XFM(1) X Version 11 XFM(1)
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NAME
xfm - X file and applications manager
SYNOPSIS
xfm [options ...]
DESCRIPTION
Xfm is a file and applications manager program for the X window
system. It provides virtually all of the features that you would
expect in a file manager - move around your directory tree in multiple
windows, move, copy or delete files, and launch programs with simple
mouse operations. Directory displays are updated automatically in
regular intervals when the contents of the directory changes. The
integrated application manager provides a kind of ``shelf'' onto which
you can place your favorite applications, as well as the files and
directories you are currently working with. It also allows you to
access different groups of applications and files. User-definable
file types let you specify a command to be executed when double-
clicking on a file or dropping other files onto it. Last not least,
xfm can automatically mount and unmount special devices like floppies
as you open and close the corresponding directories (mount points).
OPTIONS
Xfm accepts all the usual toolkit options. Furthermore, the following
options let you print xfm's version number and control which windows
should be displayed at startup.
-version
Print the version number and exit.
-appmgr
Only display the application manager window.
-filemgr
Only display the file manager window.
If both -appmgr and -filemgr are specified, then the applications and
one file manager window will be displayed, which is also the default.
If only -filemgr is specified, the application manager will not be
available in this session.
RUNNING XFM FOR THE FIRST TIME
There are a number of configuration files which need to be placed in
your home directory in order to run xfm. To install the default
configuration files, run the program xfm.install which will create a
directory ~/.xfm and install some files in there. These are your
personal configuration files, and may be edited to customise Xfm to
your own tastes.
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USAGE
Most of it should be fairly obvious. There is one application window
and zero or more file windows in which directories (also termed
folders) are displayed. In order to perform an action, you either
select items and then invoke a menu operation, or you drag items from
a file window to a second (maybe the same) file window or the
application window. You can also double-click on an item to start a
corresponding action (like launching an application, editing a file,
or changing directories), and press the right menu button on an item
to bring up a menu containing operations for a single file or
application. Pressing the right button on the background of the
application window displays the application menu. File operations are
accessed from the file window menu bar as usual.
The left-hand mouse button selects an item (and deselects all others
in the same window). The second button toggles the selected state of
an item.
You can drag with the left-hand button to another window (or another
icon, in general a valid destination will be highlighted with a border
when the cursor is over it) to move files from one directory to
another. The second button used in the same way will copy files. You
can also drag around items in the application window; again, the left
mouse button moves, and the second button copies the selected items to
a new position. Applications can be launched by dropping files on
them; and installing files and programs in the application manager can
be done by dropping files on the background of the application window.
Finally, new file windows can be opened by simply dragging a directory
icon to the root window.
The action taken when double-clicking on a file depends on the type of
the file. If it is a directory, it is displayed in the file window. If
it is an executable, the program is started. Other files are opened in
the default editor (specified by the defaultEditor resource), unless
another action is given in the xfmrc file (see CONFIGURATION below).
Directories can be displayed in three different forms: tree (display
subdirectories in tree-like form), icon (display directories and files
as icons) and text (similar to ls -l). These options are selected from
the View menu. In the tree form, clicking on the arrows takes you up
or down one level.
Directory displays are updated automatically in regular intervals when
the contents of the directory changes. You can also explicitly request
a folder update by double-clicking on the directory name field of the
corresponding file window.
MENU COMMANDS
FILE MENU
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File manipulation operations.
New...
Create a new (and empty) file.
Move...
Rename a single item (directory or file) or move selected items to
another directory.
Copy...
Create a copy of a single item under a new name or copy selected
items to another directory.
Link...
Like Copy, but creates symbolic links rather than copying the
selected items.
Delete
Delete the selected items.
Select...
Select items by pattern. The usual metacharacters are recognized
(*, ?, [ ]). (Currently there is no provision for escaping these.)
Select all
Select all items in the current directory (except the parent
directory).
Deselect
Deselect all items.
Quit
Terminate xfm.
FOLDER MENU
Operations dealing with directories and the file window.
New...
Create a new directory.
Go to...
Display the specified directory.
Home
Display your home directory.
Up
Display the parent directory.
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Empty
Delete all items in the current directory.
Close
Close this file window.
VIEW MENU
Options for the directory display.
Tree
Select the tree form display.
Icons
Select the icons form display.
Text
Select the text form display.
Sort by name
Sort directory by name.
Sort by size
Sort directory by size.
Sort by date
Sort directory by date.
Filter...
Specify a pattern to determine the files which should be displayed
in the file window. (This only affects normal files, i.e.
directory items will not be filtered. The Clear button in the
Filter dialog form reverts to the full display.)
Hide folders
Suppress directory items.
Mix folders/files
Mix directories and other files.
Show hidden files
Show hidden files (files starting with a dot).
FILE POPUP MENU
Operations on a single file. This menu pops up when pressing the right
mouse button on a directory or file icon.
Open
Open a file window on the selected item. This option is only
available if the selected item is a directory.
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Edit
Edit the selected item using the program specified in the
defaultEditor resource (only available if the selected item is not
a directory).
View
Same as Edit, but invokes a program for viewing the file
(defaultViewer resource).
Move...
Move the selected item.
Copy...
Copy the selected item.
Link...
Create a symbolic link.
Delete
Delete the selected item.
Information...
Display information about the selected item (file size,
permissions and such).
Permissions...
Change the permissions of the selected item.
APPLICATION MENU
Operations for managing the application window.
Install...
Install a new application in the application window. Pops up a
dialog form into which you can enter the necessary information
(see APPLICATION FILES for a discussion of the fields in this
form).
Install group...
Simplified install dialog form for creating a new application
group (see APPLICATION FILES).
Cut
Move the selected application items into a ``clip'' file
(specified by the applicationDataClip resource). Together with the
Paste option, this allows you to move application items between
different application groups.
Copy
Like Move, but simply copies the selected items instead of
removing them from the application window.
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Paste
Insert the contents of the clip file into the application window.
Delete
Delete the selected items from the application window.
Quit
Terminate xfm.
APPLICATION POPUP MENU
Operations on a single application item. This menu pops up when
pressing the right mouse button on an icon in the application window.
Edit...
Edit an application item. Pops up a dialog form which allows you
to change the configuration information associated with the
selected item (see CONFIGURATION for a discussion of the fields in
this form).
Cut
Move the selected item to the clip file.
Copy
Copy the selected item to the clip file.
Delete
Delete the selected item from the application window.
APPLICATION WINDOW BUTTONS
These buttons at the bottom of the application window allow you to
navigate in the application group tree and open new file windows.
Back
Return to the previous application group.
Main
Return to the main application group (the one loaded at startup
time).
Reload
Reload the current application file. This option is useful to
update the contents of an application window after manual editing
of the application file.
File window
Open a new file window on the user's home directory.
RESOURCES
Various aspects of xfm can be configured by changing corresponding
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resource settings in the application defaults file. Some important
resources are listed below:
bitmapPath
pixmapPath
The path on which to search for bitmap and pixmap icons,
respectively.
applicationDataFile
configFile
devFile
magicFile
The names of the application and configuration files used by xfm
(see CONFIGURATION). Normally, these files will be located in
~/.xfm. You may wish to change this, e.g., if you want to provide
a system-wide xfmrc file. (The application files should always be
kept in the user's home directory, such that each user can save
his/her private application settings.)
applicationDataDir
The directory in which the application files for new application
groups are located (see the Install group option of the
application menu), usually ~/.xfm.
applicationDataClip
The ``clip'' file used in Cut/Copy/Paste operations in the
aplication window, usually ~/.xfm/.XfmClip.
doubleClickTime
Set the time interval in milliseconds for which a sequence of two
mouse clicks should be interpreted as a double click. Default:
300.
updateInterval
Set the time interval in milliseconds in which to perform
automatic folder updates. Default: 10000.
confirmXXX
Resources to request confirmation for various operations. XXX can
be any one of Deletes, DeleteFolder, Copies, Moves, Overwrite and
Quit. By default these are all enabled.
defaultEditor
The command with which xfm invokes your favorite editor.
defaultViewer
The command with which xfm invokes your favorite viewer.
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BourneShells
xfm calls other programs by executing your shell (as taken from
the environment variable SHELL). Since Bourne compatible shells
need one extra parameter, xfm needs to know about the type of the
shell. If this resource is not set (default), or is equal to the
special string AUTO, a quick-and-dirty test is done at startup.
This test will fail if the shell's initialisation files cause some
output. If this happens, change these files, or set the
BourneShells resource to a comma separated list of full path names
of Bourne compatible shells. If your shell matches an entry in
this list, xfm will assume it is a Bourne shell.
There are way too many available resources to list them all in this
manual page, so please take a look at the application defaults file
for more information.
CONFIGURATION
Besides the application resources, xfm can be configured by means of
three different files, which are usually named xfmrc, xfmdev and
magic, and are located in the ~/.xfm directory. Moreover, there is a
number of so-called application files, from which xfm determines the
contents of the application window, like the Apps file which usually
describes the contents of the main application group. All these files
are plain ASCII files which can be edited using any text editor. (Note
that application files are also written by xfm itself whenever the
contents of the application window changes.) Any line in these files
which starts with a hash sign (#) is interpreted as a comment; empty
lines are ignored.
FILE TYPE CONFIGURATION
The xfmrc file specifies the types of ordinary (non-executable, non-
directory) files which xfm should recognize. Each file type associates
a pattern with an icon and two different kinds of actions (commands to
be executed on the file). If xfm has been compiled with the
MAGIC_HEADERS option then it is possible to specify icons (but not
actions) for directories and executables as well. Each line has the
following format:
pattern:icon:push-action:drop-action
As indicated, the different fields are separated by a colon (use \: to
escape the : character, and \\ to escape the backslash character
itself). The meaning of these fields is explained below.
pattern
This field allows you to specify which files belong to the type.
File types can either be specified by a filename pattern, which
refers to the name of a file, or a magic header, which refers to
the contents of the file, or both.
There are three types of filename patterns: Literal patterns
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specify a literal filename such as ``core.'' Suffix patterns
specify a suffix the filename must match, and are indicated by a
leading asterisk, as in ``*.c.'' (All characters following the
initial * are interpreted as literals; there is no expansion of
embedded wildcards.) Finally, prefix patterns specify a prefix to
be matched against the filename. They are denoted by a trailing
asterisk, as in ``README*.''
Magic headers are specified by a symbolic name given in the magic
file, enclosed in angle brackets. Entries referring to a magic
header cause the contents of the file to be checked against the
magic numbers in the magic file. The format of these entries is
described in Section MAGIC HEADERS below.
icon
The name of the bitmap or pixmap file containing the icon to be
displayed for this file type.
push-action
The command to be executed when the user double-clicks on a file
of this type. This command is passed to the shell (via -c),
together with the name of the selected file. The command is
executed in the directory where the selected file is located. The
filename is available in the command as the positional parameter
number one, such that an action of the form xyz $1 invokes the
command xyz on the selected file. There are also three special
kinds of push actions built into xfm, EDIT and VIEW which invoke
the default editor and default viewer on the selected file,
respectively, and LOAD which loads the selected file as an
application file (discussed in Section APPLICATION FILES).
drop-action
Similar to the push action, this field denotes a command to be
executed when a collection of selected files is dropped onto the
file. The absolute target filename itself is available as
positional parameter $1, the remaining arguments denote the names
of the files dropped onto the target file. The command is executed
in the directory which contains the selected files. No special
built-in commands are available for this type of action.
If an action field is empty, the corresponding action defaults to ``do
nothing.''
For instance, the following entry defines an icon and an EDIT push
action for .c files:
*.c:xfm_c.xpm:EDIT:
As another example, here is an entry for compressed (i.e. gzipped) tar
files. The push action causes the archive to be extracted, while the
drop action replaces the contents of the archive with the files which
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have been dragged onto the archive:
*.tar.gz:xfm_taz.xpm:exec tar xfvz $1:exec tar cfvz $*
(Note the use of the shell's exec command. Since actions are invoked
through the shell, it is often useful to replace the shell with the
actual command which is to be executed, in order to conserve memory
space on small systems.)
It is possible that different patterns given in the xfmrc file
overlap. In this case xfm uses the first pattern which matches.
Therefore you should always list the more specific patterns first. For
instance, the following two entries specify what to do with compressed
tar files (specific case) and other .gz files (default case):
*.tar.gz:xfm_taz.xpm:exec tar xfvz $1:exec tar cfvz $*
*.gz:xfm_z.xpm:exec gunzip $1:
Xfm also enables you to prompt for additional parameters before an
action is executed. This is generally more useful with application
entries than with file actions, and will therefore be described in the
context of application configuration, see PARAMETER DIALOGS below.
MAGIC HEADERS
When compiled with the MAGIC_HEADERS option, xfm can determine file
types using the magic numbers contained in the files.
The magic numbers are described in a configuration file whose path is
obtained from the magicFile resource. The format of the file is the
same as that of the magic(5) file, with some extensions like regular
expression matching. (See xfmtype(1).)
There are five built-in types which are used if all the patterns in
the magic file fail:
unreadable
Read failed.
empty
File size is zero.
special
Not a regular file.
ascii
Could be read and looks like ASCII.
data
Could be read but all tests failed and doesn't look like ASCII.
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To specify a magic file type you include it between angle brackets at
the beginning of the pattern field:
<GIF>:xfm_gif.xpm:exec xpaint $1:
or combined with a filename pattern:
<ascii>*.cc:xfm_cc.xpm:EDIT:
In the latter case, the file must meet both conditions, i.e. be an
ASCII file and have a .cc suffix.
To include angle brackets in the type or the pattern you must escape
them using backslashes.
If xfm is compiled with the MAGIC_HEADERS option, it is also possible
to specify custom icons for directories and executables. For this
purpose, the magic file distributed with xfm provides magic file types
named <DIR>, <EXEC>, etc. For instance, here is an entry which
specifies a special icon for hidden directories:
<DIR>.*:hidden_dir.xpm::
In the same way you can also override the built-in icons for
displaying arbitrary directories and executables:
<DIR>..:parent_dir.xpm::
<DIR>:plain_dir.xpm::
<DIR LNK>:link_dir.xpm::
DEVICE CONFIGURATION
The device configuration file, xfmdev, lets you specify which mount
points xfm should keep track of, and which actions to perform in order
to mount and unmount the corresponding file systems. This allows you
to access file systems on special devices such as floppies, CD-Roms,
etc. in a transparent way. All you have to do is to enter a directory
named in xfmdev (e.g. by opening a file window on it), and xfm will
automatically perform the corresponding mount action for you.
Likewise, if you leave such a directory, xfm invokes the corresponding
unmount action. (CAUTION: You still have to take care that you unmount
a file system, e.g. by closing every file window which has been opened
on it, before you physically remove the corresponding medium.)
An entry of the xfmdev file has the following format:
directory:mount-action:umount-action
The directory field denotes the mount point of the file system,
mount-action the command to be executed in order to mount the file
system, and umount-action the command for unmounting the file system.
Here is a ``typical'' entry from my xfmdev file:
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/disk/a:mount /disk/a:umount /disk/a
Of course, the details of how to mount a floppy file system may vary
from system to system, and you might have to take special actions if
you want to use mount as an ordinary user. See mount(8) for details.
APPLICATION FILES
Application files are used to specify the contents of the application
window. Normally, these files are not altered with a text editor, but
are updated by xfm whenever the contents of the application window
changes. An understanding of the application data is necessary,
however, if you want to edit an existing or create a new entry using
the Install, Install group and Edit options of the application menu.
Each entry has the following form:
name:directory:filename:icon:push-action:drop-action
The name and icon fields specify the name of the application and a
corresponding icon which should be displayed in the application
window. The push-action and drop-action fields have the same meaning
as in the xfmrc file: they indicate the commands to be passed to the
shell when the user double-clicks on the icon or drops files onto it,
respectively. The directory and filename fields let you specify a
file to be passed to the application. These fields are filled in by
xfm when the user drags a file or directory onto the application
window. Xfm also properly sets up the action fields when installing a
file which has a matching entry in the xfmrc file.
As usual, the target file (if specified) and any dropped files are
passed to the push and drop actions as the first and the remaining
parameters, respectively, see FILE TYPE CONFIGURATION for details. The
drop action is executed in the directory containing the selected
files, while the push action starts in the directory specified by the
directory field, if it is nonempty, and in the user's home directory
otherwise.
In an application file, xfm recognizes four special types of built-in
push actions. The EDIT and VIEW actions, as in xfmrc, invoke the
default editor and viewer, respectively. The OPEN action indicates
that the target file actually is a directory onto which xfm should
open a new file window when the user double-clicks on the
corresponding icon. Finally, the LOAD action tells xfm that the target
is an application file whose contents are to be loaded into the
application window. This action allows you to manage different groups
of applications. Note that application files can also be loaded by a
corresponding file type entry, since the LOAD action is also supported
in the xfmrc file. (The OPEN action is not supported there, however,
as it wouldn't make sense anyhow. Note that you can only specify
actions for regular files.)
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Xfm provides a number of operations which let you manipulate
application groups in a convenient manner. The items in the
application window can be moved and copied using drag and drop as
usual. The Cut, Copy and Paste options of the application menu provide
a means to move and copy application items between different
application files. Moreover, xfm keeps a stack of application files
loaded from a file or the application window via a LOAD action. The
Back button at the bottom of the application window lets you return to
the previous group of applications, and the Main button reloads your
startup application file (and empties the stack). Finally, the Install
group option of the application menu allows you to create entries for
new application groups easily. You only have to specify the name of
the group, the name of the corresponding application file, and the
name of the icon file. The remaining fields of the entry are filled
in by xfm automatically.
It is time for some examples. Here are three useful entries from my
Apps file which I use to start an xterm, my favorite editor, and print
a file using lpr, respectively:
Terminal:::xterm.xpm:exec xterm:
Editor:::editor.xpm:exec emacs:exec emacs $*
Printer:::printer.xpm::exec lpr $*
Xfm gives you great flexibility in configuring special types of
actions. For instance, the following entries can be used to implement
a simple trashcan feature and an action to open a window on a floppy
disk:
Trash::.trash:trash.xpm:OPEN:shift; mv $* ~/.trash
A\::/disk:a:disk.xpm:OPEN:
A typical entry for an application group looks as follows:
Toolbox:~/.xfm:Toolbox:apps.xpm:LOAD:
It is also instructive to take a look at how xfm sets up the entries
when you drag files or directories to the application window. Play
around with these features. It is fun! Many things can be done, if not
with a single command then maybe with a tiny shell script.
PARAMETER DIALOGS
Xfm lets you prompt the user for additional parameters when a push or
drop action is invoked. In such a case, a dialog form appears, with
one field for each parameter, into which the user can enter the
required arguments. Currently, no checking is done on the supplied
parameters; in fact, the user can simply leave all fields empty.
Parameters are specified in an action using the form
%parameter-name%
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where parameter-name is an arbitrary string not containing the %
character, which will be displayed in the dialog form. (As usual, a
literal % character can be escaped with the backslash.) Xfm replaces
each such %...% construct with the corresponding value entered by the
user. For instance, here is an entry which allows you to execute a
program with parameters:
exec:::app.xpm:exec %Program\:% %Parameters\:%:
exec $1 %Parameters\:%
As the push action in the example indicates, it is possible to specify
more than one parameter field. A default value for a parameter can be
specified using the notation
%parameter-name--default-value%
For instance:
transfig:::app.xpm::transfig -L %Language\:--eepic% $*
CONSOLE OUTPUT
Programs started by xfm inherit their standard output and error
streams from xfm. Therefore, if you start xfm from your session or
window manager instead of an xterm, you should redirect xfm's standard
output and error to something which you can read while xfm is running,
if the window manager does not already do that for you. Usually, you
will reassign both stdout and stderr to /dev/console, using the
command:
xfm >/dev/console 2>&1
Then you can read error messages and other output produced by launched
applications in the console window on your desktop (such as xconsole,
or xterm -C).
ICONS
Xfm supports icons in both the X bitmap and Arnaud Le Hors' XPM
format. A collection of useful icons is included in the distribution.
FILES
~/.xfm
Standard location for xfm configuration and application files (see
CONFIGURATION above).
SEE ALSO
xfmtype(1), X(1), xconsole(1), xterm(1), magic(5), mount(8), Arnaud Le
Hors: XPM Manual. The X PixMap Format, Groupe Bull, 1993.
CAVEATS AND BUGS
Xfm catches the TERM signal to gracefully terminate the program,
unmounting all open file systems which have been mounted by xfm.
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However, some window and session managers may not send TERM signals to
their client applications when terminating an X session. Therefore it
might be necessary to explicitly quit xfm or manually close file
windows mounted by xfm before exiting X.
Do not specify a relative path in the directory field of an
application item, because when you execute a push action on the
application the current directory might not always be what you expect.
This will probably be fixed in a future release. ;-)
Xfm depends on your shell - see resource BourneShells.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 1990-1993 by Simon Marlow
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995 by Albert Graef
AUTHORS
The original version of this program was written by Simon Marlow
(simonm@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk) at the University of Glasgow. Albert Graef
(ag@muwiinfa.geschichte.uni-mainz.de) at the University of Mainz is
the author and maintainer of the present (1.3) version which contains
many bug fixes and enhancements. Other people have contributed
additional features: Dave Safford (dave.safford@edu.tamu.sc; automatic
folder updates); Robert Vogelgesang (vogelges@rhrk.uni-kl.de; shell
detection code); Juan D. Martin (juando@cnm.us.es; magic headers);
Kevin Rodgers (rodgers@lvs-emh.lvs.loral.com; Filter option); Scott
Heavner (sdh@falstaff.MAE.cwru.edu; View option); Brian King
(ender@ee.WPI.EDU; default values in parameter dialogs).
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