


XFILER(1)                                               XFILER(1)


NAME
       xfiler - X file manager with drag and drop capabilities


SYNOPSIS
       xfiler [-version] [directories ...]


DESCRIPTION
       Xfiler is a file  manager program for the X window system formely known
       as files, and before that as xfm. It provides virtually all of the fea-
       tures that you would expect in a file manager - move around your direc-
       tory tree in multiple windows, move, copy or delete files,  and  launch
       programs  with  simple mouse operations. Directory displays are updated
       automatically in regular intervals when the contents of  the  directory
       changes. User-definable file types let you specify a command to be exe-
       cuted when double-clicking on a file. Last but not  least,  xfiler  can
       automatically  mount  and  unmount special devices like floppies as you
       open and close the corresponding directories (mount points).

OPTIONS
       xfiler accepts a list of directories as  command  line  arguments.  For
       each  directory, xfiler opens a  file window. If no directory is given,
       the user's home directory will be used.

USAGE
       Most of it should be fairly obvious. There is one or more file  windows
       in  which  directories (also termed folders) are displayed. In order to
       perform an action, you either select items and then invoke a menu oper-
       ation,  or  you  drag  items  from a file window to a second (maybe the
       same) file window. You can also double-click on an item to start a cor-
       responding  action  (like  launching an application, editing a file, or
       changing directories), and press the right menu button on  an  item  to
       bring up a menu containing operations for a single file or application.
       File operations are accessed from the file window menu bar as usual.

       The left-hand mouse button selects an item (and deselects all others in
       the  same  window).  The second button toggles the selected state of an
       item.

       You can drag with the left-hand button to another window to move  files
       from  one  directory to another. The second button used in the same way
       will copy files. New file windows can be opened by  simply  dragging  a
       directory icon to the root window.

       The  action taken when double-clicking on a file depends on the type of
       the file. If it is a directory, it is displayed in the file window.  If
       it  is an executable, the program is started. Other files are opened in
       the default editor (specified by the  defaultEditor  resource),  unless
       another action is given in the rc file (see CONFIGURATION below).

       Directories  can  be  displayed in three different forms: tree (display
       subdirectories in tree-like form), icon (display directories and  files
       as  icons) and text (similar to ls -l). These options are selected from



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XFILER(1)                                               XFILER(1)


       the View menu. In the tree form, clicking on the arrows takes you up or
       down one level.

       Directory  displays are updated automatically in regular intervals when
       the contents of the directory changes. You can also explicitly  request
       a  folder  update by double-clicking on the directory name field of the
       corresponding file window.

MENU COMMANDS
       FILE MENU

       File manipulation operations.

       New...
           Create a new (and empty) file.

       Move...
           Rename a single item (directory or file) or move selected items  to
           another directory.

       Copy...
           Create  a  copy  of a single item under a new name or copy selected
           items to another directory.

       Link...
           Like Copy, but creates  symbolic  links  rather  than  copying  the
           selected items.

       Delete
           Delete the selected items.

       Select...
           Select  items  by  pattern. The usual metacharacters are recognized
           (*, ?, [ ]). (Currently there is no provision for escaping  these.)

       Select all
           Select all items in the current directory (except the parent direc-
           tory).

       Deselect
           Deselect all items.

       Quit
           Terminate xfiler.

       FOLDER MENU

       Operations dealing with directories and the file window.

       New...
           Create a new directory.

       Go to...
           Display the specified directory.



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       Home
           Display your home directory.

       Up
           Display the parent directory.

       Empty
           Delete all items in the current directory.

       Close
           Close this file window.

       VIEW MENU

       Options for the directory display.

       Tree
           Select the tree form display.

       Icons
           Select the icons form display.

       Text
           Select the text form display.

       Sort by name
           Sort directory by name.

       Sort by size
           Sort directory by size.

       Sort by date
           Sort directory by date.

       Filter...
           Specify a pattern to determine the files which should be  displayed
           in the file window. (This only affects normal files, i.e. directory
           items will not be filtered. The Clear button in the  Filter  dialog
           form reverts to the full display.)

       Hide folders
           Suppress directory items.

       Mix folders/files
           Mix directories and other files.

       Show hidden files
           Show hidden files (files starting with a dot).

       FILE POPUP MENU

       Operations  on a single file. This menu pops up when pressing the right
       mouse button on a directory or file icon.




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       Open
           Open a file window on the selected item. This option is only avail-
           able if the selected item is a directory.

       Edit
           Edit the selected item using the program specified in the defaultE-
           ditor resource (only available if the selected item is not a direc-
           tory).

       View
           Same  as Edit, but invokes a program for viewing the file (default-
           Viewer resource).

       Move...
           Move the selected item.

       Copy...
           Copy the selected item.

       Link...
           Create a symbolic link.

       Delete
           Delete the selected item.

       Information...
           Display information about the selected item (file size, permissions
           and such).

       Permissions...
           Change the permissions of the selected item.


RESOURCES
       Various  aspects  of xfiler can be configured by changing corresponding
       resource settings in the  applications  default  file.  Some  important
       resources are listed below:

       bitmapPath

       pixmapPath
           The  path  on  which to search for bitmap and pixmap icons, respec-
           tively.

       configFile
           The names of the system-wide configuration file used by Xfiler (see
           CONFIGURATION).

       doubleClickTime
           Set  the  time interval in milliseconds for which a sequence of two
           mouse clicks should be interpreted as a double click. Default: 300.

       updateInterval
           Set the time interval in milliseconds in which to perform automatic



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           folder updates. Default: 10000.

       confirmXXX
           Resources to request confirmation for various operations.  XXX  can
           be  any  one of Deletes, DeleteFolder, Copies, Moves, Overwrite and
           Quit. By default these are all enabled.

       defaultEditor
           The command with which xfiler invokes your favourite editor.

       defaultViewer
           The command with which xfiler invokes your favorite viewer.

       BourneShells
           Xfiler calls other programs by executing your shell (as taken  from
           the  environment  variable  SHELL).  Since Bourne compatible shells
           need one extra parameter, xfiler needs to know about  the  type  of
           the  shell.  If  this resource is not set (default), or is equal to
           the special string AUTO, a quick-and-dirty test is done at startup.
           Set  the  BourneShells  resource  to a comma separated list of full
           path names of Bourne compatible shells if you experience  problems.
           If  your shell matches an entry in this list, xfiler will assume it
           is a Bourne shell.

       There are way too many available resources to list  them  all  in  this
       manual page, so please take a look at the application defaults file for
       more information.

CONFIGURATION
       Besides the application resources, xfiler can be configured by means of
       a configuration file called .Filesrc located in your home directory. If
       this file is not found, xfiler search for a system-wide one. The  loca-
       tion  of such file may vary and can be adjusted using the corresponding
       X resource. It is a plain ASCII file which can be edited using any text
       editor.   Any  line  in  this file which starts with a hash sign (#) is
       interpreted as a comment; empty lines  are  ignored.  Note  that  there
       exists a line splitting this file in two parts: file type configuration
       and device configuration. Also, if xfiler has been  compiled  with  the
       MAGIC_HEADERS  option then another file called FilesMagic (system-wide)
       or ~/.FilesMagic is used (see below).


FILE TYPE CONFIGURATION
       The first half of the Filesrc file  specifies  the  types  of  ordinary
       (non-executable,  non-directory)  files  which xfiler should recognize.
       Each file type associates a pattern with  an  icon  and  two  different
       kinds  of  actions (commands to be executed on the file). If xfiler has
       been compiled with the MAGIC_HEADERS option  then  it  is  possible  to
       specify  icons  (but  not  actions)  for directories and executables as
       well. Each line has the following format:

               pattern:icon:push-action:drop-action

       As indicated, the different fields are separated by a colon (use \:  to



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       escape  the  :  character,  and  \\  to  escape the backslash character
       itself). The meaning of these fields is explained below.

       pattern
           This field allows you to specify which files belong  to  the  type.
           File  types  can  either  be specified by a filename pattern, which
           refers to the name of a file, or a magic header,  which  refers  to
           the contents of the file, or both.

           There  are three types of filename patterns: Literal patterns spec-
           ify a literal filename such as ``core.'' Suffix patterns specify  a
           suffix  the  filename  must  match,  and are indicated by a leading
           asterisk, as in ``*.c.'' (All characters following  the  initial  *
           are  interpreted  as  literals;  there  is no expansion of embedded
           wildcards.)  Finally,  prefix  patterns  specify  a  prefix  to  be
           matched against the filename. They are denoted by a trailing aster-
           isk, as in ``README*.''

           Magic headers are specified by a symbolic name given in the  Files-
           Magic  file,  enclosed  in  angle  brackets. Entries referring to a
           magic header cause the contents of the file to be  checked  against
           the  magic  numbers  in  the  FilesMagic  file. The format of these
           entries is described in Section MAGIC HEADERS below.

       icon
           The name of the bitmap or pixmap file containing  the  icon  to  be
           displayed for this file type.

       push-action
           The command to be executed when the user double-clicks on a file of
           this type. This command is passed to the shell (via  -c),  together
           with  the name of the selected file. The command is executed in the
           directory where the selected  file  is  located.  The  filename  is
           available  in  the  command as the positional parameter number one,
           such that an action of the form xyz $1 invokes the command  xyz  on
           the  selected  file.   There  are  also  two  special kinds of push
           actions built into xfiler, EDIT and VIEW which invoke  the  default
           editor and default viewer on the selected file, respectively.

       drop-action
           Similar to the push action, this field denotes a command to be exe-
           cuted when a collection of selected files is dropped onto the file.
           The  absolute  target  filename  itself  is available as positional
           parameter $1, the remaining arguments denote the names of the files
           dropped onto the target file. The command is executed in the direc-
           tory which contains the selected files. No  special  built-in  com-
           mands are available for this type of action.

       If  an action field is empty, the corresponding action defaults to ``do
       nothing.'' For instance, the following entry defines  an  icon  and  an
       EDIT push action for .c files:

               *.c:files_c.xpm:EDIT:




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       As  another example, here is an entry for compressed (i.e. gzipped) tar
       files. The push action causes the archive to be  extracted,  while  the
       drop  action  replaces the contents of the archive with the files which
       have been dragged onto the archive:

               *.tar.gz:files_taz.xpm:exec tar xfvz $1:exec tar cfvz $*

       (Note the use of the shell's exec command. Since  actions  are  invoked
       through  the  shell,  it  is often useful to replace the shell with the
       actual command which is to be executed, in  order  to  conserve  memory
       space on small systems.)

       It  is possible that different patterns given in the filesrc file over-
       lap.  In this case xfiler uses the first pattern which matches.  There-
       fore  you  should  always  list  the  more specific patterns first. For
       instance, the following two entries specify what to do with  compressed
       tar files (specific case) and other .gz files (default case):

               *.tar.gz:files_taz.xpm:exec tar xfvz $1:exec tar cfvz $*
               *.gz:files_z.xpm:exec gunzip $1:

       xfiler  also  enables you to prompt for additional parameters before an
       action is executed. This is  generally  more  useful  with  application
       entries  than with file actions, and will therefore be described in the
       context of application configuration, see PARAMETER DIALOGS below.

DRAG AND DROP OPERATIONS
       xfiler handles the following DND types: DndFile, DndExe, DndLink,  Dnd-
       Files,  DndRawData  and  DndText.   DndText  and DndRawData are ignored
       unless the drop occurred over a dir icon or over an empty region of the
       file  window  (called  iconbox).   Over the iconbox or a dir icon a new
       file is created and the DND data is thrown  into  it.  Other  kinds  of
       drops  are  treated  according  to  the  target.   Over icons with drop
       actions the corresponding action is executed in the  directory  of  the
       target;  the  target  name  and  the DND data are passed as parameters.
       When the drop occurs over an executable file that file is  executed  in
       its  directory  and the DND data is used as parameters.  Over dir icons
       or the iconbox, a distinction between internal and external (drops that
       come  from  another  application)  is  made; external drops are ignored
       while internal ones yield move/copy operations.  Drop made  over  other
       kind of icons are ignored.

MAGIC HEADERS
       When  compiled with the MAGIC_HEADERS option, xfiler can determine file
       types using the magic numbers contained in the files.

       The magic numbers are described in a configuration file whose  path  is
       obtained  from  the  magicFile  resource. The format of the file is the
       same as that of the magic(5) file, with some  extensions  like  regular
       expression matching. (See xfmtype(1).)

       There are five built-in types which are used if all the patterns in the
       magic file fail:




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       unreadable
           Read failed.

       empty
           File size is zero.

       special
           Not a regular file.

       ascii
           Could be read and looks like ASCII.

       data
           Could be read but all tests failed and doesn't look like ASCII.

       To specify a magic file type you include it between angle  brackets  at
       the beginning of the pattern field:

               <GIF>:files_gif.xpm:exec xpaint $1:

       or combined with a filename pattern:

               <ascii>*.cc:files_cc.xpm:EDIT:

       In  the  latter  case,  the  file must meet both conditions, i.e. be an
       ASCII file and have a .cc suffix.

       To include angle brackets in the type or the pattern  you  must  escape
       them using backslashes.

       If  xfiler is compiled with the MAGIC_HEADERS option, it is also possi-
       ble to specify custom icons for directories and executables.  For  this
       purpose,  the  magic  file  distributed with xfiler provides magic file
       types named <DIR>, <EXEC>, etc. For instance, here is  an  entry  which
       specifies a special icon for hidden directories:

               <DIR>.*:hidden_dir.xpm::

       In the same way you can also override the built-in icons for displaying
       arbitrary directories and executables:

               <DIR>..:parent_dir.xpm::
               <DIR>:plain_dir.xpm::
               <DIR LNK>:link_dir.xpm::

DEVICE CONFIGURATION
       The device configuration section of filesrc,  lets  you  specify  which
       mount  points xfiler should keep track of, and which actions to perform
       in order to mount and unmount  the  corresponding  file  systems.  This
       allows  you to access file systems on special devices such as floppies,
       CD-Roms, etc. in a transparent way. All you have to do is  to  enter  a
       directory  named  in filesrc (e.g. by opening a file window on it), and
       xfiler will automatically perform the corresponding  mount  action  for
       you.  Likewise,  if  you  leave  such  a  directory, xfiler invokes the



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       corresponding unmount action. (CAUTION: You still  have  to  take  care
       that you unmount a file system, e.g. by closing every file window which
       has been opened on it, before you physically remove  the  corresponding
       medium.)  Alternatively, it is recommended that you use external utili-
       ties like supermount to perform such operations  without  any  risk  of
       data loss.

       An entry of the devide section has the following format:

               directory:mount-action:umount-action

       The  directory field denotes the mount point of the file system, mount-
       action the command to be executed in order to mount  the  file  system,
       and  umount-action the command for unmounting the file system.  Here is
       a ``typical'' entry from a filesrc file:

               /disk/a:mount -t msdos -o user /dev/fd0 /disk/a:umount /disk/a

       Of course, the details of how to mount a floppy file  system  may  vary
       from  system  to  system, and you might have to take special actions if
       you want to use mount as an ordinary user. See mount(8) for details.

PARAMETER DIALOGS
       xfiler lets you prompt the user for additional parameters when  a  push
       or  drop action is invoked. In such a case, a dialog form appears, with
       one field for each  parameter,  into  which  the  user  can  enter  the
       required  arguments.  Currently,  no  checking  is done on the supplied
       parameters; in fact, the user can simply leave all fields empty. Param-
       eters are specified in an action using the form

               %parameter-name%

       where  parameter-name is an arbitrary string not containing the % char-
       acter, which will be displayed in the dialog form. (As usual, a literal
       %  character  can  be escaped with the backslash.) xfiler replaces each
       such %...% construct with the corresponding value entered by the  user.


CONSOLE OUTPUT
       Programs  started  by  xfiler  inherit  their standard output and error
       streams from xfiler. Therefore, if you start xfiler from  your  session
       or  window  manager  instead  of an xterm, you should redirect xfiler's
       standard output and error to something which you can read while  xfiler
       is  running,  if  the  window manager does not already do that for you.
       Usually, you will reassign both  stdout  and  stderr  to  /dev/console,
       using the command:

               xfiler >/dev/console 2>&1

       Then  you can read error messages and other output produced by launched
       applications in the console window on your desktop (such  as  xconsole,
       or xterm -C).





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ICONS
       xfiler supports icons in both the X bitmap and Arnaud Le Hors' XPM for-
       mat.  A collection of useful icons is included in the distribution.

FILES
       ~/.Filesrc
           Standard location for xfiler configuration file.

SEE ALSO
       X(1), xconsole(1), xterm(1), mount(8), Arnaud Le Hors: XPM Manual.  The
       X  PixMap  Format,  Groupe Bull, 1993. The Drag and Drop HOWTO by Cesar
       Crusius.


CAVEATS AND BUGS
       xfiler catches the TERM signal to  gracefully  terminate  the  program,
       unmounting  all  open  file  systems which have been mounted by xfiler.
       However, some window and session managers may not send TERM signals  to
       their  client  applications when terminating an X session. Therefore it
       might be necessary to explicitly quit xfiler  or  manually  close  file
       windows before exiting X.

       xfiler depends on your shell - see resource BourneShells.

       Overwriting a directory while moving does not work.

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright (c) 1990-1993 by Simon Marlow
       Copyright (c) 1994, 1995 by Albert Graef
       Copyright (c) 1996 by Andre Hentz
       Copyright (c) 1999 by Ulric Eriksson

AUTHORS
       The  original version of this program (called xfm) was written by Simon
       Marlow (simonm@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk) at the University of Glasgow.  Albert
       Graef  (ag@muwiinfa.geschichte.uni-mainz.de) at the University of Mainz
       is the author of the lastest xfm version (1.3.2)  which  contains  many
       bug  fixes  and  enhancements. Other people have contributed additional
       features:  Dave  Safford  (dave.safford@edu.tamu.sc;  automatic  folder
       updates);  Robert Vogelgesang (vogelges@rhrk.uni-kl.de; shell detection
       code); Juan D. Martin (juando@cnm.us.es; magic headers); Kevin  Rodgers
       (rodgers@lvs-emh.lvs.loral.com; Filter option); Scott Heavner (sdh@fal-
       staff.MAE.cwru.edu; View option); Brian King (ender@ee.WPI.EDU; default
       values in parameter dialogs).

       In 1996, this program underwent a complete reformulation in order to be
       able to work together with DnD (the Drag and  Drop  protocol  by  Cesar
       Crusius). Many features of earlier versions were removed due to the new
       role played by xfiler in the context of OffiX. OffiX is  an  expandable
       environment  built around DnD and aimed to give novice and expert users
       a comfortable and common desktop.

       In 1999 this code was snarfed by Ulric Eriksson to become part of  Siag
       Office.  At the same time, the user interface was redesigned to conform



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       to the other Siag cousins.  Intended as a small baseline file  manager,
       it  is  available  for all file management needs, but can be configured
       away.






















































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