Konqueror the File Manager

Het Konqueror Handboek
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# Hoofdstuk 4. Konqueror the File Manager

| In Linux all directories are arranged in a simple inverted tree structure descending and branching down from from a single top level "root" directory. This means that you can get from any directory to any other by going "up" until you reach a common point then "down" through the appropriate sub-directories until you reach your target. The position of any file or directory in the tree can be described by its "path", which is a simple list of the directories you would have to descend through to get to the target directory. For example `/home/pam` is the subdirectory "`pam`" of the subdirectory "`home`" of the top level directory, which is represented by the leading"/" Note that every accessible drive on your system, including your floppy and cdrom, will appear in the tree descending from /. Their exact paths will depend on how your system was set up, but will usually be something like `/mnt/floppy` and `/mnt/cdrom`. See also the section on Mounting Your Floppy or CDROM

# 4.1. Navigation

Konqueror is basically a file manager, and as such will display the names of the files and sub-directories held in a directory. The "path" of the directory you are looking at is shown in the Titlebar and also in the Locationbar.

Sub-directories are usually displayed with an icon that looks a little like a folder, although some special directories, such as `Trash` and `Desktop`, may have different, distinctive, icons. Files have their own icons, which may indicate what type of file it is - or at least what Konqueror thinks it is.

You can "select" a file or sub-directory by using the keyboard arrow keys to move through the displayed items. The appearance of the selected item will change and some information about it will be displayed in the Status Bar.

To move between directories you can simply step up and down the tree

- To descend into a sub-directory LMK click on its name or icon, or if you have "selected" it then just press Enter.

- To go up the directory tree, LMK click on the Up button in the Toolbar, or use Ctrl-Uparrow, or use the Menubar Ga naar->Up option.

You can also go directly to any directory by typing its path into the Locationbar window or into the dialog box invoked by the Menubar Locatie->Open Location item or by CTRL-O. Don't forget that in Linux file and directory names are case sensitive, although WWW URLs may not be.

Once you have moved to a new directory then you can go back to your previous choice by using the Toolbar Back button, the Menubar Ga naar->Backitem, or Ctrl-LeftArrow.

Once you have gone back you can go forward. Use the Toolbar Forward button, the Menubar Ga naar->Forward item or Ctrl-RightArrow.

| Holding the LMK pressed while the mouse pointer is over the Toolbar Up, Back or Forward buttons brings up a menu of recently visited locations.

If you want a better view of the directory structure, then the Menubar Venster->Show Directory Tree option splits the window into two views as shown above.

The left hand view only shows directories and is arranged as three trees; one descending from your Home directory, one named "Network" and one from the Root directory. The right hand view shows the contents of the selected directory. For this screenshot the Menubar Beeld->View Mode... and Beeld->Show details... options have been used to get a text listing rather than an Icon based view.

When Konqueror is showing more than one view, there will be a small box at the bottom right of eack view. LMK clicking on the box toggles an almost invisibly small icon on and off. Views showing this icon are linked so that a change of directory in one view makes the other view change to the new directory. In this way selecting any directory in the Directory Tree view will automatically show the directory contents in the other view.

To navigate through the items in the Directory Tree view using your mouse;

- LMK click on a + symbol to show any subdirectories..

- To collapse a sub-tree LMK click on the - symbol.

- Once you can see the wanted directory, LMK click on its name or icon to open it in the other window.

Or, once you have selected an item in the Directory Tree view, you can navigate from the keyboard;

- Use the Up and Down Arrow keys to move up and down the displayed directories.

- The Right Arrow key will descend into a directory.

- The Left Arrow key to collapse a sub-directory.

- Once you have reached the wanted directory then Enter will open it in the other view.

| The "Home Directory" shown in the Directory Tree view is actually your personal home directory, which will have a path such as `/home/pam2` if your username is "pam2". The "Root" directory has the path "`/`", and is the base directory of your system's local files. If you expand the "Root" directory you will find another directory called "root". This belongs to the system administrator or Super User and is her home directory. You will also find a directory called "home", in which you should be able to find your own "Home" directory again. The "Network" directory holds details of files or web pages you can reach over your network (if you are connected to one).

## 4.1.1. Finding Files and Directories

If you don't know or can't remember where a file or directory is within your system, then use the Toolbar Find File button or the Menubar Hulpmiddelen->Find File option to launch Kfind.

## 4.1.2. Hidden (dot) Files

If the name of a file or directory begins with a period (dot), then it is a "hidden" file or directory, and will not normally be shown by Konqueror.

To see the hidden files or sub-directories use the Menubar Beeld->Show Hidden Files option.

## 4.1.3. Mounting Your Floppy or CDROM

Linux requires that you "mount" a floppy disk or CDROM when you have inserted it into the drive, so that Linux can see what's on it. You also need to "unmount" it before removong the disk so Linux can register that it is no longer available.

How you do this will depend on how your system was set up:

- You may have an "Automount" facility, in which case you don't have to bother about explicitly mounting and unmounting, although you may find that the CDROM occasionally starts up by itself for no apparent reason.

- You may have Floppy and CDROM icons on your desktop, in which case LMK click on the icon to mount a disk. To unmount RMK on the icon and choose the Unmount item.

- Or you can do it the traditional way by typing into a text console window:

       mount /mnt/floppy

  to mount, for example, the floppy drive, and

       umount /mnt/floppy

  to unmount it. (Note; type "umount" not "unmount")

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