Can I get a Finder-like GUI in X11 0.2?

[wheat]

Because of the ease of installing Apple X11 and OpenOffice.org, I'm using Unix for the first time.

I would prefer a graphical interface for everything.

But the Jaguar Finder doesn't show Unix directories, and doesn't give me a way to modify Unix files.

Can I do what I need to do if I simply install an OS X haxie that displays all invisible files in the Jaguar Finder? Will this let me find and edit the Unix directories (/usr, etc.)?

It would seem like overkill for me to get KDE or Gnome working under X11 just to be able to browse the file hierarchy in a graphical interface.

Any suggestions?

[pink]

The easiest way is to install TinkerTool (http://versiontracker.com/moreinfo.fcgi?id=11967&db=mac)
It offers an option to make all files visible. If you can modify them depends on their permissions, of course.
However: you are new to this all, so I strongly discourage you from doing this. It is very easy to mess it all up (the people at Apple know why they kept parts of the system hidden..). If you really think you have to learn by doing, set up an account without administrator rights and log into this one.

cheers, pink

[wheat]

I'll take your advice, Pink.

I'm probably never going much deeper than using OpenOffice.org and maybe GIMP, but I would like to have a look around and see what's in there, as long as I don't move or modify anything.

[ynolo]

a unix/linux gui, Midnight Commander.

[wheat]

Hey, I'm an absolute newbie. Never used a command line for anything. So how can I get Midnight Commander to work with Apple X11?

[Russ R.]

You can also use Path Finder - a cocoa Finder alternative. It has options to show all invisible files and to show packages as folders, so you can easily view contents. I just launch Path Finder when I want that functionality. That way, the Mac Finder is unaltered (by TinkerTool or whatever).

[pink]

if you just want to look up some things in hidden folders sometimes, there is still an easier way:
Finder->Go->Go to Folder
there type in the path to the hidden folder, press enter. A Finder window opens which contains the folder you adressed. From now on you can move normally. Try with /usr and you'll see.
There are 2 drawbacks: i) you have to know the folder you want to look at ii) you can only make one hidden folder visible at a time (but you can have several of them in one finder window).

cheers, pink

[brmic]

i got these aliases set in my .cshrc:
alias show 'defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE'
alias hide 'defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE'
alias fpid 'ps -axcl | grep Finder'

the last one is for getting the process ID (PID) of the finder, which is then relaunched by:
kill -1 PID
for the changes to take effect.
i'm sure the real unix experts know an even simpler solution, but this works for me.
(you can of course quit and relauch the finder from the GUI as well)