Ubuntu Manpage: xfm - X file and applications manager

NAME

       xfm - X file and applications manager

SYNOPSIS

       xfm [options ...]

DESCRIPTION

       Xfm is a file and applications manager program for the X window system.  It provides virtually all of the
       features that you would expect in a file manager - move around your directory 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.  The  integrated
       application  manager provides a kind of ``shelf'' onto which you can place your favorite applications, as
       well as the files and directories you are currently working with. It also allows you to access  different
       groups  of  applications  and  files.  User-definable file types let you specify a command to be executed
       when double-clicking on a file or dropping other files onto it. Last not  least,  xfm  can  automatically
       mount  and  unmount  special  devices  like  floppies as you open and close the corresponding directories
       (mount points).

OPTIONS

       Xfm accepts all the usual toolkit options. Furthermore, the following options let you print xfm's version
       number and control which windows should be displayed at startup.

       -version
           Print the version number and exit.

       -appmgr
           Only display the application manager window.

       -filemgr
           Only display the file manager window.

       If  both  -appmgr  and  -filemgr are specified, then the applications and one file manager window will be
       displayed, which is also the default. If only -filemgr is specified, the application manager will not  be
       available in this session.

USAGE

Most of it should be fairly obvious. There is one application window and zero 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 operation, or you drag items from a file window to a second (maybe the same)
file window or the application window. You can also double-click on an item to start a corresponding
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. Pressing
the right button on the background of the application window displays the application menu. 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.

A string containing the paths of the selected file items can be requested by other applications using the
standard selection mechanism (PRIMARY selection). To provide visual feedback, the file window that owns
the selection paints its status line using a special highlight color. You can then paste the list of
selected files in some other window such as an xterm.

You can drag with the left-hand button to another window (or another icon, in general a valid destination
will be highlighted with a border when the cursor is over it) to move files from one directory to
another. The second button used in the same way will copy files. You can also drag around items in the
application window; again, the left mouse button moves, and the second button copies the selected items
to a new position. Applications can be launched by dropping files on them; and installing files and
programs in the application manager can be done by dropping files on the background of the application
window. Finally, 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 editor resource), unless another action is given in the
xfm_mailcap file (see CONFIGURATION below).

The output of child processes invoked by xfm is captured in a special log window. This window provides
buttons for clearing the window contents and for hiding the window. You can also specify whether you want
the window to pop up automagically when new output is available (Auto Popup option, enabled by default),
and explicitly show the window using the Show log option of the View menu.

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 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.

A menu of recently visited directories can be popped up by pressing the right mouse button on the
directory name field of the file window.

MENU COMMANDS

Many menu operations can also be invoked with corresponding keyboard shortcuts which can be changed by
configuring the translations in the applications defaults file accordingly. The default shortcuts, as
defined in the distributed application defaults file, are given in parentheses below.

FILE MENU

File manipulation operations.

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

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

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

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

Delete (d, Del, Backspace)
Delete the selected items.

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

Select all (a)
Select all items in the current directory (except the parent directory).

Deselect all (u)
Deselect all items.

Own Selection (o)
Request ownership of the PRIMARY selection. This is useful if some files had been selected before but
the ownership of the X-selection was lost and the user later wants to get the ownership back.

Terminal (x)
Invokes an x-terminal-emulator(1) in the current directory (using the command specified with the
defaultXterm resource).

About xfm...
Display a box with some information about xfm.

Quit (q)
Terminate xfm.

FOLDER MENU

Operations dealing with directories and the file window.

New... (Shift+n)
Create a new directory.

Go to... (Shift+g)
Display the specified directory.

Home (Shift+h)
Display your home directory.

Up (Shift+u)
Display the parent directory.

Empty
Delete all items in the current directory.

Clone (Shift+c)
Clone this file window (open another file window on the same directory).

Close (Shift+q)
Close this file window.

VIEW MENU

Options for the directory display and the log window.

Tree (Ctrl+r)
Select the tree form display.

Icons (Ctrl+i)
Select the icons form display.

Text (Ctrl+t)
Select the text form display. An additional Option menu appears which allows you to select the
information to be shown in the text view.

Sort by name (Ctrl+n)
Sort directory by name.

Sort by size (Ctrl+s)
Sort directory by size.

Sort by date (Ctrl+d)
Sort directory by date.

Filter... (Ctrl+f)
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 (Ctrl+h)
Suppress directory items.

Mix folders/files (Ctrl+m)
Mix directories and other files.

Show hidden files (Ctrl+u)
Show hidden files (files starting with a dot).

Show log
Redisplay the log window.

FILE POPUP MENU

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

Open
Open a file window on the selected item. This option is only available if the selected item is a
directory.

Edit
Edit the selected item using the program specified in the editor resource (only available if the
selected item is not a directory).

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

Rename...
Rename the selected item (same as Move, but shows the current filename as the default).

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.

APPLICATION MENU

Operations for managing the application window.

Install...
Install a new application in the application window. Pops up a dialog form into which you can enter
the necessary information (see APPLICATION FILES for a discussion of the fields in this form).

Install group...
Simplified install dialog form for creating a new application group (see APPLICATION FILES).

Cut
Move the selected application items into a ``clip'' file (specified by the applicationDataClip
resource). Together with the Paste option, this allows you to move application items between
different application groups.

Copy
Like Move, but simply copies the selected items instead of removing them from the application window.

Paste
Insert the contents of the clip file into the application window.

Delete
Delete the selected items from the application window.

About xfm...
Display a box with some information about xfm.

Quit
Terminate xfm.

APPLICATION POPUP MENU

Operations on a single application item. This menu pops up when pressing the right mouse button on an
icon in the application window.

Edit...
Edit an application item. Pops up a dialog form which allows you to change the configuration
information associated with the selected item (see CONFIGURATION for a discussion of the fields in
this form).

Cut
Move the selected item to the clip file.

Copy
Copy the selected item to the clip file.

Delete
Delete the selected item from the application window.

APPLICATION WINDOW BUTTONS

These buttons at the bottom of the application window allow you to navigate in the application group tree
and open new file windows.

Back
Return to the previous application group.

Main
Return to the main application group (the one loaded at startup time).

Reload
Reload the current application file. This option is useful to update the contents of an application
window after manual editing of the application file.

File window
Open a new file window on the user's home directory.

RESOURCES

Various aspects of xfm can be configured by changing corresponding resource settings in the application
defaults file. Some important resources are listed below:

highlightColor
The color used for highlighting selected items, as well as the status line of the file window which
owns the primary selection (if any).

bitmapPath

pixmapPath
The path on which to search for bitmap and pixmap icons, respectively.

iconPath
The path to look for pixmap icons for the file types.

applicationDataFile

devFile

magicFile
The names of the application and configuration files used by xfm (see CONFIGURATION). Normally, these
files will be located in ~/.xfm.

systemwideApplicationDataFile

systemwideDevFile

systemwideMagicFile
These files are used, if the corresponding described before are not found. This allows changeable
system wide defaults while users are still able to overwrite them.

applicationDataDir
The directory in which the application files for new application groups are located (see the Install
group option of the application menu), usually ~/.xfm. Application groups changed are also copied
here, when the original file cannot be written to.

If it does not exists, it will be generated when needed.

applicationDataClip
The ``clip'' file used in Cut/Copy/Paste operations in the application window, usually
~/.xfm/.XfmClip.

If it begins with applicationDataDir, this will be generated when xfm starts.

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 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.

editor
The command and leadings arguments with which xfm invokes your favorite editor.

viewer
The command and leading arguments with which xfm invokes your favorite viewer.

xTerminal
The command and leading arguments with which xfm starts a command within and xterm. (e.g. xterm -e)

xTerminalAlone
The command with which xfm runs an X terminal emulator. (e.g. xterm)

shell
Specifies the shell to use for running commands. (If not set, $SHELL is used instead. If that also
does not exists /bin/sh is used.)

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,  xfm  can be configured by means of four different files, which are
       usually named xfm_dev, xfm_magic, xfm_mime.types and xfm_mailcap, and are by default searched for in  the
       ~/.xfm  directory  or  in /etc/X11/xfm.  Moreover, there is a number of so-called application files, from
       which xfm determines the contents of the application window, like the Apps file which  usually  describes
       the  contents  of  the  main application group. All these files are plain ASCII files which can be edited
       using any text editor. (Note that application files are also written by xfm itself whenever the  contents
       of  the  application  window  changes.)   Any  line  in  these files which starts with a hash sign (#) is
       interpreted as a comment; empty lines are ignored.

MAGIC HEADERS

       xfm 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  or
       systemwideMagicFile  resource,  by  default  ~/.xfm/xfm_magic  respectively  /etc/X11/xfm/xfm_magic.  The
       format of the file is the same  as  that  of  the  magic(5)  file,  with  some  extensions  described  in
       xfm_magic(1).  The program xfmtype(5) can be used to test this.

SUFFIX TYPES

       If  no file type could be obtained using the magic values, xfm falls back to determine the type of a file
       by its suffix.  The rules it used are described in a configuration file whose path is obtained  from  the
       mimeTypesFile   or   systemwideMimeTypesFile  resource,  by  default  ~/.xfm/xfm_mime.types  respectively
       /etc/X11/xfm/xfm_mime.types.  The format of the file is described in the xfm_mime.types(5) man page.

OPENING FILES

       xfm determines how to open files consulting the file whose path  is  obtained  from  the  mailcapFile  or
       systemwideMailcapFile resource, by default ~/.xfm/xfm_mailcap respectively /etc/X11/xfm/xfm_mailcap.  The
       format of the file is described in the xfm_mailcap(5) man page.

DEVICE CONFIGURATION

       The device configuration file, xfm_dev, lets you specify which mount points xfm 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.  See
       xfm_dev(5) for the format of this file.

APPLICATION FILES

       Application  files are used to specify the contents of the application window.  Normally, these files are
       not altered with a text editor, but are updated by xfm whenever the contents of  the  application  window
       changes.  An understanding of the application data is necessary, however, if you want to edit an existing
       or create a new entry using the Install, Install group and Edit options of  the  application  menu.   The
       format of those files is described in the xfm(5) man page.

       Xfm  provides  a number of operations which let you manipulate application groups in a convenient manner.
       The items in the application window can be moved and copied using drag and drop as usual. The  Cut,  Copy
       and  Paste  options  of  the  application menu provide a means to move and copy application items between
       different application files. Moreover, xfm keeps a stack of application files loaded from a file  or  the
       application  window  via  a LOAD action. The Back button at the bottom of the application window lets you
       return to the previous group of applications, and the Main button reloads your startup  application  file
       (and  empties  the stack). Finally, the Install group option of the application menu allows you to create
       entries for new application groups easily. You only have to specify the name of the group,  the  name  of
       the corresponding application file, and the name of the icon file.  The remaining fields of the entry are
       filled in by xfm automatically.

FILES

       ~/.xfm
           Standard location for xfm configuration and application files (see CONFIGURATION above).

       /etc/X11/xfm
           Standard location for system wide configuration files used when no user specific are available.

CAVEATS AND BUGS

       Xfm  catches  the TERM signal to gracefully terminate the program, unmounting all open file systems which
       have been mounted by xfm.  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 xfm
       or manually close file windows mounted by xfm before exiting X.

       Do not specify a relative path in the directory field of an application item, because when you execute  a
       push  action  on  the  application  the  current directory might not always be what you expect. This will
       probably be fixed in a future release. ;-)

       Due to recent changes, it will propably no longer  work  with  any  shell  without  a  minimum  of  POSIX
       compatibility.

AUTHORS

       Simon    Marlow    (simonm@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk)    from   the   University   of   Glasgow,   Albert   Graef
       (ag@muwiinfa.geschichte.uni-mainz.de)   from   the   University   of   Mainz,    and    Till    Straumann
       (strauman@sun6hft.ee.tu-berlin.de)  from  the  Technical  University of Berlin, with help from many other
       people:  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@falstaff.MAE.cwru.edu;  View
       option);   Brian  King  (ender@ee.WPI.EDU;  default  values  in  parameter  dialogs),  Bernhard  R.  Link
       (brlink@debian.org; various changes and responsible for the current state you see).