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Troubleshooting

Need a quick fix? Start with Quick checklist, then jump to a section:

Most issues are permissions

If you see “operation not permitted” or a folder looks empty, review Preferences → Permissions and First-run Setup.

Permissions & Access​

Can’t see / or /Volumes, or a folder says “operation not permitted”​

macOS 26 “Tahoe” and newer

  1. Open Preferences → Permissions.
  2. Ensure your Home folder is listed.
  3. Add… extra locations (e.g., /Volumes, an external drive).
  4. If still blocked, enable Full Disk Access (optional) and relaunch.

macOS 13–15

  1. If you chose the wrong scope initially, Replace… with /.
  2. Add specific volumes under /Volumes as needed.
  3. Consider Full Disk Access for protected areas (e.g., ~/Library).

Prompted every time for the same folder​

  1. Preferences → Permissions → Add… the exact folder.
  2. Access it once and click OK on the macOS prompt.
  3. If the drive was renamed/unmounted, re-add it after mounting.

External drive or network share is missing​

  1. Confirm the volume is mounted in Finder/Disk Utility.
  2. In DCommander, Refresh (⌘R).
  3. On macOS 26+, Add… /Volumes/drive (the actual drive) in Permissions.
  4. SMB/AFP: re-mount via Remote Connections → Mount Network Drive.

Install & First Launch​

“App is damaged or can’t be opened”​

Control-click the app → Open (one-time Gatekeeper approval). Builds are notarized.

Picked the wrong folder in the first prompt​

Preferences → Permissions → Replace… → choose Home (26+) or / (13–15), then retry the path.

Remote Connections​

“Inactive” never changes to “Active”​

  1. Edit the entry: verify Hostname (use host:port if needed), Username, and auth (Password vs Public Key).
  2. Connect again (or double-click).
  3. If it flips Active then drops, check network/VPN.

SMB/AFP mounted but not saved​

Expected. Mount Network Drive mounts temporarily; it doesn’t create a saved entry.

SMB path looks odd​

Ensure the generated Full network path matches your environment (e.g., smb://user:pass@server/share). Fields auto-update that URL.

Compare & Sync​

I only want Left → Right, but see right-to-left actions​

Enable Left to Right one-way sync and Compare again.

Subfolders missing in results​

Turn on Scan folder contents (recursive) and Compare again.

Can’t change individual actions​

By design. The preview reflects only two options: Scan folder contents and Left to Right one-way sync.

Find Files​

No results (but the file exists)​

  1. Check Search location (defaults to the active pane).
  2. If RegEx is on, try a plain string.
  3. Toggle Case sensitive off.
  4. Enable Search in sub-folders if needed.

Content search is slow​

Limit Search location; use Name first, then refine with Find text inside file.

Batch Rename​

Can’t keep only part of the original name​

Use [N] for the whole original name. Partial ranges like [N1-2] are not supported.

Regex find/replace doesn’t work​

Regex is not supported in Search & Replace. It’s plain-text only.

Counter order is wrong​

The preview cannot be sorted. Sort in the file pane first, reselect, then open Multi Rename.

Copy/Move & Queue​

Too many prompts (or not enough)​

Preferences → Operation → Copy/Delete
Toggle Prompt before copy/move and Prompt before clipboard operations.

Reliability issues with a specific device​

Switch to Byte-by-byte copy and adjust Buffer size in Copy/Delete.
The Standard copy method is fastest for general use.

Dock icon progress not visible​

Enable Show progress indicator on Dock icon (General → Overview or Operation → Copy/Delete).

UI & Navigation​

Space opens Quick Look instead of selecting​

Operation → Navigation → Alternate Spacebar action is on. Toggle it off to restore selection.

Missing headers / status bar / tabs​

Enable in Display → Layout:

  • Show column headers
  • Show status bar
  • Folder tabs

Colors or fonts look wrong​

Adjust in Display → Colors and Display → Fonts.
Options like Invert cursor or Bold text for folders can be toggled here.

Performance​

Large folders feel slow​

  • Display → Colors: disable Display item icons.
  • Display → Layout: hide grid lines if not needed.
  • Operation → Navigation: disable Automatically calculate container file size.
  • For remotes: stage remote → local, work locally, then push back.

Find Files or Sync stalls on huge trees​

Reduce scope; operate subfolder by subfolder.
With Find Files, avoid content search until the name filter narrows results.

Reset & Recovery​

Reset all settings​

Help → Troubleshooting → Reset all settings.
This restores defaults across General, Display, Operation, External apps.
You’ll need to re-tweak preferences and re-add Permissions scopes.

Still stuck?​

  • Reproduce with a small, non-critical folder.
  • macOS 26+: the initial scope should be Home; macOS 13–25 allows /.
  • Ensure external drives are mounted (visible in /Volumes).

Quick checklist (when in doubt)​

  1. Path & scope — Do I have access? (Preferences → Permissions)
  2. macOS version — 26+ (Home scope) vs 13–15 (root / OK)
  3. Active pane — Is the source active? (Tab to switch)
  4. Remotes — Connected and Active? (re-mount SMB/AFP if needed)
  5. Sync options — Scan and One-way toggles correct?
  6. Preview sanity — Any unexpected red X deletions?
  7. Try small — Reproduce on a tiny subset
  8. Reset — Help → Troubleshooting → Reset all settings