Nautilus windows enable you to display and manage your files and folders. Figure 7.1 shows a Nautilus window that displays the contents of a folder.
Table 7.1 describes the components of Nautilus windows.
Table 7.1. Nautilus Window Components
Component | Description |
|---|---|
Menubar | Contains menus that you use to perform tasks in Nautilus. |
Toolbar | Contains buttons that you use to perform tasks in Nautilus. |
Location bar | Contains the following elements:
|
Side pane | Performs the following functions:
The side pane contains a drop-down list that enables you to choose what to display in the side pane. You can choose from the following options:
|
View pane | Displays the contents of the following:
|
Resize handle | Grab this handle, then drag to resize the side pane and the view pane. |
Statusbar | Displays status information. |
You can also open a popup menu from Nautilus windows. To open this popup menu right-click in a Nautilus window. The items in this menu depend on where you right-click. For example, when you right-click on a file or folder, you can choose items related to the file or folder. When you right-click on the background of a view pane, you can choose items related to the display of items in the view pane.
The view pane can display the contents of the following:
Particular types of files
Folders
FTP sites
Nautilus contains viewer components that enable you to display particular types of file in the view pane. For example, you can use an image viewer to display Portable Network Graphics (PNG) files in the view pane. The following figure shows a PNG file displayed in the view pane.
Displaying a file in the view pane provides the following benefits:
Uses less system resources than when you launch an application.
Takes less time than when you launch an application.
However, you cannot edit a file in the view pane.
Nautilus also includes views that enable you to display the contents of your folders in different ways. For example, you can display the contents of a folder in the following types of view:
Icon view: Displays the items in the folder as icons.
List view: Displays the items in the folder as a list.
Use the View menu to choose how to display a folder. For more information on views, see Using Views to Display Your Files and Folders.
You can choose what information you want to view in the side pane. You can choose to display one of the following:
Information
Displays an icon that represents the current file or current folder. Also displays information about the current file or current folder. If a file is displayed in the view pane, buttons appear in the side pane. The buttons enable you to perform actions on a file, other than the default action.
Emblems
Contains emblems that you can add to a file or folder. For more information on emblems, see the next section.
History
Contains a history list of files, folders, and FTP sites that you have recently visited.
Notes
Enables you to add notes to your folders.
Tree
Displays a hierarchical representation of your file system. You can use the Tree to navigate through your files.
To close the side pane, click on the X button at the top right of the side pane.
In icon view, Nautilus displays your files and folders as icons. You can add emblems to your file icons and folder icons. An emblem is a small icon that you can add to an item to visually mark the item. For example, to mark a file as important, you can add an Important emblem to the file icon to create the following visual effect:
For more information on how to add an emblem to an icon, see To Add an Emblem to a File or Folder.
The following table describes the structure of the file icon:
Component | Description |
|---|---|
 | Emblem. This emblem is the Important emblem. |
 | Icon that represents the file. This icon contains a preview of the contents of the file. |
 | Icon caption. You can modify what items of information are displayed in the icon caption. |
Nautilus includes default emblems for the following types of item:
Symbolic links
Items for which you have the following permissions:
Read permission only
No read permission and no write permission
The default emblems change depending on your theme. The following table shows the default emblems for the Default theme.
Default Emblem | Description |
|---|---|
 | Symbolic link |
 | Read permission only |
 | No read permission and no write permission |