File Managers: Konqueror and Nautilus

Abstract

File managers have grown to become multi-tasking applications, which do not only take care of basic tasks such as copying and moving files around. In fact, with the file managers we will describe, you will be able to browse a LAN, play audio files such as Ogg Vorbiss, surf on the web, and more.

In this chapter, we take for granted that you have used a file manager before, and that it is not necessary to describe elementary features which are self-explanatory. We decided to talk about two file managers: Konqueror which is part of the KDE family, and Nautilus, GNOME's file manager. Both of them have basically the same capabilities, hence we will alternate between the two of them in our examples.

Main Window

You access your file manager by clicking on the Home icon located on the top left of your desktop. Here are the two main windows: Nautilus on the left and Konqueror on the right.

Figure 11.13. Konqueror and Nautilus

Konqueror and Nautilus

The right side of the window displays the current folder's contents (by default, what your home directory contains). On the left side of the window is the sidebar (refer to the section called “Sidebars”). Each file or sub-directory is represented by an icon, although you can change that view through Nautilus' View as Icons label, or by changing the View Mode in Konqueror through the View menu.

Note

The first time you launch Konqueror you will not see its sidebar. To show/hide it, select Window->Show Navigation Panel. You can also show/hidde it pressing the F9 key.

Sidebars

Nautilus' side pane (which used to be called a “sidebar”) is now retractable: our screen shot shows the Information option. Clicking on the arrow next to the label will display a context menu which contains these features:

  • Emblems: allows you to add an icon to your folders.

  • History: gives you a list of the last folders you visited.

  • Notes: allows you to insert reminders or notes of any kind.

  • Tree: allows you to browse through the file system in order to choose a directory to display (i.e.: /home/peter/ which could be peter's home directory).

Here are short definitions of the icons in Konqueror's sidebar (the Extra Toolbar which you can access through Settings+Toolbars):

Table 11.3. Konqueror Sidebar Icons

IconMeaning
Show Navigation Panel. This icon lets you change the sidebar view.
Bookmarks. Where you can store your preferred web and FTP sites.
History. A list of the folders and network (web, FTP, etc.) sites you have visited during the current session.
Home Directory. Represents your personal folder, in which you organize your work.
Network. Gives you access to FTP archives as well as Mandrake- and KDE-specific web sites (of course, you can add or delete some sites).
Root Directory. Lets you access your whole tree structure. Usually, you do not have enough rights to manipulate files outside your home directory. Only the system administrator (root) possesses the rights to do so.
Services. Gives you access to the Audio CD Browser, Devices, the LAN Browser and the Print System Browser.

Copying, Moving, Linking and Deleting Files

Copying Files.  Let's imagine you want to copy test.png to the Documents folder. With Konqueror, you first need to access the Window->Split View Left/Right (or press the Ctrl-Shift-L keys) menu or the Window->Split View Top/Bottom (or press the Ctrl-Shift-T keys) menu. Your window will be duplicated and you will be able to drag'n'drop the test.png image file to the Documents folder. Note that you must hold down the Ctrl key to copy a file. With Nautilus, you would need to open another Nautilus window to do this à la Konqueror. The easiest way is still the drag'n'drop technique.

Note

There are many ways to manipulate files within your file manager. Drag'n'drop, keyboard shortcut combinations, opening two file managers, etc. Choose the one you prefer.

Moving Files.  The same principle applies to moving files around. However, use the Ctrl-X shortcut instead of Ctrl-C to move your files. The drag'n'drop technique, without holding the Ctrl key down, is another way of achieving this.

Linking Files.  Linking files allows you to access them without actually copying them all around your home directory. Let's imagine one of your files is deeply buried into the /home/queen/Music/Artists/FavoriteArtist/ directory and you want to access it quickly. Linking files would be a good idea. In fact, linking a file is like creating a shortcut to it. Here is how to proceed. In Nautilus, select your file, access the Edit->Make Link menu (or press Ctrl-M keys). This will seemingly duplicate the file in your folder, but notice the link to text. Then, move the link to the desired folder. With Konqueror the operation is quite tricky:

  1. Drag the item you want to link to the folder where the link should appear, and hold the mouse button.

  2. Hold the Alt key.

  3. Release the mouse button and then the Alt key.

  4. In the pop-up menu that appears, click on Link Here.

Deleting Files.  Again, there are many ways to delete files. Let's resume by saying there are “safe” and “unsafe” ways. The safe way would be to move it to the Trash, while the unsafe one would be to delete it for good directly: you will be unable to recover files if you proceed that way. With Nautilus, it is impossible to delete for good directly. Deleting any file will automatically send it to the Trash. To delete a file, select it and press the Del key. To restore it, double-click on the Trash icon on your desktop and drag the file(s) back into your browser. To delete trashed files, simply Empty Trash Bin with a right click on it.

With Konqueror, you can delete forever right away. Simply select the file and choose Edit->Delete from the menu.

Browsing Web Pages

If you browse frequently through directories containing HTML files, for example your distribution's documentation, these directories generally contain a file called index.html.

Let's take the /usr/share/doc/mandrake/en/ file as an example. With Konqueror, if you do not activate the Use index.html option, you will only get a list of files and directories contained in that folder. If you activate that option, Konqueror displays the contents of the index.html file, and you can easily browse through the documentation, as if you were on the web. To activate it, access the View->Use index.html.

Note

Nautilus handles HTML and text files automatically.

Browsing the web with either Konqueror or Nautilus is as easy as using a “real” web browser (please see Chapter 9, Surfing with Mozilla). Just type in the URL of the site you want to visit in the location bar and surf.

File Sharing

Abstract

This feature allows you to share your documents with other people on the local network and access documents other people share. It also allows system administrators to provide people with common repositories where everyone can add, modify and consult files.

Sharing Files

If file sharing is activated through the Mandrake Control Center (please see the section called “Partition Sharing: Allow Users to Share Directories”) you can right-click on folders in your Konqueror window and choose Share. It allows you to share one or as many folders as you like through NFS [7] or Samba [8].

To share files with Nautilus, right-click on the item to share, and choose Properties->Share.

Browsing Shared Files with Konqueror

You can browse all available shared files on the network by opening the LAN Browser section in the Services sidebar icon. All machines proposing shared files will appear as folders under this section. Inside the host name folder appears one folder per protocol supported by this machine. Those can be:

FISH

This protocol relies on ssh communications. So every local machine having an ssh server running on it will allow you to connect to it (providing proper authentication) and browse all the folders you have access to.

NFS

Under this folder will appear shares provided by UNIX machines.

SMB

Under this folder will be displayed shares provided by Windows or Samba enabled machines.

Browsing Shared Files with Nautilus

You can browse the contents of Samba shared folders in the local network by typing smb:/ in the location bar. If you wish to access shares from other protocols you will have to make them available system wide through the Mandrake Control Center (the section called “Importing Remote NFS Directories”).



[7] NFS (Network File System) allows you to share, export/import files from/to your computer in a networked environment. Although the NFS setup is easier than the Samba one, it can only be used within a UNIX-based system (like GNU/Linux). Moreover, NFS is an insecure protocol and should be used exclusively in a secure local environment.

[8] SMB is a protocol by which PCs share resources such as files and printers. Windows, GNU/Linux (through Samba) and OS/2 operating systems, among others, support the SMB protocol. It can be considered an alternative to Netware and NFS.