File Manager Troubleshooting

This section describes the solutions to common File Manager questions and problems.

Cannot Format a Floppy Using the File Manager Format Option

If you try to format a floppy using Format from the File Manager File menu and it does not work, your system may not be set up to run the format program. Contact your system administrator for assistance.

Custom Icons Not Displayed

If you think you changed a file's icon with the Binder, but you do not see the change in the File Manager, make sure that you restarted the File Manager after you saved the Binder changes. If you have already restarted the File Manager, recheck your changes with the Binder. Make sure the entry you changed was saved to your user database with the Binder Save button. Also, make sure the file displayed really falls into the class of files changed with the Binder.

If your File Manager displays only the three generic types of icons (folders, applications, and documents), the File Manager was unable to connect with the Binder database. Check your Console window for error messages indicating where the problem occurred.

Deleting Floppy and CD Windows

If you delete a window for a floppy disk or CD, you can bring it back by selecting them from the Go To menu button. They are always displayed within the application specific section of the Go To menu. For information on using the Go To menu refer to Chapter 2, File Manager.

Drag and Drop Problems

If you use File Manager to drag and drop a file to another application, but you get the error message

drag and drop: illegal target 

in the File Manager footer, the file was dropped in a place that does not recognize the file type or that does not support drop operations.

File Manager Does Not Display Some or All of Your Files

If files you expect to see in the file pane are not being displayed, make sure you have not specified a view filter pattern from the File Manager Properties window which can suppress the display of those files. When a filter is specified, it is always displayed in the header of the File Manager window. To clear this up try selecting View Icon by Name.

Remote File Copy Problems

If you have trouble transferring files between remote systems, you may not have the correct permissions to access the file, directory, or system, or the remote system may not be accessible through the network. Contact the person who owns the files (or the person who asked you to transfer the files) to change permissions so the transfer will work. To find out if the remote system is available on your network, contact your system administrator.

View By Content Takes Too Much Time

When the File Manager is viewing files by content, it needs to read and compress the first screen of files so they can be displayed. For Sun icons, X Bitmap, and X Pixmap files, this should work fairly quickly. However, compressing large Sun raster images can take some time. Therefore, if you only need to look at icon files, be sure to only have Monochrome Icons and Color Icons set on the Properties: Current Folder or New Folder window for the Files to View setting.