1.2. How to Access Folders

If you come from the Windows® world, you may be a bit disoriented at the beginning, but once you know how folders are organized, you will see how simple it is to find your usual folders, access removable media (CDs, DVDs, USB storage devices, etc.), and external resources.

1.2.1. Welcome Home!

Choose Tools+System ToolsDolphin File Manager from the main menu to open the folder containing your personal files.

Figure 1.3. Home Folder Content

Home Folder Content

These are some folders already present on your personal folder which you can use to better organize your data:

Documents

This is where all the documents you create are saved by default. It corresponds to the My Documents folder on a Windows® system.

Download

This is where the files you download from the Internet are stored. It corresponds to the My Downloads folder on a Windows® system.

Music

This is where your music is saved by default. It corresponds to the My Music folder on a Windows® system. Please refer to Section 4.1.1, “amaroK Audio Player” to learn about how to play music files.

Pictures

This is where pictures you download from your digital camera are saved. It corresponds to the My Pictures folder on a Windows® system.

Videos

This is where you can store all your videos. It corresponds to the My Videos folder on a Windows® system.

You can create, remove, and rename files and folders inside your personal (Home) folder.

1.2.2. Accessing Other Folders

 You can also browse the file system tree by opening the Root folder on the Places sidebar. These folders contain your system configuration settings and the installed programs, as well as other things. If you need to change the system's settings, use the Mandriva Linux Control Center (refer to Part 2, “Configuring and Tweaking Your Box” for more information).

1.2.3. Accessing Removable Media

Removable media is auto-detected on medium insertion, which makes accessing and managing CDs, DVDs and USB storage devices easy.

Figure 1.4. A CD Has Been Inserted

A CD Has Been Inserted

Just click to open the medium in the file manager. Click on the eject icon to eject the removable medium, it will not be available until you insert it again.

1.2.4. Accessing Remote Shares

You can easily access shared resources on remote systems on your network with the file manager. Here's how:

  1. Open your Home folder

  2.  Open Network on the Places sidebar.

  3. Open Samba Shares.

  4. Select a system whose content you want to view, and navigate down to the resource that interests you.

Figure 1.5. Accessing Remote Shares

Accessing Remote Shares

You can then access the files on the share as if they were located on your own system.