1 #LyX 1.1 created this file. For more info see http://www.lyx.org/
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33 Thomas Leonard, tal197@users.sourceforge.net
43 ROX-Filer is a graphical file manger for the X Window System.
44 Its user interface is based on the RISC OS filer and it supports similar
45 features such as application directories and drag-and-drop loading and
50 \begin_inset LatexCommand \tableofcontents{}
60 ROX-Filer is a simple and easy to use graphical file manager for X11, the
61 windowing system used on Unix and Unix-like operating systems.
62 It is also the core component of the ROX Desktop
63 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{ROX}
73 XDND A common drag-and-drop protocol used, for example, by the GNOME desktop
74 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{GNOME}
79 This allows data to be loaded into an application by dragging it from a
80 filer window to a program.
81 The full specification is given in
82 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{DND}
89 XDS An extension to XDND that allows applications to save data by dragging
90 an icon back to a filer window.
91 The full specification is given in
92 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{XDS}
100 Choices A simple, but flexible, system for managing user choices.
102 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{Choices}
109 Application\SpecialChar ~
110 directories Self contained relocatable applications, where installati
111 on is as simple as copying it to where you want it and uninstalling it is
112 just a matter of deleting a directory.
113 Described later in this documentation.
119 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
120 under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free
121 Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option)
125 This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
126 ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS
127 FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
128 See the GNU General Public License for more details.
131 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
132 with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
133 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA, 02111-1307, USA.
142 ROX-Filer is usually supplied in source-only form.
143 To compile and run it, you will require
146 Unix or Linux (root access is not required),
149 The X Window system (supplied as standard on all modern systems),
152 GTK+ 1.2.0 or later (libraries and headers) --- get the latest version from
154 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{GTK+}
161 A C compiler (standard on most systems).
164 All of the above are standard on most modern Linux distributions.
165 To check which version of GTK+ you have installed, run the
173 is the shell prompt):
176 $ gtk-config --version
185 Change to the directory containing the ROX-Filer subdirectory.
188 Run the AppRun script with the
196 $ ROX-Filer/AppRun --compile
200 ROX-Filer will perform various checks to find out what kind of system it
201 is being run on and will then compile.
202 If it doesn't work then please e-mail me and complain! Tell me what kind
203 of system you have and what errors were reported.
204 If you manage to fix the problem yourself then please e-mail me the fix.
208 The executables files are stored inside the ROX-Filer directory in a different
209 subdirectory for each platform.
210 Therefore, you can compile the same application on several different types
211 of machine and then run it from any of them using the AppRun script.
212 This is particularly useful in a network environment.
216 The filer needs some shared files to work --- icons for the various file
217 types, rules for determining file types and default run actions.
218 These are installed, along with the filer itself, by the '
222 ' script supplied with the filer.
230 [ enter root password ]
236 If you don't have the root password then don't worry --- skip the '
240 ' step and follow the instructions for installing into your home directory.
245 You can now run the filer by running the AppRun script without any options,
252 A window should appear and display the contents of your home directory.
253 If you opted to install the `
257 ' script then you can simply run that to open a viewer onto the current
259 You can also use it to open files in the same way that the filer would.
260 If you installed the script into your home directory then you may need
261 to set your PATH environment variable so that the shell can find it.
267 By default, ROX-Filer will start by displaying your home directory.
268 You can get it to display other directories instead by listing them after
272 $ ROX-Filer/AppRun /home /usr /usr/local
275 If you want the filer to manage your desktop background then you use the
280 option and supply a name for the pinboard:
283 $ ROX-Filer/AppRun --pinboard MyPinboard
286 The pinboard configuration is saved in `
288 <Choices>/ROX-Filer/pb_MyPinboard
291 You may have to use the
295 option when creating a pinboard (this will be fixed in later versions).
298 If you want one of the directories to be opened as a panel put
306 before the directory (for `bottom' or `top' panels).
307 If you don't know what a panel is, try it and see! To run the filer in
308 the background, put an & at the end of the line.
314 $ ln -s $HOME ~/Panel/Home
317 $ ROX-Filer/AppRun -b ~/Panel &
320 The panel should be displayed in a window without a title bar.
321 If this does not work then you may need to update your window manager.
322 The filer was designed and tested using the Enlightenment window manager
323 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{enlightenment}
328 You could also try using the
332 option which bypasses the window manager entirely (also use this if the
333 panel appears in the wrong place):
336 $ ROX-Filer/AppRun -o -b ~/Panel &
339 Note that if the same version of the filer is already running on this machine
340 then, by default, it will be used to open the directories and the new copy
341 will exit immediately.
342 You can override this (perhaps because the old copy has stopped responding
343 for some reason) using the `
350 Mouse button and key bindings
357 \begin_float footnote
360 This documentation assumes that button--1 is the left button, button--2
361 is the middle button and button--3 is the right button.
362 This is not always the case --- for example, in a left-handed setup.
364 mouse button to open files and directories.
367 Click the right button to get a menu.
368 Click over a file to perform an action on that file.
371 Drag files between windows to copy (left button) or move (middle button)
381 By default, the mouse button bindings are designed to fit in with X conventions.
382 However, the behaviour is highly configurable --- have a play in the Options
383 window if you don't like the normal settings.
384 The normal settings behave as follows:
462 Open the file or directory clicked on.
466 Hold down Ctrl to select things instead of opening them.
470 Hold down Shift to look inside applications, treat files as text, follow
471 symlinks or mount devices.
475 Same as left click, but open a directory in a new window or close the viewer
481 Hold down Ctrl while clicking to go directly to the Selection submenu.
485 Copy the file(s) to the destination (an application or another filer window).
489 Hold down Shift to move the file, or Ctrl+Shift to create a symbolic link.
493 As above, but always moves rather than copying or symlinking.
495 (middle mouse button)
499 Drag (not over an item)
501 Select a group of items by dragging a box around them.
502 With the left mouse button, only the files
506 in the box will be selected.
507 If you hold down Ctrl then the boxed items are added to the selection.
511 If the other mouse button is used then the boxed items are toggled between
512 selected and unselected.
516 Change to viewing the parent directory.
520 Move the cursor around.
524 Move up and down in steps of ten rows at a time.
528 Move to the first/last entry in the directory.
532 Open the item under the cursor.
533 With Shift held down this acts like choosing 'Shift Open' from the menu.
537 Toggles the item under the cursor between being selected and unselected.
548 Other keys can easily be defined by opening the menu, moving the pointer
549 over the item you want to use and pressing a key.
550 The key will appear in the menu and can be used from then on.
551 To make the new key bindings permanent, open the Options box from the menu
558 While items are selected in a ROX-Filer window the filer has the global
560 You can then paste into another window to get the pathnames of the selected
562 For example, to extract the files from a .tgz archive on a floppy disk into
566 Choose `Xterm here' from the menu in your home directory.
569 Type `tar xzf ' (but don't press Return)
572 Ctrl-click on the .tgz file to select it.
575 Click the middle button in the xterm window to paste the name of the file
579 Press Return in the xterm to execute the command.
583 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: Toolbar}
590 By default, each window has a toolbar along the top.
591 You can disable this (or make it larger) from the Options window.
592 The four buttons on the toolbar are:
594 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center \LyXTable
629 Change to parent directory
631 Show parent in a new window
635 Change to home directory
637 Show home in a new window
641 Reread the directory contents
647 Show ROX-Filer's help files
658 If the toolbar is in Normal mode (ie, not GNOME mode) then you may also
659 use either of the other buttons to perform the `Other action'.
660 If the 'New window on button 1' option is turned on then the `Action' and
661 `Other action' of the first two are swapped.
667 You can open a menu by right clicking
668 \begin_float footnote
671 If the Use `RISC OS mouse bindings' option is on then use the middle button
674 over a panel or filer window.
675 Here is a full description of each choice and what it does:
677 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center \LyXTable
707 Select every item in this window.
711 Unselect every item in this window.
719 Create a new directory in this one.
723 Open an xterm with its current directory set to this directory.
724 \layout Subsubsection
728 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center \LyXTable
785 Each object in the directory is shown as a large icon with its name below.
789 Items are drawn smaller that usual, allowing you to see more files at once.
799 Entries are displayed along with some extra details:
807 shows the file permissions, owner, group, size and modification time.
815 shows just the size of each file (not directories).
823 displays a bar indicating the size of each file.
824 This is on a log scale.
828 As above, but with a smaller icon and all on one line.
832 Items are arranged by name.
833 There is an option to make this case-sensitive.
837 Items are grouped by their types and then sorted by name within the groups.
841 Most recently modified first.
849 If on, files beginning with a dot are shown, otherwise they are hidden.
853 Rereads the contents of the directory and details of all the files in it.
857 Use this if the display becomes out-of-date.
870 If ROX-Filer was unable to find ImLib
871 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{ImLib}
875 when it was compiled then the icons are shown cropped rather than scaled.
876 Get ImLib and recompile if you want it to look nice.
877 \layout Subsubsection
880 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: Permissions}
887 The permissions display, shown in Full Info mode, is made up of four groups
889 Each flag is displayed as a letter if it is on and a dash (--) if not.
890 The first three characters show the permissions for the owner of the file,
891 the second for other members of the file's group and the third for everyone
893 Whichever group applies to the ROX-Filer process itself is shown underlined.
894 The fourth group shows any special flags.
897 The meanings of the characters are:
900 r Permission to read the contents of a file, or the names of files in a
904 w Permission to alter the contents of a file, or change which names appear
908 x Permission to run the file as a program, or refer to the files listed
909 within the directory.
912 U This program executes with the
916 of its owner rather than the person who ran it.
919 G This program executes with the
923 of its group, regardless of who ran it.
926 T Entries in this directory can only be altered or removed by the people
927 who own the files even if they have write permission on the directory itself.
937 ' means that the owner of the file is the same as the effective user of
938 ROX-Filer (basically, you own the file), you and members of the file's
939 group have read, write and execute permission and other people have only
940 read and execute permission.
941 There are no special flags set.
944 The rules which determine which permissions apply may vary slightly between
945 operating systems, but a rough guide is:
952 of the process is equal to the file's owner, then the owner permissions
960 of the process is equal to the file's group OR the file's group is one
965 then the group permissions apply.
968 Otherwise, the `other' permissions apply.
977 have no effect (except that a process may set its real IDs to its effective
979 \layout Subsubsection
984 All of these work in the same way --- if you open the menu with some items
985 selected then the operation applies to those items.
986 If you open then menu over an item while there is no selection then that
987 item is temporarily selected.
988 If you choose one of these while there is no selection at all then the
989 window goes into `target mode'; the operation happens to the next item
991 Click on the window background, press Escape, or click with the right mouse
992 button to cancel target mode.
993 Target mode is mainly useful with the `Single click navigation' option
994 and keys bound to the various menu entries.
996 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center \LyXTable
1065 Make a copy of this object in the same directory.
1069 Change the name used for this object.
1073 Create a symbolic link to this name in the same directory.
1077 Opens applications as directories, files as text/plain, mount points
1081 by mounting or unmounting them and symlinks by opening the directory
1085 containing the thing they point to.
1089 This is the same effect as clicking with Shift held down.
1093 Explain what kind of thing is selected.
1094 For applications, display the help files.
1098 Display extra information about this object.
1102 Open the file as if it was a directory --- see section
1103 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: vfs}
1111 Mount or unmount each mount point selected.
1115 Remove all the selected entries from the directory.
1119 Subdirectories will have their contents deleted first.
1123 Deleting symlinks only removes the link, not the thing it points to.
1127 Count the sizes of all the selected items.
1128 Directories also have their
1133 Symlinks count themselves, not the things they point to.
1137 Allows you to change the permissions for the selected files.
1141 Search for files by specifying various conditions --- see section
1142 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: Searching}
1147 \layout Subsubsection
1151 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center \LyXTable
1153 11 2 0 0 -1 -1 -1 -1
1196 Open a new window displaying this window's parent.
1200 As above, but reuse this window.
1204 Open another window onto this directory.
1212 Open the path-entry box (see section
1213 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: mini}
1221 Open the shell command box (see section
1222 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: mini}
1230 Allows you to set the program to use when double-clicking on a file.
1235 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: RunAction}
1243 Select just those files that match the given pattern --- see section
1244 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: SelectIf}
1252 Same as selecting ROX-Filer and choosing `Help' from the menu.
1253 \layout Subsubsection
1258 This is just a cut-down version of the window menu.
1259 The only new entry is `Open Panel as Directory', which displays the panel
1260 in a new, non-panel, window.
1261 `Remove Item' is a cut-down version of `Delete'; it only works for symbolic
1262 links and never asks for confirmation.
1263 Since dragging applications and directories to the panel creates symlinks
1264 it is very easy to change the panel contents to suit your needs.
1268 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: vfs}
1272 Virtual file systems
1275 Some types of file can be represented as a directory.
1276 A typical example is a zip file, which contains an entire directory structure
1278 It is often useful to be able to open up such a file as if it was a real
1279 directory, and the VFS system allows you to do this.
1282 To use this feature you must have one or both of the following:
1285 A system (such as PODFUK
1286 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{PODFUK}
1290 ) which causes the kernel to support various Virtual File Systems directly.
1291 This is the best option since all programs will be able to access the contents
1293 You will require root access to install such a system, however, and it
1294 is not available on all platforms.
1297 Support for the Midnight Commander VFS library compiled into ROX-Filer.
1298 This happens automatically when you compile ROX-Filer if it can find the
1299 VFS library --- this means having
1307 ) in a system library directory or in the directory in the environment variable
1313 In this case, you will be able to view the directory structure and copy
1314 files out of it, but not change it.
1315 Support for this may be added later.
1316 Midnight Commander is part of the GNOME project.
1319 Note that using the `Open VFS' menu is simply a short-cut for using the
1320 path-entry box (explained below), so if you want to use a VFS not listed
1321 on the menu you can type in the path directly, eg:
1326 /home/fred/archive.zip#uzip/
1335 Don't forget the final slash!
1336 \layout Subsubsection
1338 Step by step example of adding VFS support
1341 This assumes that you have the Midnight Commander source in a directory
1343 You might need to replace
1366 If you have the root password then install the library in a system library
1367 directory as normal.
1377 $ cp libvfs.so ~/lib
1380 $ cd ~/Apps/ROX-Filer
1387 file to include this as the
1394 LD_LIBRARY_PATH=${HOME}/lib; export LD_LIBRARY_PATH
1397 This will ensure that ROX-Filer will look for the library in the new
1405 $ ./AppRun --compile
1411 checking for mc_stat in -lvfs...
1415 If you saw that line then it's worked! Well done!
1420 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: mini}
1427 The mini-buffer is a white bar that appears along the bottom of the window
1428 and allows you to enter some text.
1429 Press Escape to get rid of it again.
1430 It behaves in different ways depending on how you invoked it:
1431 \layout Subsubsection
1436 This allows you to type in a path directly.
1437 As you type the display is updated to show the item entered visually.
1438 The main use is to find a file in a large directory quickly, but you can
1439 also use it for navigating between directories, or for selecting a full
1440 pathname from somewhere else and pasting it directly into the path-entry
1443 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center \LyXTable
1467 Open the currently selected item.
1471 Shell-style tab completion.
1475 Select the previous/next matching entry.
1478 Tab completion tries to fill in as many characters for you as it can.
1479 For example, if there are two files in a directory called `save-mail-nov-1999'
1480 and `save-mail-dec-1999' then typing 'save' and pressing Tab will expand
1481 `save' to `save-mail-' and beep to indicate that the match is not complete.
1482 If you use tab completion on a directory and it is unique then the filer
1483 will automatically change into the directory.
1484 This behavior should be familiar to shell users.
1485 \layout Subsubsection*
1490 Let's say you want to locate the documentation for Wine in the directory
1491 /usr/doc (which is usually very large).
1492 Here's how you could do it:
1495 Open the minibuffer by choosing 'Enter Path' from the Window menu.
1496 I usually bind this function to the slash (`/') key.
1499 Press CTRL-U to delete the existing contents --- this moves you to the root
1522 As you type, the cursor will move to the correct subdirectory.
1523 If it beeps when you press Tab then you need to supply more letters.
1524 \layout Subsubsection
1527 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: RunAction}
1534 This box appears when you choose `Set Run Action' from the Window menu.
1535 You can now either drag a file onto an application, or you can enter a
1537 In either case, the action is not actually performed but instead becomes
1538 the default action for files of that type.
1541 All files have a MIME type in the form `
1563 Whichever method you use to set the action you will be given the choice
1564 of setting the run action just for that type, or setting the default for
1565 all files with that media-type which don't already have a specific action.
1568 For example, let's say you want to set things up so that double-clicking
1569 on a `.gif' file loads it into the Gimp:
1572 Setting the run action by drag-and-drop
1577 Choose `Set Run Action' from the Window menu and, while the minibuffer is
1578 still open, drag a GIF file from the filer window onto the Gimp's application
1579 directory (probably in another filer window).
1582 Setting the run action by entering a shell command
1591 \begin_inset Quotes erd
1595 \begin_inset Quotes erd
1602 Note that the cursor (the black box) must be on the GIF file when you press
1604 \layout Subsubsection
1606 The shell command box
1609 This provides a quick way of entering shell commands if you don't want to
1611 If you don't know what shell commands are, skip this section!
1614 Just type in the command and press Return to execute it.
1615 Up and Down arrows move through previously entered commands.
1616 Tab does shell-style completion.
1617 Clicking on an item inserts its name into the minibuffer.
1618 If some items are selected then they are assigned to the positional parameters
1628 \layout Subsubsection*
1640 Open the minibuffer by choosing `Shell Command' from the Window menu.
1641 I usually bind this to the bang (`!') key.
1648 ' and click on the file.
1649 The leading space is automatically inserted.
1652 Press Return to execute it.
1655 To print all the selected files:
1658 Open the shell command minibuffer.
1666 \layout Subsubsection*
1671 Be careful; you will not be asked to confirm! If in doubt, start the command
1676 ' so that it will be displayed rather than executed.
1679 The above command won't work if some of the files contain spaces --- use
1691 ' instead to be safe.
1694 `sh' is always used as the name of the shell to run (mainly because bash
1695 and csh treat positional parameters differently).
1696 However, PATH is searched to find it so you can still use another shell
1697 if you want by naming it sh and putting it in your path.
1700 Commands execute in the background, so you can say:
1704 sleep 240; xmessage Time to go!
1706 \layout Subsubsection
1709 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: SelectIf}
1713 The conditional selection box
1716 Use this if you want to automatically select all files in the directory
1717 which match a condition.
1718 The syntax for the conditions is given in section
1719 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: Searching}
1724 For example, to select all files larger than 5Mb:
1727 Open the Select If minibuffer.
1737 Just those files over 5 Mb in size will be selected.
1738 The expressions you can enter are in the same form as described in section
1740 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: Searching}
1748 ' has no effect since the contents of directories are never checked anyway.
1754 Action windows are those boxes that appear while you're doing a Copy/Move/Link/e
1756 The status line at the top of the window shows the current directory or
1757 object that the window is processing.
1758 The scrolling area below is the log area --- it shows what has been done
1759 and may display questions here.
1762 At the bottom are four buttons and, sometimes, some options.
1763 The buttons work as follows:
1766 Quiet will do simple operations without asking you to confirm each one.
1767 By turning this on and off during an operation you can use it like a pause
1771 Yes answers yes to the question displayed in the log area.
1774 No answers no to the question displayed in the log area.
1777 Abort kills the current operation (if any) and closes the action window.
1780 You can control which actions get started automatically (without you having
1781 to click on Quiet at the start) from the Options window.
1782 \layout Subsubsection
1784 Action window options
1787 Some actions have options, which appear as option boxes at the bottom of
1792 `Force' means that the filer won't treat non-writeable files as special.
1793 Normally, it confirms the deletion even if Quiet is pressed.
1794 Note that you still can't remove files from non-writeable directories because
1795 in that case you really don't have permission.
1798 `Brief' prevents the filer logging a message every time it does something.
1799 Use this to speed things up if large numbers of messages are being logged.
1802 `Recurse' means that doing something to a directory will also do the same
1803 thing to all its contents, and the contents of any subdirectories, and
1808 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: Searching}
1815 The Find feature looks through all the selected files and directories and
1816 any subdirectories (recursively) looking for items that match a particular
1820 If you know the name of a file then just enter it in the `Expression:' box,
1821 enclosed in single quotes.
1822 For example, to find a file called `log' you would enter:
1828 Remember to use normal quotes, not double quotes (
1831 \begin_inset Quotes eld
1843 As the filer finds matching files they are added to the results list.
1844 Clicking on an entry in the list opens a viewer showing the file you clicked
1846 The filer will use the same window to view other results (so, if you want
1847 the results shown in separate windows you must explicitly create a new
1848 window from the Window menu).
1849 \layout Subsubsection
1854 You can also put shell-style wildcard characters inside the quotes, for
1874 manpage if you want to know more about shell wildcards.
1877 If the pattern you enter contains a slash ('/') character then the pattern
1878 is matched against the file's full path, otherwise only the leafname is
1884 will find 'tmp' and 'tmpfile' but not '/tmp/file' ---
1888 will find all three.
1889 \layout Subsubsection
1894 As well as finding files by their names you can also find them by various
1896 Note that `file' is used here to mean anything that can appear in the filesyste
1897 m --- including directories, devices and so on.
1908 These look at the type of the item being checked:
1911 IsReg matches any regular (ie, normal) file.
1914 IsLink matches symlinks.
1917 IsDir matches directories.
1920 IsChar matches character device files.
1923 IsBlock matches block device files.
1926 IsDev matches block or character device files.
1929 IsPipe matches pipes.
1932 IsSocket matches sockets.
1935 These look at the permissions set on the file --- see section
1936 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: Permissions}
1943 IsSUID matches files which have the Set-UID bit set.
1946 IsSGID matches files which have the Set-GID bit set.
1949 IsSticky matches files with the sticky bit set,
1952 IsReadable matches files which you can read from.
1955 IsWriteable matches files which you can write to.
1958 IsExecutable matches files which you can execute.
1961 And a couple of other useful ones:
1964 IsEmpty finds empty files (ie, those whose length is 0 bytes).
1967 IsMine finds files which you own.
1968 \layout Subsubsection
1973 You can combine the above tests in various ways to perform more advanced
1975 An expression is actually made up of a list of
1979 , separated by commas.
1980 The filer will try to match each case in turn until one matches or there
1981 are no more cases left.
1982 For example, to search for files with several possible endings:
1985 '*.gif', '*.htm', '*.html'
1988 Further, each of the cases is actually a list of conditions.
1989 The case only matches if all of its conditions are met.
1990 So, to find a directory called
1994 or a regular file ending in
2001 IsDir 'lib', IsReg '*.so'
2004 You can negate a condition by putting a
2008 in front of it and you can use a sub-expression as a condition by bracketing
2018 Not isdir and not isreg
2021 All three do the same thing.
2022 \layout Subsubsection
2027 You can also compare various values using the operators
2031 (for less-than, less-than-or-equal-to, equal-to, not-equal-to, greater-than
2032 and greater-than-or-equal-to).
2033 When comparing times, you may find it helpful to use
2049 to make things clearer.
2052 The following are read from the file being checked and may be used for the
2053 values being compared:
2056 atime The time that the file was last accessed.
2059 ctime The time that the file's status was last changed.
2062 mtime The time that the file's contents were last modified.
2065 size The size of the file.
2068 inode The file's inode (index) number
2071 nlinks The number of links to this file (that is, the number of directory
2072 entries which refer to this file.
2073 Note that symlinks don't count as references).
2076 uid The User ID of the file.
2079 gid The Group ID of the file.
2082 blocks The number of disk blocks being used by the file.
2085 Times are measured as seconds since the Unix Epoch (00:00:00 UTC, January
2088 When specifying constants to compare these values with you may use various
2089 keywords to scale the value:
2092 Byte(s) has no effect, but looks better.
2095 Kb multiplies by 1024, so 2Kb is the same as 2048.
2099 \begin_inset Formula \( 1024^{2} \)
2105 Sec(s) has no effect, but looks nice.
2108 Min(s) multiplies by 60 to get minutes.
2111 Hour(s),\SpecialChar ~
2112 Day(s),\SpecialChar ~
2113 Week(s),\SpecialChar ~
2114 Year(s) likewise convert to the relevant unit.
2117 Ago makes the time in the past relative to when the check is done.
2120 Hence makes the time in the future.
2130 Some examples should make this all a bit clearer!
2133 mtime after 1 day ago
2139 IsReg and nlinks > 1
2142 The first finds files modified within the last 24 hours.
2151 but it's not so clear what is meant.
2152 The second finds files larger than 10 Mb and the last finds regular files
2153 with more than one directory entry.
2156 Be careful though --- the filer doesn't check the context of the modifiers,
2161 is allowed, although it doesn't make much sense! Also, forgetting to use
2170 will cause odd effects (the time will be measured relative to the Epoch
2171 rather than the current time).
2172 Finally, don't use = with times ---
2176 looks for a file accessed
2180 86400 seconds ago...
2181 \layout Subsubsection
2186 System(Command) executes `Command' on the file.
2187 The test succeeds if the command returns an exit status of zero.
2188 A `%' character in `Command' is replaced by the full path of the file being
2190 System is a very slow test to perform, so do it last if possible.
2191 For example, if you're looking for a .c file containing the word `main',
2196 '*.c' system(grep -q main
2211 so that the grep is only performed for files ending in .c (as opposed to
2212 only checking that the file ends in .c if it contains the word `main').
2217 \begin_float footnote
2220 Note that this is the opposite of the
2226 However, if it gets evaluated at all then it prevents the filer from checking
2227 inside the current directory.
2228 Remember the order in which the filer checks the expression!
2234 '*.old' system(echo rm %)
2240 The first displays a command to delete each file ending in
2244 ; you can either paste the results into an xterm to execute them or run
2245 the search again without the
2250 It's always a good idea to use
2254 first with dangerous commands! The second looks for
2258 files, but does not bother checking inside directories called
2263 The expression is evaluated like this:
2265 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center
2267 \begin_inset Figure size 216 180
2280 You can configure various aspects of ROX-Filer from the Options box.
2281 Choose `Options...' from a filer window menu to open it.
2285 At the bottom of the window are four buttons:
2288 Save puts all your choices into effect, and also saves them into your Choices
2289 directory for next time ROX-Filer is loaded.
2290 ROX-Filer will never save any preferences to disk unless you click on the
2291 `Save' button in the options window.
2292 Exactly where choices are loaded from and saved to is controlled by the
2297 environment variable --- see
2298 \begin_inset LatexCommand \cite{Choices}
2305 OK puts your choices into effect without writing anything to disk.
2308 Apply works like OK, but without closing the Options window.
2311 Cancel closes the options box and forgets any changes you made.
2312 \layout Subsubsection
2314 Action window options
2317 You can choose to start some operations automatically, without waiting for
2318 you to click on Quiet.
2319 Select each operation that you want to auto-start here.
2320 \layout Subsubsection
2322 Filer window options
2325 `Ignore case when sorting' treats upper and lower case letters as equivalent
2327 If this is off then `Zoo' comes before `animal', for example.
2330 `New window on button 1' swaps the actions of the two non-menu buttons when
2331 opening directories.
2332 This is provided for people who are used to the RISC OS mouse bindings.
2335 `Menu on button 2' swaps the actions of buttons 2 and 3 so that the middle
2336 button brings up the menus.
2337 This is provided for people who are used to the RISC OS mouse bindings.
2340 `Single-click navigation' treats a single click over an item as if it was
2342 This allows you to move around, run applications and open files without
2348 opening it you must hold down CTRL while you click.
2351 `Unique windows' prevents you from having two windows showing the same directory.
2352 Opening a second view onto a directory closes the first.
2355 `Toolbar type for new windows' allows you to choose what kind of toolbar
2356 will be used for future filer windows (the currently open windows are not
2358 None means that new windows will not have a toolbar, Normal provides a
2359 small bar of icons, and GNOME displays larger icons with textual labels
2360 and allows the bar to be detached from the window by dragging it.
2362 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: Toolbar}
2369 The last display style and sort type you chose will also be saved as the
2370 defaults for next time.
2371 \layout Subsubsection
2373 Drag-And-Drop options
2376 ROX-Filer uses the standard XDND protocol for drag-and-drop.
2377 This protocol recommends that URIs should contain the hostname of the computer
2378 that the resource is on so that the program receiving the data can determine
2379 whether it can get the data directly or whether it must go via the X-server.
2380 However, many older programs (particularly GNOME applications) get confused
2381 by the hostname and fail to load the data correctly.
2382 If `Don't use hostnames' is on then the hostname part is omitted and ROX-Filer
2383 will work with these applications BUT you can't drag data to a program
2384 running on a different machine.
2387 `Allow dragging to icons in filer windows' controls what happens when you
2388 drop files onto icons in filer windows.
2389 If on then drops onto directories will save the data inside the directory
2390 while dropping onto programs will invoke the program on that data.
2391 If off then drops anywhere inside a filer window act like drops onto the
2392 window background --- that is, the data will be saved into the directory
2394 \layout Subsubsection
2399 The `Xterm here' program is the one used when you choose `Xterm here' from
2401 You can replace it with another program such as `gnome-terminal' if you
2403 In fact, any program will do, but note that you cannot pass any options
2404 to the program at present.
2410 ROX-Filer uses three sub-directories in your Choices directory for filetypes:
2413 MIME-info contains files which specify what the MIME type for a file should
2414 be, based on its extention.
2415 All the files in all the MIME-info directories are scanned when the filer
2417 ROX-Filer comes with many such rules --- these are installed into the MIME-info
2418 directory by the install script.
2422 Many applications now come with a file called `something.mime'; copy these
2423 files into your MIME-info directory to make ROX-Filer automatically recognise
2428 MIME-types contains symlinks, one for each MIME type, which point to programs
2429 that can handle files of that type.
2430 To set what program is run when you click on the file you should normally
2431 use the `Set Run Action' feature (see section
2432 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: RunAction}
2437 However, you can also set the actions manually --- for example, to make
2438 opening an HTML file load it into Netscape:
2442 Find the Netscape application and go to `Link...' on the menu.
2445 Enter `text_html' as the name for the link and drag the icon from the Link
2446 box into the MIME-types directory.
2449 You can also put actual programs in here as well as links if you want to.
2453 MIME-icons contains the images used to display each type of file.
2454 So the filer will try to display an HTML file using the icon `MIME-icons/text_h
2458 In both MIME-types and MIME-icons directories you can also provide default
2459 actions/images for each media type.
2460 For example, if `text_html' isn't found then the filer will try simply
2464 Application directories
2467 An application directory is a directory which can be run as an application.
2468 It contains all the resources of an application --- source code, binaries,
2469 documentation and so on.
2470 Keeping everything in one place make installation and uninstallation much
2472 You can also keep multiple versions of a program by simply having several
2473 application directories.
2474 You may move and rename them as you please.
2475 Application directories are easier to use and install and are more secure
2477 \begin_float footnote
2480 Because you can compile an application as a user and then simply copy it
2481 as root rather than having to run an install script you are free from the
2482 danger of running untrusted code as root.
2483 All you have to watch out for is setuid binaries.
2488 To make a directory executable all you need to do is create a executable
2489 file called `AppRun' inside it.
2490 This file is run when the user double-clicks on the application.
2491 You should also provide `AppIcon.xpm' (which will be used as the image for
2492 the application) and `Help' (which is a directory that is opened when the
2493 user asks for help).
2494 Finally (for security reasons), an application directory must have the
2495 same owner as the AppRun file inside.
2496 Have a look at the ROX-Filer application directory for a full example.
2499 Internationalisation
2503 \begin_inset LatexCommand \label{sec: LANG}
2507 Selecting a translation
2510 ROX-Filer is able to translate many of its messages, provided suitable translati
2511 on files are provided.
2512 If you know that your language is supported then simply set the
2516 environment variable to the appropriate code for your country before starting
2520 LANG=fr; export LANG
2526 To see which translations are currently provided, open the ROX-Filer application
2527 directory (hold down Shift and double-click) and look inside the `
2534 Creating a new translation
2541 directory and create the file `
2556 Copy the file into the `
2560 ' subdirectory under
2565 \begin_inset Formula \( \langle \hbox {name}\rangle \hbox {\tt .po} \)
2569 Eg, if your language is referred to as `ml' (`my language'):
2573 $ cp messages.pot po/ml.po
2577 Load the copy into a text editor.
2580 Fill in the translations, which are all blank to start with.
2587 ' script to create the binary file which ROX-Filer can use.
2588 You will need the GNU gettext package for this.
2589 If you don't have it then just send me the
2593 file and I'll convert it for you.
2597 $ cd ROX-Filer/src/po
2603 Created file ../../Messages/ml.gmo OK
2607 Set the LANG variable to `
2611 ' and restart the filer (see section
2612 \begin_inset LatexCommand \ref{sec: LANG}
2623 file to me so that I can include it in future releases of the filer.
2626 Updating an existing translation
2629 Go into the directory containing the
2638 This checks the source code for new and changed strings and updates all
2639 the translation files.
2643 $ cd ROX-Filer/src/po
2650 Edit the file by hand as before, filling in the new blanks and updating
2651 out-of-date translations.
2652 Look out for `fuzzy' entries where
2656 has made a guess; check it's correct and remove the `fuzzy' line.
2666 Submit the updated file to me.
2673 info page for more instructions on creating a translation.
2679 This is a quick start guide for people who want to modify the source code.
2680 If you make useful changes or fix bugs, please send patches to me or to
2682 Tell me which version you're using!
2688 The first time you compile the program you need to do `
2692 ', but in future you only need to run `
2700 ' directory when you change the
2709 You might want to run `
2716 Creating and applying patches
2719 When people make small modifications to the sources they will often distribute
2724 --- usually on the mailing list.
2725 To apply a patch, go into the 'src' directory and run patch with the patch
2727 Then recompile, like this:
2736 $ ../AppRun --compile
2739 You can remove the patch by simply repeating the above sequence --- patch
2740 will detect that the patch is already applied and offer to remove it.
2743 To create a patch you should first get the latest version of the filer from
2744 CVS (instructions on using CVS can be found on the web-site).
2745 Modify the program as you please.
2746 Create the patch using `
2750 ' from the appropriate directory:
2753 $ cvs diff -c > my_patch
2756 This creates a human- and machine-readable patch file.
2757 Submit this to the mailing list.
2758 The are many reasons for posting patches rather that the modified files:
2761 They are smaller, and hence shouldn't bounce.
2762 They are also quicker to download for people with slow connections.
2765 People can see what they're getting into before applying them!
2768 Patches can (usually) be applied to slightly modified versions of the sources.
2769 This means that people can apply several patches without each new one overwriti
2776 Here's a quick explanation of the autoconf system in case you haven't used
2778 See `info autoconf' for full details.
2781 There's a file called 'configure.in' which contains various tests (`info
2783 You run `autoconf' and it reads through the file and generates a shell
2784 script to perform the tests, saving it as `configure'.
2785 `configure' is normally distributed with the program because not everyone
2789 You then run `configure' (in fact, let the `AppRun' script do it because
2790 it passes it some arguments), which performs all the tests.
2791 It reads in `Makefile.in' and `config.h.in' and fills in the missing values
2792 with the test results to produce `Makefile' and `config.h'.
2795 You run `make', which creates .o files from the .c files and links to produce
2802 The diagram below shows some of the major structures found in the filer
2803 along with their most important attributes and methods.
2804 Exactly which attributes have been included is a little hit-and-miss but
2805 it might help you get the overall picture.
2806 If you find it useful, please let me know and I'll try to keep it up-to-date
2807 (or even extend it!).
2810 To summarise, each window (or panel) has its own
2815 This structure has pointers to a
2819 (which is the widget which actually displays the files) and to a
2823 , which is used to cache the directory contents.
2832 have pointers to (the same)
2836 s, each of which corresponds to one filesystem object.
2841 s may share the same
2846 While scanning is in progress the
2850 keeps a list of the new items it has found (
2854 ) and the items which have changed in some way (
2859 It periodically notifies the filer window of the changes-so-far by calling
2860 all the functions in the
2872 to add and remove functions to or from the list).
2874 \added_space_top 0.3cm \added_space_bottom 0.3cm \align center
2876 \begin_inset Figure size 595 618
2884 \layout Bibliography
2891 , <http://rox.sourceforge.net>
2892 \layout Bibliography
2899 , <http://www.gtk.org>
2900 \layout Bibliography
2907 , <http://www.gnome.org>
2908 \layout Bibliography
2913 The Drag and Drop protocol
2915 , <http://www.its.caltech.edu/~jafl/xdnd/>
2916 \layout Bibliography
2921 The X Direct Save protocol
2923 , <http://www.its.caltech.edu/~jafl/xds/>
2924 \layout Bibliography
2929 The ROX Choices system
2931 , <http://rox.sourceforge.net/choices.php3>
2932 \layout Bibliography
2933 \bibitem {enlightenment}
2939 <http://www.enlightenment.org>
2940 \layout Bibliography
2945 POrtable Dodgy Filesystems in Userland (hacK),
2947 <http://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pavel/podfuk/podfuk.html>
2948 \layout Bibliography
2955 , <http://www.gnome.org>