Table of Contents

File panel functions (2/3) - files and directories

Changing working directory

alt-/change into the root directory
alt-.change into the parent .. directory
alt-~ or alt-` change into your home directory
<enter> several functions, see below in Miscellaneous
alt-<enter> change into a subdirectory, see below in Miscellaneous
alt-X change into a subdirectory switching panels, see below in Miscellaneous
alt-W go to the directory panel
alt-K go to the bookmark panel

See also: the cd command.

Selecting files

Selected names are to be used in commands, see the section building commands in advanced editing.

<insert> or ctrl-T select/deselect the current file
<esc> <insert> or <esc> ctrl-T select/deselect the current file and all files listed above it that are in the same selection state. This is used to select/deselect a block: select the first file with <insert> and then select the last one with <esc> <insert>
alt-+ select files that match pattern
alt-- deselect files that match pattern
alt-* invert selection
alt-= compare files in both directories

Miscellaneous

ctrl-R Re-read the contents of the directory, i.e. refresh the file panel.
<esc> ctrl-R Like ctrl-R, but an update of cached user account data is forced. In most cases you do not need this function (see details).
ctrl-X Exchange primary <--> secondary panel, i.e. switch the working directories.
<enter> Three functions:
  • if there is a command in the command line:
    <enter> executes the current command
  • otherwise if current file is a directory:
    <enter> changes into this directory
  • otherwise if current file is executable:
    <enter> inserts ./cmdfile into the command line
alt-<enter> If the current file is a directory, change into this directory. Of the four functions above this is the second one, useful if the command line is not empty.
alt-E Display the contents of the current file in the preview panel, if possible.
alt-X If the current file is a directory, change into this directory, but show the contents in the other file panel. The original file panel becomes secondary and remains unchanged. This allows one to change back into the original directory simply by switching panels (ctrl-X).
ctrl-D Bookmark the current directory. This function appends the current directory to the list of bookmarks and opens the bookmark panel.
alt-R Rename the current file.