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Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux
(Publisher: Macmillan Computer Publishing)
Author(s): Manuel Ricart
ISBN: 078971826x
Publication Date: 12/22/98

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Opening a Folder

You open a folder to see what other files and folders it contains. When you open a folder, the KFM window displays the contents of the new directory. Initially, KFM displays files as large icons. Other view formats are available from the View menu.

To open a directory, just click on it. You can also use your keyboard’s arrow keys to move among icons. To open the selected file, press Enter. The keyboard technique allows you to ”select” a file. Because KFM uses a single click to open a file, it’s difficult to select files with the mouse: A single click can take you into a directory you didn’t mean to open. Future versions of KFM will allow you to use a double-click to open a directory.

To view a folder’s contents in a new window, right-click the folder.

To select a folder without opening it, click on it while pressing the Ctrl key.

Dot files—files with a name beginning with a period (.)—are typically omitted from file listings. To view dot files with KFM, select the Show Dot Files command from the View menu.

When you open a directory, the view displaying the contents of the previous folder is replaced with the contents of the new folder.

Opening a File

You open a file to see its contents, just like a folder. When you open a file, KFM opens the file by running the application associated with the file. If the application is not currently running, KFM starts it up for you. When the application opens, it displays your file.

If the file is an application, KFM simply starts the application.

To select a file without opening it, click on it while pressing the Ctrl key.

KFM uses various methods to try to figure the type of a file. One of the methods it uses is to look at the file extension (typically a three-character name following a period at the end of a filename). Another method peeks at the contents of the file.

If KFM cannot figure out what application opens your file, the file will display an icon with a question mark.


The unknown file icon looks like this.

If you try to open such a file, KFM will prompt you for the application to use.


When KFM doesn’t know how to open a file, it prompts you for the name of the program to use, which you can type in the text field provided.


If you click the Browser button on this panel, KFM displays a list of applications it knows about.

A Tree View

KFM provides a tree view that you can use to easily jump among folders. You can enable tree views through the Show Tree option in the View menu.


Check This Out:  
To associate a file with a KDE application, see Chapter 10,“Customizing KDE.”

The Show Tree command displays three folders: the root folder (/), a shortcut to your own home directory called “My Home,” and a directory called “Desktop.”


The tree view allows you to easily move among folders. Opened folders display a down arrow.

A File List

You can list the contents of the current folder in such a way that it includes additional information about each of the files, such as its size, owner, and permissions and the time it was last modified. To view additional file details, choose the Long View option in the View menu.


The Long View option provides more information about a file.

What the Listing Means

When you display the contents of a folder using Long View, the following additional information is displayed in a table format:

  Name of the file
  Permissions
  File owner
  File group
  File size
  Last modification time

Let’s examine these components in more detail.

File Size

This refers to the size of the file in bytes. A byte represents one character of information. 1024 characters represent 1K (Kilobyte) of data. One Megabyte is 1024K.

Last Changed

The time and date that the file was last modified is shown. The time is displayed using 24-hour military time, where 6:00PM is represented as 18:00 and midnight is 0:00.

File Owner

The username represents the owner of the file or folder. This is typically the user who created it. The owner of a file can grant permissions to the file so that others may be able to access and read the file.

File Group

On a multiuser system like Linux, multiple users can be assigned to a group. A group allows its members to more easily share files. Groups and owners are closely related with permissions.

Permissions

All files in the file system have three sets of permissions. One set exists for the owner of the file, one for the group of the file, and one for other users. These permission sets allow the owner of a file to control who can access the files he or she creates.

Permissions work because all users are required to log into Linux before having access to the computer. Whenever you access a file, the system checks to see if you have the proper permissions on the file. If you don’t, the system rejects your request. There are several levels of permission:

  Read permissions (r) indicate who can read the file
  Write permissions (w) indicate who can modify the file
  Execute permissions (x) indicate who can run a program or read a directory
  Absence of permission is shown by a dash (-)

Permissions are specified as three groups; here’s how the permissions read:

-rw-r--r-- owner permissions to read and write
-rw-r--r-- group permissions to read
-rw-r--r-- others permissions to read
drwxr-xr-x a “d” marks a folder or “directory”
lrwxrwxrwx an “l” marks a link to a file or folder

Bookmarks

KFM is able to remember locations in your file system through “bookmarks.” A bookmark allows you to save a location so you can quickly return to it no matter how deep it is. In this regard, they function like Web bookmarks.

To create a bookmark:

1.  Navigate to the desired location using KFM
2.  Choose the Add Bookmark command under the Bookmarks menu

Bookmarks can be accessed through the Bookmarks menu available from the KFM window or by right-clicking on an empty area of your desktop.

Selecting Files and Folders

In KFM you can select multiple files with the mouse if you hold down the Ctrl key while making your selection. From the keyboard, you can use the arrow keys to move among icons. To select an icon, press the Spacebar. To open the icon, press Enter.


Using the keyboard to select multiple files. The box around the icon indicates the current icon. To move to another icon, use the arrow keys.


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