Change your file manager

CptCharis

CptCharis

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Hello guys!!! Long time no see each other. I currently study for my MSc and no time for Linux.

I have a question. My default file manager for LM Mate is "nemo". When I ran my LM Mate with i3 wm, nemo file manager is not cooperating.
Is there any way to change file manager only when I ran i3 wm? Or I should completed change it?
 


just install another filemanager and choose it as standart application for files.
 
Peer said:
just install another filemanager and choose it as standart application for files.
Click to expand...

So you mean to install it as default file manager for both i3 wn & Mate DE.
 
CptCharis said:
My default file manager for LM Mate is "nemo". When I ran my LM Mate with i3 wm, nemo file manager is not cooperating.
Click to expand...

Hello, my friend, let's get this right from the start.

Caja is default FM for MATE, not Nemo, Nemo is Cinnamon.

If you are going to use the i3 Window Manager, best person to ask might be Jas. @JasKinasis

Ranger will work with it, but Ranger is command-line based (described as a console file manager), no GUI as I understand it.

PCmanfm and Thunar, possibly. I am speculating.

FOR THE VIEWERS

If you wish to try out File Managers that are different to that which was installed by default with your Distro of choice, by all means you can do so.

BUT (Wizard's but is never far behind him)

Do not delete or purge your existing FM, you will brick your Desktop Environment. :oops:

You can however delete an icon for it on your Panel or on your Desktop if you wish to put one for your new fave FM in its place, just don't delete the app.

So if you delete Nemo, you will brick Cinnamon, if you delete Caja you will brick MATE, if you delete Nautilus (aka Files), you will brick GNOME ... you get the picture.

Cheers, and good luck, Capta

Wizard
 
G'day mate - short answer is

Open your File Manager, click Help - about, and tell me what it says.

Long answer I am working on

Cheers

Chris
 
CptCharis said:
I've never changed my FM Chris
Click to expand...

Which is why I am betting that your answer to my above would be - Caja.

I'll leave you a couple of screenshots from a 'Tessa' MATE and a 'Tara' Cinnamon I have on board, and I can flesh out over the weekend more detail if you indicate interest.



XPTQuvi.png



and


cbgn7ug.png



Friday here in Oz, so

Avagudweegend, all :D

Wiz
 
Last edited:
@wizardfromoz Chris I'm confused
Could you pls be a little bit more specific ?
Btw you are correct opening my FM > Help > Caja!!!
So something is wrong with be above command?
 
Last edited:
Mate nothing is amiss with your setup :)

The culprit is

Code: 
xdg-mime query default inode/directory

... which is returning a false positive on the File Manager as being Nemo, instead of the correct, Caja.

BTW I placed 2 screenshots in my Post above, but the first is currently showing to me as being unavailable.

Can you/did you see it? First one was from my LM 19.1 'Tessa' MATE.

I may have to repeat it, or see if I have exceeded some sort of limit with Imgur.

Back in a moment

Wizard
 
Back now, fixed the problem, I had posted the first screenshot twice to Imgur, came back and deleted the wrong one.

So look again at my Post #8, then return here.

I'm off in a moment to generate more screenshots and bottle some beer (very important work, on a weekend), but in the interim, as much for the benefit of The Viewers as for you (much of this you may already know):

The five (4) major DEs (Desktop Environments) in Linux are (not in order) -
  • MATE
  • Cinnamon
  • Xfce
  • KDE and
  • GNOME (which includes Ubuntu's Unity, no longer shipped)
Each has its own File Manager associated with it -
  • MATE has Caja
  • Cinnamon has Nemo
  • Xfce has Thunar
  • KDE has Dolphin and
  • GNOME has Nautilus, which Ubuntu and some others renamed to "Files"
You can, as you might expect with Linux being so customisable, change your File Manager to one that suits you better. But if you do, DO NOT DELETE the default FM, you will brick your desktop environment.

Back soon

Wizard
 
wizardfromoz said:
Code: 
xdg-mime query default inode/directory

... which is returning a false positive on the File Manager as being Nemo, instead of the correct, Caja.
Wizard
Click to expand...

I can see both of your screenshoots now Chris.
Do you know any other way (command) that showing correct FM?
 
wizardfromoz said:
PCmanfm and Thunar, possibly. I am speculating.
Click to expand...
Any FM can be installed, if it's in the repo or has its own repo, or if it has a deb file with all deps. It can be used even from a tarball form, just like Firefox. I know bc I have already tried it, altough the latter doesn't offer updates.

@wizardfromoz , no, you're not. These 2 are the best, altough PCManFM is THE best. I already tried the most of them out there ( https://www.slant.co/topics/5148/~gui-linux-file-managers ) and this one has the most features and customizing options. It does miss some options Nemo has (like "open as root" and "make this file executable") but despite that it's still better than Nemo and a lot more stable. Nemo crashes every 10 clicks, so I prefer PCManFM. I try using Nemo as least as possible - mostly for the two options that Nemo has and that's why I have placed both FMs on the panel.
 
rado84 said:
Any FM can be installed, if it's in the repo or has its own repo, or if it has a deb file with all deps.
Click to expand...

Quite so. Here is where I would advocate the use of Timeshift . Take a full snapshot, try a new File Manager. Don't like it? Restore from Timeshift, try a new one, and so on. By doing so, you can be sure there will be no conflict in dependencies.

Capta

CptCharis said:
Do you know any other way (command) that showing correct FM?
Click to expand...

There is a command that applies particularly to Xfce environments, it seems ... I have not looked further, yet. It is

Code: 
exo-preferred-applications

Below is a screenshot taken from my Peach OSI TW (The Works), which runs Xfce.


Zw6Oj67.png



As you can see, it generates a GUI popup window. The Internet tab contains details on Web Browser and email client, and the Utilities shown here - FM and Terminal console.

Test environments, then, have been Peach, also works OOTB on Manjaro Xfce.

For Debian-based Distros, you can use

Code: 
sudo apt install exo-utils

but my one running of it on a MATE Mint provides an error on a file exo-helper-1 not found. I have not gone further.

I expect further research may reveal, or one of our brethren may know?

Cheers

Wizard
 
@wizardfromoz , I don't trust Timeshift to do the job. I'd rather make a full backup with Clonezilla and then try them. Besides, there are no dep conflicts. I know that for a fact cuz I already tried about 8 different FMs, most of which for very different DE (not Cinnamon which is mine) and they all worked fine. The only possible problem that could appear with deps is when uninstalling the FMs - if you choose to autoremove/purge them via terminal - only then there could be a dep problem. Otherwise removing them from the package manager only removes the program itself but not the deps and the system is safe.
 
rado84 said:
I don't trust Timeshift to do the job
Click to expand...

Both Timeshift and Clonezilla are acceptable alternatives to what I was suggesting, that is, safeguarding your original, default setup.

I run Timeshift on 89 out of 90 of the Distros in my stable, all without a hitch. I use it several times a week, sometimes several times a day, when moving Distros from Partition A to Partition B, and even Machine A to Machine B. If you have had problems with Timeshift, you can always bring them up over at my Tute, and we can take a look at them.

Cheers

Wiz
 
wizardfromoz said:
If you have had problems with Timeshift
Click to expand...
I never had problems with Timeshift bc I never tried it. But judging by what I've read about it, there's no force in the world that could make me use it. It reminds me of the Windows backup tool too much. And a real backup can't be achieved while the system is running, so... Clonezilla.
 
Rado, take no offence (because if you hang here long enough you will see I do not do derogatory, nor go hard on people whose first language is not English)

...

rado84 said:
But judging by what I've read about it
Click to expand...

Maybe you can dig up some reference articles or Posts and provide them over at my Timeshift Tute? Then I could examine them and respond, perhaps.

It seems ill-advised to be "bagging" or "bucketing" a perfectly viable and proven solution that you have not even tried yourself. Three Linux Distros are currently shipping Timeshift installed, and more will likely follow.

We won't derail this OP's Thread with more debate, but consider what I have said, and maybe I'll see you at Timeshift.

Wiz
 
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