Rox-Filer is an open supply file supervisor for Linux, as soon as supposed for the defunct Rox desktop however now a streamlined software for any window supervisor or desktop. There hasn’t been a lot exercise on the Rox venture since 2014, and even then it’s principally in upkeep mode. And that is a part of Rox-Filer’s appeal. In a method, Rox-Filer is a snapshot of an outdated desktop model that was progressive for its time however has given approach to a kind of standardized, or not less than typical, interface.
Install Rox-Filer
On Linux, your distribution’s software program repository might have Rox out there for set up. For occasion, Debian packages it:
$ sudo apt set up rox-filer
If your Linux distribution would not bundle Rox-Filer however you need to strive it out, you’ll be able to compile from source by downloading the source code, putting in its construct dependencies, after which compiling:
$ sudo dnf set up gtk2-devel libSM-devel
shared-mime-info glade-libs xterm
$ wget https://codeload.github.com/rox-desktop/rox-filer/zip/refs/heads/grasp
$ unzip rox*zip
$ cd rox-filer-master
$ ./ROX-Filer/AppRun
Configuring Rox
The Rox file supervisor relies on the appear and feel of RISC OS, an working system developed by Acorn in Cambridge England (the identical group liable for the favored Arm microprocessor). Today, there’s an open source RISC OS you’ll be able to set up on a Raspberry Pi, however for now, Rox is shut sufficient.
Rox has a easy format. It has no menu bar, however there is a toolbar throughout the highest, and the file panel is on the backside.
(Seth Kenlon, CC BY-SA 4.0)
As with the KDE Plasma Desktop, the default motion of a single click on in Rox is to open an merchandise, whether or not it is a folder or a file. Unfortunately, no model of Rox, both packaged or compiled instantly from the supply, appears to be utterly built-in with the mimetype definitions of the trendy Linux desktop. For occasion, Rox on CentOS renders an error after I click on on even a fundamental textual content file, whereas the packaged model of Rox on Debian opens a plain textual content file however not a JPEG or archive file. You can repair this by setting a Run Action within the right-click context menu.
(Seth Kenlon, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Setting a run motion can have broad definitions, so you do not have to set a separate run motion for JPEG, PNG, WEBP, and all different picture sorts, as an alternative set the identical run command for all mimetypes beginning with picture.
Once you set that, you are able to handle recordsdata with Rox.
You can navigate by means of your file system utilizing the arrow icon within the high toolbar. The Up arrow takes you to the dad or mum listing of your present location (in different phrases, the folder your present folder is in). To descend right into a folder, click on on it.
Refreshing the view
Rox might not redraw the display for each motion, so generally you might have to immediate it to refresh. Click the Circle arrow within the Rox toolbar to refresh your present location’s contents.
Copy or transfer a file
There are two methods to repeat or transfer a file in Rox. First, you’ll be able to launch a second Rox window and drag and drop recordsdata from one window to the opposite. When you do, you are prompted to repeat, transfer, or hyperlink the merchandise you have dropped.
Alternatively, you’ll be able to right-click an merchandise and open the File submenu from the context menu. In the File submenu, select Copy after which enter the vacation spot path for the merchandise you need to transfer or copy. After you have confirmed that the file has efficiently been copied to the goal location, you’ll be able to optionally choose the merchandise once more, selecting Delete from the File menu.
Options
You can customise some facets of Rox by choosing Options from the right-click menu. This brings up a Rox configuration display that is admittedly solely partially related to Rox. The Rox choices assume you are working a window supervisor, like Windowmaker which gives a standard dock (or “pinboard” in Rox terminology). I wasn’t in a position to get the pinboard choices to work on Fluxbox, my most well-liked window supervisor, or Windowmaker. In each circumstances, the window supervisor dealt with iconified home windows, and I wasn’t in a position to configure Rox to override the management. It’s potential that I wasn’t drastic sufficient in a few of my configurations, however contemplating that Linux window managers are very able to managing iconified home windows, the pinboard mechanism of Rox is not an important characteristic (and possibly not as versatile because the window supervisor’s choices).
The different choices, nevertheless, nonetheless work as anticipated. For occasion, Rox by default resizes its window measurement to suit the contents of a folder. When you alter from a listing containing twelve objects to a listing containing simply three, Rox shrinks its footprint. I discover this jarring, so I selected the Never robotically resize choice, forcing Rox to remain no matter measurement I set.
Window instructions
Some of my favourite options are 4 menu objects hidden away on the backside of the Window submenu within the right-click context menu. They are:
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Enter path: Enter an arbitrary path and alter listing to it.
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Shell command: Enter an arbitrary shell command and execute it.
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Terminal right here: Open a terminal at your present location.
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Switch to terminal: Open a terminal at your present location, and shut the Rox.
I really like choices that enable for fast navigation or fast instructions, so it is good to have these shut at hand.
Oldies
Rox is a “blast from the past,” whether or not or not you have ever used RISC OS or one thing prefer it. Rox represents a mode of digital file administration and even desktop configuration that simply would not fairly exist anymore. I’ve run Fluxbox, on and off once more, at work and at dwelling for the previous decade, and I really like manually configuring menus and configuration recordsdata. However, many of the Linux desktop has moved on from the conventions Rox depends upon. It’s not unimaginable to make Rox absolutely useful, however it will take lots of work, and most of what you would be configuring are already supplied by trendy window managers and desktops. Even so, Rox is enjoyable to make use of and expertise. It’s an awesome demonstration of how versatile a standard Linux desktop setup was (and nonetheless could be, if you happen to use solely a window supervisor), and far of its appeal is in its simplicity. I can not think about a file supervisor at the moment not having a devoted transfer operate, however Rox dares to pressure you to repeat and delete as an alternative. It’s a unique type of file supervisor, and it may not be the one you employ all day day-after-day, but it surely’s one thing it’s important to strive if you happen to miss, or actually missed, the “old days” of the Linux (or RISC OS) desktop.
