The Nautilus File Manager

Nautilus is a primary part of the GNOME desktop. It gives you easy access to files, applications, the Internet, and more in one central place.

The Nautilus Start Here screen opens automatically when you log in to GNOME. If you close the screen, you can open it again by clicking on one of the Start Here icons, located on the desktop and the panel, or by selecting Start Here from the GNOME main menu.

With Nautilus, you can:

Save frequently used items in the Favorites folder for quick access.
View the contents of your home directory with one button click.
Quickly open the Sawfish control center and other tools that change the way GNOME looks and acts.
Add additional directories to the Start Here screen for fast access and to help you keep your work organized.
Configure your Internet connection, add new user accounts, set up a server, and more.

Working in Nautilus is efficient and easy, and it lets you avoid the long, cluttered menus that are often found connected to the main menu button. The following sections explain how to use the various menu options and icons in Nautilus.

The Start Here screen has a main menu, a toolbar, and, on the right side of the screen, a number of icons. On the left is the sidebar, which shows the file or webpage in which you are currently working, and beneath this there are five tabs. Each of these elements is explained below.

Main Menu

File — these options are somewhat standard. They also change depending on what you are viewing; files have different options than webpages. Choose options here to open new windows, create new folders, search the Web, rename files, move items to the trash, and more.
Edit — contains the standard cut, copy, and paste options, and options for customizing icons. Select Backgrounds and Emblems to customize those elements of your desktop and Nautilus screen.
View — contains options for hiding/showing the various navigational bars on the screen, zoom options, the order in which items are arranged, view items as icons or a list, and more.
Go — contains navigation options (back, forward, home, etc.) and a list of recently viewed screens. Select from this list and you will be returned to the screen you choose.
Bookmarks — select to add or edit bookmarks, or choose one of the built-in bookmarks. To remove these built-in bookmarks, click on Preferences on the main menu and then click on Navigation in the screen that opens. The option to remove built-in bookmarks is on this screen.
Preferences — see Chapter 4 for details on selecting preferences and customizing your desktop.
Help — choose from these options for more Nautilus information or choose Support to open the Red Hat support webpage.

The Toolbar

The toolbar shows standard Back/Forward navigational buttons that move you back and forth between the pages you have viewed. Up moves you up one level in the file directory (see Chapter 11 for information on the file system).

Refresh reloads the current screen (can be helpful if a page appears fuzzy). Home displays the home directory by default. You can have this button display any file or website you want by clicking on Preferences and then Edit Preferences on the main menu and selecting Navigation on the screen that appears. Enter the file path or URL of your choice in the Home Location field.

Web Search opens a search engine in the Nautilus screen. This option also displays a list of Web browsers you can use to continue your search or display the page you choose after a search. This frees up the Nautilus screen for other tasks.

Stop interrupts the downloading or display of a page or file you have selected to view.

The Sidebar

On the left of the Nautilus screen is the sidebar. It displays the name of the directory or file you are working in or Web browser options when you view a webpage.

At the bottom of the sidebar are five tabs. Click on a tab to open it and click it again to close it.

Notes — leave yourself notes about the file, directory, or webpage you are currently viewing.
Tree — shows the file directory as a tree.
Help — provides links to GNOME and Nautilus documentation and more.
History — shows a list of pages you have viewed during your current session. Click on a page name in this list to return to it.
News — shows current news headlines. Click on Select Sites for a list of news websites from which you want headlines displayed. Click on Edit to add or remove sites to or from this list. Done displays the main news tab.

The Start Here Window

The Start Here screen displays automatically by default. It contains four icons that access packages you have installed and one for storing favorites.

Favorites — drag and drop or cut and paste favorite files or application launchers here.
Preferences — opens the control center. Configure multimedia, session, desktop, and peripheral settings here. You also access the Sawfish window manager here (see Chapter 4 for more on customizing the desktop with Sawfish).
Programs — opens a screen displaying categories for GNOME applications you have installed. Click on a category to access launchers for its respective applications.
Server Configuration — displays links to Samba, Bind, and other server configuration tools, if installed. See the Official Red Hat Linux Customization Guide and the Official Red Hat Linux Reference Guide for information on these tools.
System Settings — displays links to the Internet, network, printer, date/time, and service configuration tools. Also has links to the hardware browser and the user manager. Use the user manager to add, edit, or delete user accounts.

Notification Options

Once you select an application you want to launch, GNOME can display a screen that lets you know the application is loading and will be ready shortly. To activate this option, open Nautilus by clicking on the Start Here icon on the panel. In the screens that follow, click on Preferences, Desktop, and Launch Feedback respectively.

Select Display splashscreen or Display animated star in the Notification Options screen to have one or the other display when you launch an application. You can also add an hourglass to your cursor as an indicator that a file or application is launching.