Unix Command Line - Navigator command

[gids.rs@sasktel.net]

The navigator is not a file selector, but a quick way to change the prefix or view a directories contents.

I disliked (hate is such a strong word) typing "PREFIX" and then "CATALOG" to give me a quick reminder of the files I have stored in each directory.  Now I just type "NAV", and walla.  now one can quickly navigate and pop in and out of  directories with the arrow keys.  The display takes after Windows Explorer with only a tree of directories on the left side and the rest of the files on the right that looks something like this.

 HD Volumes			BLKS  TYP  FILENAME  ENDFILE  AUXTYPE
 HD /Mydisk/
DIR |- folder1
DIR | | - folder 1.1
DIR | | | - folder 1.1.1
DIR | | | - folder 1.1.2
DIR | | | - folder 1.1.3


HD and DIR are mousetext representations of their name.  The navigator is visually pleasing, the navigation super easy, and a simple press of the ESC key drops you back to the applesoft prompt with the directory you have selected.  To make navigation faster, the files are only viewed when open-apple-right-arrow is pressed.  And scrolling of the files is done with open-apple-up/down-arrows.

Although there are some good file selector programs out there, I needed something fast, written totally in ML, that only displayed folders (with displaying files as an option), and that did not disable Basic.system and allowed me to return to the applesoft prompt or return to an applesoft program.  

Now, navigating is as much fun as using the Finder and a lot quicker, too.   And it's compatible with basic.system and can be used in an applesoft program.


All one really needs is an 8 bit computer with 24 bit registers to perform wonders.

Rob