<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>An Invitation to KDE: Managing your files</TITLE>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="content-type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="KDE Intro">
<META NAME="description" CONTENT="KDE Quickstart Guide">
</HEAD>
<BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff" LINK="#aa0000" TEXT="#000000" > 
<FONT FACE="Helvetica">
<A HREF="http://www.kde.org/"><IMG SRC="logotp3.gif" BORDER="0" ALT="The K Desktop Environment"></A>
<HR WIDTH="100%" SIZE=2 ALIGN="CENTER" NOSHADE>

 
<P ALIGN="RIGHT">

<A HREF="index-6.html">Next</A>
<A HREF="index-4.html">Previous</A>
<A HREF="index.html#toc5">Table of Contents</A>
</P>
<H3><A NAME="s5">5. Managing your files</A></H3>

<P>
<P>A common metaphor of graphical desktops is the use of folders to
represent directories on your hard disk. Folders contain files and other
folders. A KDE application called <EM>kfm</EM>, the K File Manager, uses this
metaphor to help you manage your files.
<P>
<H3><A NAME="ss5.1">5.1 Using kfm</A>
</H3>

<P>The first time you start KDE, a window with lots of icons in it appears. 
This is a <EM>kfm</EM> window displaying the files in your home
directory (the area where your personal files are stored). The pathname
of the folder is displayed under the window's toolbar.
If you don't see such a window now,
click the icon on the panel that looks like a folder with a picture of
a house.
<P>To open a file or folder, simply click it once with the left mouse button.
Clicking the folder with two dots (..) takes you back one directory level.
You can also choose <B>View > Show Tree</B> from the menu to 
display the folder hierarchy for more direct navigation. Or you can
edit the path displayed under the toolbar, using the tab key to complete
directory names, to get to a specific directory quickly.
<P>
<H4>Opening Files</H4>

<P>KDE comes with a set of applications to view and edit many common kinds
of files, and when you click a file containing, say, a document or image, 
<EM>kfm</EM> will start the appropriate application to display the file. If it doesn't know
what application to start to open a file you clicked, <EM>kfm</EM> will prompt you
for the name of the application to run.
<P>Technical Note: <EM>kfm</EM> uses 
<A HREF="index-9.html#mime">MIME types</A> to associate
files with applications. 
<P>
<H4>Dragging and Dropping Icons</H4>

<P>To copy or move a file, simply drag its icon to the desktop, to another
<EM>kfm</EM> window, or to a folder icon.
When you release the button, <EM>kfm</EM> displays a menu to
allow you to choose to copy, move, or create a link to the file.
Note that if you choose to create a link, KDE creates a Unix "symbolic link"
(not a "hard link"), so if you move or delete the original file, the link will
be broken.
<P>Many KDE applications also support drag and drop operations: you can drag an
icon onto a window of running application, or onto an icon of an application
that is not started, to have the application open the file. Try it!
<P>
<H4>Setting File Properties</H4>

<P>To change file properties, such as its name and permissions, right-click
the icon and choose Properties from the menu.
<P>
<H3><A NAME="ss5.2">5.2 Working with Archives and Networks</A>
</H3>

<P>
<P>In the near past, you needed special software to access files 
on the Internet. Not any more!
KDE supports a technology called "Network Transparent
Access" (NTA) which allows you to work with files 
on the other side of the earth as easily as those on your local hard disk.
<P>For example, to access files on an FTP server, just choose
<B>File > Open Location</B> from a <EM>kfm</EM> menu, and enter the URL
of an FTP server.  You can drag and drop
files to and from the folders on the server just as if they were on your
local disk. You'll even be able to open files on the FTP server without having
to copy them to your local disk (KDE does it for you when necessary).
<P>Note that <EM>kfm</EM> uses anonymous FTP access, which may restrict your
access to files on the FTP server.  If you have an account on the
server, you can supply your user ID as part of the URL,
like this:<BR><BR>
<CODE>ftp://<EM>userid</EM>@<EM>server</EM>/<EM>directory</EM></CODE><BR><BR>
<EM>kfm</EM> will prompt you for your password, and if the login succeeds,
you will have full access to your files on the server.
<P>If you are used to the WinZip(tm) utility
on MS-Windows(tm), then you will be happy to hear that KDE can look
into tar archives, too. It treats such archives just like a normal
folder -- you can browse into the archive, open files, etc.
In general, accessing files on the Internet and in archives should look and
feel just like accessing files on your local disk, except for delays
imposed by the network.
<P>
<H3><A NAME="ss5.3">5.3 Using Templates to access Applications and Devices</A>
</H3>

<P>One of the folders KDE places on your desktop when you 
log in the first time is called <EM>Templates</EM>. It holds a number of
files with a .kdelnk extension (not shown). These <EM>kdelnk</EM> files
are used to represent the following in KDE:
<UL>
<LI>Applications</LI>
<LI>Printers</LI>
<LI>Mountable Devices (e.g. floppy drives)</LI>
<LI>Internet resources (e.g. WWW documents, FTP directories)</LI>
</UL>
<P>Nearly every item in the Application Starter and on the panel
refers to a <EM>kdelnk</EM> file on disk. The <EM>kdelnk</EM> file
specifies what icon to display, as well as specific information about what
the icon represents (an application, device, or URL).
You can drag any <EM>kdelnk</EM> file to the panel to create a quick-launch button.
<P>
<H4>Setting up printers</H4>

<P>You can create icons for your printers so that you can print a file by
dragging it to a printer icon. Here's how:
<OL>
<LI>Open the Templates folder located on the desktop. </LI>
<LI>Drag the Program icon in the folder to the desktop. Choose <EM>Copy</EM>
from the menu that appears when you drop the icon.</LI>
<LI>Right-click the new icon, and choose <EM>Properties</EM> from the context
menu.</LI>
<LI>On the <EM>General</EM> tab, change the name to <CODE>Printer.kdelnk</CODE>.</LI>
<LI>On the <EM>Execute</EM> tab, enter the following in the first
<EM>Execute</EM> field:<BR>
<CODE>lpr</CODE> %f<BR><BR>
<B>Note:</B> This example assumes that you print using the <EM>lpr</EM>
command. If you use a different command, enter the one you use.</LI>
<LI>Still in the Execute tab, click the icon that looks like a cog,
and select the Printer icon from the list that appears.</LI>
</OL>
<P>Now you should be able to drag a file to the Printer icon and have it
printed on your default printer.
<P>
<H4>Mounting devices</H4>

<P>Unix provides access to storage devices other than the primary hard disk
through a process called <EM>mounting</EM>. KDE uses <EM>kdelnk</EM> files to 
allow you to easily mount, unmount, and access
files on secondary storage devices such as floppy drives and CD-ROM drives.
<P>As an example, here are the steps needed to create an icon to access
files on a floppy disk:
<P><B>Note:</B> Many systems require you to be logged in as <EM>root</EM> to mount and
unmount devices.
<P>
<OL>
<LI>Open the Templates folder located on the desktop. </LI>
<LI>Drag the Device icon in the folder to the desktop. Choose <EM>Copy</EM>
from the menu that appears when you drop the icon.</LI>
<LI>Right-click the new icon, and choose <EM>Properties</EM> from the context
menu.</LI>
<LI>On the <EM>General</EM> tab, change the name to <CODE>Floppy.kdelnk</CODE>.</LI>
<LI>On the <EM>Device</EM> tab, enter <CODE>/dev/fd0</CODE> as the <EM>Device</EM>.
Click the <EM>Mounted Icon</EM>, and select the picture of a floppy disk with a
green light. Then click the <EM>Unmounted Icon</EM> and select the picture of
a floppy disk without the green light.</LI>
</OL>
<P>Now, place a properly formatted floppy in the drive and click the Floppy icon
to have KDE mount the floppy drive and display the files on the disk. Before
removing the disk from the drive, right-click the Floppy icon and choose
<EM>Unmount</EM> from the menu.
<P>
<P ALIGN="RIGHT">

<A HREF="index-6.html">Next</A>
<A HREF="index-4.html">Previous</A>
<A HREF="index.html#toc5">Table of Contents</A>
</P>
<CENTER>
<HR WIDTH="100%" SIZE=3 ALIGN=CENTER NOSHADE>
</CENTER>    
</FONT>

 
</BODY>
</HTML>
