If you're accustomed to using Windows or a Macintosh, you're going
to feel comfortable using KDE. In large part, that's due to the
KDE File Manager, known as
KFM.
Like GNOME's file manager, KFM is a graphical
tool you can use to view and work with directories and files.
Useful online and offline
Because KFM uses HTML to display
information, it serves as a decent Web browser, as well as a
browser for your system. Just type a Web address (or, URL) into the
Location bar when you're online, and you'll jump
to your chosen website.
Similar to the GNOME file manager, you can also open FTP sites with
the Location bar.
From the Main Menu K icon -- Click on the
Home Directory entry.
From the Panel -- Click on the Home
Directory icon, which looks like:
When your home directory window opens, you'll see something similar to Figure 9-6. By default, the view contains
icons and links to associated files on your system. You can change
this view, in the View menu.
Figure 9-6. A Sample KFM Window
In fact, you have quite a few choices for viewing files and
directories in the content area; when you select (or deselect) a
choice, the content area will refresh with your
new view. Under View in
the menu, you can select:
Show Hidden Files -- This option
shows the hidden files (also called "dot files"), mostly
configuration files.
Show Tree -- Gives you a
tree view, showing you where your login
directory is in the system and allowing you to navigate to other
directories by clicking on other folders. Similar to Macintosh's
file manager scheme, when you click on a triangle pointed at a
folder, it will expand a folder,
revealing other folders within. Click again on the triangle, and
the tree will collapse, and the angle
will return to its initial position, like:
Show Thumbnails -- If you have images
in a directory, selecting this option will show you tiny
representations of them. This view is useful if you keep family
photos or artwork.
HTML View -- Select this view if you
want to see a directory as a Web page. This can be fun if you know
HTML, or want to learn how to write a Web page. All you have to do
is name your file index.html, and place your
content as links in the file. When
KFM opens the directory, it will open
the index.html file.
Text View and Long
View -- Show you a directory's contents in detail,
including filenames, permissions, owner, group, size and
modification time. While these two views are essentially the
same, small icons are included next to the listed item in
Long View to indicate what that item
represents.
Short View -- Presents a list of the
contents, with small icons. Doesn't present details such as
owner, permissions or modification time.
Click once on a file to open the file in its associated
application. For example, the file signature.txt
is a text file. Click on it to open kedit,
KDE's text editor.
To open a directory, click once on the file folder.
Express yourself with
backgrounds
Think file managers are boring? Try livening up the content area
with a colorful image background. Just right-click inside the
content area of a KFM window, go to the
Dir tab, and you can change your background. If
you want to use one of the included backgrounds, select an image
from the drop-down list.
Note, however, that some of the included backgrounds will
probably put a strain on your eyesight -- and your sense of good
taste! With names such as spoiled_sprouts and
ringworm_circus, you shouldn't expect a
soothing visual experience. You can also select a background of your
own by clicking on the Browse button and
picking an image elsewhere on your system (for example, an image
file in your /home directory).
If you prefer to change only the color, you can modify the color
settings by going to the menu and clicking
Options => Configure File
Manager. Change the background by selecting the
Color tab; you can change the fonts by
selecting the Font tab.
If you've used a Web browser or file manager before, you'll feel
right at home moving around with KFM. You
can type the path location of a file (and the address of a website
or FTP site) in the Location bar. Above the
Location bar, icons on the Navigation
bar help you quickly move to other directories. Briefly,
here's what the icons mean:
The arrow up will take you "up" the directory tree. For example,
if you're in /home/newuser and you click on
the up arrow, you will move to /home; click
once more, and you'll be at /, or root (the
root of your filesystem, that is, not the root
account's login directory).
Click on the arrow pointing left to take
you to a previously viewed directory. Click on the arrow
pointing right to move forward through your
navigation history.
To jump to your home location, such as
/home/newuser, just click on the home icon.
Click on the circular arrows to refresh your view of the current
content area.
The next two icons, of pages and a page with a clipboard, are
for copy and pasting. You can copy and paste selected text in
the content area, URLs or file locations from the
Location bar, and more. If you're viewing
Web pages, for example, you can copy selected content, open a
text editor (Main Menu K =>
Applications) and paste the content into the
editor.
To get help, click on the question mark.
To stop loading a page or directory in the content area, click
on the traffic light.
To open a new KFM window, just click on
the KDE icon (which looks like a gear) on the far right of the
Navigation bar.
If you want to access a recent document or application,
Disk Navigator should be the first place
to turn. Using Disk Navigator, you can
view directories and files on your system and return to previous
files.
You can find Disk Navigator in the main
menu (see Figure 9-7).
Figure 9-7. Starting Disk Navigator from the
Menu
To work with Disk Navigator, just hold
your mouse cursor over the application on the main menu; a second
menu will open, showing the files and folders to which you have
access. Under Root/, for example, you'll
find directories on your system from root of the directory
tree. Under the KDE/ directory,
you'll find folders that point to system documentation, games,
libraries, and more.
Be careful!
Unless you know what a file is for, use caution before trying to
open or modify any file.
Keeping important documents and applications within easy reach is
simple with KFM. To open a text file, for
example, you can "drag" it from the content area of
KFM by left-clicking on it and holding
your mouse button down while you drag it. If you "drop" the file in
an open text editor, it will open, ready for you to modify its
contents.
In the same way, you can drag and drop files from the content area
to your desktop or to other folders. When you reach your
destination, a pop-up menu will offer you the choice of copying,
moving or linking the file. If you select Link
from the menu, any changes you make to a file in its new location
will be reflected in the original location. A link, then, is like a
shortcut to the original file.
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