Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux:Organizing Your Files function GetCookie (name) { var arg = name + "="; var alen = arg.length; var clen = document.cookie.length; var i = 0; while (i < clen) { var j = i + alen; if (document.cookie.substring(i, j) == arg) { var end = document.cookie.indexOf (";", j); if (end == -1) end = document.cookie.length; return unescape(document.cookie.substring(j, end)); } i = document.cookie.indexOf(" ", i) + 1; if (i == 0) break; } return null; } var m1=''; var gifstr=GetCookie("UsrType"); if((gifstr!=0 ) && (gifstr!=null)) { m2=gifstr; } document.write(m1+m2+m3);            Keyword Title Author ISBN Publisher Imprint Brief Full  Advanced      Search  Search Tips Please Select ----------- Components Content Mgt Certification Databases Enterprise Mgt Fun/Games Groupware Hardware IBM Redbooks Intranet Dev Middleware Multimedia Networks OS Prod Apps Programming Security UI Web Services Webmaster Y2K ----------- New Titles ----------- Free Archive To access the contents, click the chapter and section titles. Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux (Publisher: Macmillan Computer Publishing) Author(s): Manuel Ricart ISBN: 078971826x Publication Date: 12/22/98 function isIE4() { return( navigator.appName.indexOf("Microsoft") != -1 && (navigator.appVersion.charAt(0)=='4') ); } function bookMarkit() { var url="../../../../../www.itknowledge.com/PSUser/EWBookMarks.html@url="+window.location+"&isbn=0"; parent.location.href=url; //var win = window.open(url,"myitk"); //if(!isIE4()) // win.focus(); } Search this book:   Previous Table of Contents Next File Properties After you create a file or folder, most of the manipulations you’ll perform will be in the form of renaming or changing permissions. KFM provides shortcuts to some of the operations described in previous sections by right-clicking on its icon. A context-sensitive menu will pop up to show you several options (see the next figure). The KFM context-sensitive menu displays various options when you right-click on a file or folder. The commands in a context-sensitive menu depend on what you click on—hence the name. •  Open with—Displays a panel where you can type the name of the application you want to use to open the selected file. •  Up—Navigates one directory up. •  Back—Navigates to the previous directory. •  Forward—If you used Back to get to this directory, you can return to your previous location with Forward. •  Cd—Focuses the current window to the selected directory. •  New View—Opens the directory in a new KFM window. •  Copy—Copies the file or directory to the Clipboard. You can then use the Paste command to place a copy of the file or directory you copied in the current directory. •  Move To Trash—Moves the selected file or directory to a special directory called Trash. This removes the files from their current location but doesn’t delete them. •  Delete—Deletes the selected item. •  Add To Bookmarks—Adds the selected folder to your list of Bookmarks. •  Properties—Raises a panel that allows you to inspect and change information about the file, such as its permissions settings and its name. Renaming a File or Folder To rename a file or folder, right-click on the file or folder and choose Properties from the menu that is displayed. This will display a panel that allows you to rename the file (see the following figure). When renaming a file, be careful not to change the file’s extension, if it has one. The file extension consists of the three or more characters that follow a period at the end of the filename. The extension associates the file with an application. There are many things that you should not rename. Everything inside your home directory is yours and can be renamed at will. Files in the Linux root directory or other system-oriented areas, however, should be left alone. Most users don’t need to worry; as a general rule, Linux won’t allow you to change anything which shouldn’t be changed unless you are working in the superuser (root) account. The General tab displays generic information about the file such as its name and path. To rename a file or folder, type a new name in the name text field and press Enter. Setting File and Folder Permissions The Properties panel also allows you to modify and set the permission settings for files and folders you create. Permissions are covered in great detail in Chapter 16, “Permissions: Protecting and Sharing Your Work.” If you feel you need to control permissions, I recommend that you read this chapter first to understand the implications of the settings you change, as permissions is an advanced topic. This section explains how to change permissions using KFM and assumes that you understand these implications. Permissions allow you to protect your files and folders from other users. By default, files you create will have a set of permissions assigned to them. When using KDE you can change file permissions using graphical controls. To get to the permissions panel, right-click a file or a folder and choose Properties from the menu that appears. Then choose the Permissions tab (see the next figure). The Permissions tab displays a number of controls for setting the permissions of a file or folder. Each of the settings is duplicated for the User (Owner) of the file, a member of a Group assigned to the file, and Others. By setting values, you can control different levels of access for different users. Permissions can be altered a number of ways in the Permissions tab: •  The User row sets permission for the owner of the directory. •  The Group row sets permissions for members of the group. •  The Others row sets permissions for users that are neither the owner nor members of the group. •  The Owner field displays the name of the user that owns the file. •  The Group choice menu displays the name of the group assigned to this file. The choice menu is displayed if you are the owner of the file and you belong to more than one group. •  The Show Entries column enables users to see directory contents. •  The Write Entries column enables users to add or delete files from the directory. •  The Change Info column enables users to traverse the directory. •  The Special column enables special settings The panel will look slightly different depending on whether you are working on a file or a folder. If you are working on file, the permissions columns will be called Read, Write, and Execute permissions. Otherwise, they will be called Show Entries (Read), Write Entries (Write), or Change Into (Execute). Although they have a different label, their functionality is exactly the same. Techno Talk:  What Each of the Permissions ControlsEach file relates to a user in one or more roles (see the following figure): •  The user can be the owner of the file •  The user can be a member of a group granted permission on the file •  The user is neither the owner nor a member of the group Each of these roles may have Read, Write, or Execute permissions, or a combination thereof. Read permissions on a file or folder, allow you to see (read) its contents. Write permissions on a file or folder, allow you to change its contents. In the case of folders, it might mean that you have permissions to add files to the directory. Execute permissions are special. When set on a file, it indicates that the file is a program. If your role has Execute permissions, you are able to run the program. On directories, the Execute permissions also controls who can navigate into the directory. If you intend to copy files into a directory, your role must have Execute permissions on the directory. Understanding the Permissions Panel. In the preceding figure of the Permissions Panel, the user (owner of the file) has Read and Write permissions; members of the group assigned to the file have Read and Write permissions; and other users are able to read the file but are not able to modify it because they lack write permissions. A permission setting is enabled if it is checked. Permissions can only be assigned by the owner of the file or the superuser (root). Don’t change permissions on a file or folder unless you know what you are doing. For example, if you remove the Change Into settings (Execute permissions) for a folder, you will make it impossible for any user to navigate or open files in that folder. Previous Table of Contents Next Products |  Contact Us |  About Us |  Privacy  |  Ad Info  |  Home Use of this site is subject to certain Terms & Conditions, Copyright © 1996-2000 EarthWeb Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of EarthWeb is prohibited.