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Zorin 11 OS - How to set preferences for File Manager

parker.hugh

Wed Apr 13, 2016 7:09:45 pm

Just installed Zorin 11 OS on new DELL Inspiron 5559 laptop in UEFI mode. Installation went very well, and pleased with how smooth everything is.

Every time I open File Manager it defaults to "View items as a grid of icons" and I would like to change the default view to "View items as a list".

So far I haven't seen any way to change this. Any help; would be appreciated.

Swarfendor437

Thu Apr 14, 2016 12:10:17 pm

Had to wait till I got to work to check this - can't see a way to do this - try and install Thunar File manager and use that instead of Nautilus - but DON'T remove Nautilus as it is an essential part of the system. :) :D

Another option might be Nemo but not sure how well that works:

https://websetnet.com/install-nemo-file ... y-desktop/

parker.hugh

Thu Apr 14, 2016 10:19:21 pm

Swarfendor437 wrote:Had to wait till I got to work to check this - can't see a way to do this - try and install Thunar File manager and use that instead of Nautilus - but DON'T remove Nautilus as it is an essential part of the system. :) :D

Another option might be Nemo but not sure how well that works:

https://websetnet.com/install-nemo-file ... y-desktop/

Thanks for the feedback, I had a look online and looks like Thunar is default file manager for Xubuntu. So would that fit ok with Zorin OS 11, is that a similar type of desktop?

Swarfendor437

Fri Apr 15, 2016 11:56:28 am

xubuntu uses xfce - the last time I installed Thunar was in Zorin 6 and had no conflicts - it just adds another manager - I am not sure about that Unity one called Nemo but it is supposed to be based on Cinammon - I have successfully installed Cinammon DE on Zorin 9 32-bit Ultimate which is what I use at home - I am eagerly awaiting Zorin 12, the next LTS which I hope will be out in Summer. ;) :D

parker.hugh

Fri Apr 15, 2016 11:59:52 pm

Swarfendor437 wrote:xubuntu uses xfce - the last time I installed Thunar was in Zorin 6 and had no conflicts - it just adds another manager - I am not sure about that Unity one called Nemo but it is supposed to be based on Cinammon - I have successfully installed Cinammon DE on Zorin 9 32-bit Ultimate which is what I use at home - I am eagerly awaiting Zorin 12, the next LTS which I hope will be out in Summer. ;) :D

Thanks again for your feedback. I think I will install Thunar and see how it goes, it's good to know you had no conflicts, I will update this post with results.

You mentioned Zorin 12 is coming, do you know if there is a date for this new release?

Swarfendor437

Sat Apr 16, 2016 2:17:48 pm

I don't know of a set date but when the last Ubuntu LTS release was maed (12.04 = April 2012 and =Zorin 6) it came out in the summer months - that is all I can say - I am not privvy to release dates until the brothers Zorin PM me.
The current LTS of Ubuntu is 16.04 - you must appreciate that forks of main distributions usually take weeks, sometimes months, to ensure that you the end user get a great experience - that can not always be guaranteed with development releases, whether it be Ubuntu or other forks of it. ;) :D

parker.hugh

Mon Apr 18, 2016 11:00:02 am

Swarfendor437 wrote:xubuntu uses xfce - the last time I installed Thunar was in Zorin 6 and had no conflicts - it just adds another manager - I am not sure about that Unity one called Nemo but it is supposed to be based on Cinammon - I have successfully installed Cinammon DE on Zorin 9 32-bit Ultimate which is what I use at home - I am eagerly awaiting Zorin 12, the next LTS which I hope will be out in Summer. ;) :D

I was thinking about what you said earlier, and I am a bit hesitant to install Thunar in case it breaks anything. It's running well right now and the only thing I don't like is changing the file manager view to "View items as a list" every time I open file manager, but it's only one click so not a big deal.

The main reason I am hesitant is I read online that installing a second file manager is not recommended....
https://sites.google.com/site/easylinux ... almistakes
here is the section I was reading....
Don't install a second full-blown file manager
5.1. Related to the "don't mix desktop environments" issue: it's not advisable to install a full-blown second file manager. It's best to stick to the file manager that comes by default with your desktop environment.

The reason is, that full-blown file managers are deeply interwoven with the desktop environment for which they were designed. That means that they can cause problems after installation in a "foreign" desktop environment: they simply engrain themselves too deeply in that "foreign" desktop and tend to clash sometimes with its primary file manager.

Exceptions are stand-alone simple file managers like GNOME Commander and Midnight Commander. They don't interweave themselves with the desktop environment at all, and only do their primary limited task: basic file management.

I notice it mentions GNOME Commander and Midnight Commander as an option to install. Would either of these be OK? If not I'll just leave it alone.

Swarfendor437

Mon Apr 18, 2016 11:57:39 am

I can't see there being an issue - I know Wolfman warned about Thunar being based on xfce DE but I did not have issues in Zorin 6. I have installed Zorin 9 on a number of occasions and think I did install Thunar at one point but can't be sure - better to be safe than sorry! Not sure if Midnight Commander has to be paid for - pretty sure there was one for the Amiga of the same name (midnight commander) but had to be purchased? Take a look in software centre for File Managers and see what comes up. ;) :D

parker.hugh

Mon Apr 18, 2016 2:09:56 pm

Swarfendor437 wrote:I can't see there being an issue - I know Wolfman warned about Thunar being based on xfce DE but I did not have issues in Zorin 6. I have installed Zorin 9 on a number of occasions and think I did install Thunar at one point but can't be sure - better to be safe than sorry! Not sure if Midnight Commander has to be paid for - pretty sure there was one for the Amiga of the same name (midnight commander) but had to be purchased? Take a look in software centre for File Managers and see what comes up. ;) :D

Thanks again for the advice and support. I do have an old laptop (circa 2008) which has Zorin 9 on it, and I was going to try it on that first, but it's Zorin 9 LITE. It has LXDE desktop and file manager PCManFM, compared to my new laptop which has Unity desktop and I think it's file manager is Nautilus, so they are different.

I think I might try Midnight Commander to see how that works for me.

Swarfendor437

Tue Apr 19, 2016 12:05:46 pm

Keep us posted! ;) :D

MBMz10

Wed May 11, 2016 4:08:43 pm

This works for the Ultimate version of both Zorin 10 and 11, not sure about core versions. Hope this gets changed in OS 12.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=11301

Also found this:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11756
About the third post down the page is some code for the terminal, I haven't used it myself.

Swarfendor437

Wed May 11, 2016 9:26:47 pm

MBMz10 wrote:This works for the Ultimate version of both Zorin 10 and 11, not sure about core versions. Hope this gets changed in OS 12.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=11301

Also found this:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11756
About the third post down the page is some code for the terminal, I haven't used it myself.


Thanks for contributing MBMz10! ;) :D