jEdit Commander Documentation

Contents:

• New in version 0.1.5
• Before we begin
• License
• Introduction
• System requirements
• Using jEdit Commander
• jEdit Commander Options
• Author and contact information

New in version 0.1.5

• jEdit Commander again tries to save the window geometry on jEdit exit, only this time a NullPointerException is intercepted
• Improved JEditCommanderFile structure, optimized JEditCommanderCellRenderer and JEditCommanderTableModel - scrolling and selecting is now much faster
• You now how to press CONTROL in order for keyboard shortcuts to work
• File filtering
• Fast switching combo box improved: you can now switch between root filesystems and parent directories

Before we begin

License

Introduction

• Opening files in jEdit by selecting them and choosing Edit or EditView (which opens selected files in a new jEdit View)
• Appending the contents of the selected files to an (already open) jEdit Buffer
• Displaying information about a file (such as file size, date, path and other properties) in a jEdit Buffer and/or Commander's info area
• Copying, renaming, deleting files and directories (please note that in the current version directories are not being handled recursively), creating new directores
• Sorting files/directories by several categories
• Selecting, deselecting files, inverting selections
• Fast switching between root filesystems (which, of course, makes sense only when running jEdit on Windows) and parent direactories

System requirements

• jEdit version 2.5pre5 or higher
• EditBus plugin version 0.9.4 or higher
• Sun JDK version 1.2.2 or higher (compatible JDKs should work as well)
• a fair amount of RAM and reasonably fast computer

Using jEdit Commander

Rendering
The files are displayed in the table as follows:
First column displays the file's name, second file's size, third file's date of modification and fourth file's time of modification.
Directories are displayed in bold font, hidden files are rendered gray.
The directory where files are contained is displayed below the table.

Selecting files
Whatever you do in jEdit Commander has something to do with files. Obviously, to do something with a certain file, that file needs to be selected. You can select files with your mouse and certain modifier keys (such as Control and Shift) in the same manner you would select anything else in your OS. You can, naturally, select multiple files.

Information about files
Information about files are displayed in the info box to the right of the Commander's frame. If you select multiple files at once, the info box will display the list of selected files. You can copy from the box as desired.

Switching between root filesystems and parent directories
The toolbar combo box is for fast switching between root filesystems and/or currently displayed directory's parent directories. It's structured as follows:

1. the first item displays a tip
2. all the items before '-' are root filesystems
3. all the items after '-' are current directory's parents

Filtering
Starting version 0.1.5, jEdit Commander has the ability to display only the files that match a criteria. You enter a criteria into the toolbar's text box. (If it is disabled, you need to check Filtering check box). Use '*' as the wilcard character. Examples:

• '*txt' - displays only the files that end with 'txt'
• 'A' or 'A*' -  displays all files that start with an A
• 'a*b' - displays the files that start with an 'a' and end with a 'b'

Sorting files
jEdit Commander can sort the files by the following categories:

• name
• type (file vs. directory) - name
• size - name
• date - name

1. Select Utilities->Global Options... from jEdit's menu bar. Then click on Plugin Options and then on jEdit Commander. Select the desired sort type from the combo box
2. You can achieve the same effect by clicking on the column headers: double click with left mouse button on the header to sort the files by the corresponding category (if you double click with left the name column header, the files will get sorted by name). Special clicks: double click with right mouse button on the name column header sorts files by type. Single right click on any other column header turns sorting off

Tool bar items
The description of the tool bar items from left to right:

1. Directory Up - changes to parent directory (shourtcut: CONTROL BACKSPACE)
2. To Root - displays all root filesystems (shortcut: CONTROL R)
3. Change To Home Directory - uh, changes to user's home directory (Amazing, huh?) (shortcut: CONTROL H)
4. Refresh - rescans and redisplays current directory. Uses a filter if applied. (shortcut: CONTROL F)
5. Fast Switch Combo Box - select a root filesystem or a parent directory and switch to it instantly
6. Filter Text Box - contains the current filter. See Filtering section above
7. Filter Check Box - toggles filtering on and off. See Filtering section above
8. Select All Files/Directories - selects all the files and directories in current directory (shortcut: CONTROL *)
9. Select By Filter - adds to current selection all the files that match a specified criteria. (Please note that this doesn't deselect other selected files first) (shortcut: CONTROL +)
10. Deselect All - deselects all selected files (shortcut: CONTROL /)
11. Deselect By Filter - deselects all currently selected files that match criteria (shortcut: CONTROL -)
12. Invert Selection - selects all currently unselected files and deselects currently selected ones. (shortcut: CONTROL I)

1. Edit - opens all currently selected files (but not directories) in jEdit
2. EditView - same as Edit, but opens the files in new View
3. Append - appends all selected files (but not directories) to a jEdit Buffer of choice
4. Info - displays information about selected files in a jEdit Buffer
5. Copy - copies selected files (but not directories) to a destination of choice. A dialog pops up, indicating the progress of the copy operation
6. RenMov - renames or moves the first selected file or directory (directory must be empty) to a specified destination
7. Mkdir - creates a new directory
8. Delete - deletes all selected files and/or directories (directories have to be empty). Prompts before deletion. If the operation takes longer than one second, a progress dialog is displayes
9. Quit - exits jEdit Commander

jEdit Commander Options

• Initial directory: jEdit Commander will position itself in this directory on every launch. If you leave it alone, the home directory will be used
• Sort types: sorts the file by selected category

Author and contact information

You can use the above email address if you have any suggestions, patches, improvements, comments, bug reports etc.