Working With Files and Folders

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You can select files and folders in several ways in the file manager. You can also select a group of files matching a specific pattern.

Selecting Files and Folders

The following table describes the tasks that you can perform in the file manager.

Table 15 Selecting Items in the File Manager

Task	Action
Select an item	Click the item.
Select a group of contiguous items	In icon view, click and then drag around the files that you want to select. In list view, click the first item in the group. Press and hold Shift, and then click the last item in the group.
Select multiple items	Press and hold Ctrl. Click the items that you want to select.
Select all items in a folder	Choose Edit → Select All Files.

To perform the default action on an item, double-click the item. You can set your file manager preferences so that you click once on a file to execute the default action. For more information, see Files and Folders Behavior.

Selecting Files Matching a Specific Pattern

You can select all files matching a pattern based upon their file name and an optional number of wildcards. The following table shows some examples of possible patterns and the resulting files they would match.

Table 16 Selecting Items in the File Manager Using a Pattern

Pattern	Files Matched
note.*	This pattern would match files called note, with any extension.
*.ogg	This pattern would match all files with the `.ogg` extension
memo	This pattern would match all files or folders whose name contains the word memo.

To perform the Select Pattern command choose Edit → Select Patterns from the menu. After entering the desired pattern you are left with those files or folders which matched the pattern selected.

Moving or Copying a File or Folder

You can move or copy a file or folder by dragging it with the mouse or by using the cut or copy and paste commands. The following procedures describe how to move or copy a file or folder.

How to Drag a File to Copy or Move It to a New Location

Tip - To move a file or folder to a folder that is one level below the current location, drag the file or folder to the new location in the same window. If you are copying the file or folder, press Control while dragging.

Open two file manager windows:
- The window containing the item you want to move or copy
- The window you want to move or copy the file or folder to, or the window containing the folder you want to move or copy it to
Drag the file or folder you want to move or copy to the new location. If you are copying the file or folder, press Control while dragging.
- If the new location is a window, drop it anywhere on the window.
- If the new location is a folder, drop the item you are dragging on the folder icon.

How to Cut or Copy and Paste to the New Location

Select the file or folder that you want to move or copy, then choose Edit → Cut or Edit → Copy.
Open the folder to which you want to move or copy the file or folder.
Choose Edit → Paste.

How to Duplicate a File or Folder

Select the file or folder that you want to duplicate.
Choose Edit → Duplicate.
A copy of the file or folder appears in the current folder.

How to Create a Folder

Open the folder where you want to create the new folder.
Choose File → Create Folder or right-click the background of the window, then choose Create Folder.
An untitled folder is added to the location. The name of the folder is selected.
Type a name for the folder, and then press Return.

How to Rename a File or Folder

Select the file or folder that you want to rename.
Choose Edit → Rename or right-click the file or folder, then choose Rename.
The name of the file or folder is selected.
Type a new name for the file or folder, then press Return.

How to Move a File or Folder to the Trash

Select the file or folder that you want to move to the Trash.
Choose Edit → Move to Trash or right-click the file or folder, then choose Move to Trash.
Note - When you move a file or folder from removable media to the Trash, the file or folder is stored in a Trash location on the removable media. To remove the file or folder permanently from the removable media, you must empty the Trash.

How to Delete a File or Folder

When you delete a file or folder, the file or folder is not moved to the Trash. It is deleted from your file system. The Delete menu item is only available if you select the Include a Delete command that bypasses the Trash option in the File Management Preferences dialog.

Select the file or folder that you want to delete.
Use one of the following methods to delete the file or folder.
- Choose Edit → Delete.
- Right-click the file or folder, and then choose Delete.
- Press Shift+Del.
Note - This shortcut is independent from the Include a Delete command that bypasses the Trash option.

Creating a Symbolic Link to a File or Folder

A symbolic link is a special type of file that points to another file or folder. When you perform an action on a symbolic link, the action is performed on the file or folder to which the symbolic link points. However, when you delete a symbolic link, you delete the link file, not the file to which the symbolic link points.

How to Create a Symbolic Link to a File or Folder

Select the file or folder to which you want to create a link.
- Choose Edit → Make Link.
  A link to the file or folder is added to the current folder.
- Use drag and drop to create the link.
  1. Press and hold Ctrl+Shift.
  2. Drag the item to the location where you want to place the link.
    By default, the file manager adds an emblem to symbolic links.
Note - The permissions of a symbolic link are determined by the file or folder to which a symbolic link points.