Chapter 7. Nautilus File Manager

Navigating Your Files and Folders as Objects

Each file object window displays the contents of a single file, folder, FTP site, or special URI location. This section describes the following:

  • How to display items in file object windows.

  • How to open files from file object windows.

  • How to navigate the files and folders in your file system.

File Object Windows

To access a file object window, double-click on any of the default desktop objects.

Figure 7.2, “Contents of a Folder in a File Object Window” shows a sample file object window that displays the contents of the Computer folder.

Figure 7.2. Contents of a Folder in a File Object Window

A folder in a file object window.

To Display Your Home Location in a File Object Window

Home location icon.

To display your home location, perform one of the following actions:

  • Double-click on the Home object on the desktop.

  • On a file object window, choose Places->Home.

The file object window displays the contents of your home location. To reload the display, choose View->Reload.

To Display a Folder

You can display the contents of a folder in a file object window in any of the following ways:

  • Double-click on the folder.

  • Highlight the folder, then choose File->Open.

To Display a Parent Folder

A parent folder is a top level folder that depicts a hierarchical representation of your file system. To display the contents of a parent folder, perform the following steps:

  1. Highlight the folder whose parent folder you want to display.

  2. Choose File->Open Parent.

To Display a Folder in a File Browser Window

To display the contents of a folder in a file browser window, perform the following steps:

  1. Select a folder in a file object window.

  2. Choose File->Browse Folder.

Using the Start Here Location

Start Here icon.

The Start Here location enables you to access the following functions:

  • Applications

    Double-click on Applications to access your key GNOME applications. You can also access the Applications menu through the Main Menu and the Menu Bar.

  • Desktop Preferences

    Double-click on Desktop Preferences to customize the GNOME Desktop. You can also access the preference tools through the Applications menu.

  • Applications that enable you to configure your system as a server, and to modify other system configuration details.

You can access the Start Here location in the following ways:

  • From a file manager window, access the start-here:/// URI.

  • From the desktop

    Double-click on the Start Here object on the desktop. The contents of the Start Here location are displayed in a file object window.

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