 |
» |
|
|
|
To get started using File Manager, you need to learn a few basic skills:
Selecting—Many commands operate on the "selected" file or directory.
Dragging and Dropping— If you use a mouse, the easiest way to perform many operations is to manipulate the icons with the mouse.
Using Popup Menus—Each icon displayed by File Manager has its own popup menu, including objects on the Desktop. Each popup menu provides shortcuts to many common operations.
Starting File Manager | |
Mouse. Move the pointer over the File Manager control and click mouse button 1.
Keyboard.
Press Alt+Tab until you reach the Front Panel.
Use the arrow keys to move the highlight to the File Manager control.
Press Enter to choose the control.
Selecting a Single File or Directory | |
Mouse. Click the object's icon.
Keyboard.
Use the Tab and direction keys to move the highlight to the object you want to select. Press Enter or the space bar.
When you select an object, its icon is highlighted and its name is displayed
in inverse video. File Manager's menus apply to the selected object. In particular, the
Actions menu always contains the actions that can be performed on the
selected file or directory. If no icons are selected, the entire Actions
menu (and some commands in other menus) is inactive.
To select multiple objects, hold down CTRL while selecting.
To deselect an object, select another one or click an empty area within
the File Manager window.
Selecting Multiple Files and Directories | |
There may be times when you want to select multiple objects simultaneously.
For example, you may need to do one or more of the following tasks:
Delete several files at once.
Move a group of files to a new directory.
Put several objects on the Desktop.
Mouse.
Drag a box around the objects you want to select. (Press mouse button 1 in a blank area of the view, drag to draw a box, then release to select the icons included in the box.)
Or, click to select the first object, then hold down CTRL and click to select additional objects.
Keyboard.
Select the first object.
For each additional object you want to select, move the highlight to its icon, then press and hold CTRL while you press Enter.
When multiple icons are selected, dragging any one of the selected
icons drags the whole group.
Also, when multiple icons are selected, the Actions menu and some commands
in other menus are inactive.
Renaming a File or Directory | |
Mouse. Select the object's name, type the new name, then press Enter.
Keyboard or Mouse. Choose "Rename" from the File menu, type the new name, then press Enter.
To cancel a rename operation, press Esc.
Getting Help on a File or Directory | |
Mouse.
Select the object, then press f1. Or, choose "On Item" from the Help menu, then click the object's icon.
Keyboard. Move the keyboard highlight to the object's icon, then press f1.
The description displayed when you ask for help on an icon describes the
filetype associated with the file or directory. The description is
specified in the filetype definition.
Opening a File or Directory | |
Double-click the object's icon.
Or, select the object's icon, then choose a command from the Actions menu that opens the file or directory. (The Actions menu contains
different commands depending on the filetype of the selected object.) Or, choose a command from the object's popup menu.
Double-clicking an icon executes the object's default action, which is
always the first command in the Actions menu. For most data files, the
default action opens the file by starting the appropriate application and
loading the file.
Directories have actions defined to open them (either in place, using the
current File Manager window, or in a new window).
For information on opening files or directories on remote systems,
see Chapter 11 “Communicating over a Network”.
Dropping a File or Directory | |
Point to the object's icon.
Press and hold mouse button 2, known as the "drag" button. (On a two-button mouse, press both buttons simultaneously.)
Drag the icon to the location where you want to drop it, then release the mouse button.
So, the motion for dropping an object is press ... drag ... release.
To cancel a drag in progress, press Esc before releasing the mouse button.
If more than one icon is selected, you drag the entire group by dragging any
of the selected icons.
| | | |  | NOTE: You cannot drag and drop an object with the keyboard. You must have a mouse.
| | | | |
What Happens When You Drop a File Icon.
If you drop an object into an open File Manager window or into a directory icon, the file is moved to that directory.
If you drop an object onto the workspace backdrop, the object is placed on the Desktop in the current workspace. A Desktop object is really
just a reference to the real object, which remains unchanged.
If you drop a file on the Printer control in the Front Panel (or one of the printers in the Printers subpanel), the file is printed.
If you drop a file on the Personal Toolbox control in the Front Panel, the object is copied into your Personal Toolbox.
If you drop a file on the Trash control in the Front Panel, the object is moved into the Trash Can.
If you drop a file on an action icon, the action is invoked with the file as a parameter.
If you attempt to drop the icon in a location that does not support dropped
objects, the icon snaps back to its original location in File Manager or on
the Desktop.
Displaying a Popup Menu | |
Mouse.
Point to the icon whose popup menu you want to display.
Press mouse button 3—the "popup" button.
To choose a command from the menu, drag to the command, then release. Or, click the command.
Keyboard.
Using the Tab and arrow keys, move the highlight to the icon whose
menu you want to display.
Press f4.
To choose a command from the menu, use the arrow keys to highlight
the command, then press Enter.
To cancel the menu without choosing a command, press Esc.
|
Printable version
