Nine Things You Should Know About Nautilus

lessthan0 writes "The Nautilus program in GNOME is not only the default file manager, it creates and manages the desktop. While it looks simple on the surface, there is a lot of hidden power under the shell. The latest version of Nautilus is 2.14.0, which is included in Fedora Core 5. article covers a few non-obvious things about how Nautilus works."

Comments

Skip to Eight: Nautilus Scripts

[Whiney Mac Fanboy]

The most useful feature of Nautilus is the scripts functionality, so simple & elegant.

I have a lot of iso cdrom images, that I use occasionally - I popped the iso mount script in my ~/.gnome/nautilus-scripts & off I went, merilly mounting & using iso files.

I looked for equivilant functionality under windows recently & just couldn't find it - this microsoft app wouldn't mount (map, whatever you whacky windows guys call it) lots of my isos, rar was nagware (and required you to extract, rather then giving you a virtual drive), nero's expensive, etc etc.

Anyway, back on topic - go download Nautilus scripts from g-script they've got loads of scripts, which solve a lot of problems in a very unixy way. All in all, handy.

Re:Skip to Eight: Nautilus Scripts

[D4rk Fx]

Daemon Tools is what you're looking for, for mounting ISOs in windows.

Re:Skip to Eight: Nautilus Scripts

[Lovepump]

1. It doesn't - at least the last version I installed (3 months ago, I guess) doesn't.
2. It uninstalls in exactly the same way as every other Windows application - via Add/Remove programs.
3. It creates a virtual CD-drive and mounts the image under each one. You can have up to 4.
4. I've never heard of these rumours, so I can't really comment. I do know I've been using it for the last 4 or 5 years without any spyware, adware, trojans, etc.

I suspect that the rumours of spyware and ad-ware comes from the people who are using it to mount ISO's of games which have had little 'surprises' installed by some distribution site before it's released to the masses clamouring for a pirated copy of Doom4 or some other such shite.

Re:Skip to Eight: Nautilus Scripts

[Whiney Mac Fanboy]

OS X can mount ISO's out of the box. Perhaps Nautilus should include the ISO mounting script with their distro.

1) Nautilus is not a distro.
2) All linux distros can mount ISOs out of the box
3) The Nautilus script is a pretty front end to mount, just like OS X (presumably) has a pretty front end to hdiutil (I'm not near a mac machine so I can't check)
4) Thanks for piping up about OS X in a discussion comparing linux to windows! Perhaps you deserve my username more then I do?

As a long-time GNOME user...

[Black Parrot]

The only thing I've ever bothered to learn about Nautilus is how to disable it after every upgrade.

Re:As a long-time GNOME user...

[ajs]

Applications->Accessories->Text editor; Write script; Save script; Right-click->Properties; Click Permissions tab; turn on execute; Close; Double-click script.

Not everything done through the GUI has to be 100% visual. That's the whole point to combining the metaphors via nautilus scripting and actions, for example.

The point is that when working THROUGH a GUI, you can choose to use a command-line or not as you go, and for the most appropriate jobs.

Re:Kan it run in KDE

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't you mean "insensitive klod"?

Trash Dot

[digitaldc]

One: Adding Delete
The ~/.Trash directory is where files are moved if you delete local files. On mounted volumes, Nautilus will create a hidden .Trash-uid directory if you move a file to the trash, as long as you have the file permissions.

So will /. sue for copyright infringement? Or is it DRM? Or is it just some Trashy slander?

Next gen file manager

[gimpimp]

if you like nautilus, but you'd like something faster, smaller etc, take a look at thunar. It's the file manager for the xfce project. works well in gnome as a nautilus replacement, and where nautilus has extensions(scripts), thunar has plugins. have a look.

Knowledge is Always a Good Thing

[eno2001]

Just a few weeks ago I posted a JE asking people what is so special about the spatial file management metaphor. Not so much because I'm bitching about it, but because I was genuinely curious about how my Slashdot friends feel. I got some good responses as well as some really good conversation going about Nautilus and GNOME. I'd been on a KDE journey (I prefer GNOME and no I don't want a flame fest both environment have their good and bad points) since November to really kick the tires and just switched back to GNOME. I decided to take the suggestions from my friends and post them in another more cohesive JE in the hopes that it would be helpful. I have to say with my new found knowledge about Nautilus plus what the article posted on the front page today reveals, I'm really enjoying Nautilus a lot these days.

Nautilus Actions

[tjwhaynes]

The most useful feature of Nautilus is the scripts functionality, so simple & elegant.

I used to think so but then I discovered Nautilus Actions and things have been a lot better since then. But don't throw away your Nautilus scripts - you can use them with Actions. The beauty of Actions is that it is sensitive to the current selected file/files/directory/directories/mix so that only Actions that are appropriate are visible.

For example, if you have a script to make a thumbnail of one or more JPEGs, then you can set the criteria for Actions to only show you that action for selections of just JPEGs.

Give it a try - it's a really nice feature. Hopefully it will be part of GNOME 2.16.

Cheers,
Toby Haynes

Hiding the desktop

[xav12]

The most useful tip I know for Nautilus is how to stop it drawing the desktop:

Launch GConf (gconf-editor on the Dapper command line), navigate to /apps/nautilus/preferences and uncheck the "show_desktop" option.

This is especially useful if you connect to a Linux box using XDMCP from a machine using a rootless X server. I use Cygwin/X in rootless mode, and this switch means that bringing a Linux application to the top doesn't cause the root window (i.e. the Linux desktop) to be drawn, obscuring the Windows applications behind.

Re:I use gnome, but I hate nautilus

[fader]

My apologies if this is incorrect, but I believe nautilus is responsible for the disgustingly *bad* interface that pops up when you run firefox under gnome and want to choose an application to open something with. I can't just type in a command and hit enter... that would be too easy.

Yup, you're incorrect. That's the GTK2 file dialog, not Nautilus. They look similar because they're both GNOMEish, but the file dialog isn't actually a part of Nautilus. Oh, and you *can* type in a path... did you try to just start typing? As soon as you hit that first /, a textbox will appear. It even automagically completes as you type. It's extremely slick and fast if you already know the path you want.

One thing I know about Nautilus.

[TractorBarry]

Nine things I should know ? Sorry but there's only one thing I know about Nautilus and that's that I can't stand using it. My reasons:

1 The whole Spatial browsing idea. Yes you can turn it off (The is the first thing I do when I come across it) but it's a rotten idea. You can tell it's a rotten idea from the recent introduction of the "expanding folders" paradigm which is attempting to return "left hand " tree view functionality into the "single pane" spatial paradigm. Spatial browsing should have been left with the early MACs and the Atari, Amiga etc.

2 Poor keyboard support. My main gripe with Nautilus is that you can't navigate by pressing a key to "walk round objects whose name starts with a letter" as you can in Konqueror, Windows Explorer etc. etc. For me this makes finding files a complete pain in the arse. It's such basic obvious, useful functionality I can't believe it's missing.

3 Poor right mouse button support. Select some files and try to right click so you can select the "copy" option from the context menu. You can't. As soon as you right click then your current selection is discarded and the item nearest the mouse pointer is selected. This also has the added effect of changing the right click context menu. Great.

4 Similarly when you've got several files/directories on the clipboard and you want to paste them into a folder with a mouse click you can't. The right click once again selects an item etc. etc.

Personally I find Nautilus to be the single biggest impediment to me using Linux as my primary O/S. I run Ubuntu and for some reason Konqueror doesn't look quite right. But Nautilus sucks... it's as if the developers have never used a computer with a fully functional file manager.

And yes I have tried raising the issues on Bugzilla but my impression is that the Gnome developers aren't interested in adding functionality. They only seem to be interested in simplifying things as much as possible ("Oh that might be difficult for some users to use so we're not adding it...")

But in the time honoured tradition of open source I've given up on Nautilus and have started writing my own file manager using Mono (not being a proficient C# coder it'll take me a while) It'll probably be pretty crappy in general but it'll at least allow me to perform my file management in a sensible way.

On day the Gnome desktop will have been reduced to a single button and then you'll be happy ;)

Ho hum, c'est la Vie.

Re:One thing I know about Nautilus.

[tjwhaynes]

1 The whole Spatial browsing idea. Yes you can turn it off

So turn it off!

2 Poor keyboard support. My main gripe with Nautilus is that you can't navigate by pressing a key to "walk round objects whose name starts with a letter" as you can in Konqueror, Windows Explorer etc. etc.

Umm - it works for me with GNOME 2.14. Pretty much everywhere too. If the backdrop has the focus, then I can choose items on the backdrop. If a filer window has the focus - yep - works there too. If I want to switch from window to window - Alt-Tab. If I want to switch from window to desktop, Ctl-Alt-Tab. If I'm in a loading dialogue, yes. If I'm in a save dialogue - it still works there too. Completion works too in those load/save scenarios - just hit Tab. I rarely take my hands off the keyboard - it's an essential feature for me.

3 Poor right mouse button support. Select some files and try to right click so you can select the "copy" option from the context menu. You can't.

Right click applies to the object you click on. So if you select a group of files and right-click on something else, you get the Context menu for that object. If however you select a group of files and right-click on *any* member of that group, you get the Context menu for that group. It's not that hard.

4 Similarly when you've got several files/directories on the clipboard and you want to paste them into a folder with a mouse click you can't. The right click once again selects an item etc. etc.

I thought you wanted to use the keyboard? Try select the group of files, Ctl-C, open the directory you want to paste things into, Ctl-V. Easy. Or you could have selected the group of files, right-click and choose cut or copy. Open the new location and right-click->Paste.

I used to be a hardened command line user. These days, using GNOME, I find myself using the Nautilus interface more and more. Along with Nautilus Actions, it allows me to get what I need done, quickly and easily.

Cheers,
Toby Haynes

Re:One thing I know about Nautilus.

[Nosklo]

I guess you must be using some strange ancient version or something. I have tried some of the stuff you said and the results where not quite like what you described:

1 The whole Spatial browsing idea. Yes you can turn it off (The is the first thing I do when I come across it) but it's a rotten idea.

So what? You can turn it off, period. Some people like it.

2 Poor keyboard support. My main gripe with Nautilus is that you can't navigate by pressing a key to "walk round objects whose name starts with a letter"

I type some letter and it goes to the file with that letter. If I know the name of the file, I keep typing more from the file name until that single file gets selected by elimination. It works wonders to find files. If I want to find a file named "nautilus" on a directory full of files starting with n, I can type "nau" and the file is selected. I don't keep typing n n n n n all over. It is just plain stupid.

3 Poor right mouse button support. Select some files and try to right click so you can select the "copy" option from the context menu. You can't.

You must right-click on the selection itself. Right clicking on an unselected item obviously changes selection to that item before opening context menu, since the "context" in that case is the unselected file. Unless, of course, you right click holding "control", which adds unselected item to the selection before popping up the menu. Behavior seems correct to me.

4 Similarly when you've got several files/directories on the clipboard and you want to paste them into a folder with a mouse click you can't. The right click once again selects an item etc. etc.

Similarly you must choose where you are "right-clicking". If you right click on a folder, the menu says "Paste Into Folder". If you right-click on an empty space on the folder you are currently on, the plain "paste" option shows up, but no "copy" or "cut" options. Of course, you can always select paste from the edit menu or use the universally known "CTRL-V" keystroke.

Just because it is not "just like windows" doesn't mean it is unusable. In fact, it is pretty good once you learn how to use it. Good luck writing your own file manager thought. Being in C#/Mono, I bet it will be blinding fast.[/sarcasm]