Create Links on Desktop you can delete or edit w/ impunity!
Posted: Tue 11 Aug 2009, 16:21
The ability to access files, folders and programs from the desktop is one of the most useful features of any graphical user interface.
There are two ways to place items on the desktop but the ramifications of them may not be readily apparent. The easiest method is to open ROX-Filer and drag files or folders from there onto the desktop. If you decide later to remove the item you have two possibilities: You can right click on it and choose Remove Item(s) or Send To Trash. If you select Remove Item(s) only the icon will be removed from the desktop. If you select Send To Trash the icon will be removed from the desktop and the file or folder it represents will be moved to the Trash directory.
The other way to place items on the desktop is to create a symbolic link to a file or folder. This involves more effort than the previous method but the advantages will soon be apparent.
First, open the my-documents folder in ROX-Filer. Right click in the ROX-Filer window and create a new folder. You may give this folder any name you like but I prefer to name it Desktop_Shortcuts_XX and replace xx after the underscore with my first and last initials. TIP: I like to append my initials to backups of system files I’ve modified too. This makes them easier to find with Pfind.
Now drag Desktop_Shortcuts_XX onto the desktop. From this point on every time you want to create a desktop shortcut just open a ROX-Filer window, drag the file or folder onto the Desktop_Shortcuts_XX icon and select Link (relative). Then open the Desktop_Shortcuts_XX folder and drag the new symbolic link onto the desktop.
The only caveat to creating symbolic links with this process is if you delete the Desktop_Shortcuts_XX folder all of the shortcuts you created will be deleted and the links you put on the desktop will cease to function. Even if you did delete Desktop_Shortcuts_XX all you’d have to do is repeat the procedure I’ve described here.
Symbolic links are nothing more than pointers to a file or folder therefore you may take any action you please with them without fear of disturbing the item they point to. You can even modify their behavior by editing them to pass arguments to the executable file they represent.
Note: Symbolic links (aka sym links) are identified by a small arrow in the upper left hand corner of the icon.
Note: The default desktop icons are not sym links. If you send them to the trash you will be unable to run the program.
Note: Puppy 4.2.1 comes with a panel fully stocked with sym links ready for use on the desktop. You may, if you like, click on them and see what they do before dragging them to the desktop.
Note: If you right click an item in ROX-Filer there are options to Delete the file or folder and Send To Trash. The option to Remove Item(s) only applies to items on the desktop.
If this doesn’t make sense to you just think about how you use to do this in Windows: Right click on a file or folder then select Send To, Desktop (create shortcut).
Your comments and questions are welcome. Hopefully I didn’t put anyone to sleep.
There are two ways to place items on the desktop but the ramifications of them may not be readily apparent. The easiest method is to open ROX-Filer and drag files or folders from there onto the desktop. If you decide later to remove the item you have two possibilities: You can right click on it and choose Remove Item(s) or Send To Trash. If you select Remove Item(s) only the icon will be removed from the desktop. If you select Send To Trash the icon will be removed from the desktop and the file or folder it represents will be moved to the Trash directory.
The other way to place items on the desktop is to create a symbolic link to a file or folder. This involves more effort than the previous method but the advantages will soon be apparent.
First, open the my-documents folder in ROX-Filer. Right click in the ROX-Filer window and create a new folder. You may give this folder any name you like but I prefer to name it Desktop_Shortcuts_XX and replace xx after the underscore with my first and last initials. TIP: I like to append my initials to backups of system files I’ve modified too. This makes them easier to find with Pfind.
Now drag Desktop_Shortcuts_XX onto the desktop. From this point on every time you want to create a desktop shortcut just open a ROX-Filer window, drag the file or folder onto the Desktop_Shortcuts_XX icon and select Link (relative). Then open the Desktop_Shortcuts_XX folder and drag the new symbolic link onto the desktop.
The only caveat to creating symbolic links with this process is if you delete the Desktop_Shortcuts_XX folder all of the shortcuts you created will be deleted and the links you put on the desktop will cease to function. Even if you did delete Desktop_Shortcuts_XX all you’d have to do is repeat the procedure I’ve described here.
Symbolic links are nothing more than pointers to a file or folder therefore you may take any action you please with them without fear of disturbing the item they point to. You can even modify their behavior by editing them to pass arguments to the executable file they represent.
Note: Symbolic links (aka sym links) are identified by a small arrow in the upper left hand corner of the icon.
Note: The default desktop icons are not sym links. If you send them to the trash you will be unable to run the program.
Note: Puppy 4.2.1 comes with a panel fully stocked with sym links ready for use on the desktop. You may, if you like, click on them and see what they do before dragging them to the desktop.
Note: If you right click an item in ROX-Filer there are options to Delete the file or folder and Send To Trash. The option to Remove Item(s) only applies to items on the desktop.
If this doesn’t make sense to you just think about how you use to do this in Windows: Right click on a file or folder then select Send To, Desktop (create shortcut).
Your comments and questions are welcome. Hopefully I didn’t put anyone to sleep.