Linux Tips: A Folder View That Even a Gnome Would Love

Gnome 2.6's Nautilus file manager gives a new view of your folders; free software via Xandros Networks.

Technical Project Manager Matthew Newton of PC World is a self-proclaimed writer-editor-tinkerer-artist-geek who writes the Free Agent column about Free Software.

If you're used to Windows Explorer, the new version of Nautilus (the Gnome file manager) may throw you at first. Starting with Gnome 2.6, Nautilus behaves less like Windows Explorer and more like the Finder on pre-OS X Macs. Every folder opens in its own window, and each folder window "remembers" its shape, size, view settings, background, and scroll position. It's a love-it-or-hate-it method of operation--one that a lot of Windows converts and longtime Gnome users have decided they hate. If you prefer a browser-style file-manager window, select Browse Filesystem from the Gnome Applications menu. But don't give up on Nautilus's folders too quickly.

First, set the default view for the folders you access often. For instance, open the folder where you dump pictures from your digital camera, and select View, View as Image Collection. Now you can scroll through thumbnails of all the images in that folder. Click any image to see a larger version with all of the metadata that your camera attached to it (usually date and time stamps, resolution, and exposure information; see FIGURE 1

FIGURE 1: You can see more information about your images in Gnome version 2.6's Nautilus file manager.

). The Edit menu provides commands for rotating or flipping an image; make changes permanent by clicking File, Save. The next time you open the folder, it snaps to this mode.

In other folders, try the Icon and the List modes in the View menu. Fiddle with the zoom--View, Zoom In and View, Zoom Out--to find the best layout. (When you zoom in on text documents, Nautilus fits their first few words onto the docs' icons.)

If you find yourself becoming buried in a sea of windows, learn the power of Gnome's double-middle-click function. A double-middle-click is when you double-click your mouse's middle button, or its scroll wheel if it lacks a third button. Opening a folder with a double-middle-click pops the new window open while also closing the previous one. That isn't helpful if you want to drag a few files from one window to another (in that case, double-click as usual to open each window). But to drill down into nested folders, double-middle-click to keep unneeded windows from cluttering the screen.

What if you're four or five folder levels deep and you want to copy a file to a folder that's three levels up? In the lower left of every folder window, you will see a down-arrow next to the folder's name. Click that to open a menu of parent folders. Select any of them to open its window (see FIGURE 2

FIGURE 2: To jump to a parent folder, click its name at the bottom of the window.

).

Xandros Freedom

Anyone moving from Windows to Linux will find Xandros Desktop a solid introduction to the operating system. The OS is easy to install and friendly toward new Linux converts. But Xandros Desktop comes with a smaller number of applications than do other Linux distributions. For instance, what if you're dying to run Gaim--a top-notch universal instant messaging client--only to find that it isn't included with Xandros?

You can pull additional Free Software down from the Debian project through the Xandros Networks package-management tool. Click Launch, Xandros Networks, select Edit, Set Application Sources, click the box for 'Debian unsupported site', and click OK. Select Settings, Expert View.

You'll see many new application categories on the left. If you choose an application (such as Gaim) from the Debian collection, Xandros Networks will automatically install the necessary support files. But if the app you select requires upgrading half your system to Debian packages, you may end up with a mess--perhaps even a mess that won't boot. Nevertheless, Gaim and many other programs will install without a hitch.