1. show(1)
  2. show(1)

NAME

show - An interactive directory/file browser written for Unix-like systems.

USAGE

show <options> [target]

DESCRIPTION

DF-SHOW: An interactive directory/file browser written for Unix-like systems. Based on the applications from the PC-DOS DF-EDIT suite by Larry Kroeker.

OPTIONS

The following options are shared with ls:

The following options are specific to show:

OVERVIEW

The show application lets users view the names of files and directories on a disk with information about the files. Files can be copied, moved, viewed, and edited (in your system's default editor). The application is run using the show command. The output is similar to the ls command.

The screen is devided into three parts. The first is the command bar which displays the functions available, their hotkeys, and aditional prompts when requested. The commands are described in more detail in the COMMANDS and GLOBAL COMMANDS sections.

The second part is the middle of the screen between the top and bottom rows. This displays information for the files and directories and is known as the display window. The top three rows of the display window are header lines which identify the information being displayed in each column, the number of objects in the current directory, the total space used by the files in the current directory, the remaining disk space on the mounted partition the directory resides, and the current path. Each line gives the object's permissions, hard links, the owner and group information, size of the object, date and time of the last modification, as well as the name of each file or directory.

The third part is known as the function bar, each function can be accessed by its numeric function key. The functions are described in more deatail in the FUNCTIONS section.

COMMANDS

Several commands are provided which can be used on a single file or multiple files. These commands provide a lot of the functions supported by standard Unix commands, but in a convenient user interface. The file to be operated on is selected by navigating the cursor on the line of the desired file. The highlighed (first character) of the command is used to invoke its function. Multiple files can be selected using the "Mark/Unmark" function. The following is a list of valid commands and a brief description of each.

Copy

Copy file or marked files to a specified destination.

Delete

Delete file or marked files.

Edit

Invoke the system's text editor.

Hidden

Toggle the visibility of hidden objects.

Link

Create a link between files or directories.

Modify

Change the owner/group or permissions of files.

Quit

Quit current directory.

Rename

Rename/move file or marked files.

Show

Show file or directory.

Touch

Change file timestamps.

eXec

Runs files marked as executable.

hUnt

Searches and marks files matching a string.

Each of the commands are described in the following paragraphs. If the command has any additional prompts, they are also described here.

Copy

Copy the selected file, or marked files to another file location. When using this command, only the destination must be specified. The destination file name is requested by one of the following prompts. An empty response to the prompt or the ESC key is used to abort the command. If there are no marked files, a single file copy is requested; otherwise, a multiple file copy is requested.

Copy file to:

Copy multiple files to:

If the destination file already exists, confirmation to replace the file is requested by the following prompt.

Replace file [<file name>]? (Yes/No)

Delete

Delete the selected file, or marked files. As this is a destructive process, confirmation is requested by one of the following prompts. If there are no marked files, a single file delete is requested; otherwise, a multiple delete is requested.

Delete file? (Yes/No)

Delete file [<file name>]? (Yes/No/All/Stop)

For single files, a "Y" will delete files and anything else will abort the delete file operation. For multiple files, confirmation for all files is requested. A "Y" will delete the prompted file, an "N" will not delete the file, an "A" will delete all the marked files without further confirmation, and an "S" will stop the multiple delete command.

Edit

This invokes the default text editor. Please consult the man pages of your preferred editor for more information. The edit command utilizes the VISUAL or EDITOR environment variable. If this has not been set, the following message is displayed.

Please export a VISUAL environment variable to define the utility program name.

To resolve this, set a variable to your preferred editor in your shell's user preference file.

export VISUAL=/usr/bin/vi

Hidden

This toggles the display of hidden files and directories. This allows adjustment of the -a option whilst in the application. If the currently selected object is hidden by this toggle, the cursor is returned to the top of the directory.

Link

Creates a link to the selected file. The type of link is requested by the following prompt.

Link Type - Hard, Symbolic (enter = S)

Selecting "H" will bring up the following prompt.

Hard link to:

show will then create a hard link to the selected file at the target specified.

Selecting "S" will bring up the following prompt.

Symbolic link to:

After a location is specified, the following prompt is shown to ask how to link to the target file.

Link Location - Absolute, Relative (enter = R)

Selecting "A" will link to the file directly relevent to the root directory (/).

Selecting "R" will instruct show to link to the target file relative to the destination.

Modify

Modify the owner/group properties or changes the permissions of an object, or multiple objects. When invoked, the following prompt is displayed.

Modify: Owner/Group, Permissions

Selecting "O" will bring up two prompts.

Set Owner:

Set Group (owner):

If the names of the owner or group is invalid, an error will be displayed to the user. If the group prompt is left blank, then it will use the value of the owner prompt.

Selecting "P" will bring up the following prompt.

Modify Permissions:

The syntax is a 3 or 4 digit octect. See the man pages for chmod for further information.

Quit

Closes the current directory currently displayed. The application will return you to the previous directory you were viewing. If there are no previous directory, a blank screen showing the global commands is displayed.

Rename

Rename the selected file, or marked files to a new file name. The new file name is requested by one of the following prompts. After a file is renamed, the new file information line is into the list (providing the file has been renamed to the same directory) and the old information line is removed. Files can only be moved to locations on the same mounted partition. An empty response to the prompt or the ESC key will abort the command. If there are no marked files, a single file rename is requested; otherwise a multiple file rename is requested.

Rename file to:

Rename multiple files to:

Show

Will either display the contents of a directory, or open the contents of a file. The show file command utilizes the PAGER environment variable. If this has not been set, the following message is displayed.

Please export a PAGER environment variable to define the utility program name.

To resolve this, set a variable to your preferred pager in your shell's user preference file.

export PAGER=/usr/bin/less

Touch

Sets the timestamp of the selected file(s). When selected, the following prompt will be shown.

Set Time - Accessed, Both, Modified (enter = B)

By default, show will modify both the access and modified times. When one of the options is selected, one of the following prompts are shown.

Set Access Time: Set Modifed Time: Set Time:

Set the desired time in one of the following formats: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS, HH:MM:SS

hUnt

Hunts the selected file, or marked files containing a regex string. When used with a single file, the selected file will be marked if the string matches. When using multiple files, any files not matching the string will be unselected. Case sensitivity is requested by the following prompt, afterwards the user is asked to input the string to search. To abort at this prompt, the ESC key must be used.

Case Sensitive, Yes/No/ESC (enter = no)

Following this selection, one of the following prompts will be displayed.

Match Case - Enter string:

Ignore Case - Enter string:

eXec

Will execute the selected file if it has the execute flag set and the current user running the show process has permission to. Arguments are requested by the following prompt. Unlike other commands, an empty response will execute the file without arguments. To abort at this prompt, the ESC key must be used.

Args to pass to <file>:

The following error is displayed if the file does not have an executable flag, or the user does not have sufficient privileges to run.

Error: Permission denied

Creating parent directories

A number of the commands above will display the following prompt to create parent directories if they are not present.

Directory [/path/to/directory] does not exist. Create it? Yes/No (enter = no)

Selecting "Y" will instruct show to create the missing parent directories required to complete the command.

Selecting "N" will abort the command due to the required parent directories not being available. An error message will be shown.

FUNCTIONS

In order to select objects to be used by the commands described in the previous section, the cursor must be moved to the line of the desired object. The functions to move the cursor and the list of files in the display window are described here. A list of the valid functions and their associated function keys is given list.

F1, PgDn

Page Down

F2, PgUp

Page Up

F3

Top of List

F4

Bottom of List

F5

Refresh Directory

F6

Mark/Unmark File

F7

Mark All Files

F8

Unmark All Files

F9

Sort List

F10

Block Mark

HOME

Top of Display

END

Bottom of Display

Down, RETURN

Down one line (RETURN can be repurposed to be the Show command using the --show-on-enter argument)

Up

Up one line

Right

Right one column

Left

Left one column

ESC

Global Commands

The display functions with their associated key assignments are described here.

Page Down

F1, PgDn: Scroll the display window down or forward a page on the list of files. The cursor is left in the same relative row of the window unless the end of the list is reached. If the last file of the list is already displayed in the window, the list is not scrolled, but the cursor is placed on the last file in the list.

Page Up

F2, PgUp: Scroll the display window up or backward a page on the list of files. The cursor is left in the same relative row of the window unless the beginning of the list is reached. If the first file of the list is already displayed in the window, the list is not scrolled, but the cursor is placed on the first file in the list.

Top of List

F3: Display the beginning of the list of files in the window and place the cursor on the first file in the list.

Bottom of List

F4: Display the end of the list of files in the display window and place the cursor on the last file of the list.

Refresh Directory

F5: Rereads the directory. This function is useful to update the list of files after several new files have been created or updated outside of the application.

Mark/Unmark File

F6: Toggle the file mark on the current file. The file mark is indicated with an "*" in front of the file name.

Mark All Files

F7: Set the file mark on all the files but not directories in the list.

Unmark All Files

F8: Remove the file marks from all files in the list.

Sort List

F9: Normally, the file list is sorted by file name alphabetically. This function allows the files to be listed based on another sorting criteria which is requested by the following prompt.

Sort list by - Date & time, Name, Size

The option is selected by using the first letter of the option name.

Date & time: Sort the list on date and time so the newest files are at the top of the list.

Name: Sort the list on the file name.

Size: Sort the list on file size so the largest are at the top of the list.

Using SHIFT whilst selecting an option performs that action in reverse order.

Block Mark

F10: Marks all files between two points. Files marked will be indicated with an * in front of them.

Top of Display

HOME: Move the cursor to the first file on the current display.

Bottom of Display

END: Move the cursor to the last file on the current display.

Down One Line

Down Arrow, Return: Move the cursor down one line to the next file in the display. If the cursor is on the bottom row of the window, the window is scrolled down one line. If the present line is the last file in the list, the cursor is not repositioned.

Up One Line

Up Arrow: Move the cursor up one line to the next file in the display. If the cursor is on the top row of the window, the window is scrolled up one line. If the present line is the first file in the list, the cursor is not repositioned.

Right one column

Right Arrow: Moves the display area one column. This occurs when an entry rolls off the edge of the display. Scrolling will stop at the end of the longest entry.

Left one column

Left Arrow: Moves the display area one column.

Global Commands

ESC: Invoke the GLOBAL COMMANDS described in the next section. This allows another directory to be displayed without terminating the current display.

GLOBAL COMMANDS

When a file group display is terminated with the Quit command, one of the following commands can be used to display another group of files, invoke the editor for a fire, or terminate the application completely. The first character of the command is used to invoke the desired function. The command line is shown below.

cOlors, Config, Edit file, Help, Make dir, Quit, Run, Show dir, Touch file

These commands are desctibed below.

cOlors

Launches an inbuilt color configuration utility which cusomizes the colors for the various display areas in all the utilities. Further information can be found in the COLORS section.

Config

Launches show's configuration menu. From here, all aspects of show can be configured, and settings saved so they will persist between sessions. Further information can be found in the CONFIGURING SHOW section.

Edit file

Invoke the default text editor to edit the specified file. The file name is requested by the following prompt. An empty response is used to abort this command.

Edit File - Enter pathname:

Help

Launches the man pages for show.

Make dir

Make a new directory. The directory name is requested by the following prompt. An empty response is used to abort this command.

Make Directory - Enter pathname:

Quit

Terminate show.

Run

Invoke your shell. The show application is still resident, so the "exit" command will return to the application.

Show dir

Invoke the application to display another directory. The directory name is requested by the following prompt. An empty response is used to abort this command.

Show Directory - Enter pathname:

Touch file

Updates the timestamp of a specified file requested by the following prompt. If the file doesn't exist, it will be created.

Touch File - Enter pathname:

The following prompt is shown to ask if the time should be set to a specific date.

Set Time? Yes/No (enter = N)

Selecting No will set the file's access and modification time to the current time.

COLORS

The inbuilt Colors utility is used to customize the colors used in the applications. It is accessed from the global menu of the show utility.

The following screen is displayed after launch.

Color number, Load, Quit, Save, Toggle, Use

  Command lines                            !-Default
  Display lines                            ?-Default Bold
  Error messages                           0-Black
  Information lines                        1-Red
  Heading lines                            2-Green
  Danger lines                             3-Brown
  Selected block lines                     4-Blue
  Highlight                                5-Magenta
  Text input                               6-Cyan
  Directories                              7-Light Gray
  Symbolic links                           8-Dark Gray
  Orphened symbolic links                  9-Light Red
  Executable files                         A-Light Green
  Set user identification                  B-Yellow
  Set group identification                 C-Light Blue
  Sticky bit directory                     D-Light Magenta
  Sticky bit directory - other writable    E-Light Cyan
                                           F-White


                    Select 0 to F for desired foreground color

Initially, the cursor is positioned beside the "Command lines" string. The cursor can be moved to each of the display types using the up and down cursor keys, and each color can be set by using the number of the desired color. The background color can be set by using the Toggle command. Each of the types of lines are described below.

Command lines

The color of the top and bottom lines of each utility. These lines display the valid command, function keys and other global information.

Display lines

The color for the main text lines in each utilities' display.

Error messages

The color in which any error messages are displayed.

Information lines

The color used to display general information such as the directory header information.

Heading lines

The color used to display the headings for each column in show.

Danger lines

The color used to replace the information lines with a warning, such as when running as the root user.

Selected block lines

The color of the selected block lines of the current file in the show utility.

Highlight

The color of the command/function keys.

Text input

The color of input text lines.

The following color settings are used when --color argument is used. They are used to differentiate object status:

After each of the colors have been changed to the desired color, the theme must be saved with the Save command. All the commands are described below.

Load

Loads a theme file so it can be modified or used. The following prompt requests the data file name.

Load Colors - Enter file pathname:

Quit

Quit the color modification utility and return to show.

Save

Save the theme information in a data file for use by all the utilities. The following prompt requests the data file name.

Save Colors - Enter file pathname:

Toggle

Switches between foreground and background selection.

Use

Sets the theme as the default to persist between sessions. The current theme needs to be saved before this command can be used.

CONFIGURING SHOW

show features an inbuilt configuration menu where the user can tweak the default settings. It is accessed from the global menu.

The following screen is displayed.

SHOW Settings Menu - Quit, Revert, Save

  [ ] Display file colors
  <-> Show marked file info: <never> <always> <auto>
  <-> Sorting mode: <name> <date> <size> <unsorted>
  [ ] Reverse sorting order
  <-> Time style: <locale> <iso> <long-iso> <full-iso>
  [ ] Show hidden files
  [ ] Hide backup files
  [ ] Use 3rd party pager over SF
  [ ] Use SI units
  [ ] Human readable sizes
  [ ] Enter key acts like Show
  < > Owner Column: <owner> <group> <author>
  [ ] Skip to the first object

There are three types of configuration items, each denoted with a different symbol:

[ ]

Indicates a toggle switch, when active, the switch will display [*]. To toggle a value, press SPACE when the cursor is highlighed over a specific item.

<->

Indicates a single value option, the active item will be highlighted. To change the value, use either the arrow keys, or SPACE to toggle through each available option.

< >

Indicates a multi value option, the active items will be highlighted. To change their values, use the arrow keys to highlight the desired option and press SPACE to toggle its activation status.

The following commands can be used within this menu.

Quit

Applies changes and either returns to the previous screen.

Revert

Reverts settings to their original value from when the settings menu was invoked.

Save

Saves settings for future sessions.

SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS

DF-SHOW is designed to be run as a non privileged user, and obeys restrictions set by the system. It is possible to launch show as root. When this occurs, show warns the user by displaying the informational messages in a different color.

AUTHOR

Written by Robert Ian Hawdon.

Copyright (C) 2020 License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html.

This program comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY. This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it under certain conditions.

SEE ALSO

sf(1), chmod(1), chown(1)

DF-SHOW on GitHub: https://github.com/roberthawdon/dfshow

  1. May 2020
  2. show(1)