To open a program, let us say a text editor, go the big K at the bottom left corner of the screen. Click the left button of the mouse, go to "Editors" and choose an editor, any editor. You also can get documentation on Linux. Go the big K at the bottom left corner of the screen. Click the left button of the mouse, go to documentation and choose the documentation you want. You also can get information on different commands using the command "man" from a console. To get information in the command "ln", type "man ln".
In an Linux, you will have several files and several directories. The files contain information themselves. Files can have different format. Every directory can have several files and directories. This process continues forever in a tree like structure. You can manage your directories and folders from either a (terminal window) Konsole or Konqueror. To open a (terminal window) Konsole and Konqueror, you click in their respective icons.
The icon from terminal window (Konsole) is:
The icon for Konqueror looks like a folder with a small house on the left.You can use the following commands from a terminal window:
- ls
- Lists all files and subdirectories, except for those that begin with a period, such as .links files.
- ls -al
- Lists all files and subdirectories (including those that begin with a period), with owners and sizes.
- pwd
- Shows you what directory you are in currently, your working directory.
- cd dirname
- Connects to the directory named dirname.
- cd ..
- Connects to the directory one level up from the current directory.
- cd ../..
- Connects to the directory two levels up from the current directory.
- cd
- Connects to your login directory.
- mkdir dirname
- Creates a subdirectory named dirname in the current directory.
- rmdir dirname
- Removes the subdirectory named dirname from the current directory. Assuming that this directory is empty.
- mv dir1 dir2
- Moves (renames) the subdirectory (and its contents) named dir1 to dir2.
- more filename
- Displays the file named filename one screen at a time.
- less filename
- less is a program similar to more
- cat filename
- Displays the file named filename all at once.
- emacs filename
- Edit the file named filename using the emacs editor.
- ghostview filename.ps
- Show the postcript file named filename.ps.
- lpr -Pprintername filename
- Print the the file named filename in the printer named printername.
- lpq -Pprintername
- Write the queue in in the printer named printername.
- divps -Pprintername filename.ps
- Print the postcript file named filename.ps in the printer named printername.
- cp file1 file2
- Makes a copy of the file named file1 and names the copy file2.
- mv file1 file2
- If the name file2 has not been used before, moves (renames) the file named file1 to file2.
- mv file1 dir2
- If there exists a directory called dir2, moves (renames) the file named file1 to the directory dir2.
- rm filename
- Removes the file named filename.