Dolphin Interface
Dolphin does not represent a wild departure from the Konqueror file manager interface. There are certain paradigms in use however, which may require some readjustment on the user's part. An attempt is made below to explain these in an effort to provide a more enjoyable experience for our users.
The default Dolphin interface consists of a (1) menu bar, (2) toolbar, (3) location bar, (4) workspace and (5) status bar.
The location bar displays the path to the current directory. The location bar has two versions. There is the typical line input version which shows the path to the current directory via a string of text e.g. /home/peter/Documents. The second version of the location bar uses the 'bread crumb' display. The bread crumb display makes each folder a link which can be used to immediately go to the entry. The /home/peter/Documents entry in the bread crumb view would become 'Home > peter > Documents' with Home, peter, and Documents being clickable links which are able go to there respective locations. This makes navigation to directories above the current directory easier and more intuitive. It also removes the need for the Up icon to be present in the toolbar.
The workspace shows the contents of the current directory. The workspace can also be configured to show the contents of a directory with multiple views. More information about the workspace is provided in the following section.
The status bar shows a limited amount of data relating to the file hovered over and the current directory. When a file is hovered over, the status bar shows the file name, the file size and the file type e.g. Jpeg. When no file has been highlighted or hovered over, the status bar shows the amount of files and folders in the current directory. At all times the status bar shows the amount of storage space that has currently been used on the current mount point, as well as the maximum space available on the mount pount e.g. /home/.
The Dolphin workspace can display the contents of a directory in a variety of views. Currently there are icons, details and previews modes.
The view shows the contents of the directory via the file icon type e.g. an mp3 file will be represented with the icon for an mp3 file. Sub-directories are represented in the form of a folder icon. The folder icon is defined by the KDE icon theme currently in use, however individual folders can have their icon changed manually if the user wishes. This can be done via the properties dialogue.
The view lists the contents of a directory in alphabetical order and by type. Sub-folders are at the top of the list in alphabetical order, while underneath, the files within the directory are in alphabetical order.
Details are displayed to the right of the files within the directory. The default Dolphin configuration only displays the size of the file and the date it was last modified. More details can be added via the Configure Dolphin dialogue however.
The view is similar to the icons view. The difference is that wherever possible previews of the files are shown. This function works for a number of image types including; JPG, PNG, XCF, SVG and numerous others. The previews view is also capable of showing the first 14 lines from text documents. Dolphin is also capable of displaying a preview of HTML and PDF files in the previews view. It is also possible to modify the size of the previews via the Configure Dolphin dialogue.
Changing the view of the directory a user is working in is as simple as clicking the icon of the view they wish to use. This will cause the workspace view to change accordingly.
The workspace in Dolphin is capable of showing two directories within the same window, known as split workspaces. In order to enable or disable the split workspace mode toggle the icon on the taskbar. Another way to enable or disable the split workspace mode is to use the -> menu option.
If this option is enabled then the workspace will split apart. Two separate workspace areas will be available for use, along with two separate location bars. Clicking on either workspace will make it the active workspace. If the user toggles the split workspace mode off, then the currently active workspace will remain, while the inactive workspace will close.
Dolphin is capable of remembering the workspace view on a per-directory basis. For example, if while viewing /home/peter/Pictures/ the user choses to use the previews view, then the next time the user enters that directory, the view will be changed to the previews view. This is especially useful for directories containing mainly images. The feature only works for local directories which the user has read/write permissions to. Dolphin will also remember the viewing mode it was in when last running e.g. single workspace or split workspace.
Dolphin can also display files and sub-directories that are hidden in the the current directory e.g. files such as .dolphin and sub-directory such as .kde/.
Hidden files and sub-folders can be distinguished from non-hidden file and sub-folders by their colouring. Hidden files/sub-directories are fainter then non-hidden files/sub-directories.
To enable the showing of hidden files and sub-directories via the main menu View>Show Hidden Files.
Dolphin is able to sort the contents of a directory in a number of ways. These are; By Name, By Date, By Size and Descending. These only apply to the current directory the user is currently in and do not affect other directories. As with the Views Modes the Sorting order is saved for this directory.
To change the way the directory is sorted, via the Main Menu View>Sort>sorting type (e.g. By Date).
The Dolphin sidebar has two modes. The first mode is the Bookmarks mode. The second mode is the Information mode. The sidebar can be enabed and disabled via the the menu bar; Views > Sidebar.
The sidebar mode can be changed via the drop down menu at the top. Selecting Bookmakrs will enable the bookmarks mode, while selecting Information will enable the Information mode.
The Bookmarks sidebar mode displays the filesystem bookmarks the user has stored. The bookmarks sidebar mode also allows the user to add more bookamrks, this can be done via right clicking the sidebar.
The Information sidebar mode also allows the user access to their service menus for a given file type. A service menu entry that is directly under the Actions > ... menu is diaplayed as a single button. However if a service menu entry is in a submenu under the Actions > .... menu e.g. Actions > Amarok, then this is presented as a drop down menu containing the options.
