5.3 The File Selector

The file selector is a dialog used to select a file. Under Windows, the default is to use the standard file selection widget. Under other platforms, the file selector is a built-in dialog:

This dialog provides the following areas and capabilities:

• A tool bar on the top composed of five buttons giving access to common navigation features:

  left arrow

  go back in the list of directories visited
  

  right arrow

  go forward
  

  up arrow

  go to parent directory
  

  refresh

  refresh the contents of the directory
  

  home

  go to home directory (value of the HOME environment variable, or / if not defined)

• A list with the current directory and the last directories explored. You can modify the current directory by modifying the text entry and hitting <Enter>, or by clicking on the right arrow and choose a previous directory in the pop down list displayed.
• A directory tree. You can open or close directories by clicking on the + and - icons on the left of the directories, or navigate using the keyboard keys: <up> and <down> to select the previous or the next directory, <+> and <-> to expand and collapse the current directory, and <backspace> to select the parent directory.
• A file list. This area lists the files contained in the selected directory. If a filter is selected in the filter area, only the relevant files for the given filter are displayed. Depending on the context, the list of files may include additional information about the files, e.g. the kind of a file, its size, etc...
• A filter area. Depending on the context, one or several filters are available to select only a subset of files to display. The filter All files which is always available will display all files in the directory selected.
• A file name area. This area will display the name of the current file selected, if any. You can also type a file or directory name directly, and complete the name automatically by using the <Tab> key.
• A button bar with the OK and Cancel buttons. When you have selected the right file, clock on OK to confirm, or click on Cancel at any time to cancel and close the file selection.