Another File-Manager Window

[mikeslr]

Did you ever need to open a 2nd File-Manager Window so that you could create symbolic links or copy/move files from where they are to where you want them to be. Well, of course, you can open a second window from the Menu>Filesystem or a launcher on a panel. But then you have to file-browse from the File-Manager's default opening location to the folder you're want to work on.

Edit: Recommend that you skip the rest of this post and instead read William2's reply, here, viewtopic.php?p=39552#p39552 for the reasons given here, viewtopic.php?p=39586#p39586

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The attached AnotherWindow.pet will open a 2nd window in the parent directory of your work-folder. Just Right-Click the folder you're working on and select anotherwindow from the OpenWith drop-down list.

AnotherWindow.pet

(463 Bytes) Downloaded 86 times

It's a simple application consisting of two files: (1) a bash-script in /root/my-application/bin which calls your default file-manager, and (2) a relative symbolic link to that bash-scipt in
/root/.config/rox.sourceforge.net/OpenWith.

I would like to have published something fancier. Such as file "2" being a symbolic link to a rox-app in either /usr/local/apps or /usr/local/bin that showed a nice icon. A renamed duplicate of the defaultfilemanager rox app in /usr/local/bin should have worked. Alternatively so should merely a renamed duplicate of
/usr/share/applications/defaultfilemanager.desktop.
The optimum would have been that the choice would itself appear on the Right-Click menu without having to select "OpenWith". Even just having the choice appear with an icon. But I never quite figured out how.

If anyone feels like providing those aesthetic improvements, don't hesitate. I'd be interested in examining how it's done. Feel free to use this icon if you want:

AnotherWindow.png (90.73 KiB) Viewed 2054 times

[MochiMoppel]

Well, of course, you can open a second window from the Menu>Filesystem or a launcher on a panel. But then you have to file-browse from the File-Manager's default opening location to the folder you're want to work on.

Or in a ROX-Filer window you could simply right-click to context menu: Window -> New Window (or Parent, New Window) . You could also create a keyboard shortcut. I use single key "V", which in my Browser copies a tab, so the action is very similar.

It's a simple application consisting of two files: (1) a bash-script in /root/my-application/bin which calls your default file-manager

No, it does not. Your script contains only a single command: defaultfilemanager. Some Puppies have no defaultfilemanager file.

, and (2) a relative symbolic link to that bash-scipt in
/root/.config/rox.sourceforge.net/OpenWith.

which means that the default filemanager must be ROX-Filer.

[williams2]

Did you ever need to open a 2nd File-Manager Window so that you could create symbolic links or copy/move files from where they are to where you want them to be

i usually middle click to open a new rox window.

For example, I often press Win+E to open a rox window.
I press the 9 key to display my download folder, arranged with the newest files at the top.
I middle click the up arrow icon at the top left of the rox window, which opens a new window showing the folder that my download folder is in.
Voila, an instant two pane file manager.

the folder that contains my download folder has other folders like movies, mp3s, pdfs, text files, pictures, zipped files etc etc.

Middle clicking a folder opens a new rox window showing the contents of that folder.
Middle clicking the up arrow icon opens a new rox window showing the contents of the parent dir.
Middle clicking the refresh icon opens a duplicate of the current rox window.
Middle clicking the home icon opens a new window showing the home dir.

Since I am running the dwm window manager, I can press alt+T to instantly tile the windows.

[mikeslr]

"When in doubt read the manual". Or ask an expert. Thanks, Williams2 for providing information to easily do that which I amateurishly tried, but even better.

In the hope that these methods of using Rox-filer become less obscure, I can not do better than repeat the salient* parts of Williams2 post [just above this one] under a post-title which would not, itself, hide them.

Williams2:
"...middle click the up arrow icon at the top left of the rox window, which opens a new window showing the folder that my download folder is in...
Middle clicking a folder opens a new rox window showing the contents of that folder.
Middle clicking the up arrow icon opens a new rox window showing the contents of the parent dir.
Middle clicking the refresh icon opens a duplicate of the current rox window.
Middle clicking the home icon opens a new window showing the home dir."

-=-=-
* Other parts of Williams2's post are also insightful but AFAICT don't work OOTB.

[Grey]

Middle clicking

In Fossapup, not only clicking the middle mouse button works, but also the right one.
And do not forget about the icon lurking between home and refresh - bookmarks. There are Recently Visited places and you can create quick links to frequently visited directories (the middle and right buttons also open them in a new window):

rox_bookmarks.png (9.14 KiB) Viewed 1974 times

[williams2]

also insightful but AFAICT don't work OOTB.

afaik, jwm has Winkey+E (Super+E) set to open a new rox window,
and Win+T set to open a new urxvt terminal window.

If you mean pressing 9 in a rox window to go to the downloads folder, it works for me because I set it up that way.

In a rox window, you can navigate to your download dir, then press ctrl+9
and when ever you want to see your download dir, you can just press 9 to immediately go to the download dir.

It works for any dir and for any one of the numbers 0-9

i usually want the view in the downloads dir to be sorted by Date (mtime).
You can right click on the window background and select Display each time you open a new window showing that location.
But you can set the window view that way you want, then right click the background of the window and select Display -> Save Current Display Settings....
Then when ever you go to that dir, it will be displayed the way it was when you saved the display settings.
In my case, when I view my downloads dir, the files will be sorted with the newest files at the top.

So to see the files in my download dir, sorted with the newest files at the top, I can
press Win+E to pop up a new rox window.
then press 9 to go to the downloads dir.

[Grey]

Win+T
Win+E

Fossapup. 50%. Win+T works. Win+E doesn't work.
It all depends on the distro. In Slacko 7.0, the opposite is true - Win+E works, but Win+T doesn't.

Of course, everything can be configured by hand. We're talking out-of-the-box settings.

By the way, I must remember to talk to 666philb somehow. Fossapup (and it seems all the younger relatives) can call the main menu in two ways - Alt+F1 and F12. It is necessary to remove F12 in the future, because this prevents some programs from launching their functions:

jwm_hotkey.png (7.54 KiB) Viewed 1931 times

[MochiMoppel]

By the way, I must remember to talk to 666philb somehow. Fossapup (and it seems all the younger relatives) can call the main menu in two ways - Alt+F1 and F12.It is necessary to remove F12 in the future, because this prevents some programs from launching their functions:

Please do! I pointed this out 6 years ago but of course nothing changed and some people even seem to like it
I don't know when this idiotic F12 assignment was introduced. It's now in woof-CE, so please try to convince the woof-CE custodians. Good luck!

[Grey]

6 years ago but of course nothing changed and some people even seem to like it

Tradition, maybe ? Not everyone likes it, but we SHOULD do it.

I'm still interested in something else. Why, after calling the main menu, you can move through its items not only with the cursor keys, but also with the "h j k l" keys, which duplicate the cursor keys (left, down, up and right, respectively). Why exactly this variation (w a s d - better )?

[6502coder]

Well, those (hjkl) are the cursor movement keys in the "vi" editor, so it's somewhat of a UNIX/Linux standard, much as the "Wordstar diamond" was a standard back in the day.

[Grey]

Well, those (hjkl) are the cursor movement keys in the "vi" editor, so it's somewhat of a UNIX/Linux standard, much as the "Wordstar diamond" was a standard back in the day.

Traditions can sometimes be good. But not always.
My ZX Spectrum supports many joystick interfaces (Kempston, Interface II, Protek, Fuller, Cursor). A Cursor joystick maps to the cursor keys on the Spectrum keyboard (keys 5-8 and 0 for fire).
But using such a combination on a modern keyboard in the main menu is a wild horror