GNOME 2.2 Desktop on Linux User Guide

Navigating Your Computer

Each file manager window displays the contents of a single file, folder, FTP site, or special URI location. This section describes the following:

How to display items in file manager windows.
How to open files from file manager windows.
How to navigate the files and folders in your file system.
How to navigate to FTP sites.
How to access special URI locations.

To Display a Folder

You can display the contents of a folder in any of the following ways:

Double-click on the folder in the view pane.
In the Location field, type the path of the folder that you want to display, then press Return. The Location field includes an autocomplete feature. As you type a path, the file manager reads your file system. When you type enough characters to uniquely identify a directory, the file manager completes the name of the directory in the Location field.
Use the Tree in the side pane. For more information, see Using the Tree From the Side Pane.
Use the Back toolbar button and the Forward toolbar button to browse through your navigation history.

To change to the folder that is one level above the current folder, choose Go -> Up. Alternatively, click on the Up toolbar button.

To reload the display, click on the Reload button.

If you cannot find the folder that you want to display, you can use Search Tool. To start Search Tool, choose Find Files from the Main Menu.

Using the Tree From the Side Pane

The Tree displays a hierarchical representation of your file system. The Tree provides a convenient way to navigate your file system. To display the Tree in the side pane, choose Tree from the drop-down list at the top of the side pane.

In the Tree, folders are represented as follows:

Folder State	Graphic Representation
Closed folder	Right arrow
Open folder	Down arrow

Table 7–2 describes the tasks that you can perform with the Tree, and how to perform the tasks.

Table 7–2 Tree Tasks


Task	Action
Open the Tree.	Choose Tree from the drop-down list at the top of the side pane.
Close the Tree.	Choose another item from the drop-down list at the top of the side pane.
Open a folder in the Tree.	Click on the arrow next to the folder in the Tree.
Close a folder in the Tree.	Click on the arrow next to the folder in the Tree.
Display the contents of a folder in the view pane.	Select the folder in the Tree.
Display the contents of a file in the view pane.	Select the file in the Tree.

You can set your preferences so that the Tree does not display files. For more information, see To Set Views Preferences.

Opening Files

When you open a file, the file manager performs the default action for that file type. The default action can be one of the following:

Use a viewer component to display the file in the view pane.
Launch an application that opens the file.

The file manager checks the contents of a file to determine the type of a file. If the first lines do not determine the type of the file, then the file manager checks the file extension.

If you cannot find the file that you want to open, you can use Search Tool. To start Search Tool, choose Find Files from the Main Menu.

Viewing Files in the View Pane

The file manager contains viewer components that enable you to display particular types of file in the view pane. For example, you can display the following types of files in the view pane:

Plain text files
PNG files
Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) files

To reload the contents of the view pane, choose View -> Reload. To stop loading an item in the view pane, choose View -> Stop.

When you display a file in the view pane, the viewer component might add menu items to the file manager menus. The menu items relate to the file type that is displayed. For example, when you display a PNG file, the Edit menu contains flip and rotate menu items.

Also, when you display some types of file in the view pane, you can use the file manager zoom buttons to change the size of the item.

To Execute the Default Action

To execute the default action for a file, double-click on the file. For example, if the default action for plain text documents is to display the file in a text viewer. In this case, you can double-click on the file to display the file in a text viewer.

You can set your file manager preferences so that you click once on a file to execute the default action. For more information, see To Set Behavior Preferences.

To Execute Non-Default Actions Using the Open With Submenu

To execute actions other than the default action for a file, perform the following steps:

In the view pane, select the file that you want to perform an action on. Choose File -> Open With. The Open With submenu opens. The items in this submenu correspond to the contents of the following parts of the File Associations preference tool:
- Default action drop-down list in the Edit file type dialog
- Viewer component drop-down list in the Edit file type dialog
Choose an action from the Open With submenu.

To Execute Other Actions When Displaying a File

When you display a file in the view pane, the side pane might contain buttons. Figure 7–2 shows the buttons in the side pane when a text file is displayed in the view pane.

The buttons represent any actions that are defined in the File Associations preference tool. The actions are defined in the Default action drop-down list in the Edit file type dialog in the File Associations preference tool. Click on a button to execute an action. For example, if an action defined for plain text documents is to open the file in the gedit text editor. If this action is defined, an Open with gedit button is displayed in the side pane. To open the file in the gedit application, click on the Open with gedit button.

Note –

A button that represents the action does not appear in the side pane if the actions are excluded in either of the following dialogs:

Open with Other Application
Open with Other Viewer

To Access FTP Sites

You can use the file manager to access FTP sites. To access an FTP site, enter the URL for the site in the field on the location bar, then press Return. The contents of the site are displayed in the view pane. To copy a file from the FTP site, drag the file to the new location.

To access an FTP site that requires a username and password, you can enter the URL in the following form:

ftp://username:password@hostname.domain

To reload the FTP site in the view pane, choose View -> Reload. To stop loading the FTP site, choose View -> Stop.

To Access Network Places

If your system is configured to access places on a network, you can use the file manager to access the network places.

To access network places, open the file manager and choose Go -> Network Places. A file manager window is displayed. The window displays the network places that you can access. Double-click on the network place that you want to access.

To access UNIX shares, double-click on the Unix Network (NFS) object. A list of the UNIX shares available to you is displayed in the file manager window.

To access Windows shares, double-click on the Windows Network (SMB) object. A list of the Windows shares available to you is displayed in the file manager window.

To Add a Network Place

To add a network place, perform the following steps:

Open the file manager and choose Go -> Network Places. A file manager window is displayed.

Double-click on the Add Network Place object. The Add Network Place dialog is displayed. Enter the details of the server in the dialog, as follows:

Dialog Element	Description
Location	Use this text box to specify the location that you want to add. Alternatively, select one of the following locations from the drop-down list: FTP Server Web Folder Windows Network (SMB) Unix Network (NFS)
Shortcut name	Use this text box to specify a shortcut name for the network place.
Anonymous login	FTP Server option only. Select this option to log in to the FTP server as an anonymous user.
No login required	Web Folder, Windows Network (SMB), and Unix Network (NFS) options only. Select this option if you do not need to log in to the web folder, Windows share, or UNIX share.
Username	Use this text box to specify a username when you connect to the specified network place. When you connect to the network place, you must enter your password.
Go there now	Select this option if you want to access the network place immediately.

Click OK to add your network place.

Accessing Special URI Locations

The GNOME Desktop contains special URI locations that enable you to access particular functions from the file manager. For example, to access the preference tools, you can access the preferences:/// URI in a file manager window. Table 7–3 lists the special URI locations that you can use with the file manager.

Table 7–3 Special URI Locations


URI Location	Description
`applications:///`	Displays a list of the applications in the GNOME Desktop. The applications are the same as the applications in the Applications menu. To open an application, double-click on the application.
`burn:///`	Copy files and folders that you want to write to a CD to this location. You can write the contents of this location to a CD.
`fonts:///`	Displays all the fonts that are available in your system. To preview a font, double-click on the font. You can also use this location to add fonts to the GNOME Desktop.
`network:///`	Displays the Network Places location. Network Places displays network locations to which you can connect, if your system is configured to access locations on a network. To access a network location, double-click on the network location. You can also use this URI to add network locations to your system.
`nfs:///`	Displays UNIX NFS network locations, if your system is configured to access UNIX NFS locations. To access a NFS location, double-click on the NFS location.
`preferences:///`	Displays a list of the preference tools in the GNOME Desktop. The preference tools are the same as the preference tools in the Preferences menu. To open a preference tool, double-click on the preference tool.
`printers:///`	Displays printers, if your system is configured to access printers. To access a printer, double-click on the printer. You can also use this URI to add printers to your system.
`smb:///`	Displays Windows servers, if your system is configured to access Windows servers. To open a Windows server, double-click on the Windows server.
`system-settings:///`	Displays a list of applications that you can use to modify your system settings.

Using Your Navigation History

The file manager maintains a history list of files, folders, FTP sites, and URI locations. You can use the history list to navigate to files, folders, FTP sites, and URI locations that you have recently visited. Your history list contains the last ten items that you viewed. The following sections describe how to navigate your history list.

To clear your history list choose Go -> Clear History.

To Navigate Your History List Using the Go Menu

To display a list of previously-viewed items, choose the Go menu. Your history list is displayed in the lower part of the Go menu. To open an item in your history list, choose the item from the Go menu.

To Navigate Your History List Using the Toolbar

To use the toolbar to navigate your history list, perform one of the following actions:

To open the previous file, folder, or URI in your history list, click on the Back toolbar button.
To open the next file, folder, or URI in your history list, click on the Forward toolbar button.
To display a list of previously-viewed items, click on the down arrow to the right of the Back toolbar button. To open an item from this list, click on the item.
To display a list of items that you viewed after you viewed the current item, click on the down arrow to the right of the Forward toolbar button. To open an item from this list, click on the item.

To Navigate Your History List Using History in the Side Pane

To display the History list in the side pane, choose History from the drop-down list at the top of the side pane. The History list in the side pane displays a list of your previously-viewed items.

To display an item from your history list in the view pane, click on the item in the History list.

To Bookmark Your Favorite Locations

To access an item in your bookmarks, choose the item from the Bookmarks menu. You can add your favorite locations to your Bookmarks menu. You can add bookmarks to files and folders in your file system, to FTP sites, or to URI locations.

To Add a Bookmark

To add a bookmark, display the item that you want to bookmark in the view pane. Choose Bookmarks -> Add Bookmark.

To Edit a Bookmark

To edit your bookmarks perform the following steps:

Choose Bookmarks -> Edit Bookmarks. An Edit Bookmarks dialog is displayed.

To edit a bookmark, select the bookmark on the left side of the Edit Bookmarks dialog. Edit the details for the bookmark on the right side of the Edit Bookmarks dialog, as follows:

Dialog Element	Description
Name	Use this text box to specify the name that identifies the bookmark in the Bookmarks menu.
Location	Use this field to specify the location of the bookmark.

To delete a bookmark, select the bookmark on the left side of the dialog. Click Delete.