Help Desk Geek – Help Desk Tips For IT Pros

Do you use the File Browser in Ubuntu more often than the Terminal window for working with files? If so, these tips will be useful for you.

Viewing Hidden Files and Folders

The File Browser does not display hidden files and folders by default. You can see hidden files and folders in the Terminal window by typing the following at the prompt:

$ ls –al

The following picture displays all the files in our Home folder. The filenames and folder names with a . at the beginning are the hidden files and folders.

If we get the same listing of our Home Folder in the File Browser (select Home Folder from the Places menu), we do not see any hidden files.

To immediately see the hidden files and folders, press Ctrl + H while on the File Browser window. The hidden files and folders are now visible.

You can select to display hidden files and folders in the File Browser every time you open it. To do that, select Preferences from the Edit menu.

The File Management Preferences dialog box displays. Select the Show hidden and backup files check box.

Now, every time you open the File Browser will display the hidden files and folders and you won’t have to use the Ctrl + H keys to view them.

Setting Options for the Trash Icon

If you want the File Browser to ask you before deleting a file or emptying the trash, select the Ask before emptying Trash or deleting files check box. This allows you to be sure before you permanently delete files.

The Include a Delete command that bypasses Trash option adds a Delete option to the Edit menu and to the pop-up menu that is displayed when you right-click on a file or folder in the File Browser.

NOTE: When you select an item then choose the Delete menu item, the item is deleted immediately. There is no way to recover a deleted file, therefore, do not select this option unless you have good reason to.

by Lori Kaufman