In both GNOME and KDE, the file managers are true workhorses. Use these
powerful applications to help you create, edit, and delete, files and
directories, as well as accomplish other tasks throughout your system.
Both file managers support drag and drop, and provide you with a fast
and easy way to "see" your system. Either file manager will open in your
login directory by default. To view other directories on your system,
click on the "file folder" representing the directory in the
tree view pane on the left of the file manager. The
contents of the folder will appear in the directory
window, the pane on the right.
Do you have permission?
Unless you're root, you won't be able to gain access to all the files
and directories on your system. If you don't have the permission to
open, delete or execute a file, you'll receive an error message that
your access is denied.
This chapter will provide an overview of GMC
and KFM, the file managers for GNOME and
KDE. To learn more details about using them, read the GNOME
User's Guide or the KDE user's documentation in their
respective help browsers. You'll also be able to find the latest
documentation at their websites: http://www.gnome.org and http://www.kde.org.
Fast, friendly and flexible, the GNOME File
Manager lets you easily browse and work with files and
directories. The proper name for the file manager is
GNU Midnight
Commander, or
GMC, because it's
based on the Midnight Commander file manager.
You can still use Midnight
Commander
If you want to use Midnight Commander, you
can start it in an Xterm by typing mc at the
prompt.
From the Main Menu Button -- Click on
File Manager entry.
From the desktop -- Double-click on the file folder labeled
Home directory, which looks like:
When you first open the GMC, you'll see
something similar to Figure 9-1.
Figure 9-1. A Sample GMC Window
As a new user, it's unlikely you'll find many new files or directories
when you first open the file manager. That's because by default,
GMC opens in your login directory. Note the
file signature.txt, however, in Figure 9-1. This is the signature file the
user newuser created while configuring Netscape
Messenger.
The tree view, to the left, will reveal all of the directories on your
system. Single-click on a folder to reveal its contents in the
directory window, at right. Folders which have a
+ next to them indicate that they hold
subdirectories and the view is collapsed; click on the
+ to expand the view and reveal the
subdirectories.
Use the following buttons on the menu above the
Location bar to determine the detail of view you want:
Icons -- The default view. Displays icons
to represent each file and directory type.
Brief -- Shows directories and files in a
list, with directories at the top.
Detailed -- Shows a list, along with
details such as the size and modification time of the files.
Custom -- Shows a customized detailed list
(you can select items you want to include from the
Settings menu, in
Preferences => Custom
View).
Change the order
If you view directory contents in one of the list choices, you
can arrange your view of the list by clicking on one of the list
headings. For example, if you want to see the contents alphabetically,
click on the Name heading.
Like many file managers, you can move around by using the scrollbar
next to the tree view to locate a directory you want to move to.
You can also use the navigation buttons above the
Location bar similar to the way you would use
the navigation buttons in Netscape
Navigator:
Back and Forward
-- Move you up or down through the directory listing history
Up -- Moves you "up" the directory tree
Rescan -- Refreshes the view of the
current directory
Home -- Lets you jump back to your
default directory
The Location bar allows you to type the
directory location. If you know the path where you want to go, for
example /etc/X11, you can type it into the
Location bar and press Enter
to jump to that location.
Actually, the Location bar can let you browse
more than just your local system. If you're online, and you type
in the location of an FTP site, such as
ftp.redhat.com, you'll be able to see the
files on that site which are available for download. The FTP
command should look like this:
ftp://ftp.redhat.com.To download, just copy a
file to a directory on your local machine.
GMC plays well with
Gnome-RPM
Speaking of downloaded files, you can use
GMC to perform
RPM-related work on new software
packages, such as those you download or find on a CD. Just
right-click on the package, and GMC
offers you options to install, verify, query, and more (remember,
you must be root to install or uninstall software). You can also
drag and drop packages from the file manager into
Gnome-RPM for installation (refer to
the section called Installing New Packages in Chapter 10 for more on this).
To learn more about Gnome-RPM and
RPM, turn to Chapter 10.
You can copy and move files from the directory window to your
desktop or to another folder (that is, directory). If you want to
move a file to your desktop, just "pick it up" by clicking on it
once and holding down the mouse button. Release the file on the
desktop; by default, this action causes the file to be moved to your
desktop.
If you'd prefer to copy the file rather than move it, click on the
file, then drag it while holding down the Shift
key.
Choose when you get there
Not sure whether you want to move or copy a file? Use the
Alt key when you drag a file. A pop-up menu
will appear once you release the file, letting you choose
whether to copy or move the file. You can also choose to
link the file, which essentially is a
shortcut to the file in its original location.
Figure 9-2. Copying File Dialog
If you know the path to the directory to which you want to copy a
file, you can right-click on the file and choose
Copy from the menu of options which opens. A
dialog will open, in which you can type the location where you want
to copy the file (as in Figure 9-2).
In the Advanced Options tab of the
Copy dialog, you can choose to
Preserve symlinks, which will make certain that
if the file you're copying is a symbolic
link, or shortcut, it will be the same shortcut after
it's copied. Rather than risk losing a shortcut, you should make
certain you select this option if you're copying -- or moving -- a
file that is a shortcut to another file.
Moving works the same way
Just as you can copy a file by right-clicking, so too, you can move
a file by right-clicking on it and selecting
Move from the menu which appears. If
you want to rename the file while moving or copying it, type its
new name in the Copy or
Move box which opens. For example, if you
want to copy the file signature.txt to
/home/newuser/tigger and rename it
backup.txt, you would type
/home/newuser/tigger/backup.txt.
To change a file's properties, right-click on a file or directory in
the directory window and choose
Properties. A dialog, similar to Figure 9-3, will open.
Figure 9-3. File Properties Dialog
In the Statistics tab, you'll find information
about the file, such as the date and time it was created and
modified.
In the File Name field, you can change the name
of the file.
In the Options tab, you can change
action options for the file, such as how the
file will be opened, viewed and edited. You probably won't have a
reason to worry about these items; they already have default
settings.
Figure 9-4. The Permissions Tab in File Properties
In the Permissions tab (see Figure 9-4), you can change the
permissions and ownership of a file (that is, if you have the
permission yourself). You can change the read, write and execute
settings, as well set UID,
GID and Sticky bits.
UID, GID and Sticky bits?
Essentially, these items refer to user management and
permissions. UID means User ID, a unique
number given to every user on the system; GID means
Group ID, the ID of the user's default
group. Sticky refers to Sticky bit. You
probably won't have to worry about setting the Sticky bit.
For more about how to work with permissions, see the section called Ownership and Permissions in Chapter 13. Once you understand the idea
behind file permissions, you may find using the
Permissions tab a convenient way to change a
file or directory's permission settings.
You can adjust quite a few settings for GMC
in the Preferences dialog
(Settings =>
Preferences); see Figure 9-5 for an example of the
Preferences dialog.
Figure 9-5. The File display Tab in Preferences
The dialog includes the following tabbed sections:
File display -- Modify the way files are
viewed. Select Show backup files to reveal
backup files; Show hidden files to show
dot files, usually configuration files and
directories; Mix files and directories allows
you to see files and directories in an order you select in the
directory window; you don't really have to concern yourself with
the Use shell patterns... choice, because it
concerns sorting with regular expressions,
which is probably more useful to advanced users.
Confirmation -- Select whether you should be
required to confirm any decision to delete, overwrite and execute
files. You can also choose whether you want to see a progress
indicator while the actions are being executed.
VFS -- VFS means Virtual File
System. VFS means that you can work with files which
aren't on your local machine. Information in this tab applies to
actions related to FTP sites. VFS Timeout
refers to the time (in seconds) you can be connected without
activity, before you're disconnected. The entry in
Anonymous FTP password refers to the
identification you want to be transferred for anonymous
logins at FTP sites. (Typically, this is your e-mail
address.) Enable the option to Always use FTP
proxy if you're required to use a proxy to connect to
FTP sites.
Caching -- These settings may help to
increase the speed of GMC. Select
Fast directory reload to store directory
information in memory to speed the load time. Using this option
may not always result in an updated display,
however. Compute totals before copying files
will cause GMC to calculate the number
of files you're copying so it can provide information to you about
the task. FTP directory cache timeout is the
length of time (in seconds) to hold information about an FTP site
in memory. Allow customization of icons in icon
view lets you change the icon style in the directory
window. Note that checking this may decrease performance.
Desktop -- Here, you can specify some ways
that you view the items on your desktop. Click inside the
Icon position box to specify how the icons
should be aligned on your desktop. Select Automatic icon
placement to arrange icons on your desktop
automatically, rather than your arranging them manually. Click
Snap icons to grid if you want icons on the
desktop to be aligned in straight order. Use shaped
icons and Use shaped text allow
the icons and related text labels to be semi-transparent on your
desktop, rather than "blocky" icons and labels.
Custom View -- In this dialog, you can
specify the additional information you want to see when you select
the Custom button from
GMC's menu.
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