v1.0 Vera Horiuchi vera@eazel.com 2001 Eazel Inc. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of this license was provided with this software in the file COPYING-DOCS. Many of the names used by companies to distinguish their products and services are claimed as trademarks. Where those names appear in any GNOME documentation, and those trademarks are made aware to the members of the GNOME Documentation Project, the names have been printed in caps or initial caps. This is version 1.0.2 of the Nautilus User's Manual. Nautilus is a core component of the GNOME desktop environment. Nautilus provides an easy way to view, manage, and customize your own files and folders, as well as browse the Web. Nautilus integrates your access to files, applications, media, Internet-based resources, and the Web, making it easy and fast for you to locate and use all the resources available to you.

Diagram of Nautilus

Menu Bar The eight menus contain options for most file- and folder- management tasks and let you personalize your view of all the applications, folders, and files on your hard disk. The preferences menu, represented by the symbol to the right of the Help menu, lets you specify your level of Linux and GNOME experience. Toolbar The toolbar lets you use a single click for browsing and searching your computer's directories as well as locations on the Web. Click the Services button for quick access to Eazel Services, a suite of services specially designed to address the needs of Linux users. Location Bar Use the location bar to enter path names, Web addresses (URLs), or other types of addresses. The pop-up menu on the right end of the bar lets you choose various views - for instance, View as Icons or View as List. Click the + and - signs to enlarge or reduce icon or list view. Click the magnifying glass to return to original size. (If you've changed your theme, the magnifying glass may be replaced by another symbol.) Sidebar The sidebar displays information about the current file or folder. Each of the four tabs at the bottom of the sidebar provide additional information or help: The Tree tab displays the tree, a hierarchical view of your computer's organization of folders and files. The History tab lists the path names or addresses of locations you've previously visited. The Help tab gives you quick access to information resources - manuals, GNOME info pages, Linux man pages, and more. The Notes tab provides a space where you can jot notes about the current folder. Note: If your user level is set to Beginner or if you've changed your sidebar preferences, you may not see all four sidebar tabs. Status Bar The status bar contains information about menu items. To see an explanation for a menu item, point to it and read the status bar text. Main Panel The main panel in the Nautilus window is where you do most of your browsing. Files, folders, and applications are displayed here. You have several options for modifying and customizing your views. The desktop is the background area of your screen. If Nautilus was pre-installed on your GNOME system, Nautilus draws the desktop. The desktop on your computer can look like your physical desktop - it can be full of folders, icons, and works in progress, or it can be clear. Nautilus lets you organize it the way you want. If Nautilus doesn't already draw the desktop on your system, do this: Open the preferences menu (shown below) and choose Preferences. In the Desktop section, select "Use Nautilus to draw the desktop." Click OK.

Screenshot of Preferences Menu

Initially, the desktop contains three items: a house icon that represents your home location, an Eazel Services icon that takes you to Eazel's Web site, and a Trash icon. You can create folders on the desktop or drag additional files and folders from the Nautilus window to the desktop. For instance, you can create a folder that contains your current projects and keep it on the desktop for easy access. You also mount disks (such as floppies or CD-ROMs) on the desktop. To see the options for using your desktop space, right-click anywhere on the desktop (outside a window). You can adjust your GNOME settings so Nautilus starts automatically whenever you start GNOME. Follow these steps: Make sure Nautilus is running. You should see the Nautilus desktop or an open Nautilus window. Log out of GNOME (open the GNOME Main Menu and choose Log out). In the Log out dialog box, click the "Save current setup" checkbox. Proceed to log out. The next time you log into GNOME, Nautilus will start automatically. To stop Nautilus from launching automatically: Open the GNOME Main Menu (footprint) and choose Programs Settings SessionStartup Programs. (The menu option may be Session Properties and Startup Programs.) The GNOME Control Center opens in the Session Properties and Startup Programs section. If you see a Startup Programs tab, click it. Click the Browse Currently Running Programs button. In the list of programs, locate and select "nautilus." Click Remove. Make sure the checkbox labeled "Automatically save changes to session" is enabled. (If your GNOME Control Center window has tabs, this checkbox is under the Session Options tab.) Click OK. Nautilus is developed by Eazel, a founding member of the GNOME Foundation, with the help of the GNOME community. Nautilus is a free software project developed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). This section explains how to use Nautilus to keep track of the folders and files on your machine, as well as browse Web pages on the Internet. Viewing Your Home Folder Navigating Your Files and Folders The Tree Viewing and Opening Files Viewing and Playing MP3 Files Mounting Floppy Disks and CD-ROMs Navigating the Internet Viewing Your Navigation History Bookmarking Your Favorite Locations When you first launch Nautilus, you'll see your home folder in the Nautilus window. Three areas of the Nautilus window contain information about your folder: The location bar, which contains your folder's path name The sidebar, which contains a folder icon representing your folder The main panel, where you see icons representing the items in your folder

Diagram of Nautilus

Your home folder also appears on your desktop, represented by a house icon. Double-clicking the house icon opens a new Nautilus window with your home folder displayed. Note about the home folder: Depending on your user-level setting, your home folder may be the default Nautilus home folder, which contains basic information about your computer and pointers to some useful applications, or the home folder defined for you in your Linux settings (normally /home/your_name). You can move among your folders by using the navigation buttons in the toolbar and the icons in the Nautilus window. Using your home folder as a reference point, navigate your hard disk: To view your home folder, click the Home button. To move to the folder that contains your home folder - that is, to move one folder up in the hierarchy - click the Up button. To return to the home folder, click the Back button. To view the contents of any folder, double-click its icon (normally a folder icon). If you think that the contents of a folder have changed while you've been viewing it, click the Refresh button to update the information. To stop an item from loading, click the Stop button. You can get an overview of all of your computer's files and folders by using the tree. Many people find using the tree to navigate faster than selecting and opening folders. To see the tree, click the Tree tab at the bottom of the sidebar. Click the tab again to put the tree away. If you don't see the Tree tab, right-click the sidebar and choose Tree. The starting point - the top of the tree - is the root directory, represented by a slash (/). Click the disclosure triangle next to the root directory to open or close the list of all your computer's folders and files. The items on your computer are arranged hierarchically. The root directory may list network locations in addition to locations on your computer. (Note: In addition to the root directory identified by a /, there is a directory named root.) Open and close a folder in the tree: To open or close a folder in the tree, click its triangle. To display the contents of a folder in the main panel, click the folder's name in the tree. Icon and List Views The first time you launch Nautilus, you see folders and files represented as icons. This is the icon view. Look at your files and folders in two views: To see the contents of a folder as a list, click the View as pop-up menu and choose View as List. To sort the items displayed in list view, click the column headers (Name, Size, Type, and Date Modified). To return to icon view, open the View as pop-up menu and choose View as Icons. To sort the items in icon view, open the View menu, choose Lay Out Items, and then choose a layout option. (For more about the layout options, see Choosing File Layouts.)

Screenshot of view menu

Zooming In or Out You can enlarge or reduce the size of items in either list or icon view and stretch individual icons in icon view. Enlarge and reduce icons in either icon view or list view: To enlarge or reduce all the icons simultaneously, click the plus (+) and minus (-) symbols in the location bar. To return them to their original size, click the symbol between the - and + symbols (normally a magnifying glass). Stretch an icon in icon view: Click to select the icon you want to stretch. Open the Edit menu and choose Stretch Icon. A box appears around the icon, with "handles" in each corner. Click and drag the handles to resize the icon. To cancel the stretch, press the Escape key. To remove the stretching handles, click away from the icon. To return an icon to its original size, select the icon; then open the Edit menu and choose Restore Icon's Original Size. Previewing Files in Icon View You can preview many files in the Nautilus window just by looking at their icons in the main panel - you don't need to open the files. Text files: The icons for most text files display the files' first few words or lines of text. If you enlarge a text file's icon by zooming or stretching, you can see more of the text. Image files: The icons for most image files appear as thumbnails - small versions of the image. Music files: You can preview common types of music files by positioning the mouse pointer over the icons. Music plays as long as the pointer is over a music file's icon. Using Nautilus as a Viewer You can use the Nautilus window to look at a file's contents without opening it for editing in an application. Using a viewer instead of opening an application can save time and memory. Most text files automatically appear in the Nautilus window when you double-click their icons. However, some files open automatically in their applications. For such files, right-click the icon and choose Open With. Then choose the appropriate viewer. Note: You can control which viewer or application an individual file automatically opens in. See Choosing Applications to Handle Files. Here are some of the file types for which the Nautilus window can act as a viewer: Text ASCII text, HTML Image GIF (without animation), JPEG, PNG, SVG (without interactive features), XPM Music AIFF, MP3 (for MP3 files located on your hard disk), RIFF, WAV Opening Individual Files You can open files in Nautilus in several ways: Double-click the file's icon (unless you've changed your preference so that a single click activates items). Click the file's icon, open the File menu, and choose Open or Open With. Right-click the file's icon, and choose Open or one of the Open With options. Click the file's icon, and press the Enter key. Note: If the application you want to use is not listed when you choose Open With, you can add the application to the list. See Choosing Applications to Handle Files. Nautilus provides a special set of features to help you enjoy your MP3 files. Using the View as Music option, you can set up a folder of MP3 files as an album containing tracks of your choice and represented by an album cover (custom image) that you specify. Use your collection of MP3 files to create a custom music album: Go to the folder containing your MP3 files. Click the View as pop-up menu and choose View as Music.

Screenshot of View Menu

Only the MP3 files in your folder are visible in this view. For each file, you see a listing of titles, artists, bit rates, and playing times. To begin playing the tracks in your album, click the music player's play button. The selected track begins to play; when it has finished, the next track begins playing automatically. You can also double-click a file to play it.

Screenshot of Music Player

Play button Pause button Stop button To rewind or fast forward, drag the slider. If you wish, you can choose a cover image to be displayed for your music folder: Go to the folder containing your MP3 files. Click the View as pop-up menu and choose View as Music. Click the Set Cover Image button in the bottom right corner of the Nautilus window. Browse to find the graphic you want to use; then select it. Click OK. If you have a disk in a CD-ROM or floppy drive, you can mount it from the desktop. Do this: Make sure the disk is in the drive. Right-click anywhere on the desktop (outside a window) and choose Disks Floppy or Disks CD-ROM from the pop-up menu. You can use Nautilus as a browser for viewing Web pages and FTP sites. To view a Web page, type its Web address (URL) in the Location bar. Connect to Eazel's Web site by typing eazel.com in the location bar, and pressing Enter. It's not necessary to type http: or www.

Screenshot of Location Bar

When you're viewing a Web page, Nautilus gives you additional browser choices in case you want to use a full-featured Web browser. To select a different browser, click one of the buttons in the sidebar.

Screenshot of Sidebar

When you navigate your computer or the Internet, you may want to return to a page, file, or folder you've previously viewed. You can view your navigation history in three ways: Look at the bottom section of the Go menu to see a list of the things you've viewed during the current session. Click the History tab at the bottom of the sidebar. (To put the History tab away, click the tab again.) Right-click the Back or Forward button. You can have Nautilus clear the list of locations you've previously visited. This removes the previous locations listed in the Go menu, the History tab, and under the Back and Forward buttons. To clear the list of previously visited locations: Open the Go menu and choose Forget History. You will probably discover that you frequently visit certain locations - Web pages, folders on your computer, and favorite photos or text files. You can bookmark these items in Nautilus, so that you can return to them easily. Creating a Bookmark To bookmark an item: Go to the item you want to bookmark. For example, go to http://www.happypenguin.org. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Add Bookmark. To use your bookmark, open the Bookmarks menu and choose your bookmark from the bottom of the menu. Using the Built-In Bookmarks Nautilus comes with some built-in bookmarks arranged in folders in the middle part of the Bookmarks menu. They take you to the Web sites of organizations and companies of interest to Linux users. If your user level is set to Intermediate or Advanced, you can turn off the built-in bookmarks: Open the preferences menu and choose Preferences. In the left-hand column of the Preferences dialog box, click Navigation. Select Don't include the built-in bookmarks in the Bookmarks menu. Click OK.

Screenshot of Preferences Menu

Editing Your Bookmarks You can rename a bookmark, change its location, or remove it altogether: Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Edit Bookmarks. Select the bookmark you want to edit. Type a new name or location for the bookmark, or click Remove. When you're done editing bookmarks, close the dialog box. Nautilus provides a Find feature for locating files and directories on your computer and a Web Search feature for finding Web pages. Finding Items on Your Computer Simple Searches Complex Searches Searching the Internet When you search for items on your computer, you can use one of these Nautilus search utilities: Simple searches: If your user level is set to Beginner, Nautilus performs a quick and easy search by file name. Complex searches: If your user level is set to Intermediate or Advanced, Nautilus searches the files on your hard disk by file name, creator, file type, and other attributes, as well as by the actual content of files. Fast Versus Slow Searches Nautilus uses Medusa, a daemon, which is a piece of software that runs in the background. Medusa creates an index of all the items on your hard disk and mounted volumes, including their names, size, creation date, and other attributes. In addition, Medusa indexes the actual content of each file - so you can find any word or phrase in any file on your computer when you search by content. Medusa runs when your computer is idle, so it doesn't disrupt your activities. If Medusa has not finished indexing your system or is not running on your computer, when you do a search you may see a message letting you know that Nautilus can't perform a fast search. If you suspect that Medusa is not turned on, do this: Open the preferences menu and choose Preferences. From the left column of the Preferences dialog box, choose Search. In the Fast Search section, turn on "Enable fast search." Note: For Medusa to perform its indexing task, the crond program must also be running. If you have turned off crond, Medusa won't work. To find an item on your hard disk (Beginner user level): Click the Find button in the toolbar. The location bar is replaced by the find bar. Enter the name of the item you want to find in the Find field. Click Find Them. When you're done searching, click the Find button again to put away the Find bar. To find an item on your hard disk (Intermediate or Advanced user level): Click the Find button in the toolbar. From the two pop-up menus, choose criteria to define your search. The options are explained below. (Optional) To further narrow your search, click More Options and choose additional criteria. Enter the item you want to find - a particular file name, modification date, and so forth - in the Find field. Click Find Them. When you're done searching, click the Find button again to put away the Find bar. Search Category Modifier Search Field or List Name: Nautilus searches the names of files on your hard disk. Specify if the files should have names that contain, begin with, or end with the characters you type. You can also choose "matches glob" or "matches regexp" to do Linux wildcard searches. Enter part or all of the file name you want to find. Content: Nautilus searches the content of files on your hard disk. Specify if the files should have content that includes all, any, some, or none of the word or phrase you type. Enter a word or phrase you want to search for in the content of the files on your hard disk. Type: Nautilus searches for the file types you specify. Choose "is" or "is not" to include or exclude file types from the search. Choose a file type from the pop-up menu. Size Specify if the files should be larger or smaller than the number you type. Type a size, in kilobytes. With Emblem Specify if the files should be marked with, or not marked with, a particular emblem. Choose an emblem. Last Modified Choose an option to narrow down the last modification date of the files. Enter a date. The current date is filled in by default, but you can delete it and type any date you want. Owner Choose "is" or "is not" to include or exclude files owned by a particular user. Enter the name of a user who owns files on your system. To search for pages on the Web, click the Web Search button in the toolbar. Eazel's Search page appears. Type the word or phrase for which you want to search, and click Search. You can choose a search engine from the ones listed above the Search box. For instance, choose Google by clicking the Google link. If you like, you can set the Web Search button to take you to your favorite Web search service: Open the preferences menu and choose Preferences. In the left-hand portion of the Preferences dialog box, click Search. In the Search Engines section, enter the Web address (URL) for your favorite search service. Click OK.

Screenshot of Preferences Menu

This section explains how to use Nautilus to organize your files and folders. Moving and Copying Files and Folders Creating New Folders Files and Folders on the Desktop Duplicating Files and Folders Renaming Files and Folders Deleting Files and Folders Changing File Permissions The easiest way to move a file or folder is to work with two Nautilus windows. To move a file or folder to a new location, do this: Open the File menu and choose New Window. You now have two Nautilus windows. In one window, locate the file or folder you want to move. In the other window, locate the destination folder. Using the left mouse button, click the file or folder you want to move and drag it to the other window. Note: If your hard disk is divided into partitions (volumes), dragging a file or folder from one partition to another copies the file or folder instead of moving it. To copy a file or folder to a new folder while retaining the original, do this: Open the File menu and choose New Window. You now have two Nautilus windows. In one window, locate the file or folder you want to copy. In the other window, locate the destination folder. Click and hold the right mouse button on the item; then drag it to the destination folder. A pop-up menu appears. Choose Copy Here to place a copy of the item in the destination folder. Choose Link Here to create a link to the item. You can create a new folder anywhere in the folder hierarchy on your computer, as long as you have the appropriate permissions. Do this: Go to the folder that will contain the new folder. Open the File menu and choose New Folder. Nautilus creates a new folder inside the current folder. It has the name untitled folder. You can rename the new folder. You can treat the desktop as an extension of the Nautilus window and move, copy, and create folders there. To move a file or folder to the desktop, use the left mouse button to click and drag it to the desktop. You can put the file or folder anywhere you like on the desktop. To put a copy of an item on the desktop or to create a link to it, do this: In the Nautilus window, locate the file or folder you want to copy. Click and hold the right mouse button on the item; then drag it to the desktop. A pop-up menu appears. Choose Copy Here to place a copy of the item on the desktop. Choose Link Here to create a link to the item. To create a new folder on the desktop, right-click anywhere on the desktop (outside a window), and choose New Folder from the pop-up menu. Tip: If you're working on the desktop and you want to open a Nautilus window, right-click anywhere on the desktop and choose New Window from the pop-up menu. To duplicate an item, do this: Click the icon of the item you want to duplicate. Open the File menu and choose Duplicate. A copy of the item is added to the current folder. You can rename the new folder. Shortcut: In either icon or list view, right-click the item you want to duplicate and choose Duplicate from the pop-up menu. To rename an item in icon view, do this: Click the icon of the item you want to rename. Open the File menu and choose Rename. The icon label now has a text box around it. Type a new name for the item, and press Return. To rename an item in list view, do this: Click to select the item you want to rename. Open the File menu and choose Show Properties. Type a new name for the item in the space provided in the Basic tab. Close the dialog box. Shortcut: In either icon or list view, right-click the item you want to rename. In icon view, choose Rename from the context menu; in list view, choose Show Properties. To delete an item, do this: Click the icon of the item you want to delete. Open the File menu and choose Move to Trash. To empty the trash, open the File menu and choose Empty Trash. (Empty the trash only if you're sure you want to permanently delete the items in it!) Shortcuts: In either icon or list view, right-click the item you want to delete and choose Move to Trash from the pop-up menu. Or click and drag the item to the Trash icon on the desktop. You can change permissions for folders and files you own. If you're logged in as root (for experts only), you can change permissions for any folders and files on your computer. Click to select the item for which you want to change permissions. Open the File menu and choose Show Properties. The Properties dialog box opens for the file or folder you selected. Click the Permissions tab. From the File Group menu, choose the group that this file or folder belongs to. In the table, click to put a checkmark under each type of permission you want to grant. For instance, you might give the owner and users in the group permission to read (view), write (edit), and execute the file, and give others permission to read the file but not write to it. When you are done managing permissions, close the dialog box. Note: Execute is normally used only for programs and for folders with directory listings that you wish to make available. You can customize Nautilus in many ways so that its appearance and behavior meet your needs and taste. This section explains how. Setting Your User Level Setting Preferences Showing and Hiding Bars Choosing File Layouts Changing Themes and Backgrounds Customizing Icons and Icon Captions Choosing a Desktop Background When you first lanched Nautilus, you were asked to choose your user level: Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced. The user level dictates the amount of detail you see while navigating your files and folders: Beginner: For users who have no previous experience with Linux or GNOME. Intermediate: For users who have had some experience with Linux or GNOME but don't want to see every detail of their system. Advanced: For users who like to see every detail of their system, including the ugly stuff. To change your user level, open the preferences menu and choose the level you want.

Screenshot of Preferences Menu

One way to see the difference between the levels is to go to your home directory and then compare what you see as you select each level in turn. Be sure to return to the level with which you're comfortable when you're done. Several preference settings that you can adjust are located in the Preferences dialog box. The available settings depend on your user level - intermediate and advanced users have access to more settings than beginners. The preference settings adjust the appearance of Nautilus, the behavior of files and folders when you view and click them, the type of searches performed when you click the Find or Web Search buttons, and more. To open the Preferences dialog box use the preferences menu, shown here.

Screenshot of Preferences Menu

To customize preferences: Open the preferences menu and choose Preferences. From the left column in the Preferences dialog box, choose the type of settings you want to adjust (for instance, Icon & List Views). Adjust each group of settings as desired. When you are finished setting preferences, click OK to close the window. The Nautilus window shows these bars by default: sidebar toolbar location bar status bar (at the bottom of the window) You may want to hide one or more of these bars to save space on your screen. To hide and show bars: Open the View menu and click one of the options in the second section. For instance, to hide the sidebar, click Hide Sidebar. To see the bar again, open the View menu and choose one of the Show options. Note: If you hide a bar in your Nautilus window and then open another Nautilus window, the bar is not hidden in the new window. To specify which bars should be hidden or displayed in new windows: Open the preferences menu (shown below) and choose Preferences. In the left column of the Preferences dialog box, click Appearance. In the Views section, deselect any bars you want hidden in new windows. Click OK to close the window.

Screenshot of Preferences Menu

File Layout in Icon View To change the layout of files you're viewing, open the View menu and choose Lay Out Items. Then choose how you want the files arranged. Manually You can drag icons to arrange them as you like. By Name The files appear alphabetically by name. By Size Files are displayed from largest to smallest. By Type Files are arranged in groups, such as text, image, and so on. All folders are grouped. By Modification Date The most recently modified files appear first. By Emblems If you've added emblems to icons, the files are grouped according to emblems (files without emblems are at the end). Tighter Layout Icons are closer together. Reversed Order Reverses the order for the option you've chosen. File Layout in List View In list view, you can change the layout of files by clicking the column headings. For instance, to arrange files by type, click the Type column heading. Click again to reverse the order. See also Viewing and Opening Files. You can customize the decor of your Nautilus window by choosing an overall theme and by changing the background color or image of specific objects. Choosing a New Theme Open the Edit menu and choose Nautilus Themes. Choose a theme. The appearance changes immediately, so you can see how the theme looks. When you're finished, click Done. Changing Backgrounds Open the Edit menu and choose Backgrounds and Emblems. In the Backgrounds and Emblems dialog box, choose Patterns or Colors. Drag a tile to a part of the Nautilus window. For instance, change the color of the sidebar by dragging the yellow tile. To restore the orginal setting, drag the Reset tile. When you're finished, click Done. Note: The Backgrounds and Emblems dialog box also lets you drag emblems to attach to individual file and folder icons. Adding and Removing Custom Backgrounds If your user level is set to Intermediate or Advanced, you can add and remove backgrounds and colors in the list of customization choices. Any image file can be a background. To add a background to the customization choices: Open the Edit menu and choose Backgrounds and Emblems. In the Backgrounds and Emblems dialog box, choose Patterns Click Add a New Pattern. Locate the image file you want to add to the set of background patterns. Select the image file and click OK. The image is added as a new tile. To add a new color to the background color choices: Open the Edit menu and choose Backgrounds and Emblems. In the Backgrounds and Emblems dialog box, choose Colors. Click Add a New Color. On the color wheel, click the color you want to use and click OK. Type a name for the color and click OK. The color is added as a new tile. To remove a custom pattern or color from the set of pattern and color tiles: Open the Edit menu and choose Backgrounds and Emblems. In the Backgrounds and Emblems dialog box, choose Patterns or Colors. Click Remove a Pattern or Remove a Color. Any patterns or color tiles you have previously added are displayed. Click the one you want to remove. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for any other pattern or color tiles you want to remove. Click Done. Note: If you remove a pattern or color tile that you have applied as a background for an object, the object continues to display that pattern or color. Icons appear with information in their captions - normally the directory name and number of items for directories and the name and size for files. If you zoom in for a closer look at icons, more information appears. Customizing Icon Captions You can customize the information below icons - the icon captions. Although the file name must always appear first, you can specify which other information to show and change the order of the information. Open the Edit menu and choose Icon Captions. Click the first button and choose from the list. The information you choose will be the first thing shown below an icon, after the file name. Repeat step 2 for the second and third buttons. When you are done customizing icon captions, close the dialog box. Note: To see the entire icon caption, you may need to zoom in (click the + symbol in the location bar). Customizing Icons You can change the icon for an individual folder or file, giving it a custom icon: Click the icon for the file or folder. Open the File menu and choose Show Properties. In the Properties dialog box, click Select Custom Icon. Find and select the image you want to use as a custom icon; then click OK. Close the Properties dialog box. You can also drag an image file to an icon you want to customize: If you have a tab (Tree, Notes, History, or Help) open in the sidebar, put it away so that you can see the icon you want to customize. (To put away a tab, click it.) Double-click the item you want to customize so that its icon is displayed in the sidebar. Drag an image to the icon. The image replaces the icon.

Screenshot of Custom Icon

Tip: You may want to work with two Nautilus windows when you customize an icon. Open the File menu and choose New Window. You can drag an image from one window to the icon you're customizing. Adding Emblems to Icons Emblems let you tag individual files as Urgent, Favorite, and so forth. To add an emblem to an icon: Make sure that the folder or file to which you want to add an emblem is visible in the Nautilus window. You can be in Icon or List view. Open the Edit menu and choose Backgrounds and Emblems. In the Backgrounds and Emblems dialog box, choose Emblems. Select an emblem and drag it to the icon you want to customize. To remove emblems, drag the Erase emblem to the icon. Click Done. You can add as many emblems as you like. Use emblems to organize your files. Attach Oh No! or Urgent emblems to the files that need immediate attention; then open the View menu and choose Lay Out Items By Emblems. The files with emblems are displayed at the top in icon view and first in list view. If you use emblems, you can also search by emblem. You can change the color of your desktop, or give it new "wallpaper." Do this: Right-click anywhere on the desktop (outside a window), and choose Change Desktop Background from the pop-up menu. The GNOME Control Center opens with the Background Image section displayed. To use an image as the background, choose an item from the pop-up menu under Wallpaper or click Browse to find an image file on your computer. If you're using an image as a background, choose the effect you want: Tiled, Centered, Scaled, or Embossed Logo. Click Try to see how the styles look. To use a color as the background, click the color tiles next to Primary Color and Secondary Color and choose colors from the color wheel. From the pop-up menu under Color, choose Solid, Horizontal Gradient, or Vertical Gradient. Click Try to see how the gradients look. Be sure that Use GNOME to set Background is selected. Click OK; then close the GNOME Control Center. This section explains how to customize the way files are opened for editing and viewing. What Are MIME Types? Adding and Removing Applications Changing the Default Application Configuring Additional Applications (Advanced) Adding a New MIME Type (Advanced) MIME types are a standard way to identify files so that they can be easily transmitted over the Internet. MIME stands for "Multipurpose Internet Mail Extention." Each type of file is assigned a specific MIME type. For instance, the MIME type for HTML files is "text/html," and the MIME type for JPEG files is "image/jpeg." A file's MIME type tells Internet applications such as browsers and email programs what type of file is being exchanged, how to encode it for transmission, and how to decode it when it arrives at its destination. Unless you've specified that a particular application or viewer should open a file, it normally opens automatically in an application that's appropriate for the type. For instance, a JPEG file normally opens automatically in a graphics application. You can choose which application or viewer opens automatically for a particular type of file. You can also set up new applications to handle particular types of files. When you select a file and choose Open With, you see a list of applications that can open that particular file. You also have the choices Other Application and Other Viewer, which let you use an application that's not in the list to open or view the file. You can modify the list of applications you see when you choose Open With: Click the icon of the file for which you want to change the Open With options. Open the File menu and choose Open With Other Application. A dialog box opens that lists all the applications currently able to open this particular type of file. Some applications in the list are tagged "in the menu" for this file type; others are tagged "not in the menu." Select an application in the list and click Modify. Choose the option you want. You can choose to add or remove the application from the menu for this particular file or for all files of this type. Click OK. Click Done. (If you want to open the file now, click Choose.) To modify the list of viewers you see when you choose Open With, follow steps 1 through 6 above but choose Other Viewer instead of Other Application in step 2. (A viewer lets you view but not edit a file. Opening a file in a viewer can save time and memory.) The default application or viewer opens a file automatically when you select the file and choose Open from the File menu. To specify the default: Click the icon of the file for which you want to change the default. Open the File menu and choose Open With Other Application Select the application you want to use as the default and click Modify. Choose the option you want. You can choose to use the application as the default for this particular file or for all files of this type. Click OK. Click Done. (If you want to open the file now, click Choose.) To change the default viewer, follow steps 1 through 6 above, but choose Other Viewer instead of Other Application in step 2. The Open With Other dialog box (described above) lists all the applications that Nautilus can currently use to open a file. Your computer may have additional applications that can open the file but that aren't in the list. You can configure additional applications so that they appear in the list: Click to select the file for which you want to configure a new application. Open the File menu and choose Open With Other Application In the File Types and Programs section, click Go There. The GNOME Control Center opens, with the File Types and Programs preferences displayed. In the list, find the file type for the file you're working with. For instance, if you're configuring an additional application for a text file, locate the entry for text files in the list. (Clicking the column headers sorts the list.) Once you've found the file type, click to select it. In the Default Action section, click Edit List. Click Add Application. Type the application's name and the command that launches the application. The command is the same as the command you'd type if you were launching the application from a GNOME terminal window. Click OK in each of the next three dialog boxes to dismiss them. To edit the name or command for an application, follow steps 1 through 9 but click Edit Application instead of Add Application in step 7. To remove an application, follow steps 1 through 7 but click Delete Application instead of Add Application in step 7. You can set up default applications for new file types that are not currently configured on your system. First, add the new file type: Open the GNOME Main Menu and choose Programs Settings GNOME Control Center. Choose File Types and Programs in the GNOME Control Center's left-hand column. Click Add New MIME Type. In the Add MIME Type dialog box, enter the MIME type and a description. For instance, if you have a new kind of image file of type alf (for alfie files), you'd enter image/x-alf as the MIME type and Alfie image as the description. Click OK. Your new MIME type is added to the list. Second, associate a file extension: Select your new MIME type in the list and click Change File Extensions. Click Add. Type a file extension (for instance, .alf for the alfie image files in the example) and click OK. Click OK. Third, specify an icon: Select your new MIME type in the list and click Change Icon. Choose an icon and click OK. Fourth, define the application(s) that can open files of this type: Select your new MIME type in the list. In the Default Action section, click Edit List. Click Add Application. Type the application's name and the command that launches the application. The command is the same as the command you'd type if you were launching the application from a GNOME terminal window. Click OK in each of the next three dialog boxes to dismiss them. Eazel Services are Internet-based tools designed to simplify system management for Linux users. Nautilus and Eazel Services work together to make your life easier. Eazel Services include Eazel Online Storage, for file backup File sharing capability Eazel Software Catalog, for easy installation of software titles The Nautilus installer Registering with Eazel When you first launched Nautilus, you were asked if you wanted to register for Eazel Services. If you registered at that time, click the Services button in the Nautilus window and log in, using your user name and password. If you have not already registered, click the Services button to see a registration screen. Follow the steps for registering. These keyboard shortcuts are available when you're working in the Nautilus window or on the Nautilus desktop. Keystroke Sequence Result Ctrl-B Add Bookmark Ctrl-X Cut Text Ctrl-C Copy Text Ctrl-V Paste Text Ctrl-A Select All (select all files, etc.) Ctrl-N New Folder Ctrl-O Open Ctrl-W Close Window Shift-Ctrl-W Close All Windows Ctrl-I Show Properties Ctrl-T Move to Trash Ctrl-D Duplicate Ctrl-L Create Link Ctrl-F Find Shift-Ctrl-F Web Search Ctrl-[ Back Ctrl-] Forward Ctrl-U Up One Level Ctrl-H Home Ctrl-R Refresh Ctrl-= Zoom In Ctrl-- Zoom Out Nautilus applies emblems automatically to icons for files that are read or write only and to icons that are links (aliases) to other files or folders. The default emblems change depending on your theme. The ones shown here are for two of the Nautilus themes, but if you have a custom theme, your emblems may be different.

Screenshot of Read Only Emblem

Read only: You have permission to view this file or folder, but you can't modify it.

Screenshot of No Permissions Emblem

You can't view or modify this file or folder.

Screenshot of Link Emblem

A link icon denotes a file that contains no content of its own but links to a file or folder located elsewhere on the computer. Clicking this icon opens the linked file or folder. (A link is similar to a shortcut in Windows or an alias in the Mac OS.) This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of this license was provided with this software in the file COPYING-DOCS. Many of the names used by companies to distinguish their products and services are claimed as trademarks. Where those names appear in any GNOME documentation, and those trademarks are made aware to the members of the GNOME Documentation Project, the names have been printed in caps or initial caps. Copyright 2001 Eazel, Inc., and others. All Rights Reserved. Eazel, the Eazel Logo, and Nautilus are trademarks of Eazel, Inc. (the "Eazel Trademarks"). The Eazel Trademarks are distinct from the Eazel GPL Software and are not subject to the provisions of the GPL. This software contains files that include the Eazel Logo (the "Logo"). Eazel, Inc. has created and distributes certain software under the GNU General Public License (GPL) (the "Eazel GPL Software"). The Logo is distinct from the Eazel GPL Software and is not governed by the terms of the GPL. You may only use the Logo pursuant to the terms contained herein. The files that include the Eazel Logo can be removed without impairing the way the Eazel GPL Software functions. Eazel, Inc. grants you the right to use, copy, and redistribute the Logo, but only in conjunction with the use, copying, or redistribution of an official release of Eazel GPL Software that calls upon the Logo during the normal course of operation and provided that, The notice and this license are included with each copy you make, and they are not altered, deleted, or modified in any way; You do not modify the Logo, or the appearance of the Logo in any manner; You do not use the Logo as, or as part of, a trademark, trade name, or trade identifier; or in any other fashion except as set forth in this license; and The Logo is only used, copied, or distributed in conjunction with Eazel GPL Software that has not been modified from the form it was made available by Eazel, Inc. You may modify Eazel GPL software pursuant to the terms of the license that accompanies it, but if you do so, you may not use, copy, or redistribute the Logo with the modified software. NO WARRANTY. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL EAZEL, INC. BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS PACKAGE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.