Test Driving Linux

Chapter 3. File Management

Learning where files are on your system and understanding how to manage them is essential to truly mastering the use of a computer. Once you know how to work with files, you can expand this knowledge and learn how to manage files on remote computers, which is useful when you work in a networked environment.

Be sure to read Chapter 11 if you are interested in learning how to manage your files using the Linux command line (a popular method among most Linux users).

Using Konqueror to Manage Files

Though there are dozens of file managers in Linux, this chapter only covers one: Konqueror, the same program you just learned how to use for web browsing. Konqueror can work in two different ways—as a web browser and as a file manager—depending on how you launch, or start, the program.

Since you already know a bit about Konqueror, it should be easy to learn how to use it as a file manager, so let's just dive in and get started. To open Konqueror as a file manager, just double-click the Home icon on your desktop. (As you might guess, it's the icon that looks like a little house.)

Using profiles to control Konqueror

Note that this is a different way to open Konqueror. In Chapter 2, you started the program by clicking the Konqueror icon on the kicker panel, which opened up Konqueror as a web browser. Clicking the Home icon on the desktop opens Konqueror as a file manager. Each icon loads a different Konqueror profile, which determines how the program behaves. You'll learn ...