Working with Files and Directories

You've learned to make your way around the file system now; it's time to get to work. To open, copy, cut, move, or otherwise operate on files you see in the file manager, you use the context menua menu that shows all the things that you can do to the file in question.

To show the context menu for a given file, right-click the file's icon (position your cursor over the icon and click the button on the right of the mouse or trackball). The context menu often changes from file to file because it always displays only the actions that you can perform on the file you clicked; if you right-click a text file, for example, you see options associated with text files and the text editor. To see a context menu in action, right-click anotherfile.txt. This action displays the context menu shown in Figure 5.10.

Figure 5.10. The context menu for text files is displayed when you right-click the file anotherfile. txt.

You can choose any option in a context menu by clicking it. Here's what the options in the context menu do:

• The first item in the context menu always opens the file with the application best suited to open it, in this case the text editor.

• You may also see additional Open options that open the file with alternate applications that may also be useful for working on the file.

• Open with Other Application allows you to specify your own application to use when opening the file. This option is recommended for experts only.

• Cut File clips the file from the current directory so that you can move it to another using the Paste Files command.

• Copy File creates an imaginary "copy" of the file that the file manager will remember; you can then create a new copy of the original file on disk using the Paste Files command.

• Paste Files becomes active after you use the Cut File command to remove an item from a directory or the Copy File command to create an imaginary copy of it. You navigate to a new directory and click Paste Files in its file manager window to place the cut or copied item in the new location.

• Make Link creates a symbolic link to the file. Although we haven't discussed symbolic links yet, you can learn more about them by referring to Chapter 7, "Understanding File Properties."

• Rename is used to change a file's name.

• Move to Trash puts the file in the trash can shown on the desktop, effectively throwing it away. If you later empty the trash can (something you'll learn how to do later in this chapter), the files it contains will be deleted from the disk.

• Create Archive is used to create or add the file in question to an archive file of any common type (for example, a ZIP, LZH, or TGZ file, suitable for transmission across the Internet).

• Properties displays properties such as file size, date last edited, and so on, for the selected item.

You learn more about using these and other menu options in the sections that follow.

Context Menus Aren't Just for Files and Directories

Although you work with context menus for files in this chapter, you can access context menus for many items on the Linux desktop. Context menu options provide a quick, intuitive method for managing or manipulating most desktop items in Fedora Core 4.

Opening an Existing File

To reopen the file anotherfile.txt for editing in the text editor application, simply double-click its icon in the file manager window or right-click its icon and select the first option, Open with Text Editor. The text editor opens, the file is loaded, and you can now edit and save the file again at your discretion.

The Open with Other Application option displays a list of other programs that can be used to open the file. These other programs include the much more powerful OpenOffice applications suite, similar to Microsoft Office in many ways; you learn more about OpenOffice in Chapters 8 through 10.

Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Files

If you have worked extensively in Word, WordPerfect, or other common word processing programs, you may be familiar with the cut, copy, and paste functions. If not, you won't have any trouble learning to use these functions; they provide a simple way to move text in a document, but you can also use them to move files from one directory or location to another in the Fedora Core 4 file manager.

You can use the Copy File command to copy a file to another directory without removing the file from its original location. To duplicate a file, right-click it to produce the context menu and then choose Copy File. Navigate to the directory where you want the file's duplicate to appear and right-click any empty space in the window. In the context menu that appears, choose Paste Files. A duplicate of the file is created in the currently displayed directory using the same filename as the original.

You also can use the context menu to remove a file from its current location and place it in a new directory. To move a file, right-click its icon and then choose Cut File. The file manager window displays a notice at the bottom of the window indicating that the file will be moved when you select the Paste Files command. Navigate to the directory where you want to place the file, right-click in empty window space, and choose Paste Files from the context menu. The file is copied to the currently displayed directory and then deleted from its original location.

You can also use this functionality to duplicate an existing file. To do so, simply copy it and then paste it again in the same directory. A new copy of the file will be created, as shown in Figure 5.11.

Figure 5.11. When you create a duplicate file, the new file is stored with the same name and the word "copy" in parentheses.

Selecting Multiple Files

Many of the context menu and drag-and-drop operations discussed here can be performed on a number of files simultaneously. Simply use the file manager to select more than one file at a time and then click, drag, or right-click on any one of the selected files to perform the same operation simultaneously on all of them.

There are two ways of selecting multiple files at once. The first and easiest, commonly referred to as using a rubber band, is accomplished by clicking the left button on your pointing device in an empty area of the file manager window, dragging the pointer and enlarging the rubber band to enclose a number of files, and then releasing the button. Selected files are highlighted to show that they have been selected. This process is shown in Figure 5.12.

Figure 5.12. Using the rubber band to select two files simultaneously in /home/you. The selected files are highlighted.

The other way to select multiple files is to hold down the Ctrl key while single- clicking each file you want to select, one by one. Each file you select remains highlighted and is added to the group of selected files, as long as the Ctrl key is held down. This method enables the selection of noncontiguous groups of icons.

Renaming an Item

You can use the Rename command in the context menu to change a file's or directory's name. After you choose Rename from the context menu, the icon's filename appears in a text box, as shown in Figure 5.13. You just type a new name for the file and press Enter to save the name and exit the text box.

Figure 5.13. The file anotherfile (copy).txt is ready to be renamed; when the filename text box is active, as shown here, you can type to replace the current name. Press Enter to save the new name.

Don't Change the Last Three Letters!

When renaming a file, be sure not to change the file's three-letter extension, if it has one, because doing so might change the way Linux or other operating systems identify the file's type!

Deleting Items

To delete a file or directory, choose the Move to Trash option from the context menu. The selected item disappears from the currently displayed directory and is moved to the trash can. Double-click the Trash icon on the Fedora Core 4 Desktop to view, restore, or permanently delete trashed items (see "Working with Trash Contents," later in this chapter).

Creating a New Directory

To create a new directory in the currently displayed path, right-click an area of empty space within the file manager window. A context menu for the currently displayed path appears.

Choose the Create Folder item from the context menu to create a new directory in the currently displayed directory, as shown in Figure 5.14. The new directory appears with the name untitled folder, in a selected text box; type a new name and press Enter to name your new folder.

Figure 5.14. The newly created directory is given the name untitled folder. Type a new name to name your folder or simply press Enter to accept the default name.

What's the Difference Between a Folder and a Directory?

Remember that you don't need to be confused by the terms folder and directory: For our purposes, these terms can be used interchangeably. Typically, when accessed from the command line or when discussed in the context of the Linux file system, they are known as directories. In many desktop applications, however, and in the file manager, they are called folders.

Rearranging or Sorting Icons

The icons in the currently displayed directory can be rearranged and re-sorted by right-clicking an empty area of the file manager window to display a context menu and then choosing Arrange Items. The submenu shown in Figure 5.15 is displayed.

Figure 5.15. The Arrange Items submenu enables you to dictate the way in which the file manager organizes the display of files and directories in the current directory. A dot is shown next to the current arrangement style.

Depending on how you want the current directory to be displayed, you select from the following:

• Manually allows you to position the icons as you choose by dragging them around the window. When this item is selected, the file manager will not attempt to arrange or rearrange icons for you at all.

• By Name sorts the files in ascending alphabetical order (from AZ).

• By Size sorts the files in descending order, from largest to smallest, beginning with directories, which are sorted by the number of items each contains.

• By Type groups the files by type (usually indicated by a file's three-letter extension), sorting alphabetically (from AZ) within each type.

• By Modification Date sorts the files in order from the files or directories most recently edited to those least recently edited.

• By Emblems groups the files by the emblems that have been assigned to them by selecting Properties from the file context menu.

• Compact Layout causes the icons to be spaced more closely together, as shown in Figure 5.16.

  Figure 5.16. When Compact Layout is enabled, the icons for the files in the directory are spaced more closely.

  
  
  

• Reverse Order causes the ordering of the sorting methods listed above to be reversed.