ForkLift 3.5.1 is available

If you use ForkLift 3.5, then you won't be able to update to version 3.5.1 from within ForkLift. Please download and install ForkLift 3.5.1 from here

Fixes

  • Fixes a connection issue to SFTP with passphrase protected private key introduced in version 3.5
  • Fixes file accessibility issue on webDAV introduced in version 3.5
  • Fixes the missing English language in the application updater (Sparkle)

Download ForkLift 3.5.1

ForkLift 3.5 is available

New

  • Universal binary compatible with Silicon Macs using the M1 chip
  • Updated ForkLift icon
  • New Google Drive implementation – OLD GOOGLE DRIVE FAVORITES HAVE TO BE AUTHORIZED AGAIN

Improvements

  • Improved conflict handling in the Multi-rename window (Skip + Apply to all gets registered)
  • Additional tabs of workspaces open using the (saved) default view settings of the list view
  • Memory management improvements, ForkLift should use much less memory than before

Fixes

  • Fixes a text misalignment issue during the creation of new folders and files in column view on Big Sur
  • Fixes an issue of the placement of tags in column view on Big Sur
  • Fixes the Resize columns to fit issue in column view on Big Sur
  • Enhanced error handling while changing the case of items during multi-renaming
  • Fixes a possible crash when updating the previews of files
  • Fixes a file name display issue after duplicating entire folders on Google Drive
  • Fixes the blinking of the items when deleting items inside an expanded folder in list view
  • Fixes a possible crash when a network share returns an invalid service record (caused by a macOS API bug)
  • Fixes an issue where the changes made to an existing multi-rename favorite were saved only temporarily
  • Fixes a possible crash when ForkLift is opened in full screen mode on Big Sur
  • Fixes a connection issue to S3 compatible providers where the provider doesn’t share the region of the bucket, which resulted in an access denied error
  • Fixes a possible crash while creating a new file on Google Drive through the context menu of ForkLift
  • Spotlight metadata enhancement
  • Fixes a cache issue during remote editing when the user doesn’t have permission to write
  • Fixes the order of activities – it follows the order of the selection
  • Numerous minor fixes and improvements

Download the latest ForkLift version

ForkLift 3.4.4 is available

Fixes

  • Fixes the copy item progress when the helper tool is needed to transfer items
  • Fixes the size of the icons in the sidebar on Big Sur
  • Fixes the size of the Activities toolbar icon when there are ongoing activities on Big Sur
  • Fixes small GUI issues in the Connect Panel and Get Info window on Big Sur
  • Fixes a text misalignment in the Preferences > Shortcuts window on Big Sur
  • Fixes the Resize columns to fit view option in column view on Big Sur
  • Fixes the size of the Quick Open and Quick Select windows on Big Sur
  • Displays the Permissions section in the Get Info and Inspector windows on Big Sur

Download ForkLift 3.4.4

ForkLift 3.4.3 is available

Starting from this version, ForkLift 3 requires macOS 10.12 or later

New

  • New Amazon S3 Regions:
    • Africa (Cape Town)
    • Asia Pacific (Hong Kong)
    • Europe (Milan)
    • Middle East (Bahrain)
    • AWS GovCloud (US-East)
    • [Asia Pacific (Osaka-Local)]

Improvements

  • Significantly improved preview handling in the file views
  • Quick Type handles the Space bar, it doesn’t activate Quick Look
  • Preserves the permissions and metadata when remote editing on Amazon S3

Fixes

  • Fixes an FTP TLS connection issue
  • Fixes the order of activities
  • Fixes a conflict handling issue in the multi-rename window that could cause data loss
  • Fixes an issue where ForkLift only listed 1000 items on Amazon S3 even when there were more items in a bucket
  • Fixes a remote editing issue on Google Drive
  • Fixes sync issue on Google Drive
  • Numerous Big Sur compatibility fixes
  • Numerous minor fixes and improvements

Download ForkLift 3.4.3

ForkLift – New Business Model

We at Binarynights are planning to change how we develop and price ForkLift, and before you freak out, no, we don’t want to use subscriptions. Find out in this post what we are planning and why.

So far, we have used the one-off purchase model which means that the major releases (ForkLift 1, ForkLift 2 and ForkLift 3) were paid releases and all minor updates in between (for example ForkLift 3.3.9) were free. This is the traditional way of selling software online but it has some drawbacks for both the developers and the users.

While using the one-off purchase model, the development of the major versions has become a bigger and bigger burden for us. This model has a lot of drawbacks: every major release has to be packed full of new features to make it interesting enough for users to upgrade. That also means that big features and great new ideas don’t make it into ForkLift right away because we have to withhold them and bundle them up for the next major release. That holds the development of the current version back, and we can’t react quickly to the changes in the market and the requests of our users.

What is the new model?

In our new model, there won’t be major and minor updates the same way as we have them now. As soon as a new feature is ready, we will release it. If we decide to implement a new feature or change something, we will start the development of it immediately. That will clearly benefit our users because they will use an app that evolves continuously. And that will benefit us too because we won’t need to maintain and develop two versions parallelly, which sometimes causes big issues. If we have to maintain only one code, we can deliver changes faster. We won’t speculate what to release and what to withhold either, so we will be able to focus on the continuous development of ForkLift without restrictions.

New pricing model

Changing the way we develop ForkLift means that we also have to change the way we price ForkLift.

The software industry is shifting towards the subscription business model. Subscriptions are great for developers because they secure a predictable and steady cash-flow, and they make the continuous development of the application possible. But we know that a lot of users are getting tired of subscriptions, and we also think that the subscription model is not the best fit for ForkLift.

We want to combine the advantages and minimize the disadvantages of the two extremes: the one-off purchase model and the subscription model. To do this, we want to use a hybrid model that some call the Dutch Model because it was first introduced a few years ago by mainly Dutch companies such as Sketch.

The idea behind this model is that when you buy ForkLift, you get the app and one year of free updates. After the year is over, you can renew your license and get one more year of updates, or you can keep using the same version of ForkLift forever. If you change your mind and want to use a newer version a few weeks or months later, you can renew your license any time and get all updates for another year.

If you constantly use ForkLift to upload files to your servers or you use it as your go-to file manager, then it will be worth renewing your license because you will greatly benefit from the constant enhancements. But if you only upload some files occasionally, then it might be enough to buy ForkLift once because you will be able to use a reliable FTP client for many years.

We want to lower the price of the single-user license (plus one year of free updates) to $14.95, and the renewal would cost $12.95.

We are currently working on the technical and administrative changes which are needed before we can switch over to the new model. We want to make the transition as smooth as possible.

We want to switch to the new model in a few months and release ForkLift 4 in the Spring of 2021. With increasing the version number we want to make a clear distinction between ForkLift 3 and ForkLift 4 to make the transition for our existing users easier to understand.

If you already have a ForkLift 3 license, then you will be able to use ForkLift 3 for as long as you want. Users who buy license keys to ForkLift after the introduction of the new model will get free updates for 12 months.

Nothing is set in stone, but these are our plans. We would like to hear your feedback. If you have some suggestions or ideas, please write to us at support@binarynights.com or tweet us @BinaryNights.

ForkLift 3.4.1 is available

New

  • Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, Drawings files can be downloaded and opened locally
  • “Date Modified” and “Date Created” are preserved on Google Drive

Improvements

  • Big Sur GUI compatibility improvements
  • ForkLift preserves permissions when remote editing
  • ForkLift can handle non normalized UTF-8 on AWS
  • When multiple ForkLift windows are open, the commands “Open in ForkLift” or “Reveal in ForkLift” open the selected item in the window which is on top
  • On Google Drive uppercase and lowercase letters in item names are treated as the same and ForkLift only displays one of these items to prevent possible data loss

Fixes

  • Fixes a vulnerability in the helper tool of previous versions. Disables the usage of previous helper tools.
  • Fixes an issue where ForkLift didn’t update the available free space in the status bar when ForkLift was started with the sidebar turned off
  • Fixes an issue in the Sync window where an incorrect number of items to be deleted was displayed when “Delete orphaned Items” was selected
  • Fixes an issue where an incorrect number of items was displayed in the Edit menu when undoing “Move to Trash” of multiple items
  • Fixes an issue in the Multi-rename window where the “Replace text” text field was inactive on the very first use
  • Fixes an issue where multiple Bonjour discovered entries got mixed up
  • Fixes an issue where it was possible to accidentally undo a previous action when trying to undo a newer action which can’t be undone
  • Fixes an issue which caused the order of tabs inside workspaces to mix up
  • Fixes an issue in List View where empty rows and rows with items in them had different heights when alternating background was enabled
  • Readds the “Show View Options” command to the context menu
  • Fixes an issue where it wasn’t possible to open the “Shared with me” folder on Google Drive when ForkLift wasn’t in English
  • Fixes minor issues in the localization (translation and GUI)
  • Numerous minor fixes and improvements

Download ForkLift 3.4.1

ForkLift 3.4 – Security update

We have learned that ForkLift 3 has a local security vulnerability in its helper tool which affects all previous versions. We kindly ask all users of ForkLift 3 to upgrade to version 3.4 and update the helper tool too if needed.

ForkLift version 3.4 fixes the vulnerability issue in the helper tool but updating to ForkLift version 3.4 doesn’t update the helper tool itself. After updating to version 3.4, ForkLift will ask you to update the helper tool if you had already installed it before. To allow ForkLift to install the new helper tool, enter the password of an administrator of your computer. We highly recommend updating the helper tool if you are prompted to do so.

If you don’t update the helper tool when ForkLift asks you to do it, ForkLift will keep reminding you to update the tool every time you start it. If you accidentally cancel the update, then just restart ForkLift and it will prompt you again to update the helper tool. Please don’t postpone the update of the helper tool if you are asked to update it.

If you are not prompted to update the helper tool after you have updated to ForkLift version 3.4 or later, then it means that you hadn’t installed the old version in the past and don’t need to update it. Should you allow ForkLift to install the helper tool in the future when you want to execute an action which needs elevated user privileges, ForkLift will install the new, updated helper tool.

How to update ForkLift?

If you have enabled the Check for updates automatically option in the Preferences of ForkLift, then ForkLift will automatically notify you about the latest update which you can easily install.

If you don’t want to wait until ForkLift sees the new update or you haven’t enabled automatic updates, then go to ForkLift > Check for Updates in the menu of ForkLift and install the latest version that way.

The ForkLift app can only be updated if it is running from the Applications folder. If you can’t update ForkLift because it is not in the Application folder, then quit ForkLift and move it into the Applications folder before trying to update it again.

If you can’t update ForkLift with the methods listed above, then quit it and move it into the Trash and download the latest version from our site by clicking on the Try for Free button on the top of the page. Make sure to move the app into the Applications folder before opening it.

Don’t forget to update the helper tool if you are prompted to do so.

What to do if ForkLift doesn’t start after updating to version 3.4?

In some cases, the old helper tool installed on your Mac can prevent ForkLift 3.4 from opening. If ForkLift 3.4 hangs after you have tried to open it, do the following:

  1. (Force) quit Forklift and make sure that no older version of ForkLift is open
  2. Open the Terminal app and paste these 3 commands into it. Press Enter after pasting each line. After the first command, Terminal will ask you for an administrative password, enter this password and press Enter:

    3. sudo launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.binarynights.ForkLiftHelper.plist;
    sudo rm /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.binarynights.ForkLiftHelper.plist;
    sudo rm /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.binarynights.ForkLiftHelper;

  3. Open ForkLift 3.4

What to do if you have deleted ForkLift from your Mac?

If you had been using ForkLift in the past and had installed the helper tool while using it but have deleted ForkLift since then, then the helper tool might still be on your Mac. We recommend deleting the helper tool to eliminate the vulnerability in this case too.

To delete the helper tool from your Mac, open the Terminal app, and run these 3 commands:

sudo launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.binarynights.ForkLiftHelper.plist;
sudo rm /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.binarynights.ForkLiftHelper.plist;
sudo rm /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.binarynights.ForkLiftHelper;

You can run these commands even if you are not sure if you had installed the helper tool in the past.

It is important to mention that after deleting the old helper tool, ForkLift versions older than 3.4 will install and run the old helper tool again if you install the helper tool while using these older versions of ForkLift. To avoid possible vulnerabilities, install ForkLift version 3.4 or later if you wish to use ForkLift again.

Why does ForkLift ask me to install the helper tool in the first place?

By default, applications run as the currently logged in user. Even if you are an administrator, some tasks require additional, elevated privileges. This means that to protect your system, ForkLift doesn’t have the rights to execute some tasks such as creating an item into the root on older OS versions or creating an item into the Users directory without permission of an administrator. Apple requires to only grant these elevated privileges to an application when and as long as these elevated privileges are needed. To make this possible, developers are required to create helper tools which manage these elevated privileges. The first time you want to execute an action which needs elevated privileges, ForkLift asks you to install the helper tool and later on, the helper tool asks for an administrative password every time you want to execute actions which require elevated privileges.

Download ForkLift 3.4

ForkLift 3.3.9 is available

New

  • Adds text size up to 32 px

Improvements

  • Enhanced, more responsive thumbnail preview in Icon View
  • Holding down the Option Key while clicking the Delete Button in the Toolbar permanently deletes the selected items
  • Enhanced Sync Browsing. You can turn on Sync Browsing even in a subfolder and the two panes will remain in sync in the given path as long as the two directory structures are the same
  • Improved the FTP compatibility with some FTP servers

Fixes

  • Fixes a possible freeze when removing a lot of files from Quick Selection
  • Fixes the misalignment of the Activities button in the toolbar
  • Fixes a deletion issue of search results of items with the same names inside nested folders
  • Fixes a possible crash on SFTP caused by invalid dates
  • Fixes minor mistakes in the localizations
  • Numerous minor fixes and improvements

Download ForkLift 3.3.9