#!/usr/bin/perl # simple-folder-opener-v1_1.pl # by Apollia of Astroblahhh.Com. http://astroblahhh.com/ # # v1.1 completed March 29, 2013. # # Original version completed on an unknown date. # # Comments completed on 5/10/2011. # # Public domain. # ######################################################################### # # # I wrote this script after I discovered that it's not always such a great idea # to try to use Linux symlinks in the same manner as Windows shortcuts. # # Clicking symlinks to folders in the Rox-Filer file manager makes Rox-Filer # lose track of the actual folder path you're at. (In Rox-Filer, you can # display the path of the folder you're in, or which Rox-Filer thinks you're # in, by pressing / ). # # Symlinks fool Rox-Filer into thinking you're in a subdirectory of whatever # folder the symlink was located in, and make it so the Up button goes back # to the folder containing the symlink, rather than taking you to the real # parent directory of the folder your symlink brought you to. # # In the Lucid Puppy 5.2 variety of Puppy Linux, I could find no simple, # obvious, built-in way to make a folder shortcut that would behave the way # a folder shortcut behaves in Windows. # # But, after I figured out that it's possible to make Perl scripts that you can # run just by double-clicking on them, a Perl script seemed like a decent # solution to this problem, especially because Perl is pre-installed in # Lucid Puppy 5.2. # # # There's a version of this script which is less cluttered with instructions: # # http://astroblahhh.com/software/perl/simple-folder-opener--fewer-comments-v1_1.txt # # # This script won't work in Windows, just Linux. I've only tested it in # Lucid Puppy 5.2 with the Rox-Filer file manager and the Thunar file manager, # but it might work with other forms of Linux and other file managers. # # It can work with file managers besides Rox-Filer as long as you can # issue shell commands to that file manager from a terminal. # # http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=479987 # (Topic: Lucid Puppy 5.2 Official Release JAN 5 2011) # # http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROX-Filer#ROX_Filer # http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunar # ######################################################################### # # # Instructions # # # First, if this script is named "simple-folder-opener.txt", rename it # to something else, like "simple-folder-opener.pl", or the name of the # folder you wish to make the script open. For example, if you plan on # making this script open a folder named Links, you could title the # script "Links", with no filename extension such as .txt or .pl on the # end. # # (In Rox-Filer, you can rename files by right-clicking on them, going # to the "File '[name of the file you right-clicked on]'" menu, and # choosing Rename. Be careful to edit only the file name and not the # file path, because, annoyingly, the Rename function of Rox can do more # than just rename files - it can actually move files around if you change # the file path.) # # # # Next, open the script in a text editor. (In Lucid Puppy 5.2, by default, # there is an "edit" icon on the desktop which will open a text editor # named Geany.) # # Scroll down past all these instructions to where the script begins, and set # the $Folder_To_Open variable equal to the path of the folder you want # to open. (Further instructions are near the $Folder_To_Open variable below). # # If you're using the Rox-Filer file manager (the default file manager # in Lucid Puppy 5.2), you won't have to change the # $File_Manager_Shell_Command variable. # # But if (for example) you're using the Thunar file manager instead of # Rox-Filer, you'll have to set $File_Manager_Shell_Command equal to # "thunar" rather than "rox". # # # You will most likely have to give this script Exec permissions to make # it possible to run this script just by double-clicking on it. # # In Lucid Puppy 5.2, if this script file currently has a title ending in # .txt (like simple-folder-opener.txt), and you have the file on a drive in # NTFS format (like most hard drives which have Windows installed on them), # you might be able to make the script executable simply by renaming the # file to something that doesn't end in .txt, like simple-folder-opener.pl, # or even a file name without any filename extension such as .txt or .pl on # the end. # # That works for files on my NTFS-format hard drive, but not with files # located in Puppy's RAM disk. # # # Another, more reliable way to grant Exec permissions to this script is: # # In Rox-Filer, right-click this simple-folder-opener.pl script, # go to the "File 'simple-folder-opener.pl'" menu, and choose Properties. # Then, put a check in the checkbox across from Owner and under Exec, and # click Close. # # # Now, to run this script, you should be able to just double-click on it. # If it worked, the folder in $Folder_To_Open should immediately open. # # If it didn't work, perhaps you put in a typo and it's causing # an error. If you would like to see what error is possibly happening, # you can run this script from a terminal window. # # In Rox-Filer, you can do that by going to the folder this script is # in and pressing `. (The backtick key. In case you rarely or never # use that and don't know where it is - it might be at the upper left # of your keyboard below the Esc key.) That will open an RXVT terminal # window. Then, type: # # perl simple-folder-opener.pl # # (or whatever the name of your script is) # # # Another possible reason this script might not work: this script is # unable to open any folder on a disk that you have not yet mounted. # # In Lucid Puppy 5.2, disks are automatically mounted when you open # your disks' desktop icons. # # # Yet another reason this script might not work is: # # If you're using some other kind of Linux other than Lucid Puppy 5.2, # and Perl on your system is located somewhere other than # /usr/bin/perl, I'm guessing you might have to change the "shebang" # line at the top of the file to the correct path of Perl on your system. # # http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/s/shebang.htm # ############################################################################ # # # Adding a custom icon to this script in Rox-Filer in Lucid Puppy 5.2 # # # Note: As of 5/10/2011, I haven't yet released the Perl script I use at # startup to restore various updated settings - the script which # rescues me from having to save an entire new session to my Puppy # DVD just to save some minor settings updates. # # So, until I release that startup script, the below instructions # won't be quite as useful, unless you write your own Perl # script to copy your saved copy of Rox-Filer's "globicons" file # into Puppy's RAM disk. # # # I have a folder where I store a bunch of these simple-folder-opener scripts. # To make it more obvious at a glance that these scripts are shortcuts to a # folder, I gave the scripts this icon: # # http://www.iconarchive.com/show/shining-z-icons-by-zakar/Folder-Downloads-SZ-icon.html # # Of course, you can use any icon you want instead of that one. There are # _tons_ of nice icons on http://iconarchive.com/ - and all of them are # available in formats you can use in Rox-Filer. # # # In Rox-Filer, you can use icons in either ICO format or PNG format, and maybe # other formats that I haven't tested. (I prefer icons in 48x48 PNG format # since they often have a much smaller file size than ICO files). # # Make a folder somewhere to put icons, preferably in a permanent location, # because if you ever move your icons from the place Rox-Filer thinks they're # in, you'll have to update Rox-Filer with the new locations. # # Also, choose a preferably permanent location to put your simple-folder-opener # scripts, because if you ever move them to a new location, Rox-Filer won't # retain their custom icons and you'll have to redo them. # # Next, in Rox-Filer, right-click on one of your simple-folder-opener scripts. # From the "File '[name of your script]'" menu, choose Set Icon. Open your # folder for icons, then click and drag the icon you want to use onto the # Set Icon window and click Close. # # # If you have a lot of scripts to set an icon for, go to this path: # # /root/.config/rox.sourceforge.net/ROX-Filer/ # # (An easy way to go to this (or any) path in Rox-Filer: # # Press the / key in any Rox-Filer folder window. Then, at the bottom of the # window, the "Goto:" address bar will pop up, containing the current folder # path. Paste in the above path to go directly to it.) # # # Once in that folder, open the file "globicons" in a text editor. # # If you already set at least one script's icon by right-clicking on the # script and choosing Set Icon in Rox-Filer, there will be some lines in # "globicons" which refer to that script whose icon you set. Find those # lines by by using your text editor's Find function and searching either # for the name of your script, or the name of your icon file. # # Then, copy the three lines that define your script's icon - they start # with and end with , # and will look something like this: # # # /mnt/sda3/Puppy/Icons/Folder-Downloads-SZ.ico # # # Immediately below any line which says , paste the three lines you # copied. Then, in the text you pasted, change the path specified in the # to the path of another one of your scripts. Repeat # as needed for each of your script files, then save the globicons file. # # To make your new custom icon(s) be displayed, go to your scripts' folder # and click the button at the top of the window with two curvy blue arrows, # the button which says "Rescan directory contents" when you hover the # mouse over it. # # # If you're running Puppy on a live CD or DVD, you can save your new custom # icon settings by saving a new session on your Puppy disc. # # Alternatively, if you'd rather not save an entire new session just to save # such a minor settings update, copy the "globicons" file to your hard drive # or Flash drive or something. # # Anytime you reboot Puppy, you can use a Perl script to copy those settings # from their location on your hard drive or Flash drive, over to # /root/.config/rox.sourceforge.net/ROX-Filer/ . Then press the "Rescan # directory contents" button (the one with the curvy blue arrows) in a # Rox-Filer window to make Rox-Filer start displaying your icons. # # At some point in the future, I'll release the Perl script I use # when I start up Puppy on http://astroblahhh.com/ . # # #################################################################### # # # The script begins below. # $Folder_To_Open="/mnt/sda3/"; # Example Linux path: # # /mnt/sda3/ # # In Linux, all absolute paths begin with a slash. If the path # goes to a folder, it's good to also end the path with a slash to show # that it's a path to a folder. However, this script will still # work (at least with Rox-Filer and Thunar) even if you forget the # last slash. # # # In Rox-Filer, you can obtain the path of the folder you're in by, # if necessary, clicking on the folder window (if it's not already the # selected window) and pressing the / key. The current path will appear # at the bottom of the window. # # You can highlight and copy the path text by clicking the path text, # pressing Ctrl-A and pressing Ctrl-C. # # Then, open this script in a text editor. Go to the $Folder_To_Open # variable, highlight the text within quotes after that variable, and # press Ctrl-V to paste in the path you copied. # # # If you're a Puppy Linux newbie who is mystified about what path your # disk drives are at, your disk drives can be found in the /mnt/ folder, # bearing mysterious names like sda2, sda3, sdb1, or sr1. (Fortunately, # many Puppy Linuxes provide shortcuts to your disk drives on your # desktop). # # On my computer, sda2 is the C partition of my hard drive, sda3 is # the D partition, sdb1 is my Flash drive, and sr1 is my DVD writer # drive. $File_Manager_Shell_Command="rox"; # You can leave this alone if you're using Rox-Filer. # # "rox" is the shell command to launch Rox-Filer. # # If you're using a file manager other than Rox-Filer (the # default file manager in Lucid Puppy 5.2), you'll need to set the # above $File_Manager_Shell_Command variable equal to the shell command # which launches your other file manager. # # I haven't tested a lot of alternative file managers, but, the Thunar # file manager will definitely work with this script. Set # $File_Manager_Shell_Command equal to "thunar" if you're using Thunar. # # # Nothing beyond this point needs to be changed. exec ("$File_Manager_Shell_Command \"$Folder_To_Open\""); # The below two lines are an alternative way to accomplish exactly the # same thing as the above exec line - namely, opening $Folder_To_Open with your # file manager. #chdir $Folder_To_Open; #exec ($File_Manager_Shell_Command);