Dolphin
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Contents |
Introduction
Dolphin is a file manager, a program that lets you access and organize all the files in your computer. It is the default file manager in the KDE Software Compilation 4, in addition to its predecessor, Konqueror. This page will teach you the basic file management skills in Mandriva Linux using Dolphin on KDE's Plasma Desktop.
The Bare Basics
The KDE Plasma Desktop includes various ways to access files. The most obvious is to double-click a file in the desktop. This activates the associated program and commands it to open the file. Double-clicking a folder on the desktop activates Dolphin.
Dolphin can also be accessed via the Main Menu, under Tools > System Tools.
The Main Screen
The main screen shows the contents of the opened folder, organized into a grid for easy navigation. Depending on the content type, different icons may appear to represent it. Clicking on an icon "selects" (highlights) the file; when selected, the Information panel+ changes to show important data regarding the file (last modification date, thumbnails, video and audio previews, etc.). Double-clicking the file will activate the associated program.
If the folder contains other folders (such as the picture above), double-clicking the sub-folder will activate it, and the main screen will change to display the sub-folder's contents. The path bar (the text line on top of the main screen) will also change to show the path of the new folder.
You can drag 'n' drop a file to any location on the desktop; where you drop it determines the action taken by the computer. Dragging and dropping a file inside a folder/folder view opens a context menu that lets you select whether you want to move, copy or link the file to the location where you drop it. Moving it on a Desktop Activity or the Panel opens another context menu that lets you select different types of widgets to link the file: a folder view (a resizable widget showing the contents of the folder), a Lancelot Part (another type of Start Menu), or an icon. Dropping it on top of an application icon tries to open the file with the selected application; however, if the type of file is not recognized by the program, it may not open.
Manipulating Files
At times you may wish to select many different files at once; once again, Dolphin offers a variety of ways to do so. The most basic way is to drag the pointer around the files; this creates a "selection box", and any files inside it will be automatically selected. Another way is by using the "selection marker", a plus sign that appears when you hover the mouse over icons (example: 
). By clicking the plus sign on all the desired files, you can select multiple and specific files for manipulation.
For keyboard users, pressing and holding the Shift key while clicking on files lets you "add-up" a list of them; the Ctrl key (used in the same way) lets you select individual files.
Folders
Dolphin is specially attuned to help you 'dig in' through folders and find whatever file you may want. If you want to get to a particular folder, double-clicking the folder on the main screen will change Dolphin to show its contents. But what if you want to go "up" the folders to the containing folder instead of going "down" the folder list? To return to the "upper" (containing) folder, click the Up arrow 
and the main screen/path bar will change to the contents of the "parent".
Alternatively, you can use the Back 
or Forwards 
arrows to navigate through the folders you have been in before (similar to a Web Browser's Back button). However, Dolphin's "browsing history" will reset if you close the window.
Dolphin's Basic Features
Dolphin has, however, far more features than the simple browsing basics: in fact, it has so many features that we probably couldn't place them in a single article! So consider this a sample of conveniences that Dolphin is able to perform. For a more full-fledged list, refer to the KDE Dolphin Handbook.
Tabbed Browsing
Yep, just like your Web Browser! To create a tab, click on File > New Tab, or just press (together) CTRL + T on the keyboard. The new tab will open in the same location as your previous window. You can then switch to another location easily by surfing through the main screen or various other methods (mentioned later).
Places
Another handy feature. If you right-click the Places panel, it will offer you an "Add Entry" Option, which -when selected- opens a menu for you to customize your very own Places! You can put, for example, a Location for a Network Folder, for the System Information and for another Hard Drive, all accessible upon a click, right there in the Places list.
Previews
This is an interesting way to find out file contents in various cases; for example, if you have a song and just want to hear it once, or you'd like to look at pictures without having to open the program associated with them, etc., this feature comes quite handy. To access it, click the Preview button on the main tool-bar or search the View menu. When activated, single-clicking a song or video will make a small preview appear on the information panel, with a time bar below it and a play/pause button on the line's left edge. Clicking the play button will activate the live preview.
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In Dolphin, folders also have "live" previews; for example, if you have pictures on a folder, then previewing it will show (in a few seconds) a "mini-slideshow" with all the pictures directly accessible from that folder. To preview a folder, hover your mouse over the folder you'd like previewed (make sure you have the "Preview" feature activated; if not, follow the above instructions to activate it).
More Advanced Dolphin Features
View Modes
There are three arrangements to visualize the files in Dolphin, all of which are easily accessible in the main toolbar. These are icons 
, columns 
, and details 
. You can also find them in the View section of the menu or by pressing CTRL + 1, CTRL + 2, or CTRL + 3, respectively.
Split Screen
If you need to transfer many files from one folder to another, Dolphin offers a "split screen" mode, in which the main screen splits into 2 "half-screens", letting you manipulate two folders at once directly on the main screen. To access it, click the split button on the main toolbar, search the menu bar under View > Split, or press F3 on the keyboard. To return to the "main screen" mode, click the close button on the main toolbar, press F3 on the keyboard once again, or look under View > Close.
Open Terminal
This feature lets you open a terminal with a cd done directly to the folder you were in the main screen. Useful for those who do batch processing on the commandline with tons of files, and need to switch quickly from Dolphin to a Console.
Desktop Search
Mandriva's "smart desktop" technology is integrated right into Dolphin. The top-right search bar performs a semantic search of all the files you have configured. For more information, see Nepomuk how-to.
