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Using the file selector

Using the file selector

You can't work with the file selector while browsing through this info page---this is because the file selector is implemented as a modal window that requires `immediate user response' before Edith can proceed.

Instead of typing edith in a shell in an xterm window, you can, when Edith is already running, also open text files from the file selector; choose Open text... (File menu, Ctrl O) from the master panel or from a text window. The file selector is also used to save files under a different name using Save as... (File menu, Alt Shift S), to import binary files using Open binary... (File menu, Shift Ctrl O), etc.

SELECTING FILES USING THE MOUSE

Use the scroll bar to scroll through a directory; double click on a file to open it; click on a directory to go into it. Use the menu under in directory (Alt I) to find a number of recently accessed directories; use the menu under show files matching (Alt S) to change the displayed selection of files. There is a general-purpose menu under Options button.

SELECTING FILES USING THE KEYBOARD

Walk up and down through the list of files using the keys Up, Down, Page Up, Page Down, Home and Shift Home. Press Return to select a file or enter a directory. Press Alt R to re-read the directory. Clicking with the left mouse button while the Shift key is held down will cause the selected file to be copied to the text field at the bottom of the panel (so more than one file can be selected).

ENTERING FILES MANUALLY

Type one or more file names (i.e. an arbitrary command line) and press return to open these. Non-existing names will be opened as new files, provided that their path exists. Opening a file which is already open will focus and top that window, as opposed to opening a second view on the same file. To open a second view on a file, use New view on text... (Windows menu, Alt N). Wildcards (*, ? and character ranges) can also be typed. The Tab key will auto-complete a file name or wildcard pattern.

CONTROLLING THE DISPLAYED SELECTION OF FILES

The file mask shown at the top of the file selector, under show files matching has the same syntax as shell patterns, but can consist of a sequence of such patterns, separated by colons (:). If a pattern is preceded by a caret symbol (^), it is negative. If there are no positive patterns, * is assumed. The most recently used masks are available through the menu that pops up if you click on the mask. This menu also contains an option `new pattern'; instead of using the mouse, the menu can be opened with Alt S.

EXAMPLES

^*.bak:^*.ecc
will match any file, except Edith Pro backup files and carbon copies.
m_*:n_*:^*.o
will match any file beginning with m_ or n_ but not those ending in .o

QUICK ACCESS TO FREQUENTLY VISITED DIRECTORIES

The last 6 directories visited are listed in the in directory menu at the top of the file selector (Alt I). This menu also allows you to store the currently displayed directory in a list of bookmarks (up to 8 bookmarks can be stored).

ACCEPTED FILE NAMES

The following are accepted file names. See also extra URL types in browser windows.
~ or ~username
Tildes and environment variables are recognized and expanded when the Tab key is used.
a:/dir/file.txt
A file on a floppy disk. Interface uses mtools.
ftp://host.domain/dir/file.txt
An anonymous ftp file. Interface uses lynx. Directories are considered regular files and are returned as an HTML file.
http://host.domain/dir/file.html
A file on the web. Interface uses lynx.
gopher://host.domain/dir/file
A gopher URL; output formatted in HTML. Interface uses lynx. Note that the Edith browser does not handle user input yet.
user@host:~/dir/file.txt
A file on a remote system that has you listed in a .rhosts file. Interface uses rcp and rsh. Simply typing user@host will also work. See rcp (1) for details of the authentification system.
mailto:user@host
File is mailed on close window. Interface makes use of mail.
file.gz
File is uncompressed/compressed at load/save. Interfaced to zcat, compress and gzip. Does not work for remote files. (But because HTTP and FTP files are loaded using lynx, these types of file will also be unpacked.)

EXPERT FEATURES

Shell commands can be given by entering an exclamation mark (!) followed by the command.

If your environment contains a $CDPATH variable, whose syntax is identical to that of $PATH (a colon separated list of directory names), these will be taken into account by the file completion operation (Tab key).


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