1 #LyX 1.1 created this file. For more info see http://www.lyx.org/
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38 large{<http://rox.sourceforge.net>}
43 tal197@users.sourceforge.net
53 ROX-Filer is a graphical file manger for the X Window System.
54 Its user interface is based on the RISC OS filer and it supports similar
55 features such as application directories and drag-and-drop loading and
57 The filer can also act as a pinboard, allowing you to pin frequently used
58 files onto the desktop background.
62 \begin_inset LatexCommand \tableofcontents{}
72 ROX-Filer is a simple and easy to use graphical file manager for X11, the
73 windowing system used on Unix and Unix-like operating systems.
74 It is also the core component of the ROX Desktop
75 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{ROX}
85 XDND A common drag-and-drop protocol used, for example, by the GNOME desktop
86 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{GNOME}
91 This allows data to be loaded into an application by dragging it from a
92 filer window to a program.
93 The full specification is given in
94 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{DND}
101 XDS An extension to XDND that allows applications to save data by dragging
102 an icon back to a filer window.
103 The full specification is given in
104 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{XDS}
112 Choices A simple, but flexible, system for managing user choices.
114 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{Choices}
121 Application\SpecialChar ~
122 directories Self contained relocatable applications, where installati
123 on is as simple as copying it to where you want it and uninstalling it is
124 just a matter of deleting a directory.
125 Described later in this documentation.
131 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
132 under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free
133 Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option)
137 This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
138 ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS
139 FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
140 See the GNU General Public License for more details.
143 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
144 with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
145 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA, 02111-1307, USA.
154 ROX-Filer is usually supplied in source-only form.
155 To compile and run it, you will require
158 Unix or Linux (root access is not required),
161 The X Window system (supplied as standard on all modern systems),
164 GTK+ 1.2.0 or later (libraries and headers) --- get the latest version from
166 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{GTK+}
173 A C compiler (standard on most systems).
176 All of the above are standard on most modern Linux distributions.
177 To check which version of GTK+ you have installed, run the
185 is the shell prompt):
188 $ gtk-config --version
194 Due to bugs in earlier versions, GTK+ 1.2.8 is strongly recommended.
206 Change to the directory containing the ROX-Filer subdirectory.
209 Run the AppRun script with the
217 $ ROX-Filer/AppRun --compile
221 ROX-Filer will perform various checks to find out what kind of system it
222 is being run on and will then compile.
223 If it doesn't work then please e-mail me and complain! Tell me what kind
224 of system you have and what errors were reported.
225 If you manage to fix the problem yourself then please e-mail me the fix.
229 The executables files are stored inside the ROX-Filer directory in a different
230 subdirectory for each platform.
231 Therefore, you can compile the same application on several different types
232 of machine and then run it from any of them using the AppRun script.
233 This is particularly useful in a network environment.
237 The filer needs some shared files to work --- icons for the various file
238 types, rules for determining file types and default run actions.
239 These are installed, along with the filer itself, by the '
243 ' script supplied with the filer.
251 [ enter root password ]
257 If you don't have the root password then don't worry --- skip the '
261 ' step and follow the instructions for installing into your home directory.
266 You can now run the filer by running the AppRun script without any options,
273 A window should appear and display the contents of the current directory.
274 If you opted to install the `rox' script then you can simply do this instead:
280 If you installed the script into your home directory then you may need to
281 set your PATH environment variable so that the shell can find it.
282 For example, if you installed it into a directory called `
286 ' in your home directory, use this:
289 $ PATH=${HOME}/bin:${PATH}; export PATH
292 or (if you are using the
299 $ setenv PATH ${HOME}/bin:${PATH}
308 By default, ROX-Filer will start by displaying the current directory.
309 You can get it to display other directories instead by listing them after
313 $ rox /home /usr /usr/local
316 You can also use it to open files, like this:
322 The filer supports various options, use `
327 All options have long and short forms (eg `
335 ') --- although on some systems you can only use the short versions.
338 Note that if the same version of the filer is already running on this machine
339 then, by default, it will be used to open the directories and the new copy
340 will exit immediately.
341 You can override this (perhaps because the old copy has stopped responding
342 for some reason) using the `
347 \layout Subsubsection
350 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{run_pin}
357 If you want the filer to manage your desktop background then you use the
362 option and supply a name for the pinboard, eg:
365 $ rox --pinboard=MyPinboard
368 The pinboard configuration is saved in `
370 <Choices>/ROX-Filer/pb_MyPinboard
372 ' as soon as you change it in some way (for example, by dropping a file
373 onto the background).
374 You can have as many pinboards as you like and switch between them by running
378 $ rox --pinboard=MyOtherPinboard
381 To turn off the pinboard again, set the name to an empty string:
388 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{winman}
392 if you have trouble getting the icons to display correctly.
393 \layout Subsubsection
398 If you want a directory to be opened as a panel, put
406 before the directory (for `bottom' or `top' panels).
407 If you don't know what a panel is, try it and see!
413 $ ln -s $HOME ~/Panel/Home
419 The panel should be displayed in a window without a title bar.
420 If this does not work then see section
421 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{winman}
426 \layout Subsubsection
429 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{winman}
436 You may have to play around with your window manager a bit to get the pinboard
437 icons and panels to display correctly (eg, without borders and underneath
439 In particular, try setting the stacking level / depth to low (or a negative
441 Make sure any 'Keep transients above other windows' type options are turned
445 If order for the filer to receive mouse clicks on the background (used for
446 the pinboard support) you need a GNOME-compliant window manager.
447 To see if your window manager supports this, try clicking the right mouse
448 button on an unused area of the background.
449 If you get the pinboard menu, all is well.
452 Note for sawfish users: sawfish trys to guess whether you are using GNOME
453 at start-up and only provides support if so.
454 You need to add the line `
462 file (see the sawfish manual for more details).
465 If all else fails, try running rox with the `
469 ' options; this overrides window manager control of the icons altogether.
472 Mouse button and key bindings
479 \begin_float footnote
482 This documentation assumes that button--1 is the left button, button--2
483 is the middle button and button--3 is the right button.
484 This is not always the case --- for example, in a left-handed setup.
486 mouse button to open files and directories.
489 Click the right button to get a menu.
490 Click over a file to perform an action on that file.
493 Drag files between windows to copy (left button) or move (middle button)
503 By default, the mouse button bindings are designed to fit in with X conventions.
504 However, the behaviour is highly configurable --- have a play in the Options
505 window if you don't like the normal settings.
506 The normal settings behave as follows:
587 Open the file or directory clicked on.
591 Hold down Ctrl to select things instead of opening them.
595 Hold down Shift to look inside applications, treat files as text, follow
596 symlinks or mount devices.
600 Same as left click, but open a directory in a new window or close the viewer
606 Hold down Ctrl while clicking to go directly to the Selection submenu.
610 Copy the file(s) to the destination (an application or another filer window).
614 Hold down Shift to move the file, or Ctrl+Shift to create a symbolic link.
618 As above, but always moves rather than copying or symlinking.
620 (middle mouse button)
624 Drag (not over an item)
626 Select a group of items by dragging a box around them.
627 With the left mouse button, only the files
631 in the box will be selected.
632 If you hold down Ctrl then the boxed items are added to the selection.
636 If the other mouse button is used then the boxed items are toggled between
637 selected and unselected.
641 Change to viewing the parent directory.
645 Move the cursor around.
649 Move up and down in steps of ten rows at a time.
653 Move to the first/last entry in the directory.
657 Open the item under the cursor.
658 With Shift held down this acts like choosing 'Shift Open' from the menu.
662 Toggles the item under the cursor between being selected and unselected.
666 Moves the cursor to the next/previous selected item.
677 Other keys can easily be defined by opening the menu, moving the pointer
678 over the item you want to use and pressing a key.
679 The key will appear in the menu and can be used from then on.
680 Key bindings are automatically saved when the filer quits.
686 While items are selected in a ROX-Filer window the filer has the global
688 You can then paste into another window to get the pathnames of the selected
690 For example, to extract the files from a .tgz archive on a floppy disk into
694 Choose `Xterm here' from the menu in your home directory.
697 Type `tar xzf ' (but don't press Return)
700 Ctrl-click on the .tgz file to select it.
703 Click the middle button in the xterm window to paste the name of the file
707 Press Return in the xterm to execute the command.
711 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: Toolbar}
718 By default, each window has a toolbar along the top.
719 You can disable this (or make it larger) from the Options window.
720 The four buttons on the toolbar are:
722 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center \LyXTable
757 Change to parent directory
759 Show parent in a new window
763 Change to home directory
765 Show home in a new window
769 Reread the directory contents
775 Show ROX-Filer's help files
786 You may also use either of the other buttons to perform the `Other action'.
787 If the 'New window on button 1' option is turned on then the `Action' and
788 `Other action' of the first two are swapped.
791 Dragging files to the Up or Home icons acts just like dragging them into
792 the directory which the button leads to.
798 You can open a menu by right clicking
799 \begin_float footnote
802 If the Use `RISC OS mouse bindings' option is on then use the middle button
805 over a panel or filer window.
806 Here is a full description of each choice and what it does:
808 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center \LyXTable
838 Select every item in this window.
842 Unselect every item in this window.
850 Create a new directory in this one.
854 Open an xterm with its current directory set to this directory.
855 \layout Subsubsection
859 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center \LyXTable
916 Each object in the directory is shown as a large icon with its name below.
920 Items are drawn smaller that usual, allowing you to see more files at once.
930 Entries are displayed along with some extra details:
938 shows the file permissions, owner, group, size and modification time.
946 shows just the size of each file (not directories).
954 displays a bar indicating the size of each file.
955 This is on a log scale.
959 As above, but with a smaller icon and all on one line.
963 Items are arranged by name.
964 There is an option to make this case-sensitive.
968 Items are grouped by their types and then sorted by name within the groups.
972 Most recently modified first.
980 If on, files beginning with a dot are shown, otherwise they are hidden.
984 Rereads the contents of the directory and details of all the files in it.
988 Use this if the display becomes out-of-date.
1001 If ROX-Filer was unable to find ImLib
1002 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{ImLib}
1006 when it was compiled then the icons are shown cropped rather than scaled.
1007 Get ImLib and recompile if you want it to look nice.
1008 \layout Subsubsection
1011 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: Permissions}
1018 The permissions display, shown in Full Info mode, is made up of four groups
1020 Each flag is displayed as a letter if it is on and a dash (--) if not.
1021 The first three characters show the permissions for the owner of the file,
1022 the second for other members of the file's group and the third for everyone
1024 Whichever group applies to the ROX-Filer process itself is shown underlined.
1025 The fourth group shows any special flags.
1028 The meanings of the characters are:
1031 r Permission to read the contents of a file, or the names of files in a
1035 w Permission to alter the contents of a file, or change which names appear
1039 x Permission to run the file as a program, or refer to the files listed
1040 within the directory.
1043 U This program executes with the
1047 of its owner rather than the person who ran it.
1050 G This program executes with the
1054 of its group, regardless of who ran it.
1057 T Entries in this directory can only be altered or removed by the people
1058 who own the files even if they have write permission on the directory itself.
1068 ' means that the owner of the file is the same as the effective user of
1069 ROX-Filer (basically, you own the file), you and members of the file's
1070 group have read, write and execute permission and other people have only
1071 read and execute permission.
1072 There are no special flags set.
1075 The rules which determine which permissions apply may vary slightly between
1076 operating systems, but a rough guide is:
1083 of the process is equal to the file's owner, then the owner permissions
1091 of the process is equal to the file's group OR the file's group is one
1096 then the group permissions apply.
1099 Otherwise, the `other' permissions apply.
1108 have no effect (except that a process may set its real IDs to its effective
1110 \layout Subsubsection
1115 All of these work in the same way --- if you open the menu with some items
1116 selected then the operation applies to those items.
1117 If you open then menu over an item while there is no selection then that
1118 item is temporarily selected.
1119 If you choose one of these while there is no selection at all then the
1120 window goes into `target mode'; the operation happens to the next item
1122 Click on the window background, press Escape, or click with the right mouse
1123 button to cancel target mode.
1124 Target mode is mainly useful with the `Single click navigation' option
1125 and keys bound to the various menu entries.
1127 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center \LyXTable
1129 19 2 0 0 -1 -1 -1 -1
1196 Make a copy of this object.
1200 Change the name used for this object, or move it between directories.
1204 Create a symbolic link to this name in the same directory.
1208 Opens applications as directories, files as text/plain, mount points
1212 by mounting or unmounting them and symlinks by opening the directory
1216 containing the thing they point to.
1220 This is the same effect as clicking with Shift held down.
1224 Explain what kind of thing is selected.
1225 For applications, display the help files.
1229 Display extra information about this object.
1233 Open the file as if it was a directory --- see section
1234 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: vfs}
1242 Mount or unmount each mount point selected.
1246 Remove all the selected entries from the directory.
1250 Subdirectories will have their contents deleted first.
1254 Deleting symlinks only removes the link, not the thing it points to.
1258 Count the sizes of all the selected items.
1259 Directories also have their
1264 Symlinks count themselves, not the things they point to.
1268 Allows you to change the permissions for the selected files.
1272 Search for files by specifying various conditions --- see section
1273 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: Searching}
1278 \layout Subsubsection
1282 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center \LyXTable
1284 11 2 0 0 -1 -1 -1 -1
1327 Open a new window displaying this window's parent.
1331 As above, but reuse this window.
1335 Open another window onto this directory.
1343 Open the path-entry box (see section
1344 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: mini}
1352 Open the shell command box (see section
1353 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: mini}
1361 Allows you to set the program to use when double-clicking on a file.
1366 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: RunAction}
1374 Select just those files that match the given pattern --- see section
1375 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: SelectIf}
1383 Same as selecting ROX-Filer and choosing `Help' from the menu.
1384 \layout Subsubsection
1389 This is just a cut-down version of the window menu.
1390 The only new entry is `Open Panel as Directory', which displays the panel
1391 in a new, non-panel, window.
1392 `Remove Item' is a cut-down version of `Delete'; it only works for symbolic
1393 links and never asks for confirmation.
1394 Since dragging applications and directories to the panel creates symlinks
1395 it is very easy to change the panel contents to suit your needs.
1402 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{run_pin}
1406 explains how to turn the pinboard on.
1407 Once on, you may drop icons from filer windows onto the pinboard to pin
1409 Clicking on a pinned file acts just like clicking on it in a filer window.
1410 You can drag pinned icons just like normal icons and you can right-click
1411 on one to see the pinboard's popup menu.
1414 Drag pinned icons with the middle mouse button to move them around (they
1416 Changes to the pinboard are automatically saved.
1419 Clicking on pinned icons with Control held down selects and unselects them.
1420 Click on the desktop background to unselect them all.
1427 Pinning a file to the pinboard does
1431 copy it, it merely creates a shortcut to the original file.
1432 If you delete the file, then you've lost it! Removing a file from the pinboard
1433 only removes the link.
1434 This is different to most other filers...
1438 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: vfs}
1442 Virtual file systems
1445 Some types of file can be represented as a directory.
1446 A typical example is a zip file, which contains an entire directory structure
1448 It is often useful to be able to open up such a file as if it was a real
1449 directory, and the VFS system allows you to do this.
1452 To use this feature you must have one or both of the following:
1455 A system (such as PODFUK
1456 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{PODFUK}
1460 ) which causes the kernel to support various Virtual File Systems directly.
1461 This is the best option since all programs will be able to access the contents
1463 You will require root access to install such a system, however, and it
1464 is not available on all platforms.
1467 Support for the Midnight Commander VFS library compiled into ROX-Filer.
1468 This happens automatically when you compile ROX-Filer if it can find the
1469 VFS library --- this means having
1477 ) in a system library directory or in the directory in the environment variable
1483 In this case, you will be able to view the directory structure and copy
1484 files out of it, but not change it.
1485 Support for this may be added later.
1486 Midnight Commander is part of the GNOME project.
1489 Note that using the `Open VFS' menu is simply a short-cut for using the
1490 path-entry box (explained below), so if you want to use a VFS not listed
1491 on the menu you can type in the path directly, eg:
1496 /home/fred/archive.zip#uzip/
1505 Don't forget the final slash!
1506 \layout Subsubsection
1508 Step by step example of adding VFS support
1511 This assumes that you have the Midnight Commander source in a directory
1513 You might need to replace
1536 If you have the root password then install the library in a system library
1537 directory as normal.
1547 $ cp libvfs.so ~/lib
1550 $ cd ~/Apps/ROX-Filer
1557 file to include this as the
1564 LD_LIBRARY_PATH=${HOME}/lib; export LD_LIBRARY_PATH
1567 This will ensure that ROX-Filer will look for the library in the new
1575 $ ./AppRun --compile
1581 checking for mc_stat in -lvfs...
1585 If you saw that line then it's worked! Well done!
1590 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: mini}
1597 The mini-buffer is a white bar that appears along the bottom of the window
1598 and allows you to enter some text.
1599 Press Escape to get rid of it again.
1600 It behaves in different ways depending on how you invoked it:
1601 \layout Subsubsection
1606 This allows you to type in a path directly.
1607 As you type the display is updated to show the item entered visually.
1608 The main use is to find a file in a large directory quickly, but you can
1609 also use it for navigating between directories, or for selecting a full
1610 pathname from somewhere else and pasting it directly into the path-entry
1613 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center \LyXTable
1637 Open the currently selected item.
1641 Shell-style tab completion.
1645 Select the previous/next matching entry.
1648 If you start entering a name beginning with a `.' then the `Show Hidden'
1649 feature is temporarily turned on so that the file can be shown.
1652 Tab completion tries to fill in as many characters for you as it can.
1653 For example, if there are two files in a directory called `save-mail-nov-1999'
1654 and `save-mail-dec-1999' then typing 'save' and pressing Tab will expand
1655 `save' to `save-mail-' and beep to indicate that the match is not complete.
1656 If you use tab completion on a directory and it is unique then the filer
1657 will automatically change into the directory.
1658 This behavior should be familiar to shell users.
1659 \layout Subsubsection*
1664 Let's say you want to locate the documentation for Wine in the directory
1665 /usr/doc (which is usually very large).
1666 Here's how you could do it:
1669 Open the minibuffer by choosing 'Enter Path' from the Window menu.
1670 I usually bind this function to the slash (`/') key.
1673 Press CTRL-U to delete the existing contents --- this moves you to the root
1696 As you type, the cursor will move to the correct subdirectory.
1697 If it beeps when you press Tab then you need to supply more letters.
1698 \layout Subsubsection
1701 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: RunAction}
1708 This box appears when you choose `Set Run Action' from the Window menu.
1709 You can now either drag a file onto an application, or you can enter a
1711 In either case, the action is not actually performed but instead becomes
1712 the default action for files of that type.
1715 All files have a MIME type in the form `
1737 Whichever method you use to set the action you will be given the choice
1738 of setting the run action just for that type, or setting the default for
1739 all files with that media-type which don't already have a specific action.
1742 For example, let's say you want to set things up so that double-clicking
1743 on a `.gif' file loads it into the Gimp:
1746 Setting the run action by drag-and-drop
1751 Choose `Set Run Action' from the Window menu and, while the minibuffer is
1752 still open, drag a GIF file from the filer window onto the Gimp's application
1753 directory (probably in another filer window).
1756 Setting the run action by entering a shell command
1765 \begin_inset Quotes erd
1769 \begin_inset Quotes erd
1776 Note that the cursor (the black box) must be on the GIF file when you press
1778 \layout Subsubsection
1780 The shell command box
1783 This provides a quick way of entering shell commands if you don't want to
1785 If you don't know what shell commands are, skip this section!
1788 Just type in the command and press Return to execute it.
1789 Up and Down arrows move through previously entered commands.
1790 Tab does shell-style completion.
1791 Clicking on an item inserts its name into the minibuffer.
1792 If some items are selected then they are assigned to the positional parameters
1802 \layout Subsubsection*
1814 Open the minibuffer by choosing `Shell Command' from the Window menu.
1815 I usually bind this to the bang (`!') key.
1822 ' and click on the file.
1823 The leading space is automatically inserted.
1826 Press Return to execute it.
1829 To print all the selected files:
1832 Open the shell command minibuffer.
1840 \layout Subsubsection*
1845 Be careful; you will not be asked to confirm! If in doubt, start the command
1850 ' so that it will be displayed rather than executed.
1853 The above command won't work if some of the files contain spaces --- use
1865 ' instead to be safe.
1868 `sh' is always used as the name of the shell to run (mainly because bash
1869 and csh treat positional parameters differently).
1870 However, PATH is searched to find it so you can still use another shell
1871 if you want by naming it sh and putting it in your path.
1874 Commands execute in the background, so you can say:
1878 sleep 240; xmessage Time to go!
1880 \layout Subsubsection
1883 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: SelectIf}
1887 The conditional selection box
1890 Use this if you want to automatically select all files in the directory
1891 which match a condition.
1892 The syntax for the conditions is given in section
1893 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: Searching}
1898 For example, to select all files larger than 5Mb:
1901 Open the Select If minibuffer.
1911 Just those files over 5 Mb in size will be selected.
1912 The expressions you can enter are in the same form as described in section
1914 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: Searching}
1922 ' has no effect since the contents of directories are never checked anyway.
1928 Action windows are those boxes that appear while you're doing a Copy/Move/Link/e
1930 The status line at the top of the window shows the current directory or
1931 object that the window is processing.
1932 The scrolling area below is the log area --- it shows what has been done
1933 and may display questions here.
1936 At the bottom are four buttons and, sometimes, some options.
1937 The buttons work as follows:
1940 Quiet will do simple operations without asking you to confirm each one.
1941 By turning this on and off during an operation you can use it like a pause
1945 Yes answers yes to the question displayed in the log area.
1948 No answers no to the question displayed in the log area.
1951 Abort kills the current operation (if any) and closes the action window.
1954 You can control which actions get started automatically (without you having
1955 to click on Quiet at the start) from the Options window.
1956 \layout Subsubsection
1958 Action window options
1961 Some actions have options, which appear as option boxes at the bottom of
1966 `Force' means that the filer won't treat non-writeable files as special.
1967 Normally, it confirms the deletion even if Quiet is pressed.
1968 Note that you still can't remove files from non-writeable directories because
1969 in that case you really don't have permission.
1972 `Brief' prevents the filer logging a message every time it does something.
1973 Use this to speed things up if large numbers of messages are being logged.
1976 `Recurse' means that doing something to a directory will also do the same
1977 thing to all its contents, and the contents of any subdirectories, and
1982 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: Searching}
1989 The Find feature looks through all the selected files and directories and
1990 any subdirectories (recursively) looking for items that match a particular
1994 If you know the name of a file then just enter it in the `Expression:' box,
1995 enclosed in single quotes.
1996 For example, to find a file called `log' you would enter:
2002 Remember to use normal quotes, not double quotes (
2005 \begin_inset Quotes eld
2017 As the filer finds matching files they are added to the results list.
2018 Clicking on an entry in the list opens a viewer showing the file you clicked
2020 The filer will use the same window to view other results (so, if you want
2021 the results shown in separate windows you must explicitly create a new
2022 window from the Window menu).
2023 \layout Subsubsection
2028 You can also put shell-style wildcard characters inside the quotes, for
2048 manpage if you want to know more about shell wildcards.
2051 If the pattern you enter contains a slash ('/') character then the pattern
2052 is matched against the file's full path, otherwise only the leafname is
2058 will find 'tmp' and 'tmpfile' but not '/tmp/file' ---
2062 will find all three.
2063 \layout Subsubsection
2068 As well as finding files by their names you can also find them by various
2070 Note that `file' is used here to mean anything that can appear in the filesyste
2071 m --- including directories, devices and so on.
2082 These look at the type of the item being checked:
2085 IsReg matches any regular (ie, normal) file.
2088 IsLink matches symlinks.
2091 IsDir matches directories.
2094 IsChar matches character device files.
2097 IsBlock matches block device files.
2100 IsDev matches block or character device files.
2103 IsPipe matches pipes.
2106 IsSocket matches sockets.
2109 These look at the permissions set on the file --- see section
2110 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: Permissions}
2117 IsSUID matches files which have the Set-UID bit set.
2120 IsSGID matches files which have the Set-GID bit set.
2123 IsSticky matches files with the sticky bit set,
2126 IsReadable matches files which you can read from.
2129 IsWriteable matches files which you can write to.
2132 IsExecutable matches files which you can execute.
2135 And a couple of other useful ones:
2138 IsEmpty finds empty files (ie, those whose length is 0 bytes).
2141 IsMine finds files which you own.
2142 \layout Subsubsection
2147 You can combine the above tests in various ways to perform more advanced
2149 An expression is actually made up of a list of
2153 , separated by commas.
2154 The filer will try to match each case in turn until one matches or there
2155 are no more cases left.
2156 For example, to search for files with several possible endings:
2159 '*.gif', '*.htm', '*.html'
2162 Further, each of the cases is actually a list of conditions.
2163 The case only matches if all of its conditions are met.
2164 So, to find a directory called
2168 or a regular file ending in
2175 IsDir 'lib', IsReg '*.so'
2178 You can negate a condition by putting a
2182 in front of it and you can use a sub-expression as a condition by bracketing
2192 Not isdir and not isreg
2195 All three do the same thing.
2196 \layout Subsubsection
2201 You can also compare various values using the operators
2205 (for less-than, less-than-or-equal-to, equal-to, not-equal-to, greater-than
2206 and greater-than-or-equal-to).
2207 When comparing times, you may find it helpful to use
2223 to make things clearer.
2226 The following are read from the file being checked and may be used for the
2227 values being compared:
2230 atime The time that the file was last accessed.
2233 ctime The time that the file's status was last changed.
2236 mtime The time that the file's contents were last modified.
2239 size The size of the file.
2242 inode The file's inode (index) number
2245 nlinks The number of links to this file (that is, the number of directory
2246 entries which refer to this file.
2247 Note that symlinks don't count as references).
2250 uid The User ID of the file.
2253 gid The Group ID of the file.
2256 blocks The number of disk blocks being used by the file.
2259 Times are measured as seconds since the Unix Epoch (00:00:00 UTC, January
2262 When specifying constants to compare these values with you may use various
2263 keywords to scale the value:
2266 Byte(s) has no effect, but looks better.
2269 Kb multiplies by 1024, so 2Kb is the same as 2048.
2273 \begin_inset Formula \( 1024^{2} \)
2279 Sec(s) has no effect, but looks nice.
2282 Min(s) multiplies by 60 to get minutes.
2285 Hour(s),\SpecialChar ~
2286 Day(s),\SpecialChar ~
2287 Week(s),\SpecialChar ~
2288 Year(s) likewise convert to the relevant unit.
2291 Ago makes the time in the past relative to when the check is done.
2294 Hence makes the time in the future.
2304 Some examples should make this all a bit clearer!
2307 mtime after 1 day ago
2313 IsReg and nlinks > 1
2316 The first finds files modified within the last 24 hours.
2325 but it's not so clear what is meant.
2326 The second finds files larger than 10 Mb and the last finds regular files
2327 with more than one directory entry.
2330 Be careful though --- the filer doesn't check the context of the modifiers,
2335 is allowed, although it doesn't make much sense! Also, forgetting to use
2344 will cause odd effects (the time will be measured relative to the Epoch
2345 rather than the current time).
2346 Finally, don't use = with times ---
2350 looks for a file accessed
2354 86400 seconds ago...
2355 \layout Subsubsection
2360 System(Command) executes `Command' on the file.
2361 The test succeeds if the command returns an exit status of zero.
2362 A `%' character in `Command' is replaced by the full path of the file being
2364 System is a very slow test to perform, so do it last if possible.
2365 For example, if you're looking for a .c file containing the word `main',
2370 '*.c' system(grep -q main
2385 so that the grep is only performed for files ending in .c (as opposed to
2386 only checking that the file ends in .c if it contains the word `main').
2391 \begin_float footnote
2394 Note that this is the opposite of the
2400 However, if it gets evaluated at all then it prevents the filer from checking
2401 inside the current directory.
2402 Remember the order in which the filer checks the expression!
2408 '*.old' system(echo rm %)
2414 The first displays a command to delete each file ending in
2418 ; you can either paste the results into an xterm to execute them or run
2419 the search again without the
2424 It's always a good idea to use
2428 first with dangerous commands! The second looks for
2432 files, but does not bother checking inside directories called
2437 The expression is evaluated like this:
2439 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center
2441 \begin_inset Figure size 216 180
2454 You can configure various aspects of ROX-Filer from the Options box.
2455 Choose `Options...' from a filer window menu to open it.
2459 At the bottom of the window are four buttons:
2462 Save puts all your choices into effect, and also saves them into your Choices
2463 directory for next time ROX-Filer is loaded.
2464 ROX-Filer will never save any preferences to disk unless you click on the
2465 `Save' button in the options window.
2466 Exactly where choices are loaded from and saved to is controlled by the
2471 environment variable --- see
2472 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{Choices}
2479 OK puts your choices into effect without writing anything to disk.
2482 Apply works like OK, but without closing the Options window.
2485 Cancel closes the options box and forgets any changes you made.
2488 Many of the options in the Options window have tooltips --- hold the mouse
2489 pointer over the option to find out what it does.
2490 \layout Subsubsection
2495 If you are using the pinboard features (see section
2496 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{run_pin}
2500 ) then you can choose how the text under each icon is displayed.
2501 If you have a fairly uniform background then you may like to choose `No
2502 background', which simply draws the text directly over the desktop background.
2503 However, users with more `noisy' backdrops may find such text hard to read;
2504 selecting `Rectangular background slab' will draw a solid rectangle behind
2505 the text to make it easier to read.
2506 \layout Subsubsection
2508 Action window options
2511 You can choose to start some operations automatically, without waiting for
2512 you to click on Quiet.
2513 Select each operation that you want to auto-start here.
2514 \layout Subsubsection
2519 `Ignore case when sorting' treats upper and lower case letters as equivalent
2521 If this is off then `Zoo' comes before `animal', for example.
2524 `Max Large Icons width' sets the maximum width for a file's name in `Large
2525 Icons' display mode.
2526 Text wider than this will be truncated (a small red vertical bar indicates
2527 when text has been truncated).
2530 `Max Small Icons width' --- as above, but applies when the display is in
2531 `Small Icons' display mode.
2534 The last display style and sort type you chose will also be saved as the
2535 defaults for next time if you click on Save.
2536 \layout Subsubsection
2541 `Toolbar type for new windows' allows you to choose what kind of toolbar
2542 will be used for future filer windows (the currently open windows are not
2548 means that new windows will not have a toolbar,
2552 provides a small bar of icons, and
2556 displays larger icons with textual labels.
2558 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: Toolbar}
2563 \layout Subsubsection
2565 Filer window options
2568 `New window on button 1' swaps the actions of the two non-menu buttons when
2569 opening directories.
2570 This is provided for people who are used to the RISC OS mouse bindings.
2573 `Menu on button 2' swaps the actions of buttons 2 and 3 so that the middle
2574 button brings up the menus.
2575 This is provided for people who are used to the RISC OS mouse bindings.
2578 `Single-click navigation' treats a single click over an item as if it was
2580 This allows you to move around, run applications and open files without
2586 opening it you must hold down CTRL while you click.
2589 `Unique windows' prevents you from having two windows showing the same directory.
2590 Opening a second view onto a directory closes the first.
2591 \layout Subsubsection
2593 Drag-And-Drop options
2596 ROX-Filer uses the standard XDND protocol for drag-and-drop.
2597 This protocol recommends that URIs should contain the hostname of the computer
2598 that the resource is on so that the program receiving the data can determine
2599 whether it can get the data directly or whether it must go via the X-server.
2600 However, many older programs (particularly GNOME applications) get confused
2601 by the hostname and fail to load the data correctly.
2602 If `Don't use hostnames' is on then the hostname part is omitted and ROX-Filer
2603 will work with these applications BUT you can't drag data to a program
2604 running on a different machine.
2607 `Allow dragging to icons in filer windows' controls what happens when you
2608 drop files onto icons in filer windows.
2609 If on then drops onto directories will save the data inside the directory,
2610 while dropping onto programs will invoke the program on that data.
2611 If off then drops anywhere inside a filer window act like drops onto the
2612 window background --- that is, the data will be saved into the directory
2616 `Directories spring open' controls what happens when you hold a file over
2617 a directory in a filer window or on the pinboard.
2618 If on, the directory will `spring open' after a short pause, allowing you
2619 to navigate to any directory during a drag.
2620 You can also hold the pointer over the Home and Up buttons on the toolbar
2621 for a similar effect.
2622 You need to have the previous option enabled for this to have any effect
2623 on files displayed in a directory.
2624 \layout Subsubsection
2629 The `Xterm here' program is the one used when you choose `Xterm here' from
2631 You can replace it with another program such as `gnome-terminal' if you
2633 In fact, any program will do, but note that you cannot pass any options
2634 to the program at present.
2640 ROX-Filer uses three sub-directories in your Choices directory for filetypes:
2643 MIME-info contains files which specify what the MIME type for a file should
2644 be, based on its extention.
2645 All the files in all the MIME-info directories are scanned when the filer
2647 ROX-Filer comes with many such rules --- these are installed into the MIME-info
2648 directory by the install script.
2652 Many applications now come with a file called `something.mime'; copy these
2653 files into your MIME-info directory to make ROX-Filer automatically recognise
2658 MIME-types contains symlinks, one for each MIME type, which point to programs
2659 that can handle files of that type.
2660 To set what program is run when you click on the file you should normally
2661 use the `Set Run Action' feature (see section
2662 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: RunAction}
2667 However, you can also set the actions manually --- for example, to make
2668 opening an HTML file load it into Netscape:
2672 Find the Netscape application and go to `Link...' on the menu.
2675 Enter `text_html' as the name for the link and drag the icon from the Link
2676 box into the MIME-types directory.
2679 You can also put actual programs in here as well as links if you want to.
2683 MIME-icons contains the images used to display each type of file.
2684 So the filer will try to display an HTML file using the icon `MIME-icons/text_h
2688 In both MIME-types and MIME-icons directories you can also provide default
2689 actions/images for each media type.
2690 For example, if `text_html' isn't found then the filer will try simply
2694 Application directories
2697 An application directory is a directory which can be run as an application.
2698 It contains all the resources of an application --- source code, binaries,
2699 documentation and so on.
2700 Keeping everything in one place make installation and uninstallation much
2702 You can also keep multiple versions of a program by simply having several
2703 application directories.
2704 You may move and rename them as you please.
2705 Application directories are easier to use and install and are more secure
2707 \begin_float footnote
2710 Because you can compile an application as a user and then simply copy it
2711 as root rather than having to run an install script you are free from the
2712 danger of running untrusted code as root.
2713 All you have to watch out for is setuid binaries.
2718 To make a directory executable all you need to do is create a executable
2719 file called `AppRun' inside it.
2720 This file is run when the user double-clicks on the application.
2721 You should also provide `AppIcon.xpm' (which will be used as the image for
2722 the application) and `Help' (which is a directory that is opened when the
2723 user asks for help).
2724 Finally (for security reasons), an application directory must have the
2725 same owner as the AppRun file inside.
2726 Have a look at the ROX-Filer application directory for a full example.
2729 Internationalisation
2733 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: LANG}
2737 Selecting a translation
2740 ROX-Filer is able to translate many of its messages, provided suitable translati
2741 on files are provided.
2742 If you know that your language is supported then simply set the
2746 environment variable to the appropriate code for your country before starting
2750 LANG=fr; export LANG
2756 To see which translations are currently provided, open the ROX-Filer application
2757 directory (hold down Shift and double-click) and look inside the `
2764 Creating a new translation
2771 directory and create the file `
2786 Copy the file into the `
2790 ' subdirectory under
2795 \begin_inset Formula \( \langle \hbox {name}\rangle \hbox {\tt .po} \)
2799 Eg, if your language is referred to as `ml' (`my language'):
2803 $ cp messages.pot po/ml.po
2807 Load the copy into a text editor.
2810 Fill in the translations, which are all blank to start with.
2817 ' script to create the binary file which ROX-Filer can use.
2818 You will need the GNU gettext package for this.
2819 If you don't have it then just send me the
2823 file and I'll convert it for you.
2827 $ cd ROX-Filer/src/po
2833 Created file ../../Messages/ml.gmo OK
2837 Set the LANG variable to `
2841 ' and restart the filer (see section
2842 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: LANG}
2853 file to me so that I can include it in future releases of the filer.
2856 Updating an existing translation
2859 Go into the directory containing the
2868 This checks the source code for new and changed strings and updates all
2869 the translation files.
2873 $ cd ROX-Filer/src/po
2880 Edit the file by hand as before, filling in the new blanks and updating
2881 out-of-date translations.
2882 Look out for `fuzzy' entries where
2886 has made a guess; check it's correct and remove the `fuzzy' line.
2896 Submit the updated file to me.
2903 info page for more instructions on creating a translation.
2909 This is a quick start guide for people who want to modify the source code.
2910 If you make useful changes or fix bugs, please send patches to me or to
2912 Tell me which version you're using!
2918 The first time you compile the program you need to do `
2922 ', but in future you only need to run `
2930 ' directory when you change the
2939 You might want to run `
2946 Creating and applying patches
2949 When people make small modifications to the sources they will often distribute
2954 --- usually on the mailing list.
2955 To apply a patch, go into the 'src' directory and run patch with the patch
2957 Then recompile, like this:
2966 $ ../AppRun --compile
2969 You can remove the patch by simply repeating the above sequence --- patch
2970 will detect that the patch is already applied and offer to remove it.
2973 To create a patch you should first get the latest version of the filer from
2974 CVS (instructions on using CVS can be found on the web-site).
2975 Modify the program as you please.
2976 Create the patch using `
2980 ' from the appropriate directory:
2983 $ cvs diff -c > my_patch
2986 This creates a human- and machine-readable patch file.
2987 Submit this to the mailing list.
2988 The are many reasons for posting patches rather that the modified files:
2991 They are smaller, and hence shouldn't bounce.
2992 They are also quicker to download for people with slow connections.
2995 People can see what they're getting into before applying them!
2998 Patches can (usually) be applied to slightly modified versions of the sources.
2999 This means that people can apply several patches without each new one overwriti
3006 Here's a quick explanation of the autoconf system in case you haven't used
3008 See `info autoconf' for full details.
3011 There's a file called 'configure.in' which contains various tests (`info
3013 You run `autoconf' and it reads through the file and generates a shell
3014 script to perform the tests, saving it as `configure'.
3015 `configure' is normally distributed with the program because not everyone
3019 You then run `configure' (in fact, let the `AppRun' script do it because
3020 it passes it some arguments), which performs all the tests.
3021 It reads in `Makefile.in' and `config.h.in' and fills in the missing values
3022 with the test results to produce `Makefile' and `config.h'.
3025 You run `make', which creates .o files from the .c files and links to produce
3032 The diagram below shows some of the major structures found in the filer
3033 along with their most important attributes and methods.
3034 Exactly which attributes have been included is a little hit-and-miss but
3035 it might help you get the overall picture.
3036 If you find it useful, please let me know and I'll try to keep it up-to-date
3037 (or even extend it!).
3040 To summarise, each window (or panel) has its own
3045 This structure has pointers to a
3049 (which is the widget which actually displays the files) and to a
3053 , which is used to cache the directory contents.
3062 have pointers to (the same)
3066 s, each of which corresponds to one filesystem object.
3071 s may share the same
3076 While scanning is in progress the
3080 keeps a list of the new items it has found (
3084 ) and the items which have changed in some way (
3089 It periodically notifies the filer window of the changes-so-far by calling
3090 all the functions in the
3102 to add and remove functions to or from the list).
3104 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center
3106 \begin_inset Figure size 595 606
3114 \layout Bibliography
3121 , <http://rox.sourceforge.net>
3122 \layout Bibliography
3129 , <http://www.gtk.org>
3130 \layout Bibliography
3137 , <http://www.gnome.org>
3138 \layout Bibliography
3143 The Drag and Drop protocol
3145 , <http://www.its.caltech.edu/~jafl/xdnd/>
3146 \layout Bibliography
3151 The X Direct Save protocol
3153 , <http://www.its.caltech.edu/~jafl/xds/>
3154 \layout Bibliography
3159 The ROX Choices system
3161 , <http://rox.sourceforge.net/choices.php3>
3162 \layout Bibliography
3163 \bibitem {enlightenment}
3169 <http://www.enlightenment.org>
3170 \layout Bibliography
3175 POrtable Dodgy Filesystems in Userland (hacK),
3177 <http://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pavel/podfuk/podfuk.html>
3178 \layout Bibliography
3185 , <http://www.gnome.org>