1 #This file was created by <tal197> Sun Apr 9 16:01:14 2000
2 #LyX 0.12 (C) 1995-1998 Matthias Ettrich and the LyX Team
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34 Thomas Leonard, tal197@ecs.soton.ac.uk
44 ROX-Filer is a graphical file manger for the X Window System.
45 Its user interface is based on the RISC OS filer and it supports similar
46 features such as application directories and drag-and-drop loading and
51 \begin_inset LatexCommand \tableofcontents
61 ROX-Filer is a simple and easy to use graphical file manager for X11, the
62 windowing system used on Unix and Unix-like operating systems.
63 It is also the core component of the ROX Desktop
64 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{ROX}
74 XDND A common drag-and-drop protocol used, for example, by the GNOME desktop
75 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{GNOME}
80 This allows data to be loaded into an application by dragging it from a
81 filer window to a program.
82 The full specification is given in
83 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{DND}
90 XDS An extension to XDND that allows applications to save data by dragging
91 an icon back to a filer window.
92 The full specification is given in
93 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{XDS}
102 Choices A simple, but flexible, system for managing user choices.
104 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{Choices}
113 directories Self contained relocatable applications, where installation
114 is as simple as copying it to where you want it and uninstalling it is
115 just a matter of deleting a directory.
116 Described later in this documentation.
122 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
123 under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free
124 Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option)
128 This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
129 ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS
130 FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
131 See the GNU General Public License for more details.
134 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
135 with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
136 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA, 02111-1307, USA.
145 ROX-Filer is usually supplied in source-only form.
146 To compile and run it, you will require
149 Unix or Linux (root access is not required),
152 The X Window system (supplied as standard on all modern systems),
155 GTK+ 1.2.0 or later (libraries and headers) - get the latest version from
157 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{GTK+}
164 A C compiler (standard on most systems).
167 All of the above are standard on most modern Linux distributions.
168 To check which version of GTK+ you have installed, run the gtk-config command,
169 like this ($ is the shell prompt):
172 $ gtk-config --version
181 Change to the directory containing the ROX-Filer subdirectory.
184 Run the AppRun script with the --compile option, like this:
188 $ ROX-Filer/AppRun --compile
192 ROX-Filer will perform various checks to find out what kind of system it
193 is being run on and will then compile.
194 If it doesn't work then please e-mail me and complain! Tell me what kind
195 of system you have and what errors were reported.
196 If you manage to fix the problem yourself then please e-mail me the fix.
199 You can now run the filer by running the AppRun script without any options,
206 A window should appear and display the contents of your home directory.
209 The executables files are stored inside the ROX-Filer directory in a different
210 subdirectory for each platform.
211 Therefore, you can compile the same application on several different types
212 of machine and then run it from any of them using the AppRun script.
213 This is particularly useful in a network environment.
219 By default, ROX-Filer will start by displaying your home directory.
220 You can get it to display other directories instead by listing them after
224 $ ROX-Filer/AppRun /home /usr /usr/local
227 If you want one of the directories to be opened as a panel put
235 before the directory (for `bottom' or `top' panels).
236 If you don't know what a panel is, try it and see! To run the filer in
237 the background, put an & at the end of the line.
243 $ ln -s $HOME ~/Panel/Home
246 $ ROX-Filer/AppRun -b ~/Panel &
249 The panel should be displayed in a window without a title bar.
250 If this does not work then you may need to update your window manager.
251 The filer was designed and tested using the Enlightenment window manager
252 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{enlightenment}
257 You could also try using the -o option which bypasses the window manager
258 entirely (also use this if the panel appears in the wrong place):
261 $ ROX-Filer/AppRun -o -b ~/Panel &
264 Mouse button and key bindings
267 By default, the mouse button bindings are different to fit in better with
269 You can get the old RISC OS bindings by opening the Options window and
270 clicking on a few toggle buttons.
273 By default, the mouse buttons and key bindings for filer windows are as
351 Select (only) the item clicked on, or clear the selection.
355 Toggle the item between being selected and unselected.
360 Hold down Ctrl while clicking to go directly to
364 the Selection submenu.
368 Copy the file(s) to the destination (an application or another filer window)
372 Hold down Shift to move the file, or Ctrl+Shift to create a symbolic link.
374 Drag (not over an item)
376 Select a group of items by dragging a box around them.
380 If you use the left button then the boxed items only are selected, otherwise
384 the boxes items are toggled between selected and unselected.
386 Double click left button
388 Open the file or directory or run the application.
392 Holding down Shift while clicking does the same thing as choosing
396 `Shift Open' from the menu.
398 Double click middle button
400 Open the file and close the directory viewer,
404 or open the directory in a new window.
408 Change to viewing the parent directory.
412 Move the cursor around.
416 Move up and down in steps of ten rows at a time.
420 Move to the first/last entry in the directory.
424 Open the item under the cursor.
425 With Shift held down this acts like choosing 'Shift Open' from the menu.
429 Toggles the item under the cursor between being selected and unselected.
432 You can simulate a click of the middle mouse button by clicking with Ctrl
434 Other keys can easily be defined by opening the menu, moving the pointer
435 over the item you want to use and pressing a key.
436 The key will appear in the menu and can be used from then on.
437 To make the new key bindings permanent, open the Options box from the menu
444 While items are selected in a ROX-Filer window the filer has the global
446 You can then paste into another window to get the pathnames of the selected
448 For example, to extract the files from a .tgz archive on a floppy disk into
452 Choose `Xterm here' from the menu in your home directory.
455 Type `tar xzf ' (but don't press Return)
458 Click on the .tgz file to select it.
461 Click the middle button in the xterm window to paste the name of the file
465 Press Return in the xterm to execute the command.
469 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: Toolbar}
476 By default, each window has a toolbar along the top.
477 You can disable this from the Options window.
478 The three buttons on the toolbar are:
480 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center \LyXTable
504 Change to parent directory
508 Change to home directory
512 Reread the directory contents
518 You can open a menu by right clicking
519 \begin_float footnote
522 If the Use `RISC OS mouse bindings' option is on then use the middle button
525 over a panel or filer window.
526 Here is a full description of each choice and what it does:
528 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center \LyXTable
558 Select every item in this window.
562 Unselect every item in this window.
570 Create a new directory in this one.
574 Open an xterm with its current directory set to this directory.
575 \layout Subsubsection
579 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center \LyXTable
624 Each object in the directory is shown as a large icon with its name below.
628 Each entry is shown as the top part of its icon with the name beside it.
632 Entries are displayed with their icon, name, type, permissions, owner and
637 Items are arranged in ASCII order.
638 Note that `Z' is considered to come before `a'.
642 Items are grouped by their MIME-types and sorted by name within the groups.
646 Most recently modified first.
654 If on, files beginning with a dot are shown, otherwise they are hidden.
658 Rereads the contents of the directory and details of all the files in it.
662 Use this if the display becomes out-of-date.
663 \layout Subsubsection
666 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: Permissions}
673 The permissions display is made up of four groups of three flags.
674 Each flag is displayed as a letter if it is on and a dash (-) if not.
675 The first three characters show the permissions for the owner of the file,
676 the second for other members of the file's group and the third for everyone
678 Whichever group applies to the ROX-Filer process itself is shown underlined.
679 The fourth group shows any special flags.
682 The meanings of the characters are:
685 r Permission to read the contents of a file, or the names of files in a
689 w Permission to alter the contents of a file, or change which names appear
693 x Permission to run the file as a program, or refer to the files listed
694 within the directory.
697 U This program executes with the
701 of its owner rather than the person who ran it.
704 G This program executes with the
708 of its group, regardless of who ran it.
711 T Entries in this directory can only be altered or removed by the people
712 who own the files even if they have write permission on the directory itself.
722 ' means that the owner of the file is the same as the effective user of
723 ROX-Filer (basically, you own the file), you and members of the file's
724 group have read, write and execute permission and other people have only
725 read and execute permission.
726 There are no special flags set.
729 The rules which determine which permissions apply may vary slightly between
730 operating systems, but a rough guide is:
737 of the process is equal to the file's owner, then the owner permissions
745 of the process is equal to the file's group OR the file's group is one
750 then the group permissions apply.
753 Otherwise, the 'other' permissions apply.
762 have no effect (except that a process may set its real IDs to its effective
764 \layout Subsubsection
769 All of these work in the same way - if you open the menu with some items
770 selected then the operation applies to those items.
771 If you open then menu over an item while there is no selection then that
772 item is temporarily selected.
773 If you choose one of these while there is no selection at all then the
774 window goes into `target mode' - the operation happens to the next item
776 Click on the window background, press Escape, or click with the right mouse
777 button to cancel target mode.
778 Target mode is mainly useful with the `Single click navigation' option
779 and keys bound to the various menu entries.
781 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center \LyXTable
856 Make a copy of this object in the same directory.
860 Change the name used for this object.
864 Create a symbolic link to this name in the same directory.
868 Opens applications as directories, files as text/plain, mount points
872 by mounting or unmounting them and symlinks by opening the directory
876 containing the thing they point to.
880 This is the same as double-clicking with Shift held down.
884 Explain what kind of thing is selected.
889 display the help files.
893 Display extra information about this object.
897 Open the file as if it was a directory --- see section
898 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: vfs}
906 Mount or unmount each mount point selected.
910 Remove all the selected entries from the directory.
914 Subdirectories will have their contents deleted first.
918 Deleting symlinks only removes the link, not the thing it points to.
922 Count the sizes of all the selected items.
923 Directories also have their
928 Symlinks count themselves, not the things they point to.
932 Allows you to change the permissions for the selected files.
940 Search for files by specifying various conditions --- see section
941 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: Searching}
946 \layout Subsubsection
950 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center \LyXTable
986 Open a new window displaying this window's parent.
990 As above, but reuse this window.
994 Open another window onto this directory.
1002 Open the path-entry box (see section
1003 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: mini}
1011 Open the shell command box (see section
1012 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: mini}
1020 Same as selecting ROX-Filer and choosing `Help' from the menu.
1021 \layout Subsubsection
1026 This is just a cut-down version of the window menu.
1027 The only new entry is `Open Panel as Directory', which displays the panel
1028 in a new, non-panel, window.
1029 `Remove Item' is a cut-down version of `Delete'; it only works for symbolic
1030 links and never asks for confirmation.
1031 Since dragging applications and directories to the panel creates symlinks
1032 it is very easy to change the panel contents to suit your needs.
1036 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: vfs}
1040 Virtual File Systems
1043 Some types of file can be represented as a directory.
1044 A typical example is a zip file, which contains an entire directory structure
1046 It is often useful to be able to open up such a file as if it was a real
1047 directory, and the VFS system allows you to do this.
1050 To use this feature you must have one or both of the following:
1053 A system (such as PODFUK
1054 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{PODFUK}
1058 ) which causes the kernel to support various Virtual File Systems directly.
1059 This is the best option since all programs will be able to access the contents
1061 You will require root access to install such a system, however, and it
1062 is not available on all platforms.
1065 Support for the Midnight Commander VFS library compiled into ROX-Filer.
1066 This happens automatically when you compile ROX-Filer if it can find the
1067 VFS library --- this means having
1075 ) in a system library directory or in the directory in the environment variable
1081 In this case, you will be able to view the directory structure but not
1082 change it or access individual files.
1083 Support for this may be added later.
1084 Midnight Commander is part of the GNOME project.
1087 Note that using the `Open VFS' menu is simply a short-cut for using the
1088 path-entry box (explained below), so if you want to use a VFS not listed
1089 on the menu you can type in the path directly, eg:
1094 /home/fred/archive.zip#uzip/
1103 Don't forget the final slash!
1104 \layout Subsubsection
1106 Step by step example of adding VFS support
1109 This assumes that you have the Midnight Commander source in a directory
1111 You might need to replace
1134 If you have the root password then install the library in a system library
1135 directory as normal.
1145 $ cp libvfs.so ~/lib
1148 $ cd ~/Apps/ROX-Filer
1155 file to include this as the
1162 LD_LIBRARY_PATH=${HOME}/lib; export LD_LIBRARY_PATH
1165 This will ensure that ROX-Filer will look for the library in the new
1173 $ ./AppRun --compile
1179 checking for mc_stat in -lvfs...
1183 If you saw that line then it's worked! Well done!
1188 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: mini}
1195 The mini-buffer is a white bar that appears along the bottom of the window
1196 and allows you to enter some text.
1197 Press Escape to get rid of it again.
1198 It behaves in different ways depending on how you invoked it:
1199 \layout Subsubsection
1204 This allows you to type in a path directly.
1205 As you type the display is updated to show the item entered visually.
1206 The main use is to find a file in a large directory quickly, but you can
1207 also use it for navigating between directories, or for selecting a full
1208 pathname from somewhere else and pasting it directly into the path-entry
1211 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center \LyXTable
1235 Open the currently selected item.
1239 Shell-style tab completion.
1243 Select the previous/next matching entry.
1246 Tab completion tries to fill in as many characters for you as it can.
1247 For example, if there are two files in a directory called `save-mail-nov-1999'
1248 and `save-mail-dec-1999' then typing 'save' and pressing Tab will expand
1249 `save' to `save-mail-' and beep to indicate that the match is not complete.
1250 If you use tab completion on a directory and it is unique then the filer
1251 will automatically change into the directory.
1252 This behavior should be familiar to shell users.
1253 \layout Subsubsection*
1258 Let's say you want to locate the documentation for Wine in the directory
1259 /usr/doc (which is usually very large).
1260 Here's how you could do it:
1263 Open the minibuffer by choosing 'Enter Path' from the Window menu.
1264 I usually bind this function to the slash (`/') key.
1267 Press CTRL-U to delete the existing contents - this moves you to the root
1290 As you type, the cursor will move to the correct subdirectory.
1291 If it beeps when you press Tab then you need to supply more letters.
1292 \layout Subsubsection
1294 The shell command box
1297 This provides a quick way of entering shell commands if you don't want to
1299 If you don't know what shell commands are, skip this section!
1302 Just type in the command and press Return to execute it.
1303 Up and Down arrows move through previously entered commands.
1304 If some items are selected then they are assigned to the positional parameters
1306 \layout Subsubsection*
1311 To print all the selected files:
1314 Open the minibuffer by choosing `Shell Command' from the Window menu.
1315 I usually bind this to the bang (`!') key.
1323 \layout Subsubsection*
1328 Be careful; you will not be asked to confirm! If in doubt, start the command
1333 ' so that it will be displayed rather than executed.
1336 The above command won't work if some of the files contain spaces --- use
1348 ' instead to be safe.
1351 `sh' is always used as the name of the shell to run (mainly because bash
1352 and csh treat positional parameters differently).
1353 However, PATH is searched to find it so you can still use another shell
1354 if you want by naming it sh and putting it in your path.
1357 Commands execute in the background, so you can say:
1361 sleep 240; xmessage Time to go!
1368 Action windows are those boxes that appear while you're doing a Copy/Move/Link/e
1370 The status line at the top of the window shows the current directory or
1371 object that the window is processing.
1372 The scrolling area below is the log area - it shows what has been done
1373 and may display questions here.
1376 At the bottom are four buttons and, sometimes, some options.
1377 The buttons work as follows:
1380 Quiet will do simple operations without asking you to confirm each one.
1381 By turning this on and off during an operation you can use it like a pause
1385 Yes answers yes to the question displayed in the log area.
1388 No answers no to the question displayed in the log area.
1391 Abort kills the current operation (if any) and closes the action window.
1394 You can control which actions get started automatically (without you having
1395 to click on Quiet at the start) from the Options window.
1396 \layout Subsubsection
1398 Action Window Options
1401 Some actions have options, which appear as option boxes at the bottom of
1406 `Force' means that the filer won't treat non-writeable files as special.
1407 Normally, it confirms the deletion even if Quiet is pressed.
1408 Note that you still can't removed files from non-writeable directories
1409 because in that case you really don't have permission.
1412 `Brief' prevents the filer logging a message every time it does something.
1413 Use this to speed things up if large numbers of messages are being logged.
1416 `Recurse' means that doing something to a directory will also do the same
1417 thing to all its contents, and the contents of any subdirectories, and
1422 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: Searching}
1429 The Find feature looks through all the selected files and directories and
1430 any subdirectories (recursively) looking for items that match a particular
1434 If you know the name of a file then just enter it in the `Expression:' box,
1435 enclosed in single quotes.
1436 For example, to find a file called `log' you would enter:
1442 Remember to use normal quotes, not double quotes (
1445 \begin_inset Quotes eld
1457 As the filer finds matching files they are added to the results list.
1458 Clicking on an entry in the list opens a viewer showing the file you clicked
1460 The filer will use the same window to view other results (so, if you want
1461 the results shown in separate windows you must explicitly create a new
1462 window from the Window menu).
1463 \layout Subsubsection
1468 You can also put shell-style wildcard characters inside the quotes, for
1488 manpage if you want to know more about shell wildcards.
1491 If the pattern you enter contains a slash ('/') character then the pattern
1492 is matched against the file's full path, otherwise only the leafname is
1498 will find 'tmp' and 'tmpfile' but not '/tmp/file' ---
1502 will find all three.
1503 \layout Subsubsection
1508 As well as finding files by their names you can also find them by various
1510 Note that `file' is used here to mean anything that can appear in the filesyste
1511 m --- including directories, devices and so on.
1522 These look at the type of the item being checked:
1525 IsReg matches any regular (ie, normal) file.
1528 IsLink matches symlinks.
1531 IsDir matches directories.
1534 IsChar matches character device files.
1537 IsBlock matches block device files.
1540 IsDev matches block or character device files.
1543 IsPipe matches pipes.
1546 IsSocket matches sockets.
1549 These look at the permissions set on the file - see section
1550 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: Permissions}
1557 IsSUID matches files which have the Set-UID bit set.
1560 IsSGID matches files which have the Set-GID bit set.
1563 IsSticky matches files with the sticky bit set,
1566 IsReadable matches files which you can read from.
1569 IsWriteable matches files which you can write to.
1572 IsExecutable matches files which you can execute.
1575 And a couple of other useful ones:
1578 IsEmpty finds empty files (ie, those whose length is 0 bytes).
1581 IsMine finds files which you own.
1582 \layout Subsubsection
1587 You can combine the above tests in various ways to perform more advanced
1589 An expression is actually made up of a list of
1593 , separated by commas.
1594 The filer will try to match each case in turn until one matches or there
1595 are no more cases left.
1596 For example, to search for files with several possible endings:
1599 '*.gif', '*.htm', '*.html'
1602 Further, each of the cases is actually a list of conditions.
1603 The case only matches if all of its conditions are met.
1604 So, to find a directory called
1608 or a regular file ending in
1615 IsDir 'lib', IsReg '*.so'
1618 You can negate a condition by putting a
1622 in front of it and you can use a sub-expression as a condition by bracketing
1632 Not isdir and not isreg
1635 All three do the same thing.
1636 \layout Subsubsection
1641 You can also compare various values using the operators
1645 (for less-than, less-than-or-equal-to, equal-to, not-equal-to, greater-than
1646 and greater-than-or-equal-to).
1647 When comparing times, you may find it helpful to use
1663 to make things clearer.
1666 The following are read from the file being checked and may be used for the
1667 values being compared:
1670 atime The time that the file was last accessed.
1673 ctime The time that the file's status was last changed.
1676 mtime The time that the file's contents were last modified.
1679 size The size of the file.
1682 inode The file's inode (index) number
1685 nlinks The number of links to this file (that is, the number of directory
1686 entries which refer to this file.
1687 Note that symlinks don't count as references).
1690 uid The User ID of the file.
1693 gid The Group ID of the file.
1696 blocks The number of disk blocks being used by the file.
1699 Times are measured as seconds since the Unix Epoch (00:00:00 UTC, January
1702 When specifying constants to compare these values with you may use various
1703 keywords to scale the value:
1706 Byte(s) has no effect, but looks better.
1709 Kb multiplies by 1024, so 2Kb is the same as 2048.
1713 \begin_inset Formula \( 1024^{2} \)
1719 Sec(s) has no effect, but looks nice.
1722 Min(s) multiplies by 60 to get minutes.
1726 \protected_separator
1728 \protected_separator
1730 \protected_separator
1731 Year(s) likewise convert to the relevant unit.
1734 Ago makes the time in the past relative to when the check is done.
1737 Hence makes the time in the future.
1747 Some examples should make this all a bit clearer!
1750 mtime after 1 day ago
1756 IsReg and nlinks > 1
1759 The first finds files modified within the last 24 hours.
1768 but it's not so clear what is meant.
1769 The second finds files larger than 10 Mb and the last finds regular files
1770 with more than one directory entry.
1773 Be careful though --- the filer doesn't check the context of the modifiers,
1778 is allowed, although it doesn't make much sense! Also, forgetting to use
1787 will cause odd effects (the time will be measured relative to the Epoch
1788 rather than the current time).
1789 Finally, don't use = with times ---
1793 looks for a file accessed
1797 86400 seconds ago...
1803 System(Command) executes `Command' on the file.
1804 The test succeeds if the command returns an exit status of zero.
1805 A `%' character in `Command' is replaced by the full path of the file being
1807 System is a very slow test to perform, so do it last if possible.
1808 For example, if you're looking for a .c file containing the word `main',
1813 '*.c' system(grep -q main
1828 so that the grep is only performed for files ending in .c (as opposed to
1829 only checking that the file ends in .c if it contains the word `main').
1834 \begin_float footnote
1837 Note that this is the opposite of the
1843 However, if it gets evaluated at all then it prevents the filer from checking
1844 inside the current directory.
1845 Remember the order in which the filer checks the expression!
1851 '*.old' system(echo rm %)
1857 The first displays a command to delete each file ending in
1861 ; you can either paste the results into an xterm to execute them or run
1862 the search again without the
1867 It's always a good idea to use
1871 first with dangerous commands! The second looks for
1875 files, but does not bother checking inside directories called
1880 The expression is evaluated like this:
1882 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center
1884 \begin_inset Figure size 216 180
1897 You can configure various aspects of ROX-Filer from the Options box.
1898 Choose `Options...' from a filer window menu to open it.
1902 At the bottom of the window are four buttons:
1905 Save puts all your choices into effect, and also saves them into your Choices
1906 directory for next time ROX-Filer is loaded.
1907 ROX-Filer will never save any preferences to disk unless you click on the
1908 `Save' button in the options window.
1911 OK puts your choices into effect without writing anything to disk.
1914 Apply works like OK, but without closing the Options window.
1917 Cancel closes the options box and forgets any changes you made.
1918 \layout Subsubsection
1920 Action window options
1923 You can choose to start some operations automatically, without waiting for
1924 you to click on Quiet.
1925 Select each operation that you want to auto-start here.
1926 \layout Subsubsection
1928 Filer window options
1931 `New window on button 1' swaps the actions of the two non-menu buttons when
1932 opening directories.
1933 This is provided for people who are used to the RISC OS mouse bindings.
1936 `Menu on button 2' swaps the actions of buttons 2 and 3 so that the middle
1937 button brings up the menus.
1938 This is provided for people who are used to the RISC OS mouse bindings.
1941 `Single-click navigation' treats a single click over an item as if it was
1943 This allows you to move around, run applications and open files without
1949 opening it you must hold down CTRL while you click.
1952 `Unique windows' prevents you from having two windows showing the same directory.
1953 Opening a second view onto a directory closes the first.
1956 `Toolbar type for new windows' allows you to choose what kind of toolbar
1957 will be used for future filer windows (the currently open windows are not
1959 None means that new windows will not have a toolbar, Normal provides a
1960 small bar of icons, and GNOME displays larger icons with textual labels
1961 and allows the bar to be detached from the window by dragging it.
1963 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: Toolbar}
1970 The last display style and sort type you chose will also be saved as the
1971 defaults for next time.
1972 \layout Subsubsection
1974 Drag and Drop options
1977 ROX-Filer uses the standard XDND protocol for drag-and-drop.
1978 This protocol recommends that URIs should contain the hostname of the computer
1979 that the resource is on so that the program receiving the data can determine
1980 whether it can get the data directly or whether it must go via the X-server.
1981 However, many older programs (particularly GNOME applications) get confused
1982 by the hostname and fail to load the data correctly.
1983 If `Don't use hostnames' is on then the hostname part is omitted and ROX-Filer
1984 will work with these applications BUT you can't drag data to a program
1985 running on a different machine.
1988 `Allow dragging to icons in filer windows' controls what happens when you
1989 drop files onto icons in filer windows.
1990 If on then drops onto directories will save the data inside the directory
1991 while dropping onto programs will invoke the program on that data.
1992 If off then drops anywhere inside a filer window act like drops onto the
1993 window background --- that is, the data will be saved into the directory
1995 \layout Subsubsection
2000 The `Xterm here' program is the one used when you choose `Xterm here' from
2002 You can replace it with another program such as `gnome-terminal' if you
2004 In fact, any program will do, but note that you cannot pass any options
2005 to the program at present.
2011 ROX-Filer uses three sub-directories in your Choices directory for filetypes:
2014 MIME-info contains files which specify what the MIME type for a file should
2015 be, based on its extention.
2016 All the files in all the MIME-info directories are scanned when the filer
2018 In addition, ROX-Filer is now supplied with a file called `MIME-info' (inside
2019 its application directory), which is also scanned --- this allows new users
2020 to get started more easily.
2021 Many applications now come with a file called `something.mime'; copy these
2022 files into your MIME-info directory to make ROX-Filer automatically recognise
2026 MIME-types contains symlinks, one for each MIME type, which point to programs
2027 that can handle files of that type.
2028 For example, to make opening an HTML file load it into Netscape:
2032 Find the Netscape application and go to `Link...' on the menu.
2035 Enter `text_html' as the name for the link and drag the icon from the Link
2036 box into the MIME-types directory.
2039 You can also put actual programs in here as well as links if you want to.
2043 MIME-icons contains the images used to display each type of file.
2044 So the filer will try to display an HTML file using the icon `MIME-icons/text_h
2048 Many sample files are supplied as part of the ROX desktop
2049 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{ROX}
2056 In both MIME-types and MIME-icons directories you can also provide default
2057 actions/images for each media type.
2058 For example, if `text_html' isn't found then the filer will try simply
2062 Application directories
2065 An application directory is a directory which can be run as an application.
2066 It contains all the resources of an application - source code, binaries,
2067 documentation and so on.
2068 Keeping everything in one place make installation and uninstallation much
2070 You can also keep multiple versions of a program by simply having several
2071 application directories.
2072 You may move and rename them as you please.
2073 Application directories are easier to use and install and are more secure
2075 \begin_float footnote
2078 Because you can compile an application as a user and then simply copy it
2079 as root rather than having to run an install script you are free from the
2080 danger of running untrusted code as root.
2081 All you have to watch out for is setuid binaries.
2086 To make a directory executable all you need to do is create a executable
2087 file called `AppRun' inside it.
2088 This file is run when the user double-clicks on the application.
2089 You should also provide `AppIcon.xpm' (which will be used as the image for
2090 the application) and `Help' (which is a directory that is opened when the
2091 user asks for help).
2092 Have a look at the ROX-Filer application directory for a full example.
2098 This is a quick start guide for people who want to modify the source code.
2099 If you make useful changes or fix bugs, please send patches to me or to
2101 Tell me which version you're using!
2107 The first time you compile the program you need to do `AppRun --compile',
2108 but in future you only need to run `make' in the `src' directory when you
2109 change the .c and .h files.
2110 You might want to run `make depend' too.
2113 Creating and applying patches
2116 When people make small modifications to the sources they will often distribute
2121 --- usually on the mailing list.
2122 To apply a patch, go into the 'src' directory and run patch with the patch
2124 Then recompile, like this:
2133 $ ../AppRun --compile
2136 You can remove the patch by simply repeating the above sequence - patch
2137 will detect that the patch is already applied and offer to remove it.
2138 To create a patch you need to take a copy of the old 'src' directory before
2139 you modify it (before you compile, even):
2148 Now, modify and compile until it works they way you want it to.
2155 $ diff -cr old_src src > my_patch
2158 This creates a human- and machine-readable patch file.
2159 Submit this to the mailing list.
2160 The are many reasons for posting patches rather that the modified files:
2163 They are smaller, and hence shouldn't bounce.
2164 They are also quicker to download for people with slow connections.
2167 People can see what they're getting into before applying them!
2170 Patches can (usually) be applied to slightly modified versions of the sources.
2171 This means that people can apply several patches without each new one overwriti
2178 Here's a quick explanation of the autoconf system in case you haven't used
2180 See `info autoconf' for full details.
2183 There's a file called 'configure.in' which contains various tests (`info
2185 You run `autoconf' and it reads through the file and generates a shell
2186 script to perform the tests, saving it as `configure'.
2187 `configure' is normally distributed with the program because not everyone
2191 You then run `configure' (in fact, let the `AppRun' script do it because
2192 it passes it some arguments), which performs all the tests.
2193 It reads in `Makefile.in' and `config.h.in' and fills in the missing values
2194 with the test results to produce `Makefile' and `config.h'.
2197 You run `make', which creates .o files from the .c files and links to produce
2204 The diagram below shows some of the major structures found in the filer
2205 along with their most important attributes and methods.
2206 Exactly which attributes have been included is a little hit-and-miss but
2207 it might help you get the overall picture.
2208 If you find it useful, please let me know and I'll try to keep it up-to-date
2209 (or even extend it!).
2212 To summarise, each window (or panel) has its own
2217 This structure has pointers to a
2221 (which is the widget which actually displays the files) and to a
2225 , which is used to cache the directory contents.
2234 have pointers to (the same)
2238 s, each of which corresponds to one filesystem object.
2243 s may share the same
2248 While scanning is in progress the
2252 keeps a list of the new items it has found (
2256 ) and the items which have changed in some way (
2261 It periodically notifies the filer window of the changes-so-far by calling
2262 all the functions in the
2274 to add and remove functions to or from the list).
2276 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center
2278 \begin_inset Figure size 595 585
2286 \layout Bibliography
2293 , <http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/~tal197/rox.php3>
2294 \layout Bibliography
2301 , <http://www.gtk.org>
2302 \layout Bibliography
2309 , <http://www.gnome.org>
2310 \layout Bibliography
2315 The Drag and Drop protocol
2317 , <http://www.its.caltech.edu/~jafl/xdnd/>
2318 \layout Bibliography
2323 The X Direct Save protocol
2325 , <http://www.its.caltech.edu/~jafl/xds/>
2326 \layout Bibliography
2331 The ROX Choices system
2333 , <http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/~tal197/choices.php3>
2334 \layout Bibliography
2335 \bibitem {enlightenment}
2341 <http://www.enlightenment.org>
2342 \layout Bibliography
2347 POrtable Dodgy Filesystems in Userland (hacK),
2349 <http://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pavel/podfuk/podfuk.html>