On
Line Help
Before files can be managed, it is important to understand all the main features of the available windows. So first of all, what windows will be visible...
The
application toolbox.
The
main control window.
A partition
window.
All windowa are separate windows, allowing movement and minimisation to suit everyone's taste in desktops. Wach of the window compents will now be explained:
As the display shows, there are several note-pages available, allowing division of the available applications onto several panels. To start an application, simply <LEFT-CLICK> on the icon for the application.
Please notice that each application is run independently of the FileMan application, so if FileMan is shutdown whilst launched applications are running, they will continue to run without being affected.
The main contol window, which is shown below,basically is separated into three sections.
The
menu bar.
At the top of the screen there is a region of context sensative menus. There are options on the menus which only become available when either files or directories are selected. The menus are inteligent and can invoke different actions depending on the file types passed to them.
The
toolbar.
In a similar manner to the menus, the toolbar is context sensative to the environment. This means that it is possible to extend the functionality of the existing toolbar to meet future needs..
The
partition information.
This can appear in various guises, including not at all! Basically clicking on the button or the icon representing this filesystem. All filesystems a user has access to will have a aseparate icon.
This is a simple demonstration of moving files. It will outline the few, simple steps that are actually required:
Making
the windows required visable.
Selecting
the required files.
Copying using file-select.
Copying using drag-n-drop.
The first thing to do is to actually make sure that the partition directory, either in this window or the current window, or even another partition window...
This
is a typical view of a partition window - notice that the directory details
are shown on the left, and the files are available on the right. In this
example, we want to copy files from another partittion into the march directory,
so the next step is to actually get the other partition on the screen:
In
this partition window, an MSDOS filesystem is shown. If the underlying
system supports access to such partitions, it is possible to manage these
filesystems alongside other UNIX type filesystems, including NFS.
The bext step is to actually highlighted anbd select the files to copy.As stated in eariler documentation, this is done using the <LEFT-CLICK> button and then the <RIGHT-CLICK>.
After the <RIGHT-CLICK>, the cursor will change to indicate a change in mode. At this point, simply <LEFT-CLICK> on the directory entry for the directory required, in any partition window, up should pop the following requestor:
This
small requestor will allow you to either move or copy the selected files.
The options at the base of the men, allow you to ensure that backups are
made if required, or whether to confirm an overwrite of an existing file.
Deleting files is certainly very easy,as the following section will show you...
The first action is to select a series of files which are to be deleted. There are two ways of deleting the files once they have been selected...
Using
the trashcan. When FileMan starts, you may have noticed that there is a
small icon at the top of the screen. This represents the trashcan.
Using
the menu option.
The
trashcan will either be full, (as is the one on the left), or empty. When
it is full, it means that there are currently one or more files in it.
Either way, by selecting the files, and dragging the cursor holding the
left mouse button down until over the trashcan and then releasing is the
easiest way to select some files to delete.
Alternatively, once a series of files have been hilighted and selected, you can use the menu option to remove a series of files. Below is a typical "File" menu on which the option can be seen...
The
forth option on the menu will allow the selected files to be deleted. Whichever
method is chosen,a requester will appear before any files are removed.
Once a series of files are ready to be deleted, the following requester will appear before files are removed:
Each file in turn will be shown in the requester, allowing the files to be deleted, if "YES" is selected, or not, (if "NO" is selected). To cancel the operation, simply click on "CANCEL", whilst to remove all the remaining files that have been selected, simply press "YES-ALL".
There are three basic ways in which an application can be invoked:
There
are many ways in which applications may be invoked. The most common methdd
is to simply double click on a file name which the application uses. If
the file is recognised the relevant application should be automatically
started to use this file. Obviously sometimes additional configuration
may need to be done to ensure this is the case (See
the section on configuration for more details).
The
other standard method of an application is to select a file which is used
with the application, and then choosing the "view" or "edit" menu
options on the "File" menu. This should invoke the relevant
application. Again, additional configuration may be required if the application
is not currently recognised by FileMan.
Finally,
an application may be configured into the "Application Toolbox".
This allows an application to be invoked simply by clicking on the relevant
icon in the "Application Toolbox". A typical view of this separate
window is shown below.