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Side-by-side panels

If you have used an orthodox file managers before, you should be in the well charted waters.

Most of the time the interface consists of two panels with file listings in each. Each panel can be navigated individually. Having two distinct panels is practical for operations that require different source and destination locations (e.g., for copying and moving files).

To switch between panels use Tab.

You can change the type of one of the panels (e.g., to preview the files selected in the other panel, etc.). See “Panel types” below for more information.

File system navigation

  • j/k and up/down: navigate the list up and down one entry at a time
  • g: navigate to the top of the list
  • G: navigate to the bottom of the list
  • Ctrl+f/Ctrl+b, Ctrl+d/Ctrl+u, Page Up/Page Down: paginate the list
  • Enter: enter the directory or run the default program associated with a file type under cursor
  • Backspace (or Enter on the ..): navigate up in a directory tree
  • b: go to a bookmarked location (see also “Bookmarks configuration” below)
  • Ctrl+g: enter a path to jump to
  • /: incremental fuzzy search in the list
  • R: refresh the file listing
  • o: open the current location in the default OS file manager

Incremental search in the file list

Type / to start a quick incremental search. A search line is shown at the bottom of the active file list. Hit Esc or Enter to exit the incremental search.

When in the incremental search, type a name - the cursor will move to the best matching file or directory as you type.

The matching is fuzzy. For example, rdm may match README.md, provided that there is no better match in the same list.

Panel types

F2 Commander comes with these panel types:

  • Files: default panel type, for file system discovery and manipulation
  • Preview: shows excerpts of the text files selected in the (Files) other panel, with syntax highlighting where possible
  • Help: also invoked with ? binding, a built-in user manual

Use Ctrl+e and Ctrl+r to change the type of the panel on the left and right respectively.