### Panels

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Panels
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Extensions
User Menu
Hot Keys

X Northern Captain has two panels. Each panel is a window with directory listing assigned to it. At the top of the panel located VFS directory header. This header shows path to directory that contents is displayed in the window.

- If this is normal disk file system (DFS) then header show full path from '/' directory.
Example: /usr/local/bin
- If we are inside archive (AFS) then header shows name of the archive support, name of the archive itself, and path relative to the top of the archive.
Example: TARGZ[test.tar.gz]./docs
- If you are browsing ftp site, then header displays the name of the ftp site with port number connected and the full path inside the site.
Example: ftp://xnc.dubna.su:21/pub/xnc

There is a directory listing under the header. Files are displayed with color highlighting that depends on file type:

- Directory - file is a directory and you can dive into it.
- Link - file is a symbolic link to another one.
- Normal file - just ordinar file without any associations.
- Executive file - file has execute attribute and can be run.
- Association (extension) file - file was previously associated with some program and can be run with it.
- Archive file - file is an archive with known type and can be opened for operations.
- Image file - file is known image format and can be viewed by internal image viewer.

The listing itself can be organized in different ways:

- Display files in 1-4 columns.
- Configurable display modes (Options/Configuration/Modes)

- Brief - display only file names
- Full - display file name, size, attributes, date, owner and group
- Custom - your own set of fields to display

- Different sorting methods in direct and reverse orders:

- By file name
- By file extension and then by file name
- By file size and then by file name
- By date/time of file and then by file name

Mouse action can be activated on each file of the listing, you can select, drag and drop files or see context menu that shows useful file operations.

There is a status bar at the bottom of each panel. Status bar shows information about current file (file under cursor) or about set of selected files if files were selected on the panel. Status bar is also configurable via Options/Configuration/Prompt/View page and can display the same fields as the panel. Another feature of status bar is its ability to display magic file information when activating QuickFileInfo command or current file information even if some file are selected (the same action).

These two panels have three different orientations (layouts):

- Vertical layout. In this layout panels located in vetrical mode - we see right and left panels with identical y coordinates but different x one.
- Horizontal Layout. Panels located one over another (Top and Bottom panels).
- Page layout. Panels located as book or tab pages. You can see only one panel at a time and only header of another invisible panel. Invisible panel becomes visible and raise upon another one if you press on panel header you want to see or press SwitchPanels key.

You can change layout of the panels only from xncsetup program, not from xnc itself.

There is a transformation menu bar over the panels. Its behaviour depends on your actions. In normal mode it shows menu items for panel settins and commands. But if you one an ftp session then menu bar transform to ftp diagnostic button bar. Each button on this bar displays current state of the ftp connection. There are small led and three small buttons on it. The led lights red if your ftp session is busy and processing operation and green if it's ready for commands. The buttons assigned to actions of closing ftp session, displaying session state and the last one for turning on/off autoraise ftp while it ends a background operation.
You can change mode of the upper menu bar by pressing on '>' button in the left conner of it.

XNC ξονε xnc.dubna.su |

Author Leonid V. Khramov
leo@xnc.dubna.su
St-Petersburg
Russia
1995-2002