xdir(1)xdir(1)NAME
LLNL XDIR - A graphical network-oriented file manager
SYNOPSISxdir [options] [directory path]
DESCRIPTION
LLNL XDIR provides a graphical user interface for file transfer and for
direct manipulation of local and remote directories on UNIX (and a num‐
ber of non-UNIX) platforms. LLNL XDIR offers the ability to view
directory information in four different formats, ranging from long
lists to tree structures. LLNL XDIR is based on UNIX, the C program‐
ming language, OSF/Motif and FTP; hence, LLNL XDIR is highly portable.
With LLNL XDIR, you can manage virtually all of your files in a net‐
work. Specifically, LLNL XDIR can be used to browse directory struc‐
tures, transfer files and directories, view local and remote files,
delete files and directories, rename files and directories, and search
directories on one or more hosts for entries matching a specified pat‐
tern.
LLNL XDIR simultaneously displays any number of directories of any num‐
ber of (local or remote) hosts, with each directory being displayed in
its own window. Several existing products are able to manage files on
a single system, but LLNL XDIR extends this capability to manage files
on an entire network.
LLNL XDIR does not have a "main" window, as such, but instead consists
of a number of windows, each of which displays the contents of a local
or remote host's directory. Each of these "directory windows" has a
complete set of controls for setting modes and invoking operations.
Several other windows are provided for setting general preferences and
displaying diagnostic information.
LLNL XDIR offers elaborate directory-browsing functionality. Each
directory can be viewed in several different formats, ranging from long
lists to tree structures. A number of mechanisms are provided to tra‐
verse directory structures, including: (1) double-clicking a directory
name/icon to enter that directory, (2) a "go to parent directory" but‐
ton, (3) a "go to home directory" button, and (4) a sophisticated his‐
tory mechanism for easily reentering previously visited directories.
LLNL XDIR provides powerful file transfer capability using drag-and-
drop. It is just as easy to copy a file between two remote systems as
it is to copy a file from the local host to itself. Files and directo‐
ries may be transferred either singly or in groups with just a few
movements of the mouse.
One of LLNL XDIR's most powerful features is its ability to search
directory structures for entry names matching a specified pattern. You
are able to specify the range and depth of such searches. The search
can be restricted to a single subdirectory or can extend across machine
boundaries.
With LLNL XDIR, you are able to view local or remote files, using
either the built-in viewer or any combination of external viewers of
your choice (e.g., emacs or xv).
LLNL XDIR's history mechanism makes it simple to establish a connection
with a remote host. This and other features make it especially pain‐
less to connect to an anonymous FTP site.
A number of directory-manipulation features are provided for operating
on selected entries. There are several ways to select a group of
directory entries to operate on, including direct toggling of entries,
sweeping out a rectangular area, and wildcard selection. Once entries
are selected, you are able to rename entries, delete entries (including
entire subdirectories), or move entries between directories within the
same host. You are also able to create directories, both on local and
remote hosts.
LLNL XDIR utilizes a history mechanism for automatically saving (1)
wildcard expressions used in selecting directory entries, (2) previ‐
ously visited directories, (3) host/user name pairs used in connecting
to remote hosts, and (4) low-level "quoted" commands sent to the host's
FTP server. The purpose of this mechanism is to reduce the amount of
typing and mouse movement required. For example, when you wish to
apply a wildcard expression to select directory entries to operate on,
a list of recently referenced wildcard expressions for that host will
be presented; you can then double-click on an existing wildcard expres‐
sion to apply it. The histories are automatically preserved across
LLNL XDIR sessions.
LLNL XDIR presents a graphical user interface for easily tailoring the
program's behavior. You are able to specify such things as whether you
would like the delete operation to first pop up a verification dialog
listing the entries to be deleted.
Finally, an extensive on-line help facility, much of which is contex‐
tual, is provided. However, experience has shown that the user inter‐
face is so intuitive that the user rarely needs to access the help
package.
OPTIONS
LLNL XDIR accepts all of the standard X Toolkit command line options,
as well as the following option:
-color
Force LLNL XDIR to use a nice color scheme, even if the applica‐
tion defaults file, XDir, is not found.
GETTING STARTED
When LLNL XDIR is started, a window appears that displays the contents
of a directory on the local host. This window is called a "directory
window." You can have any number of directory windows for any number
of hosts.
Use the Connect menu to connect to a remote host. Select Connect to
Anonymous to connect to an anonymous FTP site. Choose Connect to
Remote to connect to other remote hosts. A directory window will be
created for the specified host.
You can use a host's directory window to create another directory win‐
dow for that host, First make sure that tunneling mode is off for that
directory window (using the tunnel icon in the toolbar). Then, simply
change to another undisplayed directory by using any of the following
techniques: (1) double-click an entry name or icon that represents a
directory, (2) press the "go to parent directory" button (the up-arrow
button in the toolbar), (3) press the "go to home directory" button
(the house button in the toolbar), or (4) select an item in the Goto
menu. If tunneling mode happens to be on, the current directory window
is used to display the specified directory.
LLNL XDIR has several mechanisms to aid you in managing a proliferation
of directory windows: (1) directory windows may be individually iconi‐
fied (using the window manager), (2) all iconified LLNL XDIR windows
can be redisplayed by selecting Deiconify All in the File menu, (3) any
request to display a directory that is iconified or buried under other
windows causes its directory window to be brought to the front, and (4)
the Wins menu can be used to identify existing directory windows and
bring them to the front.
Change between different formats for displaying information within a
directory window by toggling the layout buttons in the directory win‐
dow's toolbar.
Many operations require that entries in a directory window first be
selected. Select/deselect entries by (1) single-clicking on an entry
(which toggles its selection state), (2) holding the left mouse button
down and dragging to sweep out a selection rectangle (which individu‐
ally toggles each entry's selection state), (3) selecting any of the
items in the directory window's Select menu, or (4) typing a sequence
of characters into a directory window to select the first entry that
most closely matches the characters.
Copy (i.e., transfer) selected entries by using the left mouse button
to drag the entries. The drop site of the drag can be (1) the back‐
ground of another directory window, (2) a directory entry in any direc‐
tory window (including the source directory window). Directories, as
well as files, can be transferred. LLNL XDIR does not permit transfers
from a remote host to itself. The desired file transfer mode can be
specified by using the option menu in the toolbar of any directory win‐
dow.
Move selected entries by using the left mouse button to drag the
entries, and holding down the control key when the mouse button is
released over the drop site. (A move differs from a transfer in that
(1) the source entries are destroyed, and (2) a move is usually imple‐
mented by manipulating file system pointers rather than by actually
copying bits.) The drop site of the drag may be (1) the background of
another directory window, (2) a directory entry in any directory window
(including the source directory window). LLNL XDIR only allows moves
from a host to itself.
View selected files by selecting View Selected Entries in the directory
window's Ops menu. Also, you may double-click on an entry that LLNL
XDIR knows not to be a directory. Configure the viewer by selecting
item Viewer Preferences in the Prefs menu. Be sure to first set the
file transfer mode by using the option menu in the toolbar of any
directory window.
Delete selected entries by pressing the trash can button in the tool‐
bar. Directories, as well as files, may be deleted.
Search for an entry that matches a specified wildcard expression by
selecting Search in the Ops menu. You are able to specify the range
and depth of the search. After a match has been found, you can con‐
tinue the search by selecting Search Again in the Ops menu.
Some other operations on selected entries may be invoked by selecting
appropriate items in the directory window's Ops menu.
Abort in-progress operations by pressing the animated stop button in
the upper-right corner of the affected directory window (this button is
normally labeled "LLNL XDIR"). LLNL XDIR will attempt to return con‐
trol to you at the earliest possible moment.
Configure LLNL XDIR by selecting the General Preferences item in the
Prefs menu.
DIRECTORY WINDOW TOOLBAR
Each directory window has a toolbar that can be used to set modes and
to invoke operations. From left to right, the toolbar controls are:
Transfer Mode (Option menu)
The option menu at the left allows you to choose the file trans‐
fer mode (ASCII or Binary). This mode is global in scope;
hence, changing the value in one directory window will automati‐
cally change the value in all directory windows.
Layout Mode (Group of four buttons)
The layout mode controls how the directory entries are dis‐
played. The first button selects "Tabular Layout," in which
only the entry names are displayed. The second button selects
"Iconic Layout," in which an icon and name is displayed for each
entry. In Iconic Layout, five different icons are used to iden‐
tify the entry type: directory, executable file, generic file,
socket, and link. The third button selects "Tree Layout," which
is similar to Iconic Layout except that each entry that is a
directory also has a small triangle-shaped button, which can be
used to expand and collapse the subdirectory. The last button
selects "Full Info Layout," which displays as much information
about each directory entry as possible (the amount of informa‐
tion available is limited by the host's FTP server).
Tunneling Mode (Button with picture of tunnel)
If "tunneling mode" is off, entering a directory that is not
already displayed will cause a new window to be created to dis‐
play that directory. If tunneling mode is on, an existing
directory window (the one from the which the command was
invoked) will be used to display a directory that does not
already have it own window.
Dot Files Mode (Button with dot in dog-eared page)
If "dot files mode" is on, then entry names that begin with a
dot (i.e., period) will be displayed.
Cache Mode (Button with "C")
If "cache mode" is on, then directory lists from remote hosts
will be saved and used to quickly display revisited directories.
DISCLAIMER: Although the cache mechanism is fairly reliable, it
is possible to contrive cases involving the move or recursive
copy operations in which the cache can get out of sync with the
actual directory structure. Use at own risk.
Refresh Directory (Button with starburst shape)
Redisplay this window's directory.
Go To Parent (Up arrow button)
Display this window's parent directory.
Also, pressing the right mouse button pops up a menu that con‐
tains the paths for each ancestor of this window. Select a path
to display that directory.
Go To Home (House button)
Display the home directory of this directory window's host.
Delete (Trash can button)
Delete selected directory entries.
Make Directory (Button containing folder labeled "New")
Create a directory.
Close (Skull and cross bones button)
Get rid of this directory window.
DIRECTORY WINDOW COMMANDS
LLNL XDIR contains a large number of commands that can be invoked from
the directory windows. Most commands are invoked (1) from the menus,
(2) from the toolbars, and (3) by dragging and dropping directory
entries. Here is a list of the commands:
About LLNL XDIR (in File menu)
Give version information.
Close (in File menu and toolbar)
Remove (not iconify) this directory window. If this directory
window is the last for its host, the host is disconnected.
Connect to Anonymous (in Connect menu)
Easily connect to an anonymous FTP site. A dialog pops up to
prompt for the remote host, user name and password. The user
name is initialized to "anonymous". The password is initialized
to the value of the general preference Anonymous Ftp Password
(which you will probably want to set to your email address). If
the general preference Anonymous Ftp Password is blank, LLNL
XDIR will attempt to create a password of the form "user@host".
An optional, space-delimited port number may follow the host
name. Previously used host/user name pairs are saved across
sessions, and those with user names "anonymous" or "ftp" are
displayed in the scrolled list Recently Referenced Hosts. Dou‐
ble-clicking on a host/user name pair initiates a connection.
Single-clicking on a host/user name pair places those values
into the host name and user name fields, where they can be
edited. Click on the Connect button to initiate a connection.
(If already connected, a directory window for that host is sim‐
ply brought to the front.) (See general preferences Anonymous
Ftp Password, History Sort Order, Max Host Name History, and Max
User Name History.)
Connect to Local (in Connect menu)
Connect to the local host (i.e., the host upon which LLNL XDIR
is executing). If already connected, an existing directory win‐
dow for the local host is brought to the front.
Connect to Remote (in Connect menu)
Connect to a remote host (use Connect to Anonymous to more eas‐
ily connect to an anonymous FTP site). A dialog pops up to
prompt for the remote host and user names. The user name is ini‐
tialized to the value of the environment variable USER. An
optional, space-delimited port number may follow the host name.
Previously used host/user name pairs are saved across sessions,
and those with user names other than "anonymous" and "ftp" are
displayed in the scrolled list Recently Referenced Hosts. Dou‐
ble-clicking on a host/user name pair initiates a connection.
Single-clicking on a host/user name pair places those values
into the host name and user name fields, where they can be
edited. Click on the Connect button to initiate a connection.
(If already connected, a directory window for the host is simply
popped to the top.) (See general preferences History Sort
Order, Max Host Name History, and Max User Name History.)
Contextual Help (in Help menu)
Enter contextual-help mode. The mouse cursor changes to a
pointing hand. Click on any graphical element in the directory
window that you wish to know more about.
Copy (drag-and-drop operation)
Copy (i.e., transfer) the selected files according to the mode
(ASCII or Binary) specified in the toolbar's file transfer mode
option menu. Copy selected items by using the left mouse button
to drag the items. The drop site of the drag can be (1) the
background of another directory window, (2) a directory entry in
any directory window (including the source directory window).
Directories, as well as files, can be transferred (but the gen‐
eral preference Copy Mode must be set to Recursive). LLNL XDIR
does not permit transfers from a remote host to itself. The
desired file transfer mode can be specified via the option menu
in the toolbar of any directory window. Set general preference
Copy Mode to Recursive to allow copying of directories. Set
general preference Overwrite Dir On Copy to specify whether or
not it is okay to overwrite an existing directory. A dialog
pops up to enable the user to monitor the progress of the trans‐
fers. This dialog contains a button for aborting the transfers.
(See general preferences Beep When Ops Done, Copy Mode, Initial
Transfer Mode, Inquire On Copy, and Overwrite Dir On Copy.)
Delete Selected Entries (in Ops menu and toolbar)
Delete the selected entries. Set general preference Delete Mode
to Recursive to allow deletion of nonempty directories. A dia‐
log pops up to enable the user to monitor the progress of the
deletions. This dialog contains a button for aborting the dele‐
tions. (See general preferences Beep When Ops Done, Delete Mode
and Inquire On Delete.)
Deselect All Entries (in Select menu)
Deselect all the entries in this directory window.
Deiconify All (in File menu)
Deiconify all top-level windows in the application.
Diagnostics (in Wins menu)
Display the diagnostics window.
Disconnect (in Connect menu)
Terminate the connection to this directory window's host. All
directory windows associated with this host are closed.
Edit History (in File menu)
Display the Edit History dialog. See section Edit History for
details.
Firewall Preferences (in Prefs menu)
Display the Firewall Preferences window. See section Firewall
Preferences for details.
Getting Started (in Help menu)
Learn how to get started using LLNL XDIR.
General Preferences (in Prefs menu)
Display the General Preferences window. See section General
Preferences for details.
Go to Ancestor ((in Goto menu and toolbar)
Display an ancestor of this directory window.
Go to Directory (in Goto menu)
Display a directory. A dialog pops up to prompt for the direc‐
tory path. The directory may be specified with a full or rela‐
tive path. Previously referenced directories are saved and dis‐
played in a scrollable list. Double-click on a path in the list
to display that directory. Single click on a path in the list
to place that entry into text field Directory, where it can be
edited. Click on the OK button to change to the directory dis‐
played in the text field. (See general preferences History Sort
Order, Max Dir Name History, and Max Host Name History.)
Go to Home Directory (in Goto menu and toolbar)
Display the home directory of this directory window's host.
Go to Parent Directory (in Goto menu and toolbar)
Display the parent directory of this directory window.
Iconify All (in File menu)
Iconify all top-level windows in the application.
Launch (submenu in Ops menu and popup menu in entries area)
Launch application as a child process. Select a command name in
the Launch submenu to fork and exec the associated command. See
section Launcher Preferences for details on constructing com‐
mands.) When a command is launched, placeholders are replaced
by their values as follows: "%u" is replaced by the user name,
"%h" is replaced by the host name, "%s" is replaced by the name
of a selected entry, and "%l" is replaced by the blank-delimited
names of all selected entries. If "%s" is used, then the com‐
mand is launched once for each selected entry, each time "%s"
being replaced by the full path of the next selected entry name.
Launcher Preferences (in Prefs menu)
Display the Launcher Preferences window. See section Launcher
Preferences for details.
LLNL XDIR Overview (in Help menu)
Give a high-level description of LLNL XDIR.
Make Directory (in Ops menu and toolbar)
Pop up a dialog to prompt for the name of a directory to create
in the displayed directory.
Move (drag-and-drop operation)
Move selected entries from one directory to another on the same
host. Move selected items by using the left mouse button to
drag the items, and holding down the control key when the mouse
button is released over the drop site. (A move differs from a
transfer in that (1) the source entries are destroyed, and (2) a
move is usually implemented by manipulating file system pointers
rather than by actually copying bits.) The drop site of the
drag can be (1) the background of another directory window, and
(2) a directory entry in any directory window (including the
source directory window). LLNL XDIR only allows moves from a
host to itself. A dialog pops up to enable the user to monitor
the progress of the moves. This dialog contains a button for
aborting the move operations. (See general preferences Beep
When Ops Done, and Inquire on Move.)
Quit (in File menu)
Terminate the application.
Refresh Directory (in Ops menu)
Redisplay this window's directory.
Rename Selected Entries (in Ops menu)
Pop up a dialog to individually rename selected entries.
Save Preferences (in Prefs menu)
Save the current settings of the general, viewer, and launcher
preferences.
Search (in Ops menu)
Pop up a dialog to initiate a search of directory windows for
entry names that match a specified pattern. The pattern to be
matched can contain the usual wildcard characters ('*', '?',
'[', and ']'). The toggle item Match Case controls whether case
(upper or lower) should be considered when looking for a match.
The Maximum Search Depth slider is used to specify the maximum
number of directory levels the search command will explore when
looking for an entry that matches the specified pattern. Choose
one of the toggle items, Search this directory, Search all dis‐
played directories of this host, or Search all displayed direc‐
tories of all hosts, to specify which directory windows (and
their descendants) are to be searched.
When the OK button is pressed, a dialog appears to monitor the
progress of the search. This dialog contains a button that can
be used to abort the search.
If a match is found in a directory that is already displayed,
the entry is selected, scrolled into view, and its directory
window is brought to the front. If a match is found in a direc‐
tory that is not already displayed, there are two cases: If the
search was initiated from a directory window with tunneling mode
on, the entry's directory is displayed in that directory window;
otherwise a new window is created to display the entry's direc‐
tory.
Use Search Again to continue the search once an entry has been
found. (See general preferences Beep When Ops Done, Initial Max
Search Depth, Initial Search Case Match, and Initial Search
Range).
Search Again (in Ops menu)
Search for the next entry that satisfies the search criteria
specified by the last search command. (See general preference
Beep When Ops Done).
Select All Entries (in Select menu)
Select all the entries in this window.
Send Quoted Command (in Ops menu)
Pop up a dialog to prompt for a "raw" command to send to the FTP
server of the remote host. Previously issued commands are saved
and displayed in a scrolled list. Double-clicking on a command
in the list issues that command. To have a command act on
selected entries, use the quote placeholder ("%s") to represent
a selected item. For example, type "stage 1 %s" to send a STAGE
command to the the remote host for each selected entry. (See
general preference Beep When Ops Done and Max Quoted Cmd His‐
tory.)
Use Wildcard (in Select menu)
Pop up a dialog to prompt for a wildcard expression to use in
selecting entries in this directory window. Previously refer‐
enced wildcard expressions are saved and displayed in a scrolled
list. Double-clicking on an item in the list applies that wild‐
card expression. Single-clicking on an item in the list places
the expression in a text field where it may be edited. Choose
the toggle item Replace Selection to cause the currently
selected entries to be cleared before applying the wildcard.
Choose the toggle item Add to Selection to cause the entries
selected by the wildcard to be added to the current selection.
(See general preference Initial Wildcard Mode and Max Wildcard
History).
Using Help (in Help menu)
Describe the online help package.
View Selected Files (in Ops menu)
Display the selected files. The viewer preferences dialog
(accessible via the Prefs menu) can be used to control whether
files will be displayed using the built-in viewer or using an
external viewer of the user's choice (e.g., emacs or xv). The
selection of the viewer is configurable, based on the file
extension (e.g., ".gif" or ".jpg").
The file is transferred according to the mode (ASCII or Binary)
specified in the toolbar of the directory window. A dialog pops
up to enable the user to monitor the progress of the transfer.
This dialog contains a button for aborting the transfer.
The destination of the transfer is a temporary directory created
in the directory defined as P_tmpdir in the include file
"/usr/include/stdio.h". If the environment variable TMPDIR is
defined, it is used as the directory. The temporary directory,
and the files it contains, are automatically deleted when the
user dismisses the viewer or terminates LLNL XDIR.
If the file is recognized as being compressed, it is expanded
before viewing. LLNL XDIR excutes the following decompressors
based on the file extension: gunzip for ".z" and ".gz"; uncom‐
press for ".Z"; atob for "atob"; and uudecode for ".uu". LLNL
XDIR searches for the decompressor application in the standard
way using the PATH environment variable.
Viewer Preferences (in Prefs menus)
Display the viewer preferences window. See section Viewer Pref‐
erences for details.
GENERAL PREFERENCES
Selecting item General Preferences in a directory window's Prefs menu
pops up a dialog that allows you to configure LLNL XDIR according to
your tastes. Use the option menu at the top of the window to display a
subset of the configuration parameters, whos values may then be changed
by either toggling, sliding, or typing. Click the Apply button to
cause the new values to take effect. The OK button has the same effect
as Apply, but the dialog is also closed. The Cancel button undoes
changes made since OK or Apply were last pressed. The preferences can
be preserved across LLNL XDIR sessions in a text file named ".xdirrc"
in your home directory.
Anonymous Ftp Password
The value to initialize the Password field of the Connect to
Anonymous dialog to. This is normally your email address. If
the value is blank, LLNL XDIR attempts to construct a password
of the form "user@host". The Connect to Anonymous dialog is
accessible via each directory window's Connect menu.
Beep When Ops Done
Specifes whether to beep when each set of deletion, move, quoted
command, search, and file transfer operations completes.
Copy Mode
Specifies whether to allow recursive file transfers.
Connection_Check_Time
Specifies the number of minutes of inactivity with a remote host
which, if exceeded, will cause LLNL XDIR to refresh (or reestab‐
lish) the connection before sending the next command to that
remote host.
Delete Mode
Specifies whether to allow recursive delete operations.
History Sort Order
Specifies how to sort history items (such as names of previously
visited directories) when they are displayed in dialogs and
menus. If Alphanumeric, then sort by the ASCII-collating
sequence. If By Last Use, then the most recently used items are
placed at the top of the list.
Initial Cache Mode
Specifies cache mode for the first created directory window.
Cache mode controls whether directory lists from remote hosts
will be saved and used to quickly display revisited directories.
Each subsequently created directory window inherits its cache
mode from its parent directory window.
DISCLAIMER: Although the cache mechanism is fairly reliable, it
is possible to contrive cases involving the move or recursive
copy operations in which the cache can get out of sync with the
actual directory structure. Use at own risk.
Initial Diagnostics
The default level of diagnostics information to be written to
the diagnostics window. Choose Quiet for error messages, only.
Choose Normal for error messages and success messages. Choose
Verbose for error messages, success messages, and replies
received from the FTP servers. Choose Debug for error messages,
success messages, commands sent to the FTP servers, replies
received from the FTP servers, and other assorted diagnostics.
Initial Directory Layout
The layout used by the first created directory window. Each
subsequently created directory window inherits its directory
layout mode from its parent directory window.
Initial Dot Files Mode
Specifies whether the first created directory window will dis‐
play dot files. Each subsequently created directory window
inherits its dot files mode from its parent directory window.
Initial Max Search Depth
The default maximum number of directory levels the search com‐
mand will explore when looking for an entry that matches the
specified pattern.
Initial Max Viewer Width
The maximum initial width in characters that the built-in viewer
takes on. The first part of the file to be viewed is examined
to determine an appropriate width to initialize the viewer to.
The initial width will not exceed the value of this preference.
Initial Search Direction
The default value that specifies the direction to search the
built-in file viewer for a text string using the "Find" opera‐
tion.
Initial Search Case Match
The default value that specifies whether search or find commands
should consider case when looking for an entry that matches the
specified pattern.
Initial Search Range
The default value used as the search range in the Search dialog.
Choose This Dir to make Search this directory the default.
Choose This Host to make Search all displayed directories of
this host the default. Choose All Hosts to make Search all dis‐
played directories of all hosts the default.
Initial Transfer Mode
The default file transfer mode (ASCII or Binary).
Initial Tunneling Mode
Specifies tunneling mode for the first created directory window.
Tunneling mode controls whether or not a new directory window is
created to display a directory. Each subsequently created
directory window inherits its tunneling mode from its parent
directory window.
Initial Wildcard Mode
The default mode of the Use Wildcard dialog. Choose Replace to
make Replace Selection the default. Choose Add to make Add to
Selection the default.
Inquire On Copy
Specifies whether to pop up a dialog that asks the user to con‐
firm that the indicated file transfers should take place.
Inquire On Delete
Specifies whether to pop up a dialog that asks the user to con‐
firm that the indicated delete operations should take place.
Inquire On Move
Specifies whether to pop up a dialog that asks the user to con‐
firm that the indicated moves should take place.
Inquire On Quoted Cmd
Specifies whether to pop up a dialog that asks the user to con‐
firm that the indicated commands should be sent.
Max Dir Cache Len (KB)
Specifies the maximum size (in kilobytes) of the directory
cache.
Max Dir Name History
The maximum number of previously referenced directory paths
saved per host. These path names are preserved across LLNL XDIR
sessions.
Max Ftp Retries
Specifies the maximum number of retries LLNL XDIR will attempt
if it receives a response from an FTP server that indicates the
desired operation failed because of some temporary condition on
the remote host.
Max Host Name History
The maximum number of hosts to save history items for. The his‐
tory information is preserved across LLNL XDIR sessions.
Max Quoted Cmd History
The number of quoted commands to save. These commands are pre‐
served across LLNL XDIR sessions.
Max Time For Ftp Reply
Specifies the maximum time in seconds that LLNL XDIR will wait
for a response from an FTP server before concluding that the
connection has been broken.
Max User Name History
The number of user names to save for remote hosts). These user
names are preserved across LLNL XDIR sessions.
Max Wildcard History
The number of wildcard expressions to save. These wildcard
expressions preserved across LLNL XDIR sessions.
Multiclick Interval
Specifies the maximum time interval in milliseconds for which
two mouse clicks are interpreted as a double mouse click rather
than as two single mouse clicks.
Overwrite Dir On Copy
Specifies whether it is okay to overwrite an existing directory
when recursively copying another directory by the same name. If
a sink directory is overwritten then none of its subdirectories
will be deleted, but new files and subdirectories might be added
to it, and some existing files might be replaced.
Preserve Vms Ver Nums
Specifies whether to preserve VMS file version numbers when
transferring files from a VMS system. This is only an issue for
those VMS FTP servers that provide version numbers (at least one
server does not).
Print Password In Debug
Specifies whether to print passwords in the diagnostics window
when the level of diagnostics messages is set to Debug.
Stop Button Blinking
Specifies whether the STOP button (shown during potentially
lengthy operations) should blink or not.
Store Unique
Specifies whether existing sink files are to be renamed before
file transfer occurs. If Yes then the existing sink file is
typically renamed by appending a "." (period) followed by an
integer between 1 and 99.
Type To Select Delay
The number of milliseconds to wait before LLNL XDIR determines
that you are finished typing characters into a directory window
to select the first entry that best matches the characters.
Use Last Dir At Login
Specifies whether to automatically enter the most recently ref‐
erenced directory after connecting to a host. If this option is
requested, but is not possible to perform (e.g., because the
directory no longer exists), your home directory will be
entered.
VIEWER PREFERENCES
Selecting item Viewer Preferences in a directory window's Prefs menu
pops up a dialog that allows the user to control which file will be
displayed with which viewer, based on the file extension.
A file to be viewed is first transferred to a temporary directory and
then, if necessary, is decompressed. The file extension (e.g., ".gif")
is then examined to determine which viewer the file is to be displayed
in. There are two types of viewers: the viewer built into LLNL XDIR
(which is suitable for displaying text files) and external viewers
(e.g., emacs for text and xv for graphics).
Single-click on an entry in the Extensions list to place that extension
and its associated command line into the Extension and Viewer Command
Line text fields, respectively.
An extension is a file suffix that begins with a period ("."). A spe‐
cial entry in the extensions list, "OTHERS," represents all files that
do not have their extension listed (including files with no exten‐
sions).
The pattern "%s" in a command line is a placeholder for the name of the
file to be viewed. A blank command line indicates that the built-in
viewer is to be used. To add a new extension to the list, fill in the
Extension and Viewer Command Line text fields and press the Add button.
If the text in Extension does not begin with a period, one will be
added. If the extension is already in the list, it will be replaced.
To replace the command line associated with an extension, (1) single-
click on the list item to select it, (2) edit the command line, and (3)
press the Replace button.
To delete an extension from the list, single-click on the list item to
select it and then press the Delete button. The "OTHERS" entry cannot
be deleted (but its command line can be replaced).
Click the Apply button to cause the new changes to take effect. The OK
button has the same effect as Apply, but the dialog is also closed.
The Cancel button undoes the changes made since OK or Apply were last
pressed.
The viewer preferences can be preserved across LLNL XDIR sessions in a
text file named ".xdirrc" in the user's home directory (select Save
Preferences in a directory window's Prefs menu).
LAUNCHER PREFERENCES
Selecting item Launcher Preferences in a directory window's Prefs menu
pops up a dialog that allows the user to specify commands that can be
invoked using the Launch submenu of the Ops menu. The idea is to be
able to fork and exec child processes with execute lines based on
information about selected entries.
Single-click on an entry in the Command Names list to place that com‐
mand name and its associated command line into the Command Name and
Command Line text fields, respectively.
The following placeholders can be specified in a command line: "%u" for
the user name, "%h" for the host name, "%s" for the name of a selected
entry, and "%l" for the blank-delimited names of all selected entries.
To add a new command to the list, fill in the Command Name and Command
Line text fields and press the Add button. If the command name is
already in the list, it will be replaced.
To replace the command line associated with a command name, (1) single-
click on the list item to select it, (2) edit the command line, and (3)
press the Replace button.
To delete a command from the list, single-click on the list item to
select it and then press the Delete button.
Click the Apply button to cause the new changes to take effect. The OK
button has the same effect as Apply, but the dialog is also closed.
The Cancel button undoes the changes made since OK or Apply were last
pressed.
The launcher preferences can be preserved across LLNL XDIR sessions in
a text file named ".xdirrc" in the user's home directory (select Save
Preferences in a directory window's Prefs menu).
The names of the commands will be placed in the Launch submenu of the
Ops menu. (See command Launch in section Directory Window Commands for
details on how commands are actually launched.)
FIREWALL PREFERENCES
Selecting item Firewall Preferences in a directory window's Prefs menu
pops up a dialog that allows the user to specify two different mecha‐
nisms for using LLNL XDIR through a firewall: passive mode and proxy‐
ing. (LLNL XDIR also supports a third type of firewall, SOCKS, but this
has to be specified at compile time.)
LLNL XDIR supports FTP proxies that use the simple authentication tech‐
nique in which both the remote host and user name are specified in
place of the user name as username@hostname.
To use a proxy server, you must: (1) check the Use FTP Proxy Server
box, (2) specify the host the proxy is running on, and (3) specify the
port the proxy server is listening on. If Use FTP Proxy Server is
checked, the OK and Apply buttons are greyed out until the proxy host
and port are specified. Use the text area to specify any domains
(e.g., "llnl.gov") or host names (e.g., "mysystem" or "mysys‐
tem.llnl.gov") that you do not wish to access via the proxy server
(this usually consists of local domains and hosts that are inside of
the firewall).
Check the Use Passive Mode Data Transfers (PASV) box to enable "passive
mode" (also known as "PASV mode"). Normally, the FTP server opens data
connections to the client, something that firewalls often do not allow.
Use passive mode to instead force LLNL XDIR to open data connections to
the server. Note that some FTP servers do not support passive mode,
so we recommend that you use this mode only if you need to.
Click the Apply button to the cause the new changes to take effect.
The OK button has the same effect as Apply, but the dialog is also
closed. The Cancel button undoes the changes made since the OK or
Apply buttons were last pressed.
The firewall preferences can be preserved across LLNL XDIR sessions in
a text file named ".xdirrc" in the user's home directory (select Save
Preferences in a directory window's Prefs menu).
EDIT HISTORY
Selecting item Edit History in a directory window's File menu pops up a
dialog that allows the user to remove unwanted history information.
(LLNL XDIR automatically saves certain information, such as the paths
of previously visited directories, for future use.)
Four categories of history information are saved for each host: (1)
paths of previously visited directories, (2) wildcard expressions used
in selecting directory entries, (3) user names used in connecting to
the host, and (4) low-level "quoted" commands sent to the host's FTP
server.
An entire host's history information may be removed by selecting an
entry in the Hosts list and then clicking the Delete Host button.
A single item may be removed by using the three lists to specify host,
category and item, and then clicking the Delete Item button.
Click the OK button to cause the changes to take effect (and remove the
dialog). Click the Cancel button to undo the changes (and remove the
dialog).
LIMITATIONS
Here are some things to watch out for:
LLNL XDIR might not work with some old X servers. For example, some
older OpenWindows servers might dump core. MacX fans should use noth‐
ing older than version 1.1.7b.
Old, buggy versions of Motif can cause weirdness.
LLNL XDIR might not work correctly with some non-Unix FTP servers. (If
you can give us temporary access to such a server, we might be able to
fix the problem.)
Out-of-spec FTP servers can cause untold grief. (Most Unix-based
servers work correctly.)
Third-party file transfers will not work unless at least one of the
remote FTP servers supports the PASV (passive) command.
FILES
$HOME/.xdirhistory history file
$HOME/.xdirrc preferences
XDir application defaults file
AVAILABILITY
Source code for LLNL XDIR is tarred and compressed, and is available as
follows:
ftp://ftp-lc.llnl.gov/pub/ia/llnlxdir/latest_xdir.tar.Z
http://www.llnl.gov/ia/xdir.html
SUPPORT
Because our resources are limited, we will not be able to give individ‐
ual assistance in building and using LLNL XDIR. However, your com‐
ments, suggestions and bug reports are valuable in helping us determine
how to best direct our efforts. Our email address is
llnlxdir@llnl.gov
COPYRIGHT
(c) 1995-1998. The Regents of the University of California. All
rights reserved.
This work was produced at the University of California, Lawrence Liver‐
more National Laboratory (UC LLNL) under contract no. W-7405-ENG-48
(Contract 48) between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and The
Regents of the University of California (University) for the operation
of UC LLNL. Copyright is reserved to the University for purposes of
controlled dissemination, commercialization through formal licensing,
or other disposition under terms of Contract 48; DOE policies, regula‐
tions and orders; and U.S. statutes. The rights of the Federal Govern‐
ment are reserved under Contract 48 subject to the restrictions agreed
upon by the DOE and University.
DISCLAIMER
This software was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency
of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government
nor the University of California nor any of their employees, makes any
warranty, express or implied, or assumes any liability or responsibil‐
ity for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information,
apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its spe‐
cific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trade‐
mark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or
imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States
Government or the University of California. The views and opinions of
the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those
of the United States Government or the University of California, and
shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.
Permission to use, copy, modify and distribute this software and its
documentation for any non-commercial purpose, without fee, is hereby
granted, provided that the above copyright notice and this permission
notice appear in all copies of the software and supporting documenta‐
tion, and that all UC LLNL identification in the user interface remain
unchanged. The title to copyright LLNL XDIR shall at all times remain
with The Regents of the University of California and users agree to
preserve same. Users seeking the right to make derivative works with
LLNL XDIR for commercial purposes may obtain a license from the
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Technology Transfer Office,
P.O. Box 808, L-795, Livermore, CA 94550.
SEE ALSOftpd(8C)AUTHOR
Neale G. Smith, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
12 January 1998 xdir(1)
