OneFinger - screenshots

OneFinger in MIME mode

The main window looks very different from traditional apps: it has a toolbar above, and below it are three "panels":

• the "file browser" panel, to the left, which shows the current directory. Here is how it works:
  • If you click a file, it becomes selected. The effect of selecting one or more files is that the program panel (in the middle) is narrowed down to show only those programs and actions that make sense with the selected files:

    

    This is roughly similar to right-clicking a file in konqueror, which brings up a context-sensitive menu. The differences are: the program panel is searchable, sortable and scrollable. It is also easier to click and more discoverable than an ordinary context-sensitive menu.

  • If you click the "door" icon beside a directory, you enter that directory, meaning that its contents will appear in the file panel, replacing the old one. (Please note: to get back to the parent directory you must use the history panel - see below)
  • An important feature of the file panel is that it can group the most recently (or frequently) used files on top. This improves your navigation speed a lot, because statistically we tend to use only a fraction of the files in each directory.
• the "history" panel, to the right. This panel is the most versatile one: it can assume many possible "configurations". It can become:
  • a list of recently used files from any directory (this is like the "recent documents" applet in KDE, with a difference: its items are "first-class citizens", i.e. they can not only be viewed with the default viewer, but acted upon in any way: copied, dragged, deleted, etc.). This way, the important files are always at hand. Furthemore, the files needn't have been opened in OneFinger: OneFinger knows the files you opened from any KDE application.
  • a list of recently visited (or used) directories (each of these directories is once again a "first-class citizen", so it can be acted upon in any way, or entered by clicking the door icon. Incidentally, this is the only way to go to a parent directory. People usually don't realize that immediately. This way, the important locations are always at hand;
  • a list of favorite files or directories;
  • a list of arguments (files and directories) used with a given program;
  • a combination of all the above things,
  and more. All these configurations are useful in different situations.
• the "programs" panel. It contains programs and "actions" (actions are innate capabilities of OneFinger, like cut, paste, delete, drag etc.). Here is how it works:
  • if you click the name of a program/action, it is executed (with the currently selected files as arguments);
  • if you click the arrow button beside a program, the history panel is narrowed to show only those arguments used with that program:

    

The window list

In the following screenshot you can see a new component: the "OneFinger window-list". This appears when you execute the action "Drag to other window". As described in the home page, this window makes it easy to drag to a window you do not currently see.

Note for KDE users

In addition to dragging, you can also use the window-list to switch between windows, in place of the taskbar, but:

• You need KDE.
• You have to install the "OneFinger kicker applet", which is a separate module of OneFinger.

After you installed the kicker applet and removed the KDE taskbar, your desktop will look like this (notice the kicker applet on top of the screen):

Now, the window-list will appear when you click (or drag to) the kicker applet, thus making the taskbar useless (in the picture, I left the taskbar active, to the bottom of the screen).

If you decide to use the OneFinger window-list in place of the KDE taskbar, you get some advantages:

• it sorts the windows by recent usage (like ALT+TAB). This fact:
  • minimizes (asymptotically) the amount of searching you have to do;
  • allows you to keep many window open, and still to quickly find (on average) the window you need. This makes the KDE pager superfluous in many cases;
  • is especially suited for continuously switching between two or three windows - a task that is frequent but terribly difficult with the kicker taskbar;
  • automatically brings "utility windows" on top when you click their "parent" window; this is a feature the KDE taskbar does not yet have, and which is very useful with multiwindow programs like The Gimp: imagine clicking a picture window and having the other Gimp tool windows go on top as well.
• it allows you to select a window by reading the whole window title; no more truncated names;

(Here ends the note for KDE users.)

OneFinger in shell mode

Here is how KDE looks when OneFinger is in shell mode:

Notice the addition of a "command area", below the toolbar, which will contain the shell command you need to compose. Also, many new buttons have appeared.

The behavior of the three panels changes slightly in shell mode:

• the "file browser" panel, to the left, still shows the current directory. Here are the differences:
  • if you click a file name, this time it is copied to the command area, which is useful because you are ultimately composing a CLI command;
  • This time to select files and directories you have to click the "+" icon beside them: if you select one or more files this way, the programs will be narrowed to only those programs that make sense with the selected files.
  • you can still enter directories by clicking the "door" icon beside them;
• the history panel, this time, does not only contain files and directories, but also "options" (such as -vo, --human-readable, etc.)
• the programs panel also changed a bit: by clicking the program name, you insert it in the command area.

You have to press the "execute" button when you have finished composing the command. You can choose to execute in a terminal if you want.