To manipulate your personal files, KDE offers
Konqueror. To launch it, click on the icon in the toolbar.
You can also find it on the desktop.
The left side of the window shows your files in a tree structure, while the right side displays the current folder's contents (when you launch Konqueror, the default folder is your home directory). Each file or sub-directory is represented by an icon. You can always set the folder's full path in the URL line on top of the window.
![]() | Small precision: in this book, we use indifferently the terms folder and directory. These two terms refer to the same thing, that is a file holder, even a... folder or directory holder. |
In the example mentioned above, you notice the recognized file types have specific icons associated to them. Hence, Mail and tmp are folders.
Although Konqueror recognizes most file types, it
might come across a type which it cannot interpret. In that case,
the file is represented with this icon.
The folders on the left of your Konqueror window are:
Here are listed the places you visit the most often, whether it be system folders or Internet sites.
Here, you find the system folders and web sites you visit frequently (since Konqueror has "two faces").
The folder in which you organize your work. Each user possesses one and, normally, only that user can access it. This folder is designed on the desktop as Queen's home.
If you are in a local network environment, the files shared by the other computers on the network should be displayed here.
This folder is at the base of the tree structure: all other folders are directly or indirectly held by the root folder. In principle, only the system administrator should manipulate that folder.
This folder gives you access to services on your computer, such as the Audio CD Browser.
Konqueror's tool bar offers numerous features which are easy to access. Here they are, along with their associated icons.
Table 11-1. Konqueror's Icons
![]() | It moves you to the parent folder. This function places you one level higher in the tree structure, hence the parent directory. | Alt+Up |
![]() | Brings you back to the folder or web site you just visited. | Alt+Left |
![]() | If you used the preceding button, this one does the opposite: it moves you in the opposite direction. | Alt+Right |
![]() | Use this icon when you are lost. It brings you directly to your home directory, the root of all your data, your house. | Ctrl+Home |
![]() | If you click on this icon, you force Konqueror to reload the current directory's contents. This is very useful in a network environment or if you delete files "outside" of Konqueror, that is in a Terminal or in another file manager. | F5 |
![]() | Stop the work Konqueror is currently doing. For example, exploring a folder which holds numerous (too many) files, or the very long loading of a web page. | Esc |
![]() | "Cut": deletes the selectioned files, but places them in a temporary memory space called the clipboard. | Ctrl+X |
![]() | "Copy": stores the selectioned files into the clipboard. | Ctrl+C |
![]() | "Paste": extracts the files held by the clipboard and places them in the current folder. | Ctrl+V |
![]() | Obviously enough, this icon allows to print files or web pages. | Ctrl+P |
![]() | Use this icon to increase icon or character font sizes. Very useful if you have a large screen and trouble to read tiny fonts. | |
![]() | On the contrary, this icon reduces the size of icons and characters. | |
![]() | Use the icon-type display: press and hold your finger down on your mouse in order to get other options. | |
![]() | Use the list-type display: press and hold your finger down on your mouse in order to get other options. | |
![]() | When the wheel turns (on the upper-right part of your window), Konqueror is working... Hence, you can survey the software's activity. If you click on it, another Konqueror opens up. |
The tree structure on the left of your window is one way to move
around within your documents. To see the sub-folders contained in
a folder, simply click on the + on the left of
each folder name. Hence, you can view your folder's contents. If
you click again, you only get a folder view, without the contents.
You can also move around in the right side of your window. Simply
click on the icons which represent the documents, like the one
shown here.
You only need to click to open a file or change directory. Then, how can you select one or many files? If, for some reason, files are already selected, click on Konqueror's background (where there is nothing) to cancel all active selections. The Esc key also possesses the same virtues.
To select only one file, click on its icon while pressing the Ctrl key.
You can also select many files with the mouse. Click on the right window's background then move the mouse while pressing and holding its button: a rectangle will be drawn and everything contained in it will be selectioned, as illustrated below.
Selecting many files which follow each other in the tree structure is done by selecting the first document, then while holding the Shift key click on the last document you want to select.
Finally, you can select isolated documents by clicking on each one of them while holding the Ctrl key. The image below shows you the use of Shift on the left and Ctrl's use on the right.
Now that we know how to select files, it is time to handle them a bit.
Right-click on the right window's background (while avoiding the icons): you get a menu which offers many functions. Choose
-> .In the displayed dialog box, type the name you want to give to the directory and hit the Enter key (or simply click OK, which amounts to the same thing).
The menu also allows
to create different file types. For example, create a text
file by selecting : like
before, give it a name, for example
text.txt. Once it is created, your file
appears in the right side of your window and is represented
with a pencil on a white sheet.
![]() | It is not necessary to give a file extension (the group of letters which follow the period) to your file. However, it is preferable to do it systematically since it is a way to identify the file's type. Here, by convention, the extension of a text file is .txt. |
If you click on the icon of the file you just created, Konqueror will recognize its type (a text file) and display it, that is: nothing. In fact, you simply created an empty file. This time, right-click on the icon and choose
.Many applications adapted to modify this file type will then be proposed. Choose "The Desktop According to KDE".
, which we already saw in KDE's tool bar,
Type a few lines in the displayed window, what you write is
not important. Click on the text file icon to save what you
just typed. If you do not do it, the editor will alert you
when you try to quit it.
Now go back in the Konqueror window and use this icon
(or the F5 key) to refresh the display of the
folder's contents. Then, bring the mouse pointer on your text
file's icon. You will notice, in the information bar at the
bottom of the window, that its size is not equal to zero anymore.
Click on your file. This time, the window is not empty. It
holds what you just typed. To go back to the file list, simply
click on Konqueror's Back button.
Renaming a file is very simple. Right-click on the icon and choose the Enter key.
item of the pop-up menu. Then, type the new name and validate with theYou can also select it and then press on the F2 key.
Finally, the last possibility is to right-click on the file and to select
. You just need to change the file name in the appropriate field, at the top of the window.Select the files or folders you wish to copy or move. Then, use the F7 (for copy) or F8 (to move) keys: a little window will appear, in which you can type the destination folder. The Choose button allows to choose the folder.
Here is another method. Start by using the tree view on the left of the screen in order to see the destination folder. However, do not display its contents, just its name. Then, select the files or folders you wish to manipulate.
Now move your pointer on one of the selected elements. Then, while leaving your finger pressed on the mouse button, drag your selection towards the destination folder, which should be visible on the left part of your window. The preceding image showed two files which are dragged towards the home directory's tmp directory.
When the mouse pointer is on the destination folder, the latter is highlighted. Release the button and once the pop-up menu appears, choose the operation you wish to do.
![]() | Copy a file duplicates the contents in another file. Move copies the file and then deletes the original. Link a file creates in the destination folder an access point towards a file, which resembles a shortcut. If you delete the link, this does not imply that you delete the original file as well. |
Finally, you can also use the clipboard. To copy selected files, use Ctrl+C to place them in the clipboard. Then, place your mouse pointer in the destination folder and launch the copy process with Ctrl+V. To move files, use Ctrl+X instead of Ctrl+C.
Sooner or later, you will want to remove files, either to gain disk space or simply to clean up your working environment. Simply select the files or directories you wish to delete, then right-click on one of them.
You can delete files and directories in three different ways: the secure, the classical and the real method. The secure method is named Move to trash: the files are not really removed. They are simply moved in the trash can. Hence, you can recuperate them, until you empty the trash can... The trash can's icon is on the desktop:
Click on it to see the files it holds. A new Konqueror window will open. You can then retrieve files you placed in it. To do so, click on them and move them where ever you wish (whether on the desktop or in another Konqueror window). You can always recuperate stuff you placed in the trash can, until you empty it...
To remove a file like it is generally done under UNIX, you must right-click on your file and choose Delete. You will have to confirm you really want to delete this file. If you answer yes, its name will be deleted and the space it took on your hard disk will be freed. However, it is still possible to recuperate part of the file, if you ask an expert.
Last method, you can Shred your file. This means Konqueror will compress the disk space it took with random data, in order to make sure the content will not be reconstructed. The file is then completely deleted and there is no way of retrieving it.
To do so, select the file you wish to shred by clicking just below the file's icon and by dragging your pointer upwards until your file is highlighted, hence selected. Then, access the Edit menu, then Shred.
Konqueror offers a powerful tool to search for files according to different criteria. In the
menu, select . The following block appears on top of the right side of the window:You can use generic characters such as ? and * in the Search field. For example, to find all the files with .txt extensions, type *.txt. To find all files starting with the letter C, type C*.
![]() | Keep in mind that Linux distinguishes uppercases from lowercases. For example, in a directory, you could have a Mail.txt file and a mail.txt file: they are two different files. You will not find the latter if you look for C*. |
The other tabs allow to pinpoint a search. For example, you can take into account the last modification date, the file type, the presence of a certain text inside a file... Click on Find when you have chosen your criteria.
The result of the search is displayed in the lower part of the right side window. All common actions are possible: opening a file, copying or deleting it, etc. Click on Close to go back to the normal display.
Konqueror's principal display options are grouped in the
menu.This controls the way files are represented. you will find the same choices from the corresponding icons on Konqueror's tool bar.
The default type is Icons: large icons,
the file name under each icon, the ensemble ordered from left
to right and from top to bottom.
In the MultiColumn View type, the file
names appear on the right of the icons. The latter are
organized in columns from left to right and from top to
bottom.
The Tree View mode gives the same aspect
to both sides of the window. However, the files are shown with
many details about them.
The Detailed List View displays the same
details as the preceding mode, but does not use the tree
view.
Finally, the most stoical type is the
Text one. It displays information rapidly
and exhaustively, but without the icons and other decorations.
If you browse frequently through files containing HTML, for example your distribution's documentation, these files generally hold a file called index.html. It is a very common name which gives you access to many files.
Let's take /usr/share/doc/mandrake/en/ as an example. If you do not activate the Use index.html, you will only get a list of files and directories contained in that folder. If you activate the 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
->The usual file display order is alphabetical, with the directories shown first. You can choose to ignore or not the case, that is the difference between upper- and lowercase letters. If you ignore it, you will get a dictionary-like order. If you do not, then the uppercase letters will be displayed before. For example, a file starting with the letter Z will be displayed before one which starts with the letter a.
If you use the list-display mode, you can click on the
column's titles to define on which file characteristic to sort
(for example, the size) as well as the sort's order (for
example, descending order). This is what the header shows
here: the arrow's presence, on the right of the title,
indicates that the element is taken into account in the sort
action, and its upward direction signifies ascending order.
Click again on the title to change direction or sorting order.
Instead of file representation through icons, Konqueror can display a miniature preview of certain file types (if you use one of the two large-icon display types). The
sub-menu allows to select the file types you want to display in tiny aspect. Here is an example of preview displays:This option is as esthetic as it is practical. However, it requires more power from your machine.
Select this option. Suddenly, numerous files will be displayed! They are hidden files which are not normally displayed.
Naturally, you can act upon those files like on any other. However, beware. Generally speaking, they are used to back up your personal parameters and configurations.
Right-click on the bar at the bottom of the right-side window, the one which holds a big green button. You obtain this menu:
In this menu, choose
. The window is split into two, each one possessing its own information bar, each one is independent. Only one window can be active at a time: click on the information bar to activate the one you wish to interact with. To close a window, right-click on the information bar and choose .
It can be interesting to link many
windows into one group, in order for them to display the same
folder. For example, it is the case for both the left and
right tree structures. However, the window we created earlier
is linked to no other window. To link it, click on the check
box on the right of the information bar. You will see a little
chain inside the check box. This links it to the other
windows, and when those other windows change their displays,
the new linked window will also follow that display.
Window splitting is also very practical to copy and move files from a folder to another: you can visualize the contents of many folders at a time, and move many files from a window to another.
If file sharing is activated in the Mandrake Control Center (please see Allow Users to Share Directories) you can right-click on folders in your Konqueror window (or Nautilus see Sharing Files) and choose the tab. It allows to share one or as many folders as you like through NFS [1] or Samba [2]
Then, you can browse the contents of those shared folders by typing lan://localhost/.
[1] | NFS (Network File System) allows 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 system based (like GNU/Linux). Moreover, NFS is an insecure protocol and should be used exclusively in a secure local environement. |
[2] | Samba is a protocol by which PCs share resources such as files, and printers. Windows, GNU/Linux and OS/2 operating systems, among others, support the Samba protocol. It can be considered an alternative to Netware and NFS. |