LightTreeFM

LightTreeFM - A Modern File Manager for Classic AmigaOS

LightTreeFM is a native two-pane file manager designed for classic AmigaOS systems. It focuses on practical daily file work, low memory usage, predictable redraws, and a Workbench-friendly visual style that feels at home on real Amiga hardware.

The interface is compact and direct: volumes and quick places on the left, directory contents on the right, a path bar, toolbar commands, status feedback, and GadTools menus for less frequent operations. It is built for repeated file management, not decoration.

Main Features

LightTreeFM supports the core operations expected from a file manager: browse drawers, copy, cut, paste, rename, delete, create new drawers and text files, refresh directories, sort by name/type/size/date, copy paths to the Amiga clipboard, and open a Shell in the current location.

The right pane also supports tree-style expansion for drawers, supported archives, and readable ADF disk images, making it possible to inspect content without constantly changing directory.

Tabs and Navigation

Multiple tabs let you keep several locations open at once, such as `Work:`, `RAM:`, a project drawer, or an archive view. Each tab keeps its own browsing state, including current path, selected item, scroll position, search state, and archive or ADF context.

Drag and Drop

LightTreeFM includes internal drag and drop for files and drawers. You can copy or move items between locations, drop into drawers, hover over tabs or volumes while dragging, use spring-loaded folder navigation, and auto-scroll near list edges.

Drag and drop also works with virtual content. When an archive is expanded as a tree, you can drag single files, selected entries, or virtual drawers from the exploded archive tree directly into a real drawer. LightTreeFM extracts only the dragged archive content to the chosen destination, without unpacking the whole archive first.

ADF virtual entries can also be dragged out to real drawers. In this case, files and drawers are copied out of the ADF image. The original archive or ADF image is not modified by these browse or copy-out operations.

Archive Support

LightTreeFM works with common Amiga archive formats through external AmigaDOS tools:

- LHA / LZH

- LZX

- ZIP

- ARC

- DMS

Archives can be browsed as virtual folders, extracted fully or selectively, tested, created, and updated where the external tool supports it. You can expand an archive in the file list, inspect its internal tree, then extract only what you need by dragging individual files or folders out of the expanded archive view.

Archive commands and tool paths can be configured.

A special LHA low-memory mode is included for constrained systems. When enabled, LightTreeFM can free more memory for LHA operations, useful on base machines or setups with limited Fast RAM.

ADF and Floppy Tools

LightTreeFM includes ADF and floppy disk utilities:

- Create standard 901120 byte ADF images from floppy disks

- Write selected ADF images back to floppy

- Optional verify while writing

- Browse readable AmigaDOS ADF images as virtual folders

- Copy files and drawers out of ADF images

- Format, check, clean, and copy floppy disks

ADF browsing is read-only and intended for inspection and copy-out.

Search, Assigns, MOD Playback, and Image Viewing

The Search window can find files, drawers, or both below the current directory, using plain text or simple wildcard patterns.

LightTreeFM can also create and manage active AmigaDOS assigns for the current session, making selected drawers available as `NAME:` paths.

For media, LightTreeFM includes a compact ProTracker MOD player and an internal image viewer based on the AmigaOS DataTypes picture system.

Requirements

LightTreeFM targets AmigaOS 2.0 or newer and is built for 68000-compatible classic systems. It uses standard AmigaOS libraries and devices. Archive support requires the relevant external tools, such as `lha`, `lzx`, `zip`, `unzip`, `arc`, or `dms`, installed in `C:` or another command path.

For image viewing, AmigaOS DataTypes support is required. On AmigaOS 3.x systems, additional datatype packages may be needed for formats such as JPEG, PNG, BMP, or GIF.

Included Help

The distribution includes a full AmigaGuide manual:

`Help/LightTreeFM.guide`

It can be opened from the Help menu inside LightTreeFM or with AmigaGuide/MultiView.

Credits

LightTreeFM is created  by Danilo Savioni.

Graphics and logo by Martin Eriksson.

The project is currently under development and new features are already in the planning stage.

The project also uses standard AmigaOS components, external AmigaDOS tools where appropriate, and ptplayer for ProTracker module playback.