1 #This file was created by <tal197> Sun Apr 9 18:10:38 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
853 Make a copy of this object in the same directory.
857 Change the name used for this object.
861 Create a symbolic link to this name in the same directory.
865 Opens applications as directories, files as text/plain, mount points
869 by mounting or unmounting them and symlinks by opening the directory
873 containing the thing they point to.
877 This is the same as double-clicking with Shift held down.
881 Explain what kind of thing is selected.
886 display the help files.
890 Display extra information about this object.
894 Open the file as if it was a directory --- see section
895 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: vfs}
903 Mount or unmount each mount point selected.
907 Remove all the selected entries from the directory.
911 Subdirectories will have their contents deleted first.
915 Deleting symlinks only removes the link, not the thing it points to.
919 Count the sizes of all the selected items.
920 Directories also have their
925 Symlinks count themselves, not the things they point to.
929 Allows you to change the permissions for the selected files.
933 Search for files by specifying various conditions --- see section
934 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: Searching}
939 \layout Subsubsection
943 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center \LyXTable
979 Open a new window displaying this window's parent.
983 As above, but reuse this window.
987 Open another window onto this directory.
995 Open the path-entry box (see section
996 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: mini}
1004 Open the shell command box (see section
1005 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: mini}
1013 Same as selecting ROX-Filer and choosing `Help' from the menu.
1014 \layout Subsubsection
1019 This is just a cut-down version of the window menu.
1020 The only new entry is `Open Panel as Directory', which displays the panel
1021 in a new, non-panel, window.
1022 `Remove Item' is a cut-down version of `Delete'; it only works for symbolic
1023 links and never asks for confirmation.
1024 Since dragging applications and directories to the panel creates symlinks
1025 it is very easy to change the panel contents to suit your needs.
1029 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: vfs}
1033 Virtual File Systems
1036 Some types of file can be represented as a directory.
1037 A typical example is a zip file, which contains an entire directory structure
1039 It is often useful to be able to open up such a file as if it was a real
1040 directory, and the VFS system allows you to do this.
1043 To use this feature you must have one or both of the following:
1046 A system (such as PODFUK
1047 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{PODFUK}
1051 ) which causes the kernel to support various Virtual File Systems directly.
1052 This is the best option since all programs will be able to access the contents
1054 You will require root access to install such a system, however, and it
1055 is not available on all platforms.
1058 Support for the Midnight Commander VFS library compiled into ROX-Filer.
1059 This happens automatically when you compile ROX-Filer if it can find the
1060 VFS library --- this means having
1068 ) in a system library directory or in the directory in the environment variable
1074 In this case, you will be able to view the directory structure but not
1075 change it or access individual files.
1076 Support for this may be added later.
1077 Midnight Commander is part of the GNOME project.
1080 Note that using the `Open VFS' menu is simply a short-cut for using the
1081 path-entry box (explained below), so if you want to use a VFS not listed
1082 on the menu you can type in the path directly, eg:
1087 /home/fred/archive.zip#uzip/
1096 Don't forget the final slash!
1097 \layout Subsubsection
1099 Step by step example of adding VFS support
1102 This assumes that you have the Midnight Commander source in a directory
1104 You might need to replace
1127 If you have the root password then install the library in a system library
1128 directory as normal.
1138 $ cp libvfs.so ~/lib
1141 $ cd ~/Apps/ROX-Filer
1148 file to include this as the
1155 LD_LIBRARY_PATH=${HOME}/lib; export LD_LIBRARY_PATH
1158 This will ensure that ROX-Filer will look for the library in the new
1166 $ ./AppRun --compile
1172 checking for mc_stat in -lvfs...
1176 If you saw that line then it's worked! Well done!
1181 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: mini}
1188 The mini-buffer is a white bar that appears along the bottom of the window
1189 and allows you to enter some text.
1190 Press Escape to get rid of it again.
1191 It behaves in different ways depending on how you invoked it:
1192 \layout Subsubsection
1197 This allows you to type in a path directly.
1198 As you type the display is updated to show the item entered visually.
1199 The main use is to find a file in a large directory quickly, but you can
1200 also use it for navigating between directories, or for selecting a full
1201 pathname from somewhere else and pasting it directly into the path-entry
1204 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center \LyXTable
1228 Open the currently selected item.
1232 Shell-style tab completion.
1236 Select the previous/next matching entry.
1239 Tab completion tries to fill in as many characters for you as it can.
1240 For example, if there are two files in a directory called `save-mail-nov-1999'
1241 and `save-mail-dec-1999' then typing 'save' and pressing Tab will expand
1242 `save' to `save-mail-' and beep to indicate that the match is not complete.
1243 If you use tab completion on a directory and it is unique then the filer
1244 will automatically change into the directory.
1245 This behavior should be familiar to shell users.
1246 \layout Subsubsection*
1251 Let's say you want to locate the documentation for Wine in the directory
1252 /usr/doc (which is usually very large).
1253 Here's how you could do it:
1256 Open the minibuffer by choosing 'Enter Path' from the Window menu.
1257 I usually bind this function to the slash (`/') key.
1260 Press CTRL-U to delete the existing contents - this moves you to the root
1283 As you type, the cursor will move to the correct subdirectory.
1284 If it beeps when you press Tab then you need to supply more letters.
1285 \layout Subsubsection
1287 The shell command box
1290 This provides a quick way of entering shell commands if you don't want to
1292 If you don't know what shell commands are, skip this section!
1295 Just type in the command and press Return to execute it.
1296 Up and Down arrows move through previously entered commands.
1297 If some items are selected then they are assigned to the positional parameters
1299 \layout Subsubsection*
1304 To print all the selected files:
1307 Open the minibuffer by choosing `Shell Command' from the Window menu.
1308 I usually bind this to the bang (`!') key.
1316 \layout Subsubsection*
1321 Be careful; you will not be asked to confirm! If in doubt, start the command
1326 ' so that it will be displayed rather than executed.
1329 The above command won't work if some of the files contain spaces --- use
1341 ' instead to be safe.
1344 `sh' is always used as the name of the shell to run (mainly because bash
1345 and csh treat positional parameters differently).
1346 However, PATH is searched to find it so you can still use another shell
1347 if you want by naming it sh and putting it in your path.
1350 Commands execute in the background, so you can say:
1354 sleep 240; xmessage Time to go!
1361 Action windows are those boxes that appear while you're doing a Copy/Move/Link/e
1363 The status line at the top of the window shows the current directory or
1364 object that the window is processing.
1365 The scrolling area below is the log area - it shows what has been done
1366 and may display questions here.
1369 At the bottom are four buttons and, sometimes, some options.
1370 The buttons work as follows:
1373 Quiet will do simple operations without asking you to confirm each one.
1374 By turning this on and off during an operation you can use it like a pause
1378 Yes answers yes to the question displayed in the log area.
1381 No answers no to the question displayed in the log area.
1384 Abort kills the current operation (if any) and closes the action window.
1387 You can control which actions get started automatically (without you having
1388 to click on Quiet at the start) from the Options window.
1389 \layout Subsubsection
1391 Action Window Options
1394 Some actions have options, which appear as option boxes at the bottom of
1399 `Force' means that the filer won't treat non-writeable files as special.
1400 Normally, it confirms the deletion even if Quiet is pressed.
1401 Note that you still can't removed files from non-writeable directories
1402 because in that case you really don't have permission.
1405 `Brief' prevents the filer logging a message every time it does something.
1406 Use this to speed things up if large numbers of messages are being logged.
1409 `Recurse' means that doing something to a directory will also do the same
1410 thing to all its contents, and the contents of any subdirectories, and
1415 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: Searching}
1422 The Find feature looks through all the selected files and directories and
1423 any subdirectories (recursively) looking for items that match a particular
1427 If you know the name of a file then just enter it in the `Expression:' box,
1428 enclosed in single quotes.
1429 For example, to find a file called `log' you would enter:
1435 Remember to use normal quotes, not double quotes (
1438 \begin_inset Quotes eld
1450 As the filer finds matching files they are added to the results list.
1451 Clicking on an entry in the list opens a viewer showing the file you clicked
1453 The filer will use the same window to view other results (so, if you want
1454 the results shown in separate windows you must explicitly create a new
1455 window from the Window menu).
1456 \layout Subsubsection
1461 You can also put shell-style wildcard characters inside the quotes, for
1481 manpage if you want to know more about shell wildcards.
1484 If the pattern you enter contains a slash ('/') character then the pattern
1485 is matched against the file's full path, otherwise only the leafname is
1491 will find 'tmp' and 'tmpfile' but not '/tmp/file' ---
1495 will find all three.
1496 \layout Subsubsection
1501 As well as finding files by their names you can also find them by various
1503 Note that `file' is used here to mean anything that can appear in the filesyste
1504 m --- including directories, devices and so on.
1515 These look at the type of the item being checked:
1518 IsReg matches any regular (ie, normal) file.
1521 IsLink matches symlinks.
1524 IsDir matches directories.
1527 IsChar matches character device files.
1530 IsBlock matches block device files.
1533 IsDev matches block or character device files.
1536 IsPipe matches pipes.
1539 IsSocket matches sockets.
1542 These look at the permissions set on the file - see section
1543 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: Permissions}
1550 IsSUID matches files which have the Set-UID bit set.
1553 IsSGID matches files which have the Set-GID bit set.
1556 IsSticky matches files with the sticky bit set,
1559 IsReadable matches files which you can read from.
1562 IsWriteable matches files which you can write to.
1565 IsExecutable matches files which you can execute.
1568 And a couple of other useful ones:
1571 IsEmpty finds empty files (ie, those whose length is 0 bytes).
1574 IsMine finds files which you own.
1575 \layout Subsubsection
1580 You can combine the above tests in various ways to perform more advanced
1582 An expression is actually made up of a list of
1586 , separated by commas.
1587 The filer will try to match each case in turn until one matches or there
1588 are no more cases left.
1589 For example, to search for files with several possible endings:
1592 '*.gif', '*.htm', '*.html'
1595 Further, each of the cases is actually a list of conditions.
1596 The case only matches if all of its conditions are met.
1597 So, to find a directory called
1601 or a regular file ending in
1608 IsDir 'lib', IsReg '*.so'
1611 You can negate a condition by putting a
1615 in front of it and you can use a sub-expression as a condition by bracketing
1625 Not isdir and not isreg
1628 All three do the same thing.
1629 \layout Subsubsection
1634 You can also compare various values using the operators
1638 (for less-than, less-than-or-equal-to, equal-to, not-equal-to, greater-than
1639 and greater-than-or-equal-to).
1640 When comparing times, you may find it helpful to use
1656 to make things clearer.
1659 The following are read from the file being checked and may be used for the
1660 values being compared:
1663 atime The time that the file was last accessed.
1666 ctime The time that the file's status was last changed.
1669 mtime The time that the file's contents were last modified.
1672 size The size of the file.
1675 inode The file's inode (index) number
1678 nlinks The number of links to this file (that is, the number of directory
1679 entries which refer to this file.
1680 Note that symlinks don't count as references).
1683 uid The User ID of the file.
1686 gid The Group ID of the file.
1689 blocks The number of disk blocks being used by the file.
1692 Times are measured as seconds since the Unix Epoch (00:00:00 UTC, January
1695 When specifying constants to compare these values with you may use various
1696 keywords to scale the value:
1699 Byte(s) has no effect, but looks better.
1702 Kb multiplies by 1024, so 2Kb is the same as 2048.
1706 \begin_inset Formula \( 1024^{2} \)
1712 Sec(s) has no effect, but looks nice.
1715 Min(s) multiplies by 60 to get minutes.
1719 \protected_separator
1721 \protected_separator
1723 \protected_separator
1724 Year(s) likewise convert to the relevant unit.
1727 Ago makes the time in the past relative to when the check is done.
1730 Hence makes the time in the future.
1740 Some examples should make this all a bit clearer!
1743 mtime after 1 day ago
1749 IsReg and nlinks > 1
1752 The first finds files modified within the last 24 hours.
1761 but it's not so clear what is meant.
1762 The second finds files larger than 10 Mb and the last finds regular files
1763 with more than one directory entry.
1766 Be careful though --- the filer doesn't check the context of the modifiers,
1771 is allowed, although it doesn't make much sense! Also, forgetting to use
1780 will cause odd effects (the time will be measured relative to the Epoch
1781 rather than the current time).
1782 Finally, don't use = with times ---
1786 looks for a file accessed
1790 86400 seconds ago...
1796 System(Command) executes `Command' on the file.
1797 The test succeeds if the command returns an exit status of zero.
1798 A `%' character in `Command' is replaced by the full path of the file being
1800 System is a very slow test to perform, so do it last if possible.
1801 For example, if you're looking for a .c file containing the word `main',
1806 '*.c' system(grep -q main
1821 so that the grep is only performed for files ending in .c (as opposed to
1822 only checking that the file ends in .c if it contains the word `main').
1827 \begin_float footnote
1830 Note that this is the opposite of the
1836 However, if it gets evaluated at all then it prevents the filer from checking
1837 inside the current directory.
1838 Remember the order in which the filer checks the expression!
1844 '*.old' system(echo rm %)
1850 The first displays a command to delete each file ending in
1854 ; you can either paste the results into an xterm to execute them or run
1855 the search again without the
1860 It's always a good idea to use
1864 first with dangerous commands! The second looks for
1868 files, but does not bother checking inside directories called
1873 The expression is evaluated like this:
1875 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center
1877 \begin_inset Figure size 216 180
1890 You can configure various aspects of ROX-Filer from the Options box.
1891 Choose `Options...' from a filer window menu to open it.
1895 At the bottom of the window are four buttons:
1898 Save puts all your choices into effect, and also saves them into your Choices
1899 directory for next time ROX-Filer is loaded.
1900 ROX-Filer will never save any preferences to disk unless you click on the
1901 `Save' button in the options window.
1904 OK puts your choices into effect without writing anything to disk.
1907 Apply works like OK, but without closing the Options window.
1910 Cancel closes the options box and forgets any changes you made.
1911 \layout Subsubsection
1913 Action window options
1916 You can choose to start some operations automatically, without waiting for
1917 you to click on Quiet.
1918 Select each operation that you want to auto-start here.
1919 \layout Subsubsection
1921 Filer window options
1924 `New window on button 1' swaps the actions of the two non-menu buttons when
1925 opening directories.
1926 This is provided for people who are used to the RISC OS mouse bindings.
1929 `Menu on button 2' swaps the actions of buttons 2 and 3 so that the middle
1930 button brings up the menus.
1931 This is provided for people who are used to the RISC OS mouse bindings.
1934 `Single-click navigation' treats a single click over an item as if it was
1936 This allows you to move around, run applications and open files without
1942 opening it you must hold down CTRL while you click.
1945 `Unique windows' prevents you from having two windows showing the same directory.
1946 Opening a second view onto a directory closes the first.
1949 `Toolbar type for new windows' allows you to choose what kind of toolbar
1950 will be used for future filer windows (the currently open windows are not
1952 None means that new windows will not have a toolbar, Normal provides a
1953 small bar of icons, and GNOME displays larger icons with textual labels
1954 and allows the bar to be detached from the window by dragging it.
1956 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: Toolbar}
1963 The last display style and sort type you chose will also be saved as the
1964 defaults for next time.
1965 \layout Subsubsection
1967 Drag and Drop options
1970 ROX-Filer uses the standard XDND protocol for drag-and-drop.
1971 This protocol recommends that URIs should contain the hostname of the computer
1972 that the resource is on so that the program receiving the data can determine
1973 whether it can get the data directly or whether it must go via the X-server.
1974 However, many older programs (particularly GNOME applications) get confused
1975 by the hostname and fail to load the data correctly.
1976 If `Don't use hostnames' is on then the hostname part is omitted and ROX-Filer
1977 will work with these applications BUT you can't drag data to a program
1978 running on a different machine.
1981 `Allow dragging to icons in filer windows' controls what happens when you
1982 drop files onto icons in filer windows.
1983 If on then drops onto directories will save the data inside the directory
1984 while dropping onto programs will invoke the program on that data.
1985 If off then drops anywhere inside a filer window act like drops onto the
1986 window background --- that is, the data will be saved into the directory
1988 \layout Subsubsection
1993 The `Xterm here' program is the one used when you choose `Xterm here' from
1995 You can replace it with another program such as `gnome-terminal' if you
1997 In fact, any program will do, but note that you cannot pass any options
1998 to the program at present.
2004 ROX-Filer uses three sub-directories in your Choices directory for filetypes:
2007 MIME-info contains files which specify what the MIME type for a file should
2008 be, based on its extention.
2009 All the files in all the MIME-info directories are scanned when the filer
2011 In addition, ROX-Filer is now supplied with a file called `MIME-info' (inside
2012 its application directory), which is also scanned --- this allows new users
2013 to get started more easily.
2014 Many applications now come with a file called `something.mime'; copy these
2015 files into your MIME-info directory to make ROX-Filer automatically recognise
2019 MIME-types contains symlinks, one for each MIME type, which point to programs
2020 that can handle files of that type.
2021 For example, to make opening an HTML file load it into Netscape:
2025 Find the Netscape application and go to `Link...' on the menu.
2028 Enter `text_html' as the name for the link and drag the icon from the Link
2029 box into the MIME-types directory.
2032 You can also put actual programs in here as well as links if you want to.
2036 MIME-icons contains the images used to display each type of file.
2037 So the filer will try to display an HTML file using the icon `MIME-icons/text_h
2041 Many sample files are supplied as part of the ROX desktop
2042 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{ROX}
2049 In both MIME-types and MIME-icons directories you can also provide default
2050 actions/images for each media type.
2051 For example, if `text_html' isn't found then the filer will try simply
2055 Application directories
2058 An application directory is a directory which can be run as an application.
2059 It contains all the resources of an application - source code, binaries,
2060 documentation and so on.
2061 Keeping everything in one place make installation and uninstallation much
2063 You can also keep multiple versions of a program by simply having several
2064 application directories.
2065 You may move and rename them as you please.
2066 Application directories are easier to use and install and are more secure
2068 \begin_float footnote
2071 Because you can compile an application as a user and then simply copy it
2072 as root rather than having to run an install script you are free from the
2073 danger of running untrusted code as root.
2074 All you have to watch out for is setuid binaries.
2079 To make a directory executable all you need to do is create a executable
2080 file called `AppRun' inside it.
2081 This file is run when the user double-clicks on the application.
2082 You should also provide `AppIcon.xpm' (which will be used as the image for
2083 the application) and `Help' (which is a directory that is opened when the
2084 user asks for help).
2085 Have a look at the ROX-Filer application directory for a full example.
2091 This is a quick start guide for people who want to modify the source code.
2092 If you make useful changes or fix bugs, please send patches to me or to
2094 Tell me which version you're using!
2100 The first time you compile the program you need to do `AppRun --compile',
2101 but in future you only need to run `make' in the `src' directory when you
2102 change the .c and .h files.
2103 You might want to run `make depend' too.
2106 Creating and applying patches
2109 When people make small modifications to the sources they will often distribute
2114 --- usually on the mailing list.
2115 To apply a patch, go into the 'src' directory and run patch with the patch
2117 Then recompile, like this:
2126 $ ../AppRun --compile
2129 You can remove the patch by simply repeating the above sequence - patch
2130 will detect that the patch is already applied and offer to remove it.
2131 To create a patch you need to take a copy of the old 'src' directory before
2132 you modify it (before you compile, even):
2141 Now, modify and compile until it works they way you want it to.
2148 $ diff -cr old_src src > my_patch
2151 This creates a human- and machine-readable patch file.
2152 Submit this to the mailing list.
2153 The are many reasons for posting patches rather that the modified files:
2156 They are smaller, and hence shouldn't bounce.
2157 They are also quicker to download for people with slow connections.
2160 People can see what they're getting into before applying them!
2163 Patches can (usually) be applied to slightly modified versions of the sources.
2164 This means that people can apply several patches without each new one overwriti
2171 Here's a quick explanation of the autoconf system in case you haven't used
2173 See `info autoconf' for full details.
2176 There's a file called 'configure.in' which contains various tests (`info
2178 You run `autoconf' and it reads through the file and generates a shell
2179 script to perform the tests, saving it as `configure'.
2180 `configure' is normally distributed with the program because not everyone
2184 You then run `configure' (in fact, let the `AppRun' script do it because
2185 it passes it some arguments), which performs all the tests.
2186 It reads in `Makefile.in' and `config.h.in' and fills in the missing values
2187 with the test results to produce `Makefile' and `config.h'.
2190 You run `make', which creates .o files from the .c files and links to produce
2197 The diagram below shows some of the major structures found in the filer
2198 along with their most important attributes and methods.
2199 Exactly which attributes have been included is a little hit-and-miss but
2200 it might help you get the overall picture.
2201 If you find it useful, please let me know and I'll try to keep it up-to-date
2202 (or even extend it!).
2205 To summarise, each window (or panel) has its own
2210 This structure has pointers to a
2214 (which is the widget which actually displays the files) and to a
2218 , which is used to cache the directory contents.
2227 have pointers to (the same)
2231 s, each of which corresponds to one filesystem object.
2236 s may share the same
2241 While scanning is in progress the
2245 keeps a list of the new items it has found (
2249 ) and the items which have changed in some way (
2254 It periodically notifies the filer window of the changes-so-far by calling
2255 all the functions in the
2267 to add and remove functions to or from the list).
2269 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center
2271 \begin_inset Figure size 595 585
2279 \layout Bibliography
2286 , <http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/~tal197/rox.php3>
2287 \layout Bibliography
2294 , <http://www.gtk.org>
2295 \layout Bibliography
2302 , <http://www.gnome.org>
2303 \layout Bibliography
2308 The Drag and Drop protocol
2310 , <http://www.its.caltech.edu/~jafl/xdnd/>
2311 \layout Bibliography
2316 The X Direct Save protocol
2318 , <http://www.its.caltech.edu/~jafl/xds/>
2319 \layout Bibliography
2324 The ROX Choices system
2326 , <http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/~tal197/choices.php3>
2327 \layout Bibliography
2328 \bibitem {enlightenment}
2334 <http://www.enlightenment.org>
2335 \layout Bibliography
2340 POrtable Dodgy Filesystems in Userland (hacK),
2342 <http://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pavel/podfuk/podfuk.html>