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11 <ulink url="http://rox.sourceforge.net"/>
14 <firstname>Thomas</firstname><surname>Leonard</surname>
16 <address><email>tal197 at users.sourceforge.net</email></address>
19 <copyright><year>2005</year><holder>Thomas Leonard</holder></copyright>
21 <title>Conditions</title>
23 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
24 it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published
25 by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License,
26 or (at your option) any later version.
28 This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
29 WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY
30 or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License
33 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
34 along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
35 Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA, 02111-1307, USA.
41 <application>ROX-Filer</application> is a graphical file manger for the X
42 Window System. Its user interface is based on the RISC OS filer and it
43 supports similar features such as application directories and drag-and-drop
44 loading and saving of files. The filer can also act as a pinboard, allowing
45 you to pin frequently used files onto the desktop background.
51 <title>Introduction</title>
53 <application>ROX-Filer</application> is a simple and easy to use graphical
54 file manager for X11 — the windowing system used on Unix and Unix-like
55 operating systems. It is also the core component of the ROX Desktop
56 <citation>ROX</citation>. Many of the filer's features were inspired by RISC
57 OS <citation>RISC OS</citation>. `ROX' stands for `RISC OS–On–X'.
61 <title>Features</title>
66 <varlistentry><term>XDND</term>
68 A common drag-and-drop protocol used, for example, by the GNOME
69 desktop<citation>GNOME</citation>. This allows data to be loaded into an
70 application by dragging it from a filer window to a program. The full
71 specification is given in <citation>DND</citation>.
72 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
74 <varlistentry><term>XDS</term>
76 An extension to XDND that allows applications to save data by
77 dragging an icon back to a filer window. The full specification is given in
78 <citation>XDS</citation>.
79 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
81 <varlistentry><term>Choices</term>
83 A simple, but flexible, system for managing user choices. See
84 <citation>Choices</citation> for details.
85 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
87 <varlistentry><term>Application directories</term>
89 Self contained relocatable applications, where installation is as simple as
90 copying it to where you want it and uninstalling it is just a matter of
91 deleting a directory. Described later in this documentation.
92 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
94 <varlistentry><term>Thumbnails</term>
96 The filer can be made to display image files by using the image itself for the
97 icon, instead of a generic `this-is-an-image' icon. Very useful for organising
98 a directory full of photos! See <citation>Thumbs</citation> for details
99 (spec is still in developement).
100 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
102 <varlistentry><term>Shared MIME Info Database</term>
104 In the past, each desktop had its own database of rules for determining the
105 type of files. The Shared MIME Info Database<citation>SharedMIME</citation>
106 unifies these into a single system shared by all desktops.
107 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
109 <varlistentry><term>Icon Themes</term>
111 Collections of file icons, called themes, can be installed (eg, to
112 <filename>~/.icons</filename>). You can switch between themes in
113 the Options box. Once other desktops support this fully, themes
114 will be sharable between desktops.
115 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
117 <varlistentry><term>DNotify support (Linux only)</term>
119 If used with a recent Linux kernel (2.4.x series), the filer will notice changes
120 to directories automatically. On other systems, directories will update when the
121 pointer is moved over them.
122 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
131 <chapter id="invoking">
132 <title>Invoking</title>
134 You should be able to start the filer by simply running the <userinput>rox</userinput>
135 command, by typing it at a shell prompt or otherwise. If the filer isn't installed yet,
136 consult <xref linkend="compiling"/>.
139 By default, <application>ROX-Filer</application> will start by displaying
140 the current directory. You can get it to display other directories instead
141 by listing them after the command:
143 <screen>$ rox /home /usr /usr/local</screen>
145 You can also use it to open files, like this:
147 <screen>$ rox README</screen>
149 The filer supports various options; use <option>-h</option> for a list.
150 All options have long and short forms (eg <option>-h</option> and
151 <option>--help</option>) — although on some systems you can only use the
154 Note that if the same version of the filer is already running on this
155 machine then, by default, it will be used to open the directories.
157 For a complete list of command-line options, see <xref linkend="manpage"/>
161 <title><anchor id="run_pin" xreflabel="Pinboard support"/>Pinboard support</title>
164 If you want the filer to manage your desktop background then you use
165 the <option>--pinboard</option> option and supply a name for the pinboard,
168 <screen>$ rox --pinboard=MyPinboard</screen>
170 The pinboard configuration is saved in
171 <filename><Choices>/ROX-Filer/pb_MyPinboard</filename>
172 as soon as you change it in some way (for example, by dropping a file
173 onto the background). You can have as many pinboards as you like and
174 switch between them by running rox again, eg:
176 <screen>$ rox --pinboard=MyOtherPinboard</screen>
178 To turn off the pinboard again, set the name to an empty string:
180 <screen>$ rox --pinboard=</screen>
182 See the <xref linkend="winman"/> if you have trouble getting the icons to
183 display correctly. The pinboard may also be turned on and off by locating
184 <filename>ROX-Filer</filename> in a filer window and choosing `Enable
185 pinboard' or `Disable pinboard' from the menu. </para>
189 <title><anchor id="run_pan" xreflabel="Panel support"/>Panels</title>
192 Panels work just like the pinboard. You can create a panel on any
193 side of the screen by using the options <option>--left</option>, <option>--right,</option>
194 <option>--top</option> and <option>--bottom</option>, depending on which side
195 of the screen the panel should appear on. On some systems, the short
196 (one letter) form of the options must be used. For example, to create
197 a panel along the bottom edge of the screen:
199 <screen>$ rox -b=MyPanel</screen>
201 The panel should be displayed in a window without a title bar. If
202 this does not work then see the <xref linkend="winman"/> for some ideas.
203 You can drag files onto either side of the panel to add them. Panel icons
204 can be repositioned by dragging them with the middle mouse button.
205 Changes to the panel are automatically saved to
206 <filename><Choices>/ROX-Filer/pan_MyPanel</filename>.
207 As with the pinboard, you can switch between panel configurations
208 simply by running rox again with a different panel name. Specify a
209 blank name to remove the panel.
211 <screen>$ rox --bottom=MyOtherPanel
212 $ rox --bottom=</screen>
217 <title><anchor id="winman" xreflabel="window manager notes"/>Window manager notes</title>
219 You may have to play around with your window manager a bit to get
220 the pinboard icons and panels to display correctly (eg, without borders
221 and underneath all other windows). In particular, try setting the
222 stacking level / depth to low (or a negative value). Make sure any
223 'Keep transients above other windows' type options are turned off!
226 <sect2><title>Sawfish / sawmill</title>
228 Sawfish tries to guess whether you are using GNOME at start-up and only
229 provides support if so. You may need to add the line
230 <programlisting>(require 'gnome)</programlisting>
231 to your <filename>.sawfishrc</filename> file (see the sawfish manual
236 <sect2><title>IceWM</title>
239 Paste these configuration settings into
240 <filename>~/.icewm/preferences</filename>:
243 # Manage root window (EXPERIMENTAL - normally enabled!)
244 GrabRootWindow=1 # 0/1
245 # Bitmask of root window button click to use in window manager
246 UseRootButtons=3 # [0-255]
247 # Desktop mouse-button click to show the menu
248 DesktopWinMenuButton=1 # [0-20]
249 # Desktop mouse-button click to show the window list
250 DesktopWinListButton=2 # [0-5]
251 # Desktop mouse-button click to show the window list menu
252 DesktopMenuButton=0 # [0-20]</programlisting>
253 Paste these into <filename>~/.icewm/winoptions</filename>:
256 # ROX-Filer pinboard and panel
257 ROX-Filer.icon: folder
258 ROX-Panel.layer: Dock
259 ROX-Panel.doNotCover: 1
260 ROX-Panel.ignoreWinList: 1
261 ROX-Panel.ignoreTaskBar: 1
262 ROX-Panel.ignoreQuickSwitch: 1
263 ROX-Pinboard.layer: Below
264 ROX-Pinboard.ignoreWinList: 1
265 ROX-Pinboard.ignoreTaskBar: 1
266 ROX-Pinboard.ignoreQuickSwitch: 1
267 ROX-Filer.layer: Normal</programlisting>
268 Restart IceWM and the filer for the new settings to take effect.
273 <sect2><title>Window Maker</title>
275 <step><para>Run the filer using <userinput>rox -p=Default</userinput>.</para></step>
277 Press <keycap>Control</keycap>+<keycap>Escape</keycap>, or
278 [RightButtonDown] on any window's titlebar.
279 Choose <guimenuitem>Attributes...</guimenuitem> from the menu.
283 The Attributes Inspector window appears. From the pulldown menu
284 at the top, choose <guimenuitem>Window Specification</guimenuitem>
289 Press the <guibutton>Select window</guibutton> button.
290 The cursor changes to a double crosshair. Select one of the
291 <application>ROX-Filer</application> pinboard icons. The radio buttons
292 in the <guilabel>Window Specification</guilabel> frame should change
293 their labels to include <userinput>ROX-Pinboard.ROX-Filer</userinput>
294 as the first item. Select that radio button.
298 Choose <guimenuitem>Window Attributes</guimenuitem> from the pulldown
299 menu. In the <guilabel>Attributes</guilabel> frame, choose the
300 features you want the pinboard icons to have; I recommend the
303 <listitem><para>Disable titlebar</para></listitem>
304 <listitem><para>Disable resizebar</para></listitem>
305 <listitem><para>Disable close button</para></listitem>
306 <listitem><para>Disable miniaturize button</para></listitem>
307 <listitem><para>Keep at bottom (sunken)</para></listitem>
308 <listitem><para>Omnipresent</para></listitem>
314 Choose <guimenuitem>Advanced Options</guimenuitem> from the pulldown
315 menu. In the <guilabel>Advanced</guilabel> frame, choose the advanced
316 features you wish; I recommend the following:
319 <listitem><para>Do not show in the window list</para></listitem>
320 <listitem><para>Ignore 'Hide Others'</para></listitem>
321 <listitem><para>Ignore 'Save Session' (possibly)</para></listitem>
326 When you're finished selecting window attributes, press the
327 <guibutton>Save</guibutton> button, and then close the Attributes
328 Inspector window using the <guibutton>X</guibutton> button in the titlebar.
333 <sect2><title>Others</title>
335 If all else fails, try the Compatibility section of the Options window.
341 <title>Running as root</title>
344 If you run the filer as the `root' user then the filer will display
345 a message at the top of each window to remind you. The root user has
346 permission to access or change any file in the system, so be very
347 careful when using the filer like this.
349 Normally, you should log in as an ordinary user and only change to
350 root when you need to. If you have <command>sudo</command> installed
351 and set up then you can run the filer like this:
353 <screen>$ sudo rox</screen>
355 Remember, any file operations you perform and any programs you run from
356 these windows will run as root too! Be careful!
358 You may find that the X server won't allow root (or other users) to
359 connect. Reading the manual pages for <command>xauth</command> and
360 <command>xhost</command> may give you some hints, but it varies
361 between systems (which is why this isn't built in to the filer!).
366 Note: <command>gnomesu</command> can also be used to run the filer as root,
367 but you'll need to use <command>setsid</command> to run it in a new
368 session group, otherwise gnomesu kills it before it has a chance to open
369 a window. For example:
370 <screen>gnomesu -c 'setsid /usr/local/bin/rox /'</screen>
376 <chapter id="keys" xreflabel="mouse and key bindings">
377 <title>Mouse button and key bindings</title>
379 <itemizedlist><title>Quick start:</title>
381 <listitem><para>Click the left
382 <footnote><para>This documentation assumes that button–1 is the left
383 button, button–2 is the middle button and button–3 is the
384 right button. This is not always the case — for example, in a
385 left-handed setup.</para></footnote> mouse button to open files and
386 directories.</para></listitem>
389 Click the right button to get a menu. Click over a file to perform an action on that file.
393 Drag files between windows with the left button to copy, move or link them
394 (choose from a menu). Linking creates a shortcut to the original file.
400 By default, the mouse button bindings are designed to fit in with X
401 conventions. However, the behaviour is highly configurable — have a play in
402 the Options window if you don't like the normal settings. The normal settings
408 <thead><row><entry>Key or mouse button</entry><entry>Action</entry></row></thead>
412 <row><entry>Left button click</entry><entry>
413 Open the file or directory clicked on. Hold down <keycap>Control</keycap>
414 to select things instead of opening them. Hold down <keycap>Shift</keycap>
415 to look inside applications, treat files as text, follow symlinks, or
416 get more control over mount points (see <xref linkend="media"/>).
419 <row><entry>Middle button click</entry><entry>
420 Same as left click, but open a directory in a new window or close the viewer
424 <row><entry>Right button click</entry><entry>
425 Open the main menu. Hold down <keycap>Control</keycap> while clicking to go
426 directly to the Selection submenu. Hold down <keycap>Shift</keycap> to get the
427 <guimenu>Send To</guimenu> menu (see the <xref linkend="SendTo"/> section).
430 <row><entry>Drag an item (left mouse button)</entry><entry>
431 Show a menu of possible actions. There is an option to disable this menu,
432 in which case this gesture will copy the file(s) to the destination (an
433 application or another filer window). Hold down <keycap>Shift</keycap>
434 to move the file, <keycap>Control</keycap>+<keycap>Shift</keycap> to
435 create a symbolic link, or <keycap>Alt</keycap> to get the menu of
439 <row><entry>Drag an item (middle mouse button)</entry><entry>
440 When you let go, display a menu of possible actions.
441 There is an option to make this move the files rather than open the menu.
444 <row><entry>Drag (not over an item)</entry><entry>
445 Select a group of items by dragging a box around them. With the left
446 mouse button, only the files in the box will be selected. If you hold
447 down <keycap>Control</keycap> then the boxed items are added to the selection.
448 If you use the middle button then the boxed items switch between being selected
452 <row><entry>Double-click background</entry><entry>
453 Resize the window to a sensible size (this can be turned off from
457 <row><entry><keycap>Backspace</keycap></entry><entry>
458 Change to viewing the parent directory.
461 <row><entry>Cursor keys</entry><entry>
462 Move the cursor around.
466 <keycap>Page Up</keycap>, <keycap>Page Down</keycap></entry><entry>
467 Move the cursor up and down a page at a time.
470 <row><entry><keycap>Home</keycap>, <keycap>End</keycap></entry><entry>
471 Move to the first/last entry in the directory.
474 <row><entry><keycap>Return</keycap></entry><entry>
475 Acts like clicking on the file. You may hold down Shift for other
476 effects, as with clicking. Holding down Alt works like clicking with
477 the middle button; directories open in a new window and opening files
478 closes the directory at the same time.
481 <row><entry><keycap>Spacebar</keycap></entry><entry>
482 Toggles the item under the cursor between being selected and unselected,
483 and moves to the next item.
486 <row><entry><keycap>Tab</keycap>, <keycap>Shift</keycap>+<keycap>Tab</keycap></entry><entry>
487 Moves the cursor to the next/previous selected item.
490 <row><entry>Hold mouse over an item</entry><entry>
491 Shows a tooltip containing a brief description of an application (if
492 available), the target of a symbolic link, and the full name of a file,
493 if it's too long to show in the main window.
496 </tbody></tgroup></informaltable>
499 If you have user-defineable key-bindings enabled, then other keys can easily
500 be set by opening the menu, moving the pointer over the item you want to use
501 and pressing a key. The key will appear in the menu and can be used from
502 then on. Key bindings are automatically saved when the filer quits.
503 You can use an XSettings manager, such as ROX-Session, to turn this feature
504 on for all Gtk+-2.0 applications.
508 <chapter id="selection">
509 <title>The selection and file groups</title>
511 When you select items in a <application>ROX-Filer</application> window,
512 the filer takes the <emphasis>primary selection</emphasis>. You can then paste
513 into another window to get the pathnames of the selected files.
517 <title>Example: loading a file into an application that doesn't support
518 drag-and-drop:</title>
520 <step><para>Open the application's Open dialog box.</para></step>
523 <keycap>Control</keycap>-click on the file in
524 <application>ROX-Filer</application> to select it.</para></step>
527 Click the middle button in the filename box in the application to paste the
533 Note that clicking the middle mouse button in the main area of most web-browsers
534 will open the selected file.
536 If you select something else (eg, some text in another program), the selected
537 items in the filer window will be shown shaded (the filer no longer has the
538 primary selection). Clicking on one of the shaded items will cause the
539 filer to regain the primary selection.
542 <sect1><title>Saving and restoring the selection</title>
544 It is sometimes useful to save the current selection for later. You can
545 save the current selection to one of ten numbered groups by pressing
546 <keycap>Control</keycap>+<keycap><number></keycap>.
547 You can restore a saved group by pressing the group number on its own. You
548 can do this from a different directory, or even a different filer window.
550 Saving is also useful even if there is no selection, since it still saves
551 the current directory.
553 <procedure><title>Example: saving a directory and returning to it later:</title>
554 <step><para>You are looking at a directory, and wish to remember it.
555 Press <keycap>Control</keycap>+<keycap>1</keycap>.</para></step>
556 <step><para>Move to another directory, or close the window, etc.</para></step>
557 <step><para>Press <keycap>1</keycap> in any filer window to return
558 to the first directory.</para></step> </procedure>
559 <para>The groups are saved automatically for next time the filer is loaded.
563 <chapter id="toolbar">
564 <title><anchor id="Toolbar" xreflabel="Toolbar"/>The toolbar</title>
567 By default, each window has a toolbar along the top. You can disable
568 this (or make it larger) from the Options window, as well as set which
569 tools appear on the toolbar. Normally, you should click with the left
570 mouse button (1). However, many tools can perform a related function
571 if clicked on with buttons 2 or 3 (middle or right).
574 <informaltable><tgroup cols="3">
579 Mouse button 1</entry><entry>
588 Close the window</entry><entry>
590 </entry></row><row><entry>
591 Up arrow</entry><entry>
592 Change to parent directory</entry><entry>
593 Show parent in a new window <xref linkend="newwin_fn"/>
594 </entry></row><row><entry>
596 Change to home directory</entry><entry>
597 Show home in a new window <xref linkend="newwin_fn"/>
598 </entry></row><row><entry>
599 Jump to point</entry><entry>
600 Open the <xref linkend="bookmarks"/>
603 </entry></row><row><entry>
604 Looping arrows</entry><entry>
605 Reread the directory contents</entry><entry>
607 </entry></row><row><entry>
608 Magnifying glass (+)</entry><entry>
609 Select a larger icon size.</entry><entry>
610 Select a smaller icon size.
611 </entry></row><row><entry>
612 Magnifying glass (fit)</entry><entry>
613 Set Automatic sizing mode and resize the window.</entry><entry>
615 </entry></row><row><entry>
617 Hide or show extra details</entry><entry>
619 </entry></row><row><entry>
621 Step forward through the different sort types.</entry><entry>
622 Step backward through the sort types.
623 </entry></row><row><entry>
625 Toggle the display of hidden files (those with names starting with a dot)</entry><entry>
627 </entry></row><row><entry>
628 List with selections</entry><entry>
629 Select All.</entry><entry>
631 </entry></row><row><entry>
632 Life-belt</entry><entry>
633 Show <application>ROX-Filer</application>'s help files</entry><entry>
636 </tbody></tgroup></informaltable>
639 <anchor id="newwin_fn" xreflabel="[1]"/>[1]
640 If the 'New window on button 1' option is turned on
641 then the default is to open a new window — clicking with the other
642 button reuses the same window instead.
646 Dragging files to the Up or Home icons acts just like dragging them
647 into the directory which the button leads to. Dragging to the Bookmarks button
648 will add the directory as a bookmark.
651 The toolbar can also show the number of files in the directory, and
652 information about the selection. This can be turned on or off in the
658 <title>The menus</title>
660 By default, you can open a menu by right clicking over a pinboard, panel or
663 In filer windows, you may also press <keycap>\</keycap> to open the menu. As
664 a shortcut, you can open the File submenu directly by holding down the
665 <keycap>Control</keycap> key when opening the menu. Here is a full
666 description of each menu item:
668 <informaltable><tgroup cols="2">
670 <thead><row><entry>Entry</entry><entry>Action</entry></row></thead>
673 <row><entry><guimenuitem>Display</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
674 Change the display settings.
677 <row><entry><guimenuitem>File</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
678 Operations on the selected items.
681 <row><entry><guimenuitem>Select</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
682 Control which items are selected.
685 <row><entry><guimenuitem>Options...</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
686 Configure <application>ROX-Filer</application>.
689 <row><entry><guimenuitem>New</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
690 Create a new file or subdirectory inside this directory.
693 <row><entry><guimenuitem>Window</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
694 Operations on the window as a whole.
697 <row><entry><guimenuitem>Help</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
698 Information about the filer.
701 </tbody></tgroup></informaltable>
706 <title>The display menu</title>
709 <informaltable><tgroup cols="2">
711 <thead><row><entry>Entry</entry><entry>Action</entry></row></thead>
714 <row><entry><guimenuitem>Icons View</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
715 Files are displayed as rows of icons.
718 <row><entry><guimenuitem>Icons, With...</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
719 Files are displayed as rows of icons with additional details
720 (chosen from the submenu). To see fuller information about each file
721 use the List View instead.
724 <row><entry><guimenuitem>List View</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
725 Show files in a list along with their details. Click on a column heading
726 to sort by that column.
729 <row><entry><guimenuitem>Bigger Icons</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
730 Increase the size of the icons. Turns off Automatic mode.
733 <row><entry><guimenuitem>Smaller Icons</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
734 Reduce the size of the icons. Turns off Automatic mode.
737 <row><entry><guimenuitem>Automatic</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
738 Select a sensbile icon size automatically now and when changing
742 <row><entry><guimenuitem>Sort by XXX</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
743 Set the sort mode. In List View you can also set the sort type by
744 clicking on the column headings.
747 <row><entry><guimenuitem>Reversed</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
748 Sort in reverse order (newest to oldest, largest to smallest, etc).
751 <row><entry><guimenuitem>Filter Files...</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
752 Restrict the display to only show files with names matching the
754 The titlebar shows <guilabel>(Glob (pattern))</guilabel> when this is on.
757 <row><entry><guimenuitem>Show Hidden</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
758 If on, files beginning with a dot are shown, otherwise they are hidden.
759 The titlebar shows <guilabel>(All)</guilabel> when this is on.
762 <row><entry><guimenuitem>Show Thumbnails</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
763 When on, the filer tries to load every image file and use that
764 image as the file's icon. Useful if you have a directory full of
765 photos and can't remember which is which!
766 See the <xref linkend="thumbnails"/> section for details.
769 <row><entry><guimenuitem>Refresh</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
770 Rereads the contents of the directory and details of all the files
771 in it. Use this if the display becomes out-of-date.
774 <row><entry><guimenuitem>Save Display Settings...</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
775 Remember the display settings just for this directory. Each time you
776 open the directory, the saved settings will be used.
778 </tbody></tgroup></informaltable>
782 <sect2><title><anchor id="Permissions" xreflabel="Permissions"/>
787 The permissions field, when shown, is made up of four groups of three
788 flags. Each flag is displayed as a letter if it is on and a dash (–)
789 if not. The first three characters show the permissions for the owner
790 of the file, the second for other members of the file's group and
791 the third for everyone else. Whichever group applies to the
792 <application>ROX-Filer</application> process itself is shown underlined.
793 The fourth group shows any special flags.
795 The meanings of the characters are:
799 <listitem><para><computeroutput>r</computeroutput> —
800 Permission to read the contents of a file, or the names of files
801 in a directory.</para></listitem>
803 <listitem><para><computeroutput>w</computeroutput> —
804 Permission to alter the contents of a file, or change which names
805 appear in a directory.</para></listitem>
807 <listitem><para><computeroutput>x</computeroutput> —
808 Permission to run the file as a program, or refer to the files
809 listed within the directory.</para></listitem>
811 <listitem><para><computeroutput>U</computeroutput> —
812 This program executes with the <emphasis>effective user ID</emphasis> of its
813 owner rather than the person who ran it.</para></listitem>
815 <listitem><para><computeroutput>G</computeroutput> —
816 This program executes with the <emphasis>effective group ID</emphasis> of its
817 group, regardless of who ran it.</para></listitem>
819 <listitem><para><computeroutput>T</computeroutput> —
820 Entries in this directory can only be altered or removed by the
821 people who own the files even if they have write permission on the
822 directory itself.</para></listitem>
827 <emphasis role="underline">rwx</emphasis>,rwx,r-x/---</programlisting>
828 means that the owner of the file is the same as the effective user of
829 <application>ROX-Filer</application> (basically, you own the file), you and
830 members of the file's group have read, write and execute permission and other
831 people have only read and execute permission. There are no special flags set.
833 The rules which determine which permissions apply may vary slightly between
834 operating systems, but a rough guide is:
838 <listitem><para>If the <emphasis>effective user ID</emphasis> of the
839 process is equal to the file's owner, then the owner permissions apply.
842 <listitem><para>Otherwise, if the <emphasis>effective group ID</emphasis>
843 of the process is equal to the file's group OR the file's group is one
844 of the process's <emphasis>supplemental groups</emphasis> then the
845 group permissions apply.
848 <listitem><para>Otherwise, the `other' permissions apply. The
849 <emphasis>real user ID</emphasis> and <emphasis>real group
850 ID</emphasis> have no effect (except that a process may set its real
851 IDs to its effective IDs).
861 <title>The file menu</title>
863 All of these work in the same way — if you open the menu with some
864 items selected then the operation applies to those items. If you open
865 then menu over an item while there is no selection then that item
866 is temporarily selected.
868 If you choose one of these while there is no selection at all then the
869 window goes into `target mode'; the operation happens to the next item you
870 click on. Click on the window background, press <keycap>Escape</keycap>, or
871 click with the right mouse button to cancel target mode. Target mode is
872 mainly useful with the <guilabel>Single-click navigation</guilabel> option
873 and keys bound to the various menu entries. </para><para>
874 Note that individual applications may add extra menu items to the
875 top of this submenu when you click over them — see
876 <xref linkend="AppDir"/> for details. There may also be any number of
877 user-defined actions at the top, which depend on the type of file
878 clicked on. You can add programs here by choosing the
879 <guimenuitem>Customise Menu</guimenuitem> item. For example, you could
880 make <application>The Gimp</application> appear on the menu for images, and
881 <application>FreeFS</application> appear for mount points.
883 <informaltable><tgroup cols="2">
884 <thead><row><entry>Entry</entry><entry>Action</entry></row></thead>
888 <guimenuitem>Copy...</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
889 Make a copy of this object.
893 <guimenuitem>Rename...</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
894 Change the name used for this object, or move it between directories.
895 If multiple files are selected, this opens
896 <xref linkend='bulkrename' />.
900 <guimenuitem>Link...</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
901 Create a symbolic link to this name.
905 <guimenuitem>Delete</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
906 Remove all the selected entries from the directory. Subdirectories
907 will have their contents deleted first. Deleting symlinks only removes
908 the link, not the thing it points to.
912 <guimenuitem>Shift Open</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
913 Opens applications as directories, files as text/plain, and
914 symlinks by opening the directory containing the thing they point to.
915 It also has interesting effects on mount points (see <xref linkend="media"/>).
916 This is the same effect as clicking with <keycap>Shift</keycap> held
917 down. The text of the menu entry changes to show which action will be
922 <guimenuitem>Open AVFS</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
923 Open the file as if it was a directory — see the
924 <xref linkend="vfs"/> section.
928 <guimenuitem>Send To...</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
929 Opens the `Send To' menu, allowing you to send the selected files
930 to one of a list of applications. See the
931 <xref linkend="SendTo"/> section.
935 <guimenuitem>Set Run Action...</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
936 Allows you to set the default program to use when opening files of
937 this type. See <xref linkend="RunAction"/> section for details.
941 <guimenuitem>Set Icon...</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
942 You can give each file or directory its own special icon using this
943 feature — simply drag a suitable image onto <xref linkend="SetIcon"/>.
947 <guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
948 Display extra information about this object. You can also change
949 the access permissions from here (<guimenuitem>Permissions</guimenuitem>
950 below allows you to change many files at once), and change the target
951 to which a symlink points.
955 <guimenuitem>Count</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
956 Count the sizes of all the selected items. Directories also have their
957 contents counted. Symlinks count themselves, not the things they point
962 <guimenuitem>Set Type...</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
963 Set the MIME type for a file. This only works on filesystems with extended attribute support. For older filesystems, you will have to rename a file to change its type.
967 <guimenuitem>Permissions</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
968 Allows you to change the permissions for the selected files.
969 If only one file is to be changed, you can use
970 <guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem> instead for a simpler interface.
974 <guimenuitem>Find</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
975 Search for files by specifying various conditions — see the
976 <xref linkend="Searching"/> section.
979 </tbody></tgroup></informaltable>
982 <formalpara><title>Note about symlinks:</title>
984 A symbolic link stores the <emphasis>location</emphasis>
985 of another file. Deleting the symlink doesn't affect the other file.
986 Deleting the other file means that the symlink won't work. There are
987 two types of symbolic link — Relative and Absolute. An absolute
988 link stores the path from the root directory to the target file (eg
989 <filename>/home/fred/MyFile</filename>).
991 A relative path stores the path from the symlink
992 to the target (eg <filename>../fred/MyFile</filename>).
993 If the target file is never going to move then you want an absolute link,
994 but if the target may move (and the symlink will be moved with it) then
995 you want a relative link.
1001 <title>The select menu</title>
1003 This menu allows you to select and unselect files in various ways. See the
1004 <xref linkend="keys"/> section for other ways to select files.
1006 <informaltable><tgroup cols="2">
1007 <thead><row><entry>Entry</entry><entry>Action</entry></row></thead>
1010 <guimenuitem>Select All</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1011 Select every item in this window.
1014 <row><entry><guimenuitem>Clear Selection</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1015 Unselect every item in this window.
1018 <row><entry><guimenuitem>Invert Selection</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1019 Every selected file becomes unselected, and every unselected file
1024 <guimenuitem>Select by Name...</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1025 Select just those files that match the given name pattern. This
1026 isn't as flexible as <guimenuitem>Select If...</guimenuitem> (see
1027 below), but it is quicker to use. Files also highlight as you type
1028 with this option. The default key binding is <keycap>.</keycap>,
1029 so you can type <userinput>.png</userinput> to select all
1030 <filename>.png</filename> files, for example.
1034 <guimenuitem>Select If...</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1035 Select just those files that match the given pattern —
1036 see the <xref linkend="SelectIf"/> section.
1039 </tbody></tgroup></informaltable>
1045 <title>The new menu</title>
1048 Each entry in this submenu opens a savebox for creating a new file or
1049 directory. There are two standard entries; the others are the contents of
1050 your <filename><Choices>/Templates</filename> directory, if it
1054 <informaltable><tgroup cols="2">
1055 <thead><row><entry>Entry</entry><entry>Action</entry></row></thead>
1058 Directory</entry><entry>
1059 Create a new directory.
1060 </entry></row><row><entry>
1062 Create a blank file.
1063 </entry></row><row><entry>
1064 <user entries></entry><entry>
1065 Copy a file from your Templates directory.
1067 </tbody></tgroup></informaltable>
1070 To add your own entries, create a new directory called
1071 <filename>~/Choices/Templates</filename>
1072 (if you have the default <envar>CHOICESPATH</envar>) and put any files you
1073 want in there. Each file in the directory will appear on the menu and the
1074 box that appears will copy it. For example, you could create a blank
1080 <title>My Page</title>
1085 </html></programlisting>
1087 Save this as <filename>index.html</filename> inside the
1088 <filename>Templates</filename> directory and you can easily create new
1089 HTML files. You can also save blank documents from various applications
1090 into here (eg, a blank spreadsheet, a blank letter, etc).
1092 Note that you cannot set keyboard shortcuts for these user-defined
1099 <title>The window menu</title>
1103 <informaltable><tgroup cols="2">
1104 <thead><row><entry>Entry</entry><entry>Action</entry></row></thead>
1107 <guimenuitem>Parent, New Window</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1108 Open a new window displaying this window's parent.
1112 <guimenuitem>Parent, Same Window</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1113 As above, but reuse this window.
1117 <guimenuitem>New Window</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1118 Open another window onto this directory.
1122 <guimenuitem>Home Directory</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1123 Change to your home directory.
1127 <guimenuitem>Show Bookmarks</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1128 Open the bookmarks menu (see <xref linkend="bookmarks"/>).
1132 <guimenuitem>Follow Symbolic Links</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1133 Converts the path shown in the window's titlebar to its canonical form.
1134 For example, if <filename>/home/fred/link</filename> is a symlink
1135 pointing to <filename>/usr/share/doc/</filename> then clicking on the symlink
1136 will take you to that directory and going `up' will take you back to
1137 <filename>/home/fred</filename>.
1138 If you'd used <guimenuitem>Follow Symbolic Links</guimenuitem>, you would
1139 have ended up in <filename>/usr/share</filename> instead.
1143 <guimenuitem>Resize Window</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1144 Set the window to a sensible size for its contents.
1148 <guimenuitem>Close Window</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1153 <guimenuitem>Enter Path...</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1154 Open the path-entry box (see the the <xref linkend="mini"/> section).
1158 <guimenuitem>Shell Command...</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1159 Open the shell command box (see the <xref linkend="mini"/> section).
1162 <row><entry><guimenuitem>Xterm Here</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1163 Open an xterm with its current directory set to this directory.
1166 <row><entry><guimenuitem>Switch to xterm</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1167 Open an xterm with its current directory set to this directory, and close the
1168 filer window at the same time.
1171 </tbody></tgroup></informaltable>
1178 <title>The help menu</title>
1181 <informaltable><tgroup cols="2">
1182 <thead><row><entry>Entry</entry><entry>Action</entry></row></thead>
1185 <guimenuitem>About ROX-Filer...</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1186 Display information about the file. This is the same as locating ROX-Filer
1187 itself in a filer window and selecting <guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem> from
1192 <guimenuitem>Show Help Files</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1193 Same as selecting ROX-Filer and choosing
1194 <guimenuitem>Help</guimenuitem> from the file menu.
1198 <guimenuitem>Manual</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1199 Opens the HTML manual for your language, or the English version if there
1203 </tbody></tgroup></informaltable>
1209 <title><anchor id="SendTo" xreflabel="Send To menu"/>The send to menu</title>
1212 The `Send To' menu provides a quick way to send some files to an application.
1213 The filer scans all the <filename>SendTo</filename> directories in your
1214 <envar>CHOICESPATH</envar> and lists the contents on this menu.
1216 To change which applications appear here you should choose the
1217 <guimenuitem>Customise</guimenuitem> item from the bottom
1218 of the menu to create and open your own <filename>SendTo</filename>
1219 directory. Applications can be symlinked into this directory by dragging
1220 them in and choosing <guimenuitem>Link</guimenuitem> from the menu.
1222 Opening the Send To menu via the main menu is rather slow, so it is
1223 normally opened by clicking the Menu mouse button over a file while
1224 holding the <keycap>Shift</keycap> key down.
1227 <title>Showing different applications for different types</title>
1229 You may want to set things up so that, for example, the Gimp is
1230 only shown when an image is selected. To do this, create a
1231 hidden directory inside <filename>SendTo</filename> called
1232 <filename>.image</filename>, or whatever type you want to use.
1233 You can use either the complete type (eg <filename>.image_png</filename>)
1234 or just the media type. Use <guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem> over a
1235 file to find out its MIME type.
1238 Entries in these hidden directories are shown only for files of
1239 the appropriate type. If multiple files are selected, the
1240 <filename>.group</filename> directory is used instead.
1246 <title><anchor id="bookmarks" xreflabel="Bookmarks menu"/>The bookmarks menu</title>
1248 The bookmarks menu can be used to store a list of frequently used directories.
1249 You can also open the menu from the main popup menu (in the <guimenuitem>Window</guimenuitem> submenu)
1250 and you can use this to bind a shortcut key to it. From the bookmarks menu
1251 you can add the currently shown directory to the list, jump to one of the
1252 stored directories, or open a dialog letting you edit the list. In the dialog
1253 box, you can remove entries, rearrange them (using the arrows or by
1254 dragging) and edit the pathnames directly, if required.
1257 The <guimenuitem>Recently Visited</guimenuitem> submenu shows the last few directories
1258 viewed. Choosing one will switch to that directory. The current directory is shown
1259 shaded, since you are already there.
1265 <chapter id="icons">
1266 <title>The pinboard and panels</title>
1269 The <xref linkend="run_pin"/> and <xref linkend="run_pan"/> sections explain
1270 how to turn the pinboard and panels on. Once on, you may drop items from filer
1271 windows onto the them to pin them up. Clicking on a pinned item acts just like
1272 clicking on it in a filer window. You can drag pinned icons just like normal
1273 icons and you can right-click on one to see the popup menu.
1275 Drag panel icons with the middle mouse button to move them around.
1276 In previous versions of the filer, pinboard icons were also moved using the
1277 middle mouse button, but this is no longer supported (as the middle button
1278 is reserved for the window manager's use).
1280 You can assign keyboard shortcuts to pinboard and panel icons. These can be
1281 used to open directories, files or applications quickly, even if another
1282 window has the focus.
1284 Changes to the pinboard and panel are automatically saved. Clicking on pinned
1285 icons with <keycap>Control</keycap> held down selects and unselects them.
1286 Click on the background to unselect them all.
1290 Pinning a file does <emphasis>not</emphasis> copy it, it merely
1291 creates a shortcut to the original file. If you delete the file, then
1292 you've lost it! Removing a pinned file from its pinboard or panel
1293 only removes the link. This is different to most other filers...
1297 <title>The pinboard and panel menus</title>
1300 <informaltable><tgroup cols="2">
1301 <thead><row><entry>Entry</entry><entry>Action</entry></row></thead>
1305 <guimenuitem>ROX-Filer</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1306 Show the filer's help, edit the options or open your home directory.
1310 <guimenuitem>File `file'</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1311 Offers a smaller version of the filer's submenu of the same name.
1315 <guimenuitem>Edit Item</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1316 Change the name displayed under the icon, or the pathname the item
1317 points to. You can also set a keyboard shortcut for the icon here.
1318 For programs, you can specify extra arguments to be passed in.
1322 <guimenuitem>Show Location</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1323 Open a directory viewer showing where the file is stored.
1327 <guimenuitem>Remove Item(s)</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1328 Remove the selected items from the pinboard or panel.
1332 <guimenuitem>Backdrop...</guimenuitem></entry><entry>
1333 Set the desktop backdrop image (see below). Only available from
1337 </tbody></tgroup></informaltable>
1340 If you are setting up the defaults for multiple users and
1341 you wish to create a `Home' icon that leads to each user's home directory
1342 then you should first create a new icon and then use
1343 <guimenuitem>Edit Icon</guimenuitem> to change the location to
1344 <filename>~</filename> and the name to `Home'.
1346 Note that individual applications may add extra menu items to the
1347 top of this menu when you click over them — see <xref linkend="AppDir"/>
1353 <title>Panel applets</title>
1356 <application>ROX-Filer</application> allows you to run small programs
1357 inside the panel — such programs are called
1358 <emphasis>applets</emphasis>. To run an applet, drag it onto the panel from
1359 a filer window and instead of the applet's icon being shown, the applet
1363 <procedure><title>To create your own applets (programmers only!):</title>
1366 Create a directory for the applet (eg <filename>MyApplet</filename>).
1370 Use the <guimenuitem>Set Icon...</guimenuitem> feature to create an icon
1371 called <filename>.DirIcon</filename> inside it (so the directory appears
1376 Make a <filename>Help</filename> directory inside it for when the user
1377 chooses <guimenuitem>Help</guimenuitem> from the menu.
1381 Create an executable file called <filename>AppletRun</filename>. This will be
1382 passed the XID of the panel socket window when the directory is dragged
1383 onto the panel. You can use this to create a GtkPlug widget. An
1384 example applet (written in python) is available at
1385 <ulink url="http://rox.sourceforge.net/applets.html"/>
1392 <title><anchor id="iconify" xreflabel="Iconified windows"/>Iconified windows on the pinboard</title>
1394 When the pinboard is in use, ROX-Filer can be used to display an icon for each iconified
1395 (or 'minimised') window. You can turn this on or off from the Options box. Iconified window icons
1396 have a semi-transparent background slab effect, and can be dragged around.
1397 Clicking on one will expand it back into the window it represents. Some
1398 older window managers do not support this, and no icons will be shown.
1403 <title><anchor id="backdropapp" xreflabel="Backdrop applications"/>The pinboard backdrop image</title>
1405 You can set any image for the backdrop by choosing <guimenuitem>Backdrop...</guimenuitem>
1406 from the pinboard menu (right-click over the desktop background when the pinboard is turned on).
1409 To set an image, select <guilabel>Centre</guilabel>, <guilabel>Scale</guilabel>,
1410 <guilabel>Stretch</guilabel> or <guilabel>Tile</guilabel> to set the style,
1411 and then drag an image onto the marked area. To return to a solid colour
1412 backdrop (as set in the Options box), click on <guibutton>Clear</guibutton>.
1414 The Wallpaper<citation>Wallpaper</citation> application can be used for more complicated
1415 effects, such as choosing a new random image each hour, or rendering an image of the Earth
1416 as it is currently lit by the sun.
1418 <formalpara><title>For programmers...</title>
1420 If you want to create an application to set the backdrop (eg, to choose a
1421 random image, or a slideshow) you need to first create an application directory
1422 (see <xref linkend="AppDir"/>).
1425 When run without arguments, the application should invoke the
1426 <function>SetBackdropApp</function> SOAP method (see <xref
1427 linkend="soap"/>). The filer will immediately run the application again,
1428 this time with the <option>--backdrop</option> option.
1430 When run with <option>--backdrop</option>, the program should write the style and name of
1431 the image file to display to its standard output stream, eg:
1432 <screen>tile /tmp/image.png</screen>
1433 <userinput>centre</userinput> and <userinput>scale</userinput> are the other possible
1434 styles. The filer will then load this image and display it. The application does not
1435 set the backdrop itself, it only tells the filer what to display.
1437 In the case of a random backdrop chooser, the program may then quit immediately. If
1438 the application created a temporary image then it should read the line "ok\n" from its
1439 standard input before deleting the image.
1441 If the application wishes to show a sequence of images it should still read "ok\n",
1442 then wait until it's time to display the next image and then write that filename, and
1445 The filer will indicate that the program should stop running by closing the two
1446 streams. The program should clean up and exit at this point. Be sure to catch
1447 SIGPIPE when writing to standard output if you need to delete any temporary files.
1449 See the Wallpaper<citation>Wallpaper</citation> application for a complete example application
1450 (written in python).
1457 <anchor id="media" xreflabel="Removable devices"/>Removable devices
1460 Using removable devices, such as floppy disks and CDROMs under ROX-Filer is quite
1461 simple. However, it is important to understand about <emphasis>mounting</emphasis> and
1462 <emphasis>unmounting</emphasis> devices.
1465 Mounting a device causes its contents to appear in the filesystem. On a typical setup,
1466 the directory <filename>/floppy</filename> is an empty directory on the hard disk.
1467 The floppy device is then mounted onto this directory, causing its contents to appear
1468 inside. For example, a file called <filename>Letter</filename> on the floppy disk will
1469 appear as <filename>/floppy/Letter</filename>.
1472 Devices must be unmounted before the disk is removed. Unmounting causes the system to
1473 write any buffered data to the disk. If you remove a disk without unmounting
1474 it, it will probably be corrupted. CD and Zip drives often lock the tray while the
1475 device is mounted so you can't remove it accidentally.
1478 So that you don't have to specify which device should be mounted at which point in the
1479 filesystem every time you want to use a disk, a preset list is usually found in the
1480 file <filename>/etc/fstab</filename>. ROX-Filer shows mount points (such as
1481 <filename>/floppy</filename>) which are listed here but not mounted with transparent
1482 grey circles overlayed on their icons.
1485 Clicking on one of these mount points will mount the device for you. The circle turns
1486 green to indicate that the device is now mounted. Do <emphasis>not</emphasis> remove
1487 the device while the circle is lit! You can unmount the device by clicking
1488 while holding down <keycap>Shift</keycap> on the <filename>/floppy</filename>
1492 You can also unmount a device by closing its directory window (eg, closing
1493 the view of <filename>/floppy</filename>) and choosing Unmount when prompted. The
1494 filer will only offer to unmount devices this way if they were mounted by
1495 the filer in the first place.
1498 If you want to open a directory without mounting anything (eg, if you want to
1499 see the contents of <filename>/floppy</filename> on the hard disk), you can
1500 click on the unmounted mount point with <keycap>Shift</keycap> held down.
1501 This isn't usually useful, as these directories are typically empty.
1506 <title><anchor id="thumbnails" xreflabel="Thumbnails"/>File thumbnails</title>
1508 When thumbnailing is turned on, the filer tries to load every image file
1509 and use that image as the file's icon. Useful if you have a directory full
1510 of photos and can't remember which is which! You can turn it on for
1511 a single directory by choosing <guimenuitem>Show Thumbnails</guimenuitem>
1512 from the <guimenu>Display</guimenu> menu. You can set it as the default
1513 from the Options box.
1514 The titlebar shows <guilabel>(Thumbs)</guilabel> when thumbnailing is on.
1517 The thumbnails are saved in <filename>~/.thumbnails</filename> for
1518 quick loading next time.
1519 While loading thumbnails, a progress bar appears at the bottom of
1520 the window. Clicking on the <guibutton>Cancel</guibutton> button
1521 beside the bar stops the scan.
1522 It is also possible to thumbnail other types of file, such as videos
1523 (eg, by showing the first frame), with a suitable helper program.
1525 <sect1><title>Technical details</title>
1527 When in thumbnail mode <application>ROX-Filer</application> checks the
1528 thumbnail directory (<filename>~/.thumbs/normal</filename>) for a
1529 thumbnail for each file it scans. If a thumbnail exists it loads it and
1530 continues on to the next file.
1532 To generate a thumbnail for a given file of type media/subtype the filer looks
1533 for a program <filename><Choices>/MIME-thumb/media_subtype</filename>,
1534 falling back to <filename><Choices>/MIME-thumb/media</filename> if one
1535 cannot be found (this duplicates how run actions for files are looked up). If
1536 neither file can be found and the file is of type image/* then the internal
1537 routines are used. If the file is not of type image/* then no thumbnail is
1540 If the generator program is found, is executed with the parameters
1541 <screen>thumbnailer /path/to/source/file /path/to/thumbnail pixel_size</screen>
1543 Once the child program exits, it attempts to load
1544 <filename>/path/to/thumbnail</filename>. If that fails no thumbnail is
1547 Note that because of the order it does things ROX-Filer will happily
1548 use any pre-existing thumbnail even if it has no idea how it was
1555 <chapter id="virtual">
1557 <anchor id="vfs" xreflabel="Virtual file systems"/>Virtual file systems
1560 Some types of file can be represented as a directory. A typical example
1561 is a zip file, which contains an entire directory structure in compressed
1562 form. It is often useful to be able to open up such a file as if it
1563 was a real directory, and the VFS system allows you to do this.
1565 To use this feature you must have a system such as
1566 AVFS<citation>AVFS</citation> installed, which causes the kernel to support
1567 various Virtual File Systems directly.
1572 <chapter id="minibuffer">
1573 <title><anchor id="mini" xreflabel="Minibuffer"/>The mini-buffer</title>
1576 The mini-buffer is a white bar that appears along the bottom of the
1577 window and allows you to enter some text. Press <keycap>Escape</keycap> to
1578 get rid of it again. It behaves in different ways depending on how you
1583 <title>The path-entry box</title>
1586 This allows you to type in a path directly. As you type the display
1587 is updated to show the item entered visually. The main use is to find
1588 a file in a large directory quickly, but you can also use it for navigating
1589 between directories, or for selecting a full pathname from somewhere
1590 else and pasting it directly into the path-entry box.
1593 <informaltable><tgroup cols="2">
1594 <thead><row><entry>Key</entry><entry>Action</entry></row></thead>
1598 <keycap>Return</keycap></entry><entry>
1599 Open the currently selected item.
1603 <keycap>Tab</keycap></entry><entry>
1604 Shell-style tab completion.
1608 <keycap>Up</keycap>, <keycap>Down</keycap></entry><entry>
1609 Select the previous/next matching entry.
1611 </tbody></tgroup></informaltable>
1616 If you start entering a name beginning with a `.' then the `Show Hidden'
1617 feature is temporarily turned on so that the file can be shown.
1621 Tab completion tries to fill in as many characters for you as it can.
1622 For example, if there are two files in a directory called
1623 <filename>save-mail-nov-1999</filename> and
1624 <filename>save-mail-dec-1999</filename> then typing
1625 <userinput>save</userinput> and pressing <keycap>Tab</keycap> will expand
1626 <userinput>save</userinput> to <userinput>save-mail-</userinput> and beep
1627 to indicate that the match is not complete. If you use tab completion on a
1628 directory and it is unique then the filer will automatically change into
1629 the directory. This behavior should be familiar to shell users.
1632 <informalexample><para>
1633 Let's say you want to locate the documentation for Wine in the directory
1634 <filename>/usr/share/doc</filename> (which is usually very large).
1635 Here's how you could do it:
1640 Open the minibuffer by choosing <guimenuitem>Enter
1641 Path...</guimenuitem> from the <guimenu>Window</guimenu> menu, or
1642 by pressing the slash (<keycap>/</keycap>) key.
1646 Press <keycap>CTRL</keycap>+<keycap>A</keycap> to select the existing
1652 <userinput>u<Tab>sh<Tab>do<Tab>wi<Tab></userinput>.
1653 As you type, the cursor will move to the correct subdirectory.
1654 If it beeps when you press <keycap>Tab</keycap> then you need to supply
1655 more letters, or press <keycap>Return</keycap>.
1660 </para></informalexample>
1664 <title>The shell command box</title>
1667 This provides a quick way of entering shell commands if you don't
1668 want to open an xterm. If you don't know what shell commands are,
1671 Just type in the command and press <keycap>Return</keycap> to execute it.
1672 <keycap>Up</keycap> and <keycap>Down</keycap> arrows move through previously
1674 <keycap>Tab</keycap> does shell-style completion.
1675 Clicking on an item inserts its name into the minibuffer.
1676 If some items are selected then they are assigned to the positional
1677 parameters <userinput>$1</userinput>, <userinput>$2</userinput>, etc.
1679 Opening the minibuffer with a selection adds <computeroutput>"$@"</computeroutput>
1680 to the end of the command — this expands to all the selected files.
1683 <informalexample><para>Examples:
1685 <orderedlist><title>To untar a <filename>.tgz</filename> archive:</title>
1688 Open the minibuffer by choosing <guimenuitem>Shell Command...</guimenuitem> from
1689 the <guimenu>Window</guimenu> menu.
1690 I usually bind this to the bang (<keycap>!</keycap>) key.
1694 Type <userinput>tar xzf</userinput> and click on the file.
1695 The leading space is automatically inserted.
1699 Press <keycap>Return</keycap> to execute it.
1704 <orderedlist><title>To print all the selected files:</title>
1707 Open the shell command minibuffer.
1711 Type <userinput>lpr</userinput> at the beginning of the line and press
1712 <keycap>Return</keycap>.
1717 </para></informalexample>
1719 <itemizedlist><title>Notes</title>
1722 Be careful; you will not be asked to confirm! If in doubt, start the
1723 command with <userinput>xmessage</userinput> so that it will be displayed
1724 rather than executed.
1728 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sh</refentrytitle></citerefentry>
1729 is always used as the name of the shell to run (mainly because
1730 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>bash</refentrytitle></citerefentry> and
1731 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>csh</refentrytitle></citerefentry> treat
1732 positional parameters differently).
1733 However, <envar>PATH</envar> is searched to find it so you can still use
1734 another shell if you want by naming it sh and putting it in your path.
1738 Commands execute in the background, so you can say:
1740 <command>sleep 240; xmessage Time to go!</command>
1747 <title><anchor id="SelectIf" xreflabel="Select If"/>The conditional
1748 selection box</title> <para>
1750 Use this if you want to automatically select all files in the directory
1751 which match a condition.
1753 <orderedlist><title>For example, to select all files larger than 5Mb:</title>
1756 Open the Select If minibuffer.
1760 Type <userinput>Size > 5Mb</userinput> and press <keycap>Return</keycap>.
1765 Just those files over 5 Mb in size will be selected. The expressions
1766 you can enter are in the same form as described in the
1767 <xref linkend="Searching"/> section, except that
1768 <userinput>prune</userinput> has no effect since the contents of
1769 directories are never checked anyway. You can press <keycap>Tab</keycap>
1770 to jump to each selected file in turn.
1778 <anchor id="bulkrename" xreflabel="The Bulk Rename window"/>Renaming files in bulk
1781 If you have a large number of files to rename, it is tedious to rename them one
1782 by one. Instead, select all the files and choose <guimenuitem>Rename...</guimenuitem>
1783 from the menu to open the bulk rename window.
1787 The window shows a table with two columns. The <guilabel>Before</guilabel> column
1788 shows the current name of each selected file, and the <guilabel>After</guilabel>
1789 column shows the new name, which is initially the same.
1793 There are two ways to change the new names. You can edit the names in the table
1794 directly, or you can use the search and replace feature at the top of the window.
1795 This takes a regular expression to search for, and some text to replace matches
1796 with. For example, if you had a lot of files with names ending in
1797 <filename>.htm</filename> and you wanted to change them to use
1798 <filename>.html</filename>, you would enter <userinput>\.htm$</userinput> in
1799 the <guilabel>Replace:</guilabel> field and <userinput>.html</userinput> in the
1800 <guilabel>With:</guilabel> field. When you click <guibutton>Apply</guibutton>, the
1801 table is updated to show the proposed new names (but no actual renaming is done
1806 Having checked that the new names look OK, click on the <guibutton>Rename</guibutton>
1807 button to actually perform the rename operation.
1811 <chapter id="actions">
1812 <title>Action windows</title>
1814 Action windows are those boxes that appear while you're doing a
1815 Copy/Move/Link/etc operation. The status line at the top of the window shows
1816 the current directory or object that the window is processing. The scrolling
1817 area below is the log area — it shows what has been done, and questions
1818 may be displayed here.
1820 Below this are four buttons and some options. All windows have the
1821 <guilabel>Quiet</guilabel> option. When this is on the filer will only
1822 confirm some operations (such as deleting a non-writeable file). Otherwise,
1823 all operations are confirmed.
1825 The buttons work as follows:
1829 <varlistentry><term><guibutton>Yes</guibutton></term><listitem><para>
1830 answers yes to the question displayed in the log area.
1831 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
1833 <varlistentry><term><guibutton>No</guibutton></term><listitem><para>
1834 answers no to the question displayed in the log area.
1835 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
1837 <varlistentry><term><guibutton>Cancel</guibutton></term><listitem><para>
1838 kills the current operation (if any) and closes the action
1840 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
1842 <varlistentry><term><guibutton>Quiet</guibutton></term><listitem><para>
1843 is a quick way to turn <guilabel>Quiet</guilabel> on and click
1844 <guibutton>Yes</guibutton>.
1845 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
1850 You can control which actions get started automatically (without you
1851 having to click on <guibutton>Quiet</guibutton> at the start) from the
1856 <title>Action window options</title>
1859 Some actions have options, which appear as option boxes at the bottom
1860 of the window. They are:
1865 <guilabel>Force</guilabel> means that the filer won't treat non-writeable
1866 files as special. Normally, it confirms the deletion even if
1867 <guibutton>Quiet</guibutton> is pressed.
1868 Note that you still can't remove files from non-writeable directories because
1869 in that case you really don't have permission.
1873 <guilabel>Brief</guilabel> prevents the filer logging a message every time it
1874 does something. Use this to speed things up if large numbers of messages are
1879 <guilabel>Recurse</guilabel> means that doing something to a directory will
1880 also do the same thing to all its contents, and the contents of any
1881 subdirectories, and so on.
1885 <guilabel>Newer</guilabel> will automatically copy a file over an existing one
1886 if the file is newer than the one it replaces (later modification time).
1892 You can set the defaults for these options from the Options box.
1897 <chapter id="searching">
1898 <title><anchor id="Searching" xreflabel="Searching"/>Searching</title>
1900 The Find feature looks through all the selected files and directories
1901 and any subdirectories (recursively) looking for items that match
1902 a particular expression.
1904 Choose <guimenuitem>Find</guimenuitem> from the <guimenu>File</guimenu>
1905 submenu to search all the selected objects. If you want to select all the
1906 files within a single directory which meet certain criteria, use
1907 <guimenuitem>Select</guimenuitem> -> <guimenuitem>Select If...</guimenuitem>
1910 If you know the name of a file then just enter it in the `Expression:'
1911 box, enclosed in single quotes. For example, to find a file called
1912 <filename>log</filename> you would enter <userinput>'log'</userinput>.
1914 Remember to use normal quotes, not double quotes (") or back-quotes (`).
1916 As the filer finds matching files they are added to the results list.
1917 Double-clicking on an entry in the list opens a viewer showing that file.
1918 The filer will use the same window to view other results (so, if you want
1919 the results shown in separate windows you must explicitly create a new
1920 window from the <guimenu>Window</guimenu> menu).
1924 <title>Wildcards</title>
1927 You can also put shell-style wildcard characters inside the quotes,
1932 <member><command>'*.html'</command></member>
1933 <member><command>'Report.*'</command></member>
1934 <member><command>'Draft[1-5]'</command></member>
1935 <member><command>'main.[ch]'</command></member>
1940 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>glob</refentrytitle>
1941 <manvolnum>7</manvolnum></citerefentry>
1942 manpage if you want to know more about shell wildcards.
1944 If the pattern you enter contains a slash (`/') character then the
1945 pattern is matched against the file's full path, otherwise only the
1946 leafname is used. That is, <userinput>'*tmp*'</userinput> will find
1947 <filename>tmp</filename> and <filename>tmpfile</filename> but not
1948 <filename>/tmp/file</filename> — <userinput>'/*tmp*'</userinput> will find
1954 <title>Simple tests</title>
1956 As well as finding files by their names you can also find them by
1957 various other attributes. Note that <emphasis>file</emphasis> is used here to
1958 mean anything that can appear in the filesystem — including directories,
1961 You can also use a short form for each test; these are shown in brackets.
1962 You can combine multiple tests — `<userinput>-rw</userinput>' is
1963 the same as `<userinput>IsReadable and IsWriteable</userinput>'.
1966 <itemizedlist><title>These look at the type of the item being checked:</title>
1969 <userinput>IsReg (-f)</userinput> matches any regular (ie, normal) file.
1973 <userinput>IsLink (-l)</userinput> matches symlinks.
1977 <userinput>IsDir (-d)</userinput> matches directories.
1981 <userinput>IsChar (-c)</userinput> matches character device files.
1985 <userinput>IsBlock (-b)</userinput> matches block device files.
1989 <userinput>IsDev (-D)</userinput> matches block or character device files.
1993 <userinput>IsPipe (-p)</userinput> matches pipes.
1997 <userinput>IsSocket (-S)</userinput> matches sockets.
2001 <userinput>IsDoor (-O)</userinput> matches door objects (Solaris).
2006 <itemizedlist><title>These look at the permissions set on the file —
2007 see the <xref linkend="Permissions"/> section.</title>
2010 <userinput>IsSUID (-u)</userinput> matches files which have the Set-UID
2011 bit set.</para></listitem>
2014 <userinput>IsSGID (-g)</userinput> matches files which have the Set-GID
2015 bit set.</para></listitem>
2018 <userinput>IsSticky (-k)</userinput> matches files with the sticky bit
2019 set.</para></listitem>
2022 <userinput>IsReadable (-r)</userinput> matches files which you can read
2023 from.</para></listitem>
2026 <userinput>IsWriteable (-w)</userinput> matches files which you can write to.
2030 <userinput>IsExecutable (-x)</userinput> matches files which you can execute.
2035 <itemizedlist><title>And a couple of other useful ones:</title>
2038 <userinput>IsEmpty (-z)</userinput> finds empty files (ie, those whose
2043 <userinput>IsMine (-o)</userinput> finds files which you own.
2051 <title>Logic operators</title>
2053 You can combine the above tests in various ways to perform more advanced
2055 An expression is actually made up of a list of <emphasis>cases</emphasis>,
2056 separated by commas. The filer will try to match each case in turn
2057 until one matches or there are no more cases left. For example, to
2058 search for files with several possible endings:
2060 <screen>'*.gif', '*.htm', '*.html'</screen>
2062 Further, each of the cases is actually a list of conditions. The case
2063 only matches if all of its conditions are met. So, to find a directory
2064 called <filename>lib</filename> or a regular file ending in
2065 <filename>.so</filename>:
2067 <screen>IsDir 'lib', IsReg '*.so'</screen>
2069 You can negate a condition by putting a <userinput>!</userinput> in front
2070 of it and you can use a sub-expression as a condition by bracketing it,
2078 Not isdir and not isreg
2081 All four do the same thing.
2086 <title>Comparisons</title>
2088 You can also compare various values using the operators
2089 <userinput><</userinput>,
2090 <userinput><=</userinput>,
2091 <userinput>=</userinput>,
2092 <userinput>!=</userinput>,
2093 <userinput>></userinput>, and
2094 <userinput>>=</userinput>
2095 (for less-than, less-than-or-equal-to, equal-to,
2096 not-equal-to, greater-than and greater-than-or-equal-to).
2098 When comparing times, you may find it helpful to use
2099 <userinput>after</userinput> and <userinput>before</userinput> instead of
2100 <userinput>></userinput> and <userinput><</userinput> to make things
2104 <itemizedlist><title>
2105 The following are read from the file being checked and may be used
2106 for the values being compared:
2110 <userinput>atime</userinput> The time that the file was last accessed.
2114 <userinput>ctime</userinput> The time that the file's status was last changed.
2118 <userinput>mtime</userinput> The time that the file's contents were last modified.
2122 <userinput>size</userinput> The size of the file.
2126 <userinput>inode</userinput> The file's inode (index) number.
2130 <userinput>nlinks</userinput> The number of links to this file. That is,
2131 the number of directory entries which refer to this file. Note that
2132 symlinks don't count as references.
2136 <userinput>uid</userinput> The User ID of the file.
2140 <userinput>gid</userinput> The Group ID of the file.
2144 <userinput>blocks</userinput> The number of disk blocks being used by the file.
2150 Times are measured as seconds since the Unix Epoch (00:00:00 UTC,
2151 January 1, 1970). Sizes are in bytes. When specifying constants to
2152 compare these values with you may use various keywords to scale the
2158 <userinput>Byte(s)</userinput> has no effect, but looks better.
2162 <userinput>Kb</userinput> multiplies by 1024, so 2Kb is the same as 2048.
2166 <userinput>Mb</userinput> multiplies by 1024<superscript>2</superscript>,
2171 <userinput>Sec(s)</userinput> has no effect, but looks nice.
2175 <userinput>Min(s)</userinput> multiplies by 60 to get minutes.
2179 <userinput>Hour(s), Day(s), Week(s), Year(s)</userinput> likewise
2180 convert to the relevant unit.
2184 <userinput>Ago</userinput> makes the time in the past relative to when
2189 <userinput>Hence</userinput> makes the time in the future.
2193 <userinput>Now</userinput> is short for <userinput>0 Secs Hence</userinput>.
2198 Some examples should make this all a bit clearer!
2201 mtime after 1 day ago
2205 IsReg and nlinks > 1</screen>
2206 The first finds files modified within the last 24 hours. You could
2207 use <userinput>></userinput> instead of <userinput>after</userinput>,
2208 but it's not so clear what is meant.
2210 The second finds files larger than 10 Mb. The last finds regular files with
2211 more than one directory entry.
2213 Be careful though — the filer doesn't check the context of the
2214 modifiers, so <userinput>size > 1 day ago</userinput> is allowed,
2215 although it doesn't make much sense!
2217 Also, forgetting to use <userinput>ago</userinput> or
2218 <userinput>hence</userinput> will cause odd effects (the time will be
2219 measured relative to the Epoch rather than the current time).
2220 Finally, don't use <userinput>=</userinput> with times —
2221 <userinput>atime = 1 day ago</userinput> looks for a file accessed
2222 <emphasis>exactly</emphasis> 86400 seconds ago...
2228 <title>Specials</title>
2234 <userinput>System(Command)</userinput> executes `Command' on the file.
2235 The test succeeds if the command returns an exit status of zero. A `%'
2236 character in `Command' is replaced by the full path of the file being
2237 checked. <userinput>System</userinput> is a very slow test to perform,
2238 so do it last if possible. For example, if you're looking for a
2239 <filename>.c</filename> file containing the word `main', do:
2241 <screen>'*.c' system(grep -q main "%")</screen>
2242 so that the grep is only performed for files ending in <filename>.c</filename>
2243 (as opposed to only checking that the file ends in <filename>.c</filename> if
2244 it contains the word `main').
2248 <userinput>Prune</userinput> Always fails!
2249 <footnote><para>Note that this is the opposite of the
2250 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>find</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
2251 </citerefentry> command.</para></footnote>
2253 However, if it gets evaluated at all then it prevents the filer
2254 from checking inside the current directory. Remember the order in which
2255 the filer checks the expression!
2263 '*.old' system(rm '%')
2265 'src' prune, '*.c'</screen>
2266 The first deletes each file ending in <filename>.old</filename>.
2267 The second looks for <filename>.c</filename> files, but does not bother
2268 checking inside directories called <filename>src</filename>.
2269 The expression is evaluated like this:
2271 If file is named <filename>src</filename> then `Prune'.
2272 Either way, check if it ends in <filename>.c</filename> and include
2273 it in the results if so.
2278 <chapter id="options">
2279 <title>Options</title>
2282 You can configure various aspects of <application>ROX-Filer</application>
2283 from the Options box.
2284 Choose <guimenuitem>Options...</guimenuitem> from a filer window menu to
2285 open it. The list on the left of the window lists the various sections —
2286 click on one to see its options.
2288 At the bottom of the window are two buttons:
2293 <guibutton>OK</guibutton>
2294 saves the current choices into your Choices directory for next time
2295 <application>ROX-Filer</application> is loaded, if anything changed.
2296 Exactly where choices are loaded from and saved to is controlled by the
2297 <envar>CHOICESPATH</envar> environment variable — see
2298 <citation>Choices</citation> for details.
2299 Changes made in the Options box take effect instantly, so you don't need to
2300 click on <guibutton>OK</guibutton> just to try them out.
2304 <guibutton>Revert</guibutton>
2305 Restores all choices to how they were when the options box was opened.
2306 This button is shown shaded if you haven't made any changes.
2307 The Options window is not closed when this is used.
2312 The options in the Options window have tooltips explaining the use of each
2313 option — hold the mouse pointer over an option to find out what it
2319 <chapter id="types">
2320 <title>Filetypes</title>
2323 All files have a MIME type in the form <emphasis>text/plain</emphasis>. Here,
2324 <emphasis>text</emphasis> is the <emphasis>media type</emphasis> and
2325 <emphasis>plain</emphasis> is the <emphasis>sub-type</emphasis>.
2327 <application>ROX-Filer</application> uses a file's name to decide what its MIME
2328 type is, and then uses the MIME type to decide what icon to give it and what
2329 program to use when you open the file.
2333 <title><anchor id="RunAction" xreflabel="the Set Run Action box"/>
2334 The Set Run Action box
2337 This box appears when you choose <guimenuitem>Set Run Action...</guimenuitem>
2338 from the File menu, and is used to set which application is loaded when you click
2341 For example, let's say you want to set things up so that opening a
2342 <filename>.gif</filename> file loads it into the Gimp.
2343 First, right-click over a gif image to open the menu and choose
2344 <guimenuitem>Set Run Action...</guimenuitem> from the
2345 <guimenuitem>File</guimenuitem> submenu.
2346 Then, you have a choice of two methods to set the run action:
2349 <sect2><title>Setting the run action by drag-and-drop</title>
2351 Drag the Gimp (from a filer window, a panel or the pinboard) onto
2352 the area marked <guilabel>Drop a suitable application here</guilabel>.
2353 From now on, clicking on a GIF file will load it into the Gimp.
2357 <sect2><title>Setting the run action by entering a shell command</title>
2359 Type: <userinput>gimp "$@"</userinput>
2360 into the box labelled <guilabel>Enter a shell command</guilabel> and press
2361 <keycap>Return</keycap>. <userinput>$@</userinput>
2362 will be replaced by the name of the file you click on when this command
2363 is used. As before, clicking on any GIF image will now load it into
2368 <sect2><title>Setting the default media-type handlers</title>
2370 Whichever method you use to set the action you have the choice of
2371 setting the run action just for that type, or setting the default
2372 for all files with that media-type which don't already have a specific
2375 Since the Gimp can load many types of image, it makes sense
2376 to select the <guilabel>Set default for all `image/<anything>'</guilabel>
2377 option so you don't have to do it again for image/jpeg files and so on. However,
2378 this only affects types that don't already have a specific action
2379 (ie, those that would have brought up an error box if you tried to
2386 <title><anchor id="SetIcon" xreflabel="the Set Icon box"/>
2391 This box appears when you choose <guimenuitem>Set Icon...</guimenuitem>
2392 from the File menu, and is used to set which image to use to represent
2395 It works much like the Set Run Action box described above, except that
2396 you may specifiy an icon for one file individually (by name) as well as
2397 for all files of a particular type. When setting the icon for a single
2398 file, the filer stores the name of the file and the name of the icon inside
2399 your Choices directory. If either moves, the icon won't be displayed.
2401 When setting the icon for a directory, you have the additional option of
2402 storing the image inside the directory itself as a hidden file. This means
2403 that other users will see the icon too, and you can safely delete the original
2404 image after the copy (note that the image is scaled down if needed, and converted
2407 The directory icon inside the <guilabel>Drop an icon here</guilabel>
2408 area allows you to quickly get to a directory from which you are already
2409 using one or more icons.
2414 <title>How filetypes are stored</title>
2417 <application>ROX-Filer</application> uses two sub-directories in your Choices
2418 directory for filetypes:
2422 <varlistentry><term><filename>MIME-types</filename></term><listitem><para>
2423 contains symlinks, one for each MIME type, which point
2424 to programs that can handle files of that type. To set what program
2425 is run when you click on the file you should normally use the <guimenuitem>Set
2426 Run Action...</guimenuitem> feature (see the <xref linkend="RunAction"/> section).
2427 However, you can also set the actions manually — for example, to make
2428 opening an HTML file load it into Netscape:
2432 Find the Netscape application and go to <guimenuitem>Link...</guimenuitem>
2437 Enter <userinput>text_html</userinput> as the name for the link and drag the
2438 icon from the Link box into the <filename>MIME-types</filename> directory.
2443 You can also put actual programs in here as well as links if you want
2445 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
2447 <varlistentry><term><filename>MIME-icons</filename></term><listitem><para>
2448 contains the images used to display each type of file.
2449 So the filer will try to display an HTML file using the icon
2450 <filename>MIME-icons/text_html.png</filename>.
2451 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
2455 In both <filename>MIME-types</filename> and <filename>MIME-icons</filename>
2456 directories you can also provide default actions/images for each media type.
2457 For example, if <filename>text_html</filename> isn't found then the filer
2458 will try simply using <filename>text</filename>.
2462 The filer works out the type for a file from its name. The rules come from
2463 various <filename>globs</filename> files — see
2464 <citation>SharedMIME</citation> for details.</para>
2468 <chapter id="appdirs">
2469 <title><anchor id="AppDir" xreflabel="Application directories"/>
2470 Application directories
2473 An application directory is a directory which can be run as an application.
2474 It contains all the resources of an application — source code, binaries,
2475 documentation and so on. Keeping everything in one place make installation
2476 and uninstallation much easier for users. You can also keep multiple
2477 versions of a program by simply having several application directories.
2478 You may move and rename them as you please. Application directories
2479 make programs easier to use and install.
2481 They're more secure too, because you can compile an application as a user and
2482 then simply copy it as root. Since you don't have to run an install script
2483 you are free from the danger of running untrusted code as root. All you have
2484 to watch out for is setuid binaries.
2487 The following files are treated as special by
2488 <application>ROX-Filer</application>:
2493 <filename>AppRun</filename>
2494 is executed when you click on the directory — make sure
2495 it is executable (use the Permissions box)!
2499 <filename>.DirIcon</filename>
2500 is the image used to represent the directory (this works even if
2501 there is no <filename>AppRun</filename>).
2505 <filename>Help</filename>
2506 is the directory to be opened when you choose <guimenuitem>Help</guimenuitem>
2511 <filename>AppInfo.xml</filename>
2512 contains extra information about an application (see below).
2516 <filename>AppIcon.xpm</filename>
2517 is used if <filename>.DirIcon</filename> is missing (for backwards
2518 compatibility; not to be used anymore).
2523 Have a look at the <filename>ROX-Filer</filename> application directory for a
2528 <note><para>For security reasons, an application directory must have the
2529 same owner as the <filename>AppRun</filename> file inside.</para></note>
2532 <title>The AppInfo file</title>
2535 <filename>AppInfo.xml</filename> is an XML file with the following structure
2536 (any elements may be omitted, and the file itself is optional):
2539 <?xml version="1.0"?>
2541 <Summary xml:lang="en">A graphical file manager</Summary>
2542 <Summary xml:lang="de">Ein grafische Datei-Manager</Summary>
2543 <Summary xml:lang="nl">Een grafisch bestandsbeheerprogramma</Summary>
2544 <Summary xml:lang="es">Un manejador de archivos gráafico</Summary>
2545 <About xml:lang="en">
2546 <Purpose>File manager</Purpose>
2547 <Version>1.3.5 PREVIEW</Version>
2548 <Authors>Thomas Leonard and others</Authors>
2549 <License>GNU General Public License</License>
2550 <Homepage>http://rox.sourceforge.net</Homepage>
2552 <About xml:lang="es">
2553 <Purpose>Manejador de Archivos</Purpose>
2554 <Authors>Thomas Leonard y otros</Authors>
2557 <Item option="-p=Default">
2558 <Label>Enable pinboard</Label>
2559 <Label xml:lang="es">Habilitar el pinboard</Label>
2561 <Item option="-p=">
2562 <Label>Disable pinboard</Label>
2563 <Label xml:lang="es">Deshabilitar el pinboard</Label>
2572 <userinput>Summary</userinput>
2573 is displayed in a tooltip when the mouse is held over the application.
2577 <userinput>About</userinput>
2578 contains a list of fields which are shown in the `File Info'
2579 box for the application (any element names may be used, but the above
2584 <userinput>AppMenu</userinput>
2585 is a list of extra menu items to display for the application.
2586 When one is chosen, <filename>AppRun</filename> is called with
2587 <userinput>option</userinput> as its only argument. You can nest
2588 AppMenus inside other AppMenus to create submenus, provided they have
2589 <Label> elements.
2599 <title>Internationalisation</title>
2605 <title><anchor id="LANG" xreflabel="Translations"/>
2606 Selecting a translation
2610 <application>ROX-Filer</application> is able to translate many of its messages,
2611 provided suitable translation files are provided:
2614 <listitem><para>Open the Options box from the menu,</para></listitem>
2615 <listitem><para>Select a language from the menu at the top,</para></listitem>
2616 <listitem><para>Click on <guibutton>Save</guibutton> and restart the filer
2617 for the new setting to take full effect.</para></listitem>
2624 <title>Creating a new translation</title>
2628 <listitem><para>Go into the <filename>src</filename> directory and create
2629 the file <filename>messages.pot</filename>:
2633 $ make messages.pot</screen>
2637 <listitem><para>Copy the file into the <filename>po</filename>
2638 subdirectory under <filename>src</filename> as
2639 <filename><name>.po</filename>. Eg, if your
2640 language is referred to as `ml' (`my language'):
2642 <screen>$ cp messages.pot po/ml.po</screen>
2645 <listitem><para>Load the copy into a text editor.</para></listitem>
2647 <listitem><para>Fill in the translations, which are all blank to start with.
2650 <listitem><para>Run the <filename>make-mo</filename> script to create the
2651 binary file which <application>ROX-Filer</application> can use.
2652 You will need the GNU gettext package for this.
2653 If you don't have it then just send me the <filename>.po</filename> file
2654 and I'll convert it for you.
2657 $ cd ROX-Filer/src/po
2659 Created file ../../Messages/ml.gmo OK</screen>
2662 <listitem><para>Edit <filename>ROX-Filer/Options.xml</filename> so that
2663 your language is listed, restart the filer and select it from the Options box
2664 (see the <xref linkend="LANG"/> section).
2667 <listitem><para>Submit the <filename>.po</filename> file to me so that I
2668 can include it in future releases of the filer.
2676 <title>Updating an existing translation</title>
2680 <listitem><para>Go into the directory containing the <filename>.po</filename>
2681 files and run the <filename>update-po</filename> script.
2682 This checks the source code for new and changed strings and updates all
2683 the translation files.
2686 $ cd ROX-Filer/src/po
2687 $ ./update-po</screen>
2690 <listitem><para>Edit the file by hand as before, filling in the new blanks
2691 and updating out-of-date translations.
2692 Look out for <computeroutput>fuzzy</computeroutput> entries where
2693 <command>update-po</command> has made a guess; check it's correct and
2694 remove the <computeroutput>fuzzy</computeroutput> line.
2697 <listitem><para>Run <command>make-mo</command> as before.</para></listitem>
2699 <listitem><para>Submit the updated file to me.</para></listitem>
2703 See the <command>gettext</command> info page for more instructions on creating
2710 <chapter id="hacking">
2711 <title>Hacking</title>
2713 This is a quick start guide for people who want to modify the source
2714 code. If you make useful changes or fix bugs, please send patches
2715 to me or to the mailing list. Tell me which version you're using!
2719 <title>Compiling</title>
2721 The first time you compile the program you need to do <command>AppRun
2722 --compile</command>, but in future you only need to run <command>make</command>
2723 in the <filename>src</filename> directory when you change the
2724 <filename>.c</filename> and <filename>.h</filename> files.
2725 You might want to run <command>make depend</command> too.
2730 <title>Creating and applying patches</title>
2732 When people make small modifications to the sources they will often
2733 distribute them as <emphasis>patch files</emphasis> — usually on the
2736 To apply a patch, go into the <filename>src</filename> directory and run
2737 <command>patch</command> with the patch file. Then recompile, like this:
2741 $ patch < patchfile
2742 $ ../AppRun --compile</screen>
2744 You can remove the patch by simply repeating the above sequence —
2745 <command>patch</command> will detect that the patch is already applied
2746 and offer to remove it.
2748 To create a patch you should first get the latest version of the filer
2749 from CVS (instructions on using CVS can be found on the web-site).
2750 Modify the program as you please. Create the patch using
2751 <command>cvs diff</command> from the appropriate directory:
2753 <screen>$ cvs diff -u > my_patch</screen>
2755 This creates a human– and machine-readable patch file. Submit this
2756 to the mailing list. The are many reasons for posting patches rather
2757 that the modified files:
2760 <listitem><para>They are smaller, and hence shouldn't bounce.
2761 They are also quicker to download for people with slow connections.
2764 <listitem><para>People can see what they're getting into before applying them!
2767 <listitem><para>Patches can (usually) be applied to slightly modified
2768 versions of the sources. This means that people can apply several patches
2769 without each new one overwriting the others.
2778 <title>Autoconf</title>
2780 Here's a quick explanation of the autoconf system in case you haven't
2781 used it before. See <command>info autoconf</command> for full details.
2783 There's a file called <filename>configure.in</filename> which contains
2784 various tests (<command>info autoconf</command>).
2785 You run <command>autoconf</command> and it reads through the file
2786 and generates a shell script to perform the tests, saving it as
2787 <filename>configure</filename>.
2788 <filename>configure</filename> is normally distributed with the program because
2789 not everyone has autoconf.
2791 You then run <filename>configure</filename> (in fact, let the
2792 <filename>AppRun</filename> script do it because
2793 it passes it some arguments), which performs all the tests. It reads
2794 in <filename>Makefile.in</filename> and <filename>config.h.in</filename>
2795 and fills in the missing values with the test results to produce
2796 <filename>Makefile</filename> and <filename>config.h</filename>.
2798 You run <command>make</command>, which creates <filename>.o</filename>
2799 files from the <filename>.c</filename> files and links to produce
2800 <filename>ROX-Filer</filename>.
2804 <sect1><title>Data-structures</title>
2806 The <filename>global.h</filename> file lists each major data-structure used
2807 in the filer and explains its purpose. This is a good place to start reading
2808 if you want to know how the filer works.
2813 <appendix id="compiling">
2814 <title>Compiling</title>
2817 If you've just got hold of the filer by downloading the source archive
2818 then you'll need to compile it before you can use it. If you downloaded
2819 and installed a binary package, or if <application>ROX-Filer</application>
2820 was included with your system, then you can skip this section. If you got
2821 here by clicking on the lifebelt symbol in a filer window, or if typing
2822 <command>rox</command> at a shell prompt works, then you don't need to
2825 <itemizedlist><title>To compile, you will need the following:</title>
2828 Unix or Linux (root access is not required),
2832 The X Window system (supplied as standard on all modern systems),
2836 GTK+ 2.0.1 or later (libraries and headers) — get the latest version
2837 from <citation>GTK+</citation>,
2841 LibXML 2.0.0 or later (libraries and headers) — get the latest
2842 version from <citation>libxml</citation>,
2846 A C compiler, such as `gcc' (standard on most systems).
2851 All of the above are standard on most modern Linux distributions.
2852 To check which version of GTK+ you have installed, run the
2853 <command>pkg-config</command> command, like this
2854 (<prompt>$</prompt> is the shell prompt):
2856 <screen>$ pkg-config --modversion gtk+-2.0
2860 <procedure><title>To compile:</title>
2863 The filer now uses the Shared MIME Database<citation>SharedMIME</citation>
2864 to work out the types of files. You need to install this before the
2865 filer will work properly (ROX-Filer will warn you if it's not installed
2870 Change to the directory containing the ROX-Filer subdirectory.
2874 Run the <command>install.sh</command> script, like this:
2876 <screen>$ ./install.sh</screen>
2881 <application>ROX-Filer</application> will perform various checks to find
2882 out what kind of system it is being run on and will then compile. If it
2883 doesn't work then please e-mail me and complain! Tell me what kind of
2884 system you have and what errors were reported. If you manage to fix the
2885 problem yourself then please e-mail me the fix.
2887 The executable file is stored inside the ROX-Filer directory in a
2888 different subdirectory for each platform. Therefore, you can compile
2889 the same application on several different types of machine and then
2890 run it from any of them using the <filename>AppRun</filename> script.
2891 This is particularly useful in a network environment.
2895 Once the filer has compiled you will be asked where you want to install
2896 it. If you want to do a system-wide installation as root, you may
2897 want to stop here, <command>su</command> to root and rerun the install
2900 If you don't have the root password then don't worry — just follow
2901 the instructions for installing into your home directory.
2906 You can now run the filer by running the <command>rox</command> script
2907 without any options, like this:
2909 <screen>$ rox</screen>
2911 A window should appear and display the contents of the current directory.
2913 If you installed the script into your home directory then you may
2914 need to set your <envar>PATH</envar> environment variable so that the shell can
2915 find it. For example, if you installed it into a directory called
2916 <filename>bin</filename> in your home directory, use this:
2918 <screen>$ PATH=$HOME/bin:$PATH; export PATH</screen>
2920 or (if you are using the <citerefentry><refentrytitle>csh</refentrytitle>
2921 <manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry> shell):
2923 <screen>$ setenv PATH $HOME/bin:$PATH
2930 <appendix id="manpage"><title>Manual page</title>
2935 <refentrytitle>ROX</refentrytitle>
2936 <manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
2940 <refname>ROX-Filer</refname>
2941 <refpurpose>a simple graphical file manager</refpurpose>
2946 <command>rox</command>
2947 <arg choice="opt" rep="repeat"><option>OPTION</option></arg>
2948 <arg choice="opt" rep="repeat">FILE</arg>
2952 <refsect1><title>DESCRIPTION</title>
2954 ROX-Filer is a simple and easy to use graphical file manager for X11, the
2955 windowing system used on Unix and Unix-like operating systems.
2957 It is also the core component of the ROX Desktop:
2958 <ulink url="http://rox.sourceforge.net"/>
2960 Invoking <command>rox</command> opens each directory or file listed,
2961 or the current working directory if no arguments are given.
2965 <refsect1><title>COMMAND-LINE OPTIONS</title>
2969 <varlistentry><term><option>-b</option></term><term><option>--bottom=PANEL</option></term>
2970 <listitem><para>open PANEL as a bottom-edge panel.
2971 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
2973 <varlistentry><term><option>-c</option></term><term><option>--client-id=ID</option></term>
2974 <listitem><para>used for session management.
2975 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
2977 <varlistentry><term><option>-d</option></term><term><option>--dir=DIR</option></term>
2978 <listitem><para>open DIR as directory (not as an application, even if it looks like one).
2979 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
2981 <varlistentry><term><option>-D</option></term><term><option>--close=DIR</option></term>
2982 <listitem><para>close DIR and all its subdirectories.
2983 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
2985 <varlistentry><term><option>-h</option></term><term><option>--help</option></term>
2986 <listitem><para>display help about the various options.
2987 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
2989 <varlistentry><term><option>-l</option></term><term><option>--left=PANEL</option></term>
2990 <listitem><para>open PANEL as a left-edge panel.
2991 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
2993 <varlistentry><term><option>-m</option></term><term><option>--mime-type=FILE</option></term>
2994 <listitem><para>print MIME type of FILE and exit.
2995 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
2997 <varlistentry><term><option>-n</option></term><term><option>--new</option></term>
2998 <listitem><para>start a new filer, even if one already seems to be
2999 running. This also prevents the filer from forking (running in the
3000 background). This option is mainly useful for debugging.
3001 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
3003 <varlistentry><term><option>-p</option></term><term><option>--pinboard=PIN</option></term>
3004 <listitem><para>use pinboard PIN as the pinboard.
3005 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
3007 <varlistentry><term><option>-r</option></term><term><option>--right=PANEL</option></term>
3008 <listitem><para>open PANEL as a right-edge panel.
3009 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
3011 <varlistentry><term><option>-R</option></term><term><option>--RPC</option></term>
3012 <listitem><para>read and invoke SOAP RPC from standard input (see <xref linkend="soap"/>).
3013 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
3015 <varlistentry><term><option>-s</option></term><term><option>--show=FILE</option></term>
3016 <listitem><para>open a directory showing FILE.
3017 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
3019 <varlistentry><term><option>-t</option></term><term><option>--top=PANEL</option></term>
3020 <listitem><para>open PANEL as a top-edge panel.
3021 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
3023 <varlistentry><term><option>-u</option></term><term><option>--user</option></term>
3024 <listitem><para>show user name in each window.
3025 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
3027 <varlistentry><term><option>-v</option></term><term><option>--version</option></term>
3028 <listitem><para>display the version information and exit.
3029 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
3031 <varlistentry><term><option>-x</option></term><term><option>--examine=FILE</option></term>
3032 <listitem><para>FILE has changed; re-examine it.
3033 </para></listitem></varlistentry>
3039 <refsect1><title>NOTES</title>
3041 The main documentation for ROX-Filer is available by choosing
3042 <guimenuitem>Show Help Files</guimenuitem> from the
3043 popup menu, or by clicking on the right-most toolbar icon.
3047 <refsect1><title>LICENSE</title>
3048 <para>Copyright (C) 2004 Thomas Leonard.
3050 You may redistribute copies of ROX-Filer under the terms of the GNU General
3055 <refsect1><title>BUGS</title>
3057 Please report bugs to the developer mailing list: <ulink url="http://rox.sourceforge.net/contact.html"/>.
3061 <refsect1><title>AUTHORS</title>
3063 ROX-Filer was created by Thomas Leonard, with help from:
3065 <simplelist columns='3'>
3066 <member>Michael Adams</member>
3067 <member>Christopher Arndt</member>
3068 <member>Jens Askengren</member>
3069 <member>Liav Asseraf</member>
3070 <member>Wilbert Berendsen</member>
3071 <member>Francesco Bochicchio</member>
3072 <member>Yuri Bongiorno</member>
3073 <member>Andrzej Borsuk</member>
3074 <member>Richard Boulton</member>
3075 <member>Simon Britnell</member>
3076 <member>Arnaud Calvo</member>
3077 <member>Babyfai Cheung</member>
3078 <member>Andrew Clover</member>
3079 <member>Fabien Coutant</member>
3080 <member>Couderc Damien</member>
3081 <member>Andreas Dehmel</member>
3082 <member>Micah Dowty</member>
3083 <member>Dmitry Elfimov</member>
3084 <member>Mattias Engdegard</member>
3085 <member>Andrew Flegg</member>
3086 <member>Olivier Fourdan</member>
3087 <member>Eric Gillespie</member>
3088 <member>Thierry Godefroy</member>
3089 <member>Olli Helenius</member>
3090 <member>Alex Holden</member>
3091 <member>Jasper Huijsmans</member>
3092 <member>Sigve Indregard</member>
3093 <member>Bernard Jungen</member>
3094 <member>Marcin Juszkiewicz</member>
3095 <member>James Kermode</member>
3096 <member>Jim Knoble</member>
3097 <member>Krzysztof Krzyzaniak</member>
3098 <member>Aaron Kurtz</member>
3099 <member>Vincent Ledda</member>
3100 <member>Vincent Lefevre</member>
3101 <member>Victor Liu See-le</member>
3102 <member>Alexey Lubimov</member>
3103 <member>Krzysztof Luks</member>
3104 <member>Marcus Lundblad</member>
3105 <member>Anders Lundmark</member>
3106 <member>Jose Romildo Malaquias</member>
3107 <member>Denis Manente</member>
3108 <member>Brendan McCarthy</member>
3109 <member>Andras Mohari</member>
3110 <member>Christiansen Merel</member>
3111 <member>Jimmy Olgeni</member>
3112 <member>Richard Olsson</member>
3113 <member>Matthew O'Phinney</member>
3114 <member>Daniele Peri</member>
3115 <member>Andy Piper</member>
3116 <member>Marcelo Ramos</member>
3117 <member>Michel Alexandre Salim</member>
3118 <member>Adam Sampson</member>
3119 <member>Chris Sawer</member>
3120 <member>Christian Storgaard</member>
3121 <member>Taras</member>
3122 <member>Simon Truss</member>
3123 <member>Hirosi Utumi</member>
3124 <member>Jan Wagemakers</member>
3125 <member>Keith Warno</member>
3126 <member>Götz Waschk</member>
3127 <member>Stephen Watson</member>
3128 <member>Andre Wyrwa</member>
3129 <member>Geoff Youngs</member>
3130 <member>Diego Zamboni</member>
3133 and many others; the <filename>Changes</filename> file contains more
3134 detailed information!
3141 <appendix id="soap"><title>SOAP RPC</title>
3143 <para>When the filer starts you can use command-line options to control its behaviour.
3144 As an alternative to this, the filer allows you to specify an operation with a
3145 <citation>SOAP</citation> RPC format message. In fact, if you use the command-line options,
3146 the filer converts to SOAP RPC internally.
3149 <para>All SOAP RPC messages are passed on standard input, like this:
3152 $ rox --RPC << EOF
3153 <?xml version="1.0"?>
3154 <env:Envelope xmlns:env="http://www.w3.org/2001/12/soap-envelope">
3155 <env:Body xmlns="http://rox.sourceforge.net/SOAP/ROX-Filer">
3157 <Name>Default</Name>
3158 <Side>Bottom</Side>
3161 </env:Envelope>
3164 The following methods are recognised:</para>
3168 <listitem><para><function>Version</function>()
3169 Returns the filer's version.
3172 <listitem><para><function>CloseDir</function>(<parameter>Filename</parameter>)
3173 Close directory <parameter>Filename</parameter> and all its subdirectories.
3176 <listitem><para><function>Examine</function>(<parameter>Filename</parameter>)
3177 <parameter>Filename</parameter> may have changed — check it and
3181 <listitem><para><function>OpenDir</function>(<parameter>Filename</parameter>,
3182 [<parameter>Style</parameter>, <parameter>Details</parameter>, <parameter>Sort</parameter>,
3183 <parameter>Class</parameter>, <parameter>ID</parameter>],
3184 <parameter>Hidden</parameter>, <parameter>Filter</parameter>)
3185 Open a window showing directory <parameter>Filename</parameter>.
3186 <parameter>Style</parameter> is one of <userinput>Large</userinput>, <userinput>Small</userinput>, <userinput>Huge</userinput>
3187 or <userinput>Automatic</userinput>.
3188 <parameter>Details</parameter> is one of <userinput>None</userinput>, <userinput>ListView</userinput>, <userinput>Size</userinput>, <userinput>Type</userinput>, <userinput>Times</userinput> or <userinput>Permissions</userinput>.
3189 <parameter>Sort</parameter> is one of <userinput>Name</userinput>, <userinput>Type</userinput>, <userinput>Date</userinput>, <userinput>Size</userinput>,
3190 <userinput>Owner</userinput> or <userinput>Group</userinput>.
3191 If any of these three option parameters are missing, the default is used.
3192 <parameter>Class</parameter> can be used to set the WM_CLASS property on the new window. You can
3193 use this to get your window manager to treat the window
3195 <parameter>ID</parameter> is a string used to identify the
3196 opened window. If a window with this ID already exists, it is changed to the
3197 given directory. Otherwise, a new window is created and given this ID.
3198 If used from a program, ensure the IDs you generate are unique, for example
3199 by including your process name, PID and a timestamp in the ID.
3200 <parameter>Hidden</parameter> if <userinput>true</userinput> means
3201 that hidden files (those that start with a dot character) are shown,
3202 or not shown if <userinput>false</userinput>. If ommitted then the
3203 configured setting is used.
3204 <parameter>Filter</parameter> can be used to filter files shown by
3205 their name. For example using a filter of <userinput>*.c</userinput>
3206 means that only files ending in .c are shown.
3209 <listitem><para><function>Panel</function>(<parameter>Side</parameter>,
3210 [<parameter>Name</parameter>])
3211 Open the panel named <parameter>Name</parameter> on screen side
3212 <parameter>Side</parameter> (<userinput>Top</userinput>|<userinput>Bottom</userinput>|<userinput>Left</userinput>|<userinput>Right</userinput>).
3213 <parameter>Name</parameter> can be a name in Choices (eg,
3214 <userinput>MyPanel</userinput>) or a full pathname.
3215 If not given, the panel on that side is turned off.
3218 <listitem><para><function>PanelAdd</function>(<parameter>Side</parameter>,
3219 <parameter>Path</parameter>, [<parameter>Label</parameter>,
3220 <parameter>After</parameter>])
3221 Add <parameter>Path</parameter> to the panel on side <parameter>Side</parameter>,
3222 with label <parameter>Label</parameter>. If <parameter>After</parameter> is
3223 <userinput>true</userinput> the icon goes on the right/bottom side of the panel,
3224 otherwise on the left/top side.
3227 <listitem><para><function>PanelRemove</function>(<parameter>Side</parameter>,
3228 <parameter>Path</parameter>, [<parameter>Label</parameter>])
3229 Remove <parameter>Path</parameter> from the panel on side
3230 <parameter>Side</parameter>. If <parameter>Label</parameter> is given
3231 then this must match the label of the item. If more than one item matches, only one is removed.
3234 <listitem><para><function>Pinboard</function>([<parameter>Name</parameter>])
3235 Display pinboard <parameter>Name</parameter> on the desktop background.
3236 <parameter>Name</parameter> can be a name in Choices (eg,
3237 <userinput>MyPinboard</userinput>) or a full pathname.
3238 If not given, the pinboard is turned off.
3241 <listitem><para><function>PinboardAdd</function>(<parameter>Path</parameter>,
3242 <parameter>X</parameter>, <parameter>Y</parameter>, [<parameter>Label</parameter>])
3243 Add <parameter>Path</parameter> to the pinboard at position
3244 (<parameter>X</parameter>, <parameter>Y</parameter>), giving it the label
3245 <parameter>Label</parameter>.
3248 <listitem><para><function>PinboardRemove</function>(<parameter>Path</parameter>, [<parameter>Label</parameter>])
3249 Remove <parameter>Path</parameter> from the pinboard. If <parameter>Label</parameter> is given
3250 then this must match the label of the item. If more than one item matches, only one is removed.
3253 <listitem><para><function>SetBackdropApp</function>(<parameter>App</parameter>)
3254 Make <parameter>App</parameter> (an application directory) the new handler
3255 for the current pinboard's backdrop.
3256 The <filename>AppInfo.xml</filename> file inside <parameter>App</parameter>
3257 must contain the CanSetBackdrop element, eg:
3259 <?xml version="1.0"?>
3261 <ROX:CanSetBackdrop xmlns:ROX="http://rox.sourceforge.net/SOAP/ROX-Filer"/>
3262 </AppInfo></programlisting>
3263 The application will be run with the <option>--backdrop</option> option
3264 as it's only argument after invoking this method, and whenever the pinboard is
3265 reloaded. DO NOT use this method if invoked with <option>--backdrop</option> or
3266 you will get stuck in an infinite loop!
3267 See <xref linkend="backdropapp"/> for a guide to writing backdrop applications.
3270 <listitem><para><function>SetBackdrop</function>(<parameter>Filename</parameter>,
3271 <parameter>Style</parameter>)
3272 Set the backdrop image to a given file. If you want to regenerate the image next
3273 time the user logs in, or you want to change it automatically from time to time,
3274 use <function>SetBackdropApp</function> above instead.
3277 <listitem><para><function>Run</function>(<parameter>Filename</parameter>)
3278 Run <parameter>Filename</parameter> as if it was clicked on in the filer.
3281 <listitem><para><function>Show</function>(<parameter>Directory</parameter>,
3282 <parameter>Leafname</parameter>)
3283 Open <parameter>Directory</parameter> and flash the file
3284 <parameter>Leafname</parameter> inside it.
3287 <listitem><para><function>FileType</function>(<parameter>Filename</parameter>)
3288 Returns the MIME-type of <parameter>Filename</parameter> (by writing the
3289 SOAP response to standard output).
3294 The following calls can be used to start new file actions.
3295 <parameter>Quiet</parameter> can be <userinput>true</userinput> if the
3296 operation should start immediately, instead of waiting for the user to
3297 confirm. If <userinput>false</userinput>, the user must always confirm. If
3298 not given, the default setting is used.
3302 <listitem><para><function>Copy</function>(<parameter>From</parameter>,
3303 <parameter>To</parameter>, [<parameter>Leafname</parameter>,
3304 <parameter>Quiet</parameter>])
3305 Copy each file in the array <parameter>From</parameter> to the directory
3306 <parameter>To</parameter>. If <parameter>Leafname</parameter> is given
3307 then <parameter>From</parameter> should contain a single entry only;
3308 <parameter>Leafname </parameter> gives the new leafname.
3311 <listitem><para><function>Move</function>(<parameter>From</parameter>,
3312 <parameter>To</parameter>, [<parameter>Leafname</parameter>,
3313 <parameter>Quiet</parameter>])
3314 Move each file in the array <parameter>From</parameter> to the directory
3315 <parameter>To</parameter>. If <parameter>Leafname</parameter> is given
3316 then <parameter>From</parameter> should contain a single entry only;
3317 <parameter>Leafname</parameter> gives the new leafname.
3320 <listitem><para><function>Link</function>(<parameter>From</parameter>,
3321 <parameter>To</parameter>, [<parameter>Leafname</parameter>])
3322 Symlink each file in the array <parameter>From</parameter> to the
3323 directory <parameter>To</parameter>. If <parameter>Leafname</parameter> is
3324 given then <parameter>From</parameter> should contain a single entry only;
3325 <parameter>Leafname</parameter> gives the new leafname.
3328 <listitem><para><function>Mount</function>(<parameter>MountPoints</parameter>,
3329 [<parameter>OpenDir</parameter>, <parameter>Quiet</parameter>])
3330 Mount each directory in the list <parameter>MountPoints</parameter>. If
3331 <userinput>true</userinput>, <parameter>OpenDir</parameter> causes each
3332 directory to be opened once it is mounted.
3340 <title>References</title>
3343 <abbrev>ROX</abbrev><citetitle>The ROX desktop,
3344 <ulink url="http://rox.sourceforge.net"/></citetitle>
3348 <abbrev>RISC OS</abbrev><citetitle>RISC OS,
3349 <ulink url="http://www.riscos.com"/></citetitle>
3353 <abbrev>GTK+</abbrev><citetitle>GTK+ Toolkit,
3354 <ulink url="http://www.gtk.org"/></citetitle>
3358 <abbrev>libxml</abbrev><citetitle>The XML C library for Gnome
3359 <ulink url="http://www.xmlsoft.org"/></citetitle>
3363 <abbrev>GNOME</abbrev><citetitle>The GNOME desktop,
3364 <ulink url="http://www.gnome.org"/></citetitle>
3368 <abbrev>DND</abbrev><citetitle>The Drag and Drop protocol,
3369 <ulink url="http://www.newplanetsoftware.com/xdnd/"/></citetitle>
3373 <abbrev>XDS</abbrev><citetitle>The X Direct Save protocol,
3374 <ulink url="http://www.newplanetsoftware.com/xds/"/></citetitle>
3378 <abbrev>Choices</abbrev><citetitle>The ROX Choices system,
3379 <ulink url="http://rox.sourceforge.net/choices.html"/></citetitle>
3383 <abbrev>AVFS</abbrev><citetitle>AVFS - A Virtual File System,
3384 <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/projects/avf/"/></citetitle>
3388 <abbrev>SOAP</abbrev><citetitle>Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) 1.2
3389 <ulink url="http://www.w3.org/TR/SOAP/"/></citetitle>
3393 <abbrev>Thumbs</abbrev><citetitle>Thumbnail Managing Standard (Version 0.5)
3394 <ulink url="http://triq.net/~jens/thumbnail-spec/"/></citetitle>
3398 <abbrev>Wallpaper</abbrev><citetitle>Wallpaper backdrop control application
3399 <ulink url="http://rox.sf.net/wallpaper.html"/></citetitle>
3403 <abbrev>SharedMIME</abbrev><citetitle>Shared MIME-info Database (Version 0.8)
3404 <ulink url="http://www.freedesktop.org/standards/shared-mime-info-spec/"/></citetitle>