The File Viewer

You use the File Viewer to view and work with the files and folders in your computer. They appear as icons in the File Viewer.

• At the top of the File Viewer is the shelf, where you can put icons of files or folders you use often and want to keep handy.
• In the middle of the File Viewer is the icon path, which shows you where you are in the file system. The highlighted icon at the right is the current file or folder. The icons to the left of the current folder trace the path back up the hierarchy to the root folder, which is represented by the workstation icon.
• At the bottom of the File Viewer, the current view displays the contents of the current folder.

Figure 5-1

When you log in, your home folder is the current folder, and its contents are displayed as the current view. Your home folder is represented by a house icon and has the same name as your user name. Figure 5-1 shows the file viewer after a user named "starr" logs in; his home directory is the current folder (at the end of the icon path), and the current view shows what the home folder contains.

Finding Files and Folders

You find files by opening folders to see their contents.

• To open a folder and display its contents in the current view, double-click on its icon.
• To move up the hierarchy, to a more inclusive folder, click on its icon in the icon path.
• To open a folder on the shelf, click on its icon there.

When you open a folder, its branch of the hierarchy appears in the icon path with the folder's icon selected, and its contents are displayed at the bottom of the window.

Table 5-1

Icon	Type of Folder
	Most folders are represented by this icon. Some have icons that indicate something special about the folder's contents or location.
	This icon identifies your home folder, which contains your files.
	This icon identifies someone else's home folder.
	This icon identifies a folder which is a floppy disk.
	This icon identifies the /net folder, which contains folders that are located on other computers on the network.

It doesn't matter where a folder is or what icon it has. You use the same techniques with all folders.

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Note - You can use the Clean Up Icons command in the View menu to straighten up the current view of icons.

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Figure 5-2 ReactionReports

Stocking the Shelf

The shelf is a place for holding files or folders you access frequently. By clicking an icon on the shelf, you can quickly open the folder that contains it.

In addition to your home folder (which is always on the shelf), you can stock the shelf with other files or folders you want to get to quickly.

Putting a File or Folder on the Shelf

1. Select a file or folder by clicking on its icon, in either the icon path or the current view.

   Its icon is highlighted.

2. Drag the highlighted icon into an empty space on the shelf. Release the mouse button when a ghost image of the icon appears.

Removing a File or Folder From the Shelf

* Drag the icon off the shelf--out of the File Viewer window and into the workspace.

The icon is removed from the shelf, but the file or folder is not deleted from your computer. You can still find it in the icon path or in the current view at the bottom of the screen.

Figure 5-3 ReactionReports

Customizing the Application Dock

To add an application to the dock, you follow these procedures.

1. Using the File Viewer, find the application you want to add to the dock.

   The standard locations for applications are the /usr/openstep/Apps folder (only for applications supplied with OpenStep), the /usr/local/openstep/Apps folder for other applications that are widely available on your network, and ~/openstep/Apps for applications that are available on just one computer.

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Note - The / symbol in a folder name stands for the root folder. To find a folder when its name begins with the root folder, select the root icon (the icon that looks like a computer) in the File Viewer's icon path. When the root folder's contents appear in the current view, double-click the folder that comes next in the path, and so on. The ~ symbol in a folder name stands for your own home folder. To find a folder when its name begins with ~, select you home folder icon (which is normally on the File Viewer's shelf). When your home folder's contents are displayed, select the icon for the folder that comes next in the path, and so on.

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2. Select the application by clicking on it in the File Viewer.

   The application's icon appears in the icon path and is highlighted.

3. Drag the highlighted icon into an empty space in the application dock and release the icon when a ghost image of it appears in the dock.

To remove an application from the dock, follow these procedures.

• If the application isn't running, just drag its icon out of the dock--into the workspace.
• If the application is running, hold down the Command key and drag it out of the dock.

  You can also Command-drag the recycler to remove it from the dock.

To use the application again, you can start it from the File Viewer.

Figure 5-4

Opening a File From the File Viewer

You can open any file by acting on its icon in the File Viewer.

1. Find the file by opening the folder that contains it.

2. Double-click on the file's icon.

   You can double-click on a file icon in the current view, on the icon path, or on the shelf.

   If the file is an application, it will start up. Otherwise, OpenStep will start the application that created the file (if it isn't already running) and open the file in its own window.

You can tell what application a file will open in by the file's icon, which resembles the application's icon. For example, if you double-click an Edit file icon, Edit opens a window that displays the file's contents.

Figure 5-5

When an application that isn't in the application dock starts up, its icon appears at the bottom of the screen. You can add the application to the dock by dragging its icon to the dock. Otherwise the icon disappears when you quit the application.

Figure 5-6 FestivalRelease.rtf

Opening a File From Within an Application

When you're working in an application, you don't have to go to the Workspace Manager to open a file. You can open it from within the application itself.

1. Choose Open from the application's document menu. The document menu may be titled Document, File, Project, or something else. It's in the main menu just below Info.

   A panel with a browser opens. Browsers are lists of files and folders displayed in one or more columns. At the top of each column is the name of the folder that contains the files and folders in that column. With browsers you can move quickly through a hierarchy of files and folders.

2. Locate the file in the panel's browser.

3. Click on the file to select it.

   The file's name appears in the Name field.

4. Click on OK.

   The panel disappears and the file opens in its own window.

You can use the disk buttons on the Open panel to work with files on floppy disks. For more information, see the Using the OpenStep Desktop.

Figure 5-7 FestivalRelease.rtf

Creating a File

You can create a new file to store your work while you are using an application.

1. Choose New from the application's document menu.

   A new, untitled window opens.

2. Do some work in the window, such as typing a new document.

3. Save the window's contents to a file by choosing Save from the document menu.

   The Save panel opens. It contains a browser.

4. Use the browser to select the folder in which you want to save the file.

5. Type a name for the file in the Name text field.

6. Click on OK.

   The name you chose appears in the window's title bar, indicating that a file has been created.

If you close the new window without saving your work, no file is created and your work is lost.

Figure 5-8

Saving Changes to a File

The work you do in a file is not automatically saved, or stored permanently on the computer's disk storage. There are several ways to save your file.

You can save revisions you've made to a file.

* While working in the file, choose Save from the application's document menu.

The contents of the window are saved on the disk, replacing the last saved version of the file.

You can also save a copy of your file under a different name.

1. Choose Save As from the Document menu.

   The application's Save panel opens.

2. Type a new name for the version you are working on. Your version will be saved under this name. To remind yourself of what you've done, you can use a name like YearEndReport_v6 or ProductBrochure11/4.

3. You can use the browsers on the Save As panel to put the new version of the file into the same folder as the original file or a different folder.

   Saving to a different folder is described in "Creating a File" on page 5-11".

4. Click on the OK button.

   The original file is not modified. Your work is saved in a new file with the new name you chose. You can continue working in the new file.

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Note - You should save changes frequently, not just when you're about to close a file. You know when a window contains unsaved work if its close button is partially drawn. After saving the close button returns to normal.

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