and on a backup drive – and bring them in line.
- Select one or two folders, right-click and choose Compare folders. With one folder, the other side is the folder in the other pane. The launcher command Compare and sync folders works, too.
- If needed, set Left and Right with Choose folder …; Swap sides exchanges them. Under Compare by pick Size and date (fast) or Content (checksum).
- The chips count equal, only left, only right and different files; a click shows only those. Hide equal files is on by default.
- Pick a direction: → Update copies missing and newer files to the right, → Mirror also removes what exists only on the right, ⇄ Both ways copies in both directions.
- Check the summary and click Synchronize.
Conflicts – the right file is newer, or both sides changed – are highlighted. Click the symbol to choose Take the left one, Take the right one or Skip. The sync runs in the transfer queue as one history entry you can undo. Removed and replaced files go to the Recycle Bin; on a network drive, Tern Files lists them and asks first. Plan as rule creates a daily rule for the same sync, switched off until you enable it.
OneDrive and network
OneDrive and other cloud folders work like normal folders in Tern Files. You always see which files are on your PC, and Tern Files never downloads anything on its own.
- At the right end of the name, a symbol shows the state: a cloud for files that are only online, a check mark for files on this PC, a filled check mark for files that always stay on this device.
- Right-click › Always keep on this device or Free up space; OneDrive then downloads or frees the files.
- Online-only files aren't read for the preview, checksums or duplicates. The preview says Online only – download to view and downloads only when you click Download.
Network drives appear under Drives & locations, shares under Network; you can also type a path like \\server\share into the path bar. A dot shows whether a network drive is reachable. If a location doesn't answer, Tern Files stays usable and after at most 10 seconds shows This location doesn't respond. Map network drive … and Disconnect are in the right-click menu of the sidebar.
Folder sizes on network drives are only counted with the setting Always – see Folder sizes. Problems with OneDrive or a NAS? See Troubleshooting.