VUEFILE(1X) UNIX Programmer's Manual VUEFILE(1X)
NAME
vuefile - The HP VUE File Manager.
SYNOPSIS
vuefile [options]
DESCRIPTION
The HP VUE File Manager (vuefile) is HP VUE's primary inter-
face to the file system. It provides application execution
and file manipulation.
The File Manager can display many main windows, each of
which contains the files of a single directory. Each file
is presented as a labeled icon. A menu bar provides file
operations.
A direct manipulation paradigm is used to perform operations
on the displayed files. Double-click performs a specified
action on a file. Selection and multiple selection activate
a file or a set of files. This is primarily used to indi-
cate the active object for menu operations. Multiple selec-
tion is also used by drag for defining the set of files to
be dragged. Drag is used to copy or move a file or files
between File Manager windows. It is also used to drag data
to another cooperating client.
OPTIONS
Vuefile defines three command-line options that can be used
when vuefile is run.
-noview
This runs vuefile in "server mode," which means that no
directory views are initially displayed. Vuefile waits
for a cooperating client to tell it to display a view.
-session session file
This option takes the name of a session file as an
additional parameter. Vuefile is run with the specified
session file name. The session file is a file that was
previously saved by vuefile through a session shutdown.
-dir directory
This option takes a single or multiple directory
specification as an additional parameter. This specif-
ication is of the form hostname:path,hostname:path,...
or path,path,... or any combination of the two (no
spaces are allowed in the additional parameter string).
This option runs vuefile and causes it to display a
directory view for each directory specified.
HP VUE 2.01 (2/91) 1
VUEFILE(1X) UNIX Programmer's Manual VUEFILE(1X)
Both the -noview and -session options are normally used by
the session manager to start vuefile.
The command-line options are treated exclusively and have a
priority of session, dir, noview. If more than one of the
options is specified, the lower priority option(s) is(are)
ignored. If vuefile is run with no command-line parameters,
the user's current directory is displayed.
FILE TYPES and ACTIONS
Each File Manager main window displays a set of icons, each
representing a single file. Each file has an associated
file type that is determined by the file name: data file,
executable file, or directory. The set of file types
defined for the File Manager are contained in the users and
system file type files.
Each file type has a set of actions defined for it. An
action is an executable or application that can be run with
a file of that type. To make the action readily available,
each of the actions defined for a file type are displayed in
an Actions menu pane in the File Manager's main window. The
set of actions defined for the File Manager are contained in
the users and system action files.
Refer to HP Visual Environment System Administration Manual
for a description of file type and action files.
FEATURES
Opening a File
Double-clicking a file opens it, which causes the
default action defined for the file type of the file to
be run. By default, opening an application will exe-
cute it, opening a directory will cause the contents of
the directory to be displayed, and opening a data file
will cause a text editor to be run with the data file
being edited.
Dragging a File
A file or set of files can be dragged to another File
Manager window or to any other cooperating client.
This provides for file copy, move and execution.
File Filtering
Directories can contain files of many different types
and sizes. The File Manager's filtering mechanism pro-
vides the means by which the user can selectively
display sets of files. The types of filtering avail-
able include: by type, by size, by modification (or
HP VUE 2.01 (2/91) 2
VUEFILE(1X) UNIX Programmer's Manual VUEFILE(1X)
creation) date.
Directory Traversal
Simple directory traversal is available by double-
clicking a directory icon. This displays the contents
of the directory. The File Manager provides a display
mode that displays the directory hierarchy as a graph
that can be easily traversed. A dialog is also avail-
able that can search the file system for a directory or
directories matching user-supplied search criteria.
Another dialog can be used to list directories fre-
quently used; a double-click on a directory in the list
changes to that directory.
Setting Display Preferences
Both iconic and non-iconic visual representations for
file display are provided. The non-iconic form can be
used to display directories with large numbers of files
or where display space is at a premium.
Finding Files
Directories can be searched for a file or set of files
that match search criteria. Search criteria can
include file name, size and modification (or creation)
date. When files are located, a File Manager window
opens to display the directory that contains the file.
Smart Trash Can
The File Manager provides access to VUE's smart trash
can. The user can place files into the trash can, but
they are not permanently removed until the user asks
that the trash can be emptied or the HP VUE session is
terminated at logout. Files dragged to the trash can
also be restored, but only during the current session
(before logout) and before being permanently removed.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright 1990 Hewlett-Packard Company.
ORIGIN
Hewlett-Packard Company ITO.
HP VUE 2.01 (2/91) 3