A file manager or file browser is a computer program that provides a user interface to work with file systems. They are very useful for speeding up interaction with files. The most common operations on files are create, open, edit, view, print, play, rename, move, copy, delete, attributes, properties, search/find, and permissions. A computer program is a collection of instructions that describe a task, or set of tasks, to be carried out by a computer. ... The user interface is the part of a system exposed to users. ... It has been suggested that Crash counting be merged into this article or section. ... A file viewer is a piece of computer software that displays the data stored in a computer file in a human-friendly form. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... Streaming media is multimedia that is continuously received by, and normally displayed to, the end-user while it is being delivered by the provider. ... File copying is creation of a new file which has the same content as an existing file. ... File deletion is a way of removing a file from a computers file system. ...

Typically files are displayed in a hierarchy. File managers may contain features inspired by web browsers, including forward and back navigational buttons. A hierarchy (in Greek: , derived from — hieros, sacred, and — arkho, rule) is a system of ranking and organizing things or people, where each element of the system (except for the top element) is subordinate to a single other element. ... An example of a web browser (Internet Explorer), displaying the English Wikipedia main page. ...

Some browsers may also provide network connectivity, e.g. via FTP, NFS, SMB or WebDAV, either by allowing the user to browse for servers and connect to them and then accessing the file system from the server the same way it accesses local file systems, or by providing its own full client implementations for file server protocols. “Computer Networks” redirects here. ... “FTP” redirects here. ... Network File System (NFS) is a network file system protocol originally developed by Sun Microsystems in 1984, allowing a user on a client computer to access files over a network as easily as if the network devices were attached to its local disks. ... Server Message Block (SMB) is an application-level network protocol mainly applied to shared access to files, printers, serial ports, and miscellaneous communications between nodes on a network. ... WebDAV was an IETF working group. ...

Navigational file manager

A navigational file manager is a file manager that uses a "navigational" metaphor to represent filesystem locations. It is the dominant style of file manager for desktop computers, being used, for example, in most recent Microsoft Windows products. For Mac OS X, the Finder is an example of a navigational file manager. Microsoft Windows is the name of several families of proprietary software operating systems by Microsoft. ... The Finder is the default application program used on the Mac OS and Mac OS X operating systems that is responsible for the overall user-management of files, disks, network volumes and the launching of other applications. ...

Concepts

• The window displays the location currently being viewed.
• The location being viewed can be changed by the user, by opening folders, pressing a back button, typing a location, etc.
• Icons represent files, applications, and directories.

The interface in a navigational file manager may strongly resemble a web browser, complete with back, forward, and maybe even reload buttons, and an address bar where file locations can be typed and the current location is shown. Moving from one location to another need not open a new window. An example of a graphical user interface in Windows XP, with the My Music window displayed In computing, a window is a visual area, usually rectangular in shape, containing some kind of user interface, displaying the output of and allowing input for one of a number of simultaneously running computer... An example of a web browser (Internet Explorer), displaying the English Wikipedia main page. ...

The main alternative to a navigational file manager is a spatial file manager, the key difference being that, in the spatial style, each directory in the filesystem is represented by its own unique window, which maintains its size and position between being closed and being opened; thus, changing the location being viewed implies opening a new window. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Spatial file manager

Nautilus is a file manager with a spatial mode. Each of these windows is an open folder.

The Macintosh Finder is considered to be one of the first spatial file managers.

Spatial file managers are file managers that uses a spatial metaphor to represent files and folders as if they are real physical objects. Image File history File links Nautilus file manager in spatial mode. ... Image File history File links Nautilus file manager in spatial mode. ... Nautilus is the official file manager for the GNOME desktop. ... Screenshot of the Macintosh Finder in Mac OS 9. ... Screenshot of the Macintosh Finder in Mac OS 9. ... The Finder is the default application program used on the Mac OS and Mac OS X operating systems that is responsible for the overall user-management of files, disks, network volumes and the launching of other applications. ... Look up metaphor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A file in a computer system is a stream (sequence) of bits stored as a single unit, typically in a file system on disk or magnetic tape. ... A folding kayak (sometimes short Folders) is a kayak that has a collapsable frame and a soft skin, normally made out of a textile with a waterproof coating. ...

Concepts

The base requirements of a spatial file manager are:

1. Each folder is represented by a single window.
2. Each window is unambiguously and irrevocably tied to a particular folder.
3. Stability: files, folders, and windows go where the user moves them, stay where the user puts them ("preserve their spatial state"), and retain all their other "physical" characteristics (like size, shape, color and location).
4. The same item can only be viewed in one window at a time.

Given an arbitrary window in a spatial file manager, it must be possible to determine with complete certainty which folder that window represents. Furthermore, it must not be possible to change that association. Look up Folder in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An example of a graphical user interface in Windows XP, with the My Music window displayed In computing, a window is a visual area, usually rectangular in shape, containing some kind of user interface, displaying the output of and allowing input for one of a number of simultaneously running computer... An example of a graphical user interface in Windows XP, with the My Music window displayed In computing, a window is a visual area, usually rectangular in shape, containing some kind of user interface, displaying the output of and allowing input for one of a number of simultaneously running computer... Look up Folder in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Traditionally, when a folder is opened, the icon representing the folder changes—perhaps from an image showing a closed drawer to an opened one, perhaps the folder's icon turns into a silhouette filled with a pattern—and a new window is opened. Attempting to open that "already opened" folder will simply reveal the existing window. A new window will not be created because that would violate requirement number one listed above, attempting to reveal an already opened folder's contents using another window will either close the existing folder before opening it or refuse to reveal said contents. The change in the folder icon's state is meant to be a visual reminder of this behavior. It says, "This folder is already open." Similarly, while a document or application is open, their icons also represent this status and re-opening them will just reveal and bring them back to the front. Look up icon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

A common alternative to the spatial file manager is the navigational file manager or "browser-style" file manager. A window in such a system is a device through which the contents of many folders may be viewed. A browser-style window is not tied to any particular folder. The window's spatial state (size, position, etc.) stays the same as the contents of many different folders are viewed through it. More than one browser window may show the contents of a particular folder simultaneously. In computing, a navigational file manager is a file manager that uses a navigational metaphor to represent filesystem locations. ...

Examples

Examples of file managers that use a spatial metaphor by default include:

• Apple's Finder 5 to 9 (versions up to Mac OS X)
• the RISC OS Filer
• Amiga's Workbench
• the OS/2 Workplace Shell
• GNOME's Nautilus from version 2.6 onwards
• BeOS's Tracker
• Windows Explorer in Windows 95 was also a spatial file manager in some respects, but became a navigational file manager in later versions of the operating system

Apple Inc. ... The Finder is the default application program used on the Mac OS and Mac OS X operating systems that is responsible for the overall user-management of files, disks, network volumes and the launching of other applications. ... Mac OS X (official IPA pronunciation: ) is a line of proprietary, graphical operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The original Amiga 1000 (1985) with various peripherals The Amiga is a family of personal computers originally developed by Amiga Corporation. ... AmigaOS is the default native operating system of the Amiga personal computer. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The OS/2 Warp 4 desktop (with some third-party enhancements installed as SOM classes) The Workplace Shell (WPS) is an award-winning object-oriented desktop shell produced by IBMs Boca Raton development lab for OS/2 2. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Nautilus is the official file manager for the GNOME desktop. ... BeOS is an operating system for personal computers which began development by Be Inc. ... Windows Explorer running on Windows Vista Windows Explorer running on Windows XP Windows Explorer is an application that is part of modern versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system that provides a graphical user interface for accessing the file systems. ... Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. ...

Other objects

Some file managers represent other objects, such as a trash can for unwanted files, or computer or floppy disk icons to represent storage media. There may also be special folders that contain special items such as user preferences or the user's applications. The NASA Columbia Supercomputer. ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible (floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. ... The terms storage (U.K.) or memory (U.S.) refer to the parts of a digital computer that retain physical state (data) for some interval of time, possibly even after electrical power to the computer is turned off. ...

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages

A spatial file manager is closer to the way the people interact with the physical objects around them, such as desks, chairs and tables. Since spatial properties are reliable indicators of "location" in a spatial file manager, the user may build up a familiar work environment by arranging commonly used windows, secure in the knowledge that this state will be preserved and will always map to the expected locations. This form of "nesting" (in the avian sense, not the hierarchical one) can lead to increased comfort and efficiency.

Furthermore, identification based on spatial attributes is a very natural human ability, requiring little or no conscious thought. The ability to recognize and recall locations within the hierarchy based on the appearance and position of folder windows is the primary purpose of the spatial file manager. All of the "rules" and behaviors that define the spatial file manager are designed to ensure that the strengths of the visual/spatial recognition and recall abilities of the human brain are leveraged. The idea is that these abilities are more natural and require "less work" than other forms of recognition based on reading text, maintaining an awareness of "current working directory" (in a command-line environment, for example), relying on the memory of past actions, or any other non-spatial cues.

One more advantage is that it allows the user to keep things arranged a certain way from one session to the next, as with the "workspace" settings in many high-end software packages. For instance, the windows showing the contents of different folders for a complex project could be tiled onscreen in such a fashion that all of them could be seen at the same time. In a browser-style file manager, one would be forced to rearrange these same windows every time they were reopened.

Disadvantages

The spatial metaphor can seem awkward to those accustomed to browser-style file managers. One complaint is that spatial managers use too many windows, leading to clutter. In a Windows 95 usability study by Microsoft, users of varying experience were said to be "confused" by the many windows:

"Users of every type were confused by the Programs folder. We thought that having a folder on the desktop with other folders and links to programs inside it would be a natural transition for Windows 3.1 users accustomed to Program Manager, while being relatively easy to learn for beginners. We were wrong! Beginners quickly got lost in all of the folders (unlike File Cabinet, each folder opened into a different window) and other users had a lot of trouble deciding whether they were looking at the actual file system and its files or just links to actual files."

Proponents claim that this confusion is partially a result of the non-spatial nature of the Windows 95 file manager. When the connection between the spatial state of a window is not unambiguously and irrevocably connected with a particular folder, it becomes impossible to reliably recognize a particular folder based on its spatial qualities. Spatial state often becomes misleading in a non-spatial file manager. Users may incorrectly identify a window based on visual cues that do not actually link it to any particular folder, but are instead properties of the browser-style window itself. In such an environment, each new window adds clutter without recognizable meaning. This leads to the often-cited preference for a single window through which any folder may be viewed: a browser. The proliferation and familiarity of web browsers has strengthened this preference.

Also, maintaining spatial familiarity can be difficult when the file system is accessed from a variety of applications and devices with differing display capabilities. Reproducing a single spatial arrangement on many different display devices is sometimes impractical. Per-device, per-user, or per-display spatial state is one possible solution, at the cost of an increased amount of state information that must be stored.

Dual-pane file manager

Dual-pane file managers, also known as "Commander-like" file managers, are the family of file managers based on the old Norton Commander interface. Pre-Symantec version of Norton Commander for DOS Norton Commander v. ... The user interface is the part of a system exposed to users. ...

The following features define the class of dual-pane file managers:

• Two-pane directory view;
• Close integration with a command line;
• Extensive availability of keyboard shortcuts.

Other common features include: This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

• Quick-view application, and preferably an editor, for at least the most basic file types (this one almost belongs in the top group);
• Compressed archives handled like directories;
• FTP;
• Often have the word commander in the name.

The dual-pane file manager has two window panes, only one of which is active at a given time. Files in the active pane are manipulated and can be copied or moved to the inactive pane. This gives user the ability to use only the keyboard. Each pane shows information about the current working directory and the files that it contains. Users can often customize the display of columns that show relevant file information. The active pane and inactive pane can be switched (often by pressing the tab key). Other user interface elements include: “FTP” redirects here. ... For computer operating systems that support a hierarchial file system, the working directory is the directory path that a user or program has designated to be the directory for files referenced by name only, or by a relative path (as contrasted with using both a files name and a... This article is about the use of the term Tab in computing. ...

1. path: shows the source/destination location of the directory in use
2. information about directory size, disk usage and disk name
3. panel with information about file name, extension, date and time of creation, last modification, permissions (attributes) and other
4. info panel with number of files in directory, sum of size of selected files..
5. tabbed interface (usually GUI file managers)
6. function keys: F1–F10 have all the same functions under all dual-pane file managers: Example F5 always copies file(s) from active to inactive panel, while F6 moves the file.

Most functions are available through shortcut keys. The introduction of tabbed panes to some managers made it possible to manipulate more than one action at the time. A frequently used feature is synchronization where multiple destinations can be updated from the same source. The ability to support many different archives, file systems and remote addresses made these file managers popular among administrators. The consistent interfaces made it possible to switch to any platform and be able to do the same work without much effort.

See also

• Desktop metaphor
• Spatial navigation
• Comparison of file managers
• Batch renaming
• Computer file management

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Desktop_environment. ... In computing, spatial navigation is the ability to navigate between focusable elements (such as hyperlinks and form controls) within a structured document or user interface (such as HTML) according to the spatial location. ... The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of file managers. ... Batch Renaming is the process of renaming multiple computer files and folders in an automated fashion, to save time and reduce the amount of work involved. ... The term computer file management refers to the manipulation of documents and data in files on a computer. ...

External links

• The spatial way
• About the finder
• Home of the OFM standard
• DMOZ Category for Orthodox file managers (Windows)