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[dearcat]

Hi everyone. My name is dearcat and I am new to Linux. How do I open an html file and also a photo that is dos based. Thanks for any help.

dearcat

Hey, what does a "poll" at the bottom mean?

 

[dale]

Welcome dearcat.

Consider polls like mini-polling booth. You can ask people to vote on things.

HTML file is just a text file. You can open and/or edit it with any text editor.

As for photo, you will need an image editor. So any image editor will do.

 

[dearcat]

Hi Dale,

Thanks for the info but I do not know what a text editor is or how to get it. Ditto image editor. I have always worked in Windown but I WILL master Linux. After all, I'm only 75.

thanks for additional info,

dearcat otherwise known as stupid

 

[Rob]

Hey dearcat - look through your application menus.. I believe a graphical text editor is gedit. If you are in a terminal, nano is good to start with, but you may want to try more powerful ones like emacs or vi/vim.

For photo editing, gimp is probably the closest to photoshop in windows.

Welcome to Linux Forum!

 

[DaReaper]

Hello Dearcat,

You can open a HTML file just like you open any other text file. In Windows you could have opened it with Notepad ++ or Notepad. But in Linux there are applications that runs in Linux Terminal (Just like Windows command prompt) - You can use nano or vi to edit the HTML file and save them.

If you want an exact replica of Notepad on Linux you can use - Leafpad or gEdit.

You can edit photos in Linux using GIMP which is Free and Open source. It's just like Photoshop.

And for the Forum's poll, it's basically a feature that allows you or others to vote on and describe their poll/vote for.

 

[dearcat]

DaReaper,

Thank you for your reply. I never used notepad in windows. I do not know what nano or vi is. I did see Leafpad in the program list, but like Wine, which I downloaded, I do not know how to use it. I am 75 and, believe it or not, I built my computer from four old ones with one new RAM stick. I even have a 20 gig storage drive, but can not figure out how to save to it. I let a friend of mine talk me into using Unbuntu, os Linux. I had planned for Windows. I like Linux but can not figure a lot of it out. Eventually, I will be as proficient in linux as I was in Windows. Thank you for any help you can give me.

dearcat

 

[berks]

Nano and Vi are two text editors available in the Linux Terminal. I would recommend that you give Leafpad a try as it is able open and edit the HTML file and should be relatively easy to understand.

 

[dale]

dearcat, I am going to go a bit long-winded because being on the other side of the screen, I have no idea what you are familiar with and what you are not. Feel free to whack me over the head though.

A block of words (like what I am typing now) is usually referred to as a block of text. A picture if referred to as an image. A file consists entirely of a block of text is called a text file. A picture file is called an image file. Any software that creates and/or changes a text file is called a text editor. Any software that creates and/or changes an image file is called an image editor. So you could imagine that there are going to be huge lists of softwares, for both Windows and Linux, that are able to create and/or change text files and image files. There are many, many text editors and image editors. Some of which are more intuitive to use, e.g., nano and pico. Some are less intuitive but very powerful, e.g., vi. The difference between text/image editors in Linux and text/image editors in Windows is that for the latter, you get a few free ones that are usable, and a huge list of softwares that come with trial periods and whatnots, and later would try to get you to pay for the softwares; whereas for Linux, you have many free ones that are good, and only a few would ask you to pay. Linux is cool like that. You get many good choices that you are able to use for free, and in the end of the day, you get to choose what you like based on your preference.

As for Wine, it is used to run Windows softwares under Linux. Unless you really cannot find Linux alternative for the Windows software, I wouldn't worry about it for now.

 

[dearcat]

Hi Dale,
Thanks for the quick reply. I'm not going to whack you. Actually, I appreciate all you have said, however, I know what an image is and what a block of text is and I know the difference between editing an image and text. It is just that I do not know how to do editing of either in Linux, especially if it is and html, jpeg or the like. If I could figure out how to get and use nano or pico (what are they?) and or Leafpad, I would be ok. Once I learn something, I do not forget it. I really enjoy the fact that programs on Linux are free. I just have to learn how to use them. One of my main problems is that I do not know a lot of the terms used in computing. Even though I can build a computer, worked in Windows for years, mostly in Word and Excel, (I go way back to Word Perfect and Lotus 123) , I do not really know much about programs. I never worked in notepad , hated it. Well, this pretty much tell all. Thank for any help,

dearcat

 

[dale]

HTML files have tags, i.e., stuff in chevrons (< and >), so in order to edit HTML efficiently, I would recommend either one of two types of editors:

1. Something that is extremely plain and simple, so as not to cause unnecessary distraction when you edit
2. Something that changes colour for things like tags

"nano", "pico", and "vi" are all names of the text editors. "GIMP" is the name of a very good image editor. Sometimes software names can be a little unapparent for Linux. With Windows you get Notepad and MS Word, and you could guess (usually quite successfully) that they have something to do with text. With Linux it is more difficult to guess what they do just from looking at the name.

Many Linux distributions (as you know there are many different "sorts" of Linux out there, with many different names -- and they are all Linux -- we refer to them as distributions) have convenient software management systems with graphical interface, such that you can install and try different softwares with a few clicks. What distribution are you using?

 

[diegosuse]

Pick the html file on your file browser (nautilus on opensuse for example) right click and select open with.... Then choose gtext or geditor or if you have installed open office or libre office you can use it to. For images use eye of gnome to view it or gimp or pinta to edit. If you want to use some html editor like dreamweaver on windows I recommend Aptana. By the way, you have to learn about the shell , include commands and services. I use vim , very nice tool and easy to handle. Remember that the shell can be very powerfull against gui's. Hope helps. About your age, thumbs up!!!!!! Linux goes for everyone.

 

[dearcat]

Hi Dale, I think you hit the nail on the head. I do not know what the various programs do. No, I did not know there are different "sorts" of Linux. By the way, what do you mean by "distribution"? I have no idea. I am beginning to think I am in real trouble. My friend loaded it for me. He is now somewhere in the mid-west, so no help. Actually I could strangle him. I am going to try to find "GIMP". If it comes with instructions I will be fine.

Thank you again for being so patient.

dearcat

 

[dearcat]

Hey Dale, Quite by accident, I think I found what you mean by "distribution". Ubuntu. That is the only other thing on the conputer to do with Linux.

thanks,

dearcat

 

[dearcat]

Hi diegosuse,
I do have libre office. Which one do I use - writer of office? Never used it, did not know what it was for. I am going to try it. I have used one of them to write an article for a newspaper, edited it and e-mailed it. That is about all I know of them. Eventually, I will figure it out.

thank you

dearcat

 

[diegosuse]

Yes use the writer. Hope helps

 

[dale]

You got it, Ubuntu is the name of your distribution. I am not sure if GIMP is already installed. It used to be the default image editor, but I am not sure if they switched to something else. In either case, you can look for something called Software Centre and install it from there (or check if it is already installed). Give us a yell if you run into problem with this.

And don't worry! I think you are doing quite all right. Bless your friend!

 

[dearcat]

Hi Dale and diegosuse:
I have been trying to find GIMP in the Unbuntu software center, (I think I was in the software center) but are unable to. Do not know how to tell if already installed. You are both Angels. Thank you,

dearcat

 

[dale]

Under Ubuntu Software Centre, you should find three tabs at the upper region, "All Softwares", "Installed", and "History".

Under "Installed" you should find all the softwares already installed on your computer. After clicking on "Installed", you should find that it is further subcategorised into several categories. If GIMP is installed, you will find it under "Graphics" (or similar, I don't quite remember -- you might have to navigate a bit).

In the case that you do not find it under "Installed". You now have two options.

You could check out other image editors listed under "Graphics" (under "Installed"). Maybe you will like it better than GIMP. Maybe not.

Or you could install GIMP anyway. To do this, navigate back to "All Softwares", and look for "GIMP" to install it.

 

[DaReaper]

DaReaper,

Thank you for your reply. I never used notepad in windows. I do not know what nano or vi is. I did see Leafpad in the program list, but like Wine, which I downloaded, I do not know how to use it. I am 75 and, believe it or not, I built my computer from four old ones with one new RAM stick. I even have a 20 gig storage drive, but can not figure out how to save to it. I let a friend of mine talk me into using Unbuntu, os Linux. I had planned for Windows. I like Linux but can not figure a lot of it out. Eventually, I will be as proficient in linux as I was in Windows. Thank you for any help you can give me.

dearcat

That's fine, Notepad in windows is the Simplest form of MS Words, in MS words you could ofcourse create a lot of visual appealing documents, but Notepad is a Text-editor.

You will be able to create HTML files in text editors, I'm sure you can try out Leafpad for a start since you have it in your list of installed applications. I'm guessing you probably know how HTML syntax's are, if not you can check for the basics online.

You can install nano via the "Terminal" <This one should also be in the list of applications. Run it - Install nano using the command :

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nano

That should have Nano installed. Then you can just type

nano yourfilename.txt

Type down your HTML codes and then ofcourse save it as a .HTML file by typing - ctrl+x and accept to save. This will ask you to enter a file name on save and exit.

But i'm sure you'll find gEdit and Leafpad much comfortable to use. There is also LibreOffice if you want to work with documents just like you worked with Words.

 

[dale]

You can install nano via the "Terminal" <This one should also be in the list of applications. Run it - Install nano using the command :

Just to expand a bit on running commands (no doubt there are many ways to do things), you could also use Alt + F2 to bring up a minimalist entry field, and run commands from there.