Selecting Files and Folders
You can select files and folders in several ways in the file manager. Typically this is achieved by clicking on the files using the mouse, as explained in Table 6-5. In addition Section 6.6.3.1 ― Selecting Files Matching a Specific Pattern describes how to select a group of files matching a specific pattern.
| Task | Action |
|---|---|
| Select an item | Click on the item. |
| Select a group of contiguous items |
In icon view, drag around the files that you want to select. In list view, click on the first item in the group. Press-and-hold Shift, then click on the last item in the group. |
| Select multiple items |
Press-and-hold Ctrl. Click on the items that you want to select. Alternatively, press-and-hold Ctrl, then drag around the files that you want to select. |
| Select all items in a folder | Choose . |
To perform the default action on an item, double-click on the item. You can set your file manager preferences so that you click once on a file to execute the default action. For more information, see Section 6.12.2 ― Behavior Preferences.
6.6.3.1. Selecting Files Matching a Specific Pattern
Nautilus allows you to select all files matching a pattern based upon their filename and an optional number of wildcards. This can be useful if, for example, you wish to select all files which contain the phrase "memo" in their filename. Table 6-6 gives some examples of possible patterns and the resulting files they would match.
| Pattern | Files Matched |
|---|---|
| note.* | This pattern would match files called note, with any extension. |
| *.ogg | This pattern would match all files with the .ogg extension |
| *memo* | This pattern would match all files or folders whose name contains the word memo. |
To perform the Select Pattern command Choose from the menu. After entering the desired pattern you are left with those files or folders which matched the pattern selected. You may then do with the selected files or folders what you choose.