Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Wildcards and Multifile Selection
In a graphical interface, you can select multiple fi les and/or folders before acting on them,
so you don't have to act on each one individually.
Items can either be
contiguous
(next to each other in the fi le listing) or
noncontiguous
(not next to each other). To make a contiguous selection, click the fi rst fi le or folder in
the group and then hold down Shift as you click the last one. To make a noncontiguous
selection, hold down Ctrl (on a PC) or Command (on a Mac) as you click individually on
each item to include.
At a command prompt, you can use
wildcards
to specify a group of fi les or folders
based on their names. Use a question mark
?
for individual characters and an asterisk
*
for
multiple characters. For example, to select all documents that begin with
W
and have a
.doc
extension, use
W*.doc
. To select all documents that are fi ve characters in length where the
fi rst two characters are
Wi
, use
Wi???.doc
.
Shortcuts
A
shortcut
is a pointer to a fi le. Shortcut is the Windows term. In Mac OS, they're called
aliases, whereas in Linux they're known as links, or symbolic links. You can place a
shortcut anywhere that you want quick access to a fi le, a folder, or an application, such
as on the desktop. The original remains in its original location. The shortcut isn't a copy
of the actual fi le; it's just a pointer on a map that tells the OS how to get to the fi le. Most
shortcuts can be distinguished from regular fi les because they have an arrow in their lower-
left corner, as shown in Figure 5.11.
FIGURE 5.11
Shortcut icon
You can create a shortcut in Windows by holding down the Alt key as you drag a fi le or
folder, or by right-dragging and then choosing Create Shortcut(s) Here from the menu that
appears. In Mac OS X, right-click or Ctrl-click a fi le or folder, and then choose Make Alias.
EXERCISE 5.9
Copy a File in Windows
1.
Choose Start Documents, and locate a document fi le.
2.
Select the fi le, and press Ctrl+C to copy it.
