Part 2: Things a new Linux user should learn

I have been using Linux a long time and using a Linux desktop is absolutely second nature. Here is a compilation of tips that you can try or tools you can use. Some of them are for the novice, some are for the experts (I knew you could not resist even though the title is for new to Linux), but hopefully, you get something out of this.

1) All: Auto Clipboard. Try this. Start to compose an email. Use your left mouse to highlight this paragraph, or paragraphs or this entire page. Put your cursor back into the compose email. Click your left and right buttons at the same time. Keyboardless copy/paste. With Firefox/Thunderbird, even the HTML tables and format codes get copied automatically. Play around with this.

2) All: Multiple Desktops. If you are new to Linux, you may still be working in the single desktop mode where you have 8 applications open, but all on the same page. Multiple desktops can be thought of this way. If you have 4 desktops, you have 4 computer monitors you can use. You can ONLY see one of them at a time, but you flip between monitors. This way, OpenOffice is open on one desktop, Thunderbird and Firefox on another desktop. Your CD probably has an "Introduction to the Linux desktop". I know, we all hate reading the basics, but I highly recommend it.

3) All: You are having problems with your system. Let's say, for example, you plug that USB drive in and it doesn't seem to do anything. In general, all messages (good, bad and indifferent) are being written to /var/log/messages. In Suse 9.2, I have to be root to be able to see that file, and I don't know about others. Anyway, you can FileManager-->Super User Mode, then navigate to /var/log and look at messages, you can open a console window "su - root" and then "more /var/log/messages" or to watch it in "real time" as you plug the USB drive in "tail -f /var/log/messages". With tip #1, you can post quickly to that online support forum.

4) Advanced User: Expect and AutoExpect. Imagine you have 300 commands you need to run, ranging from FTP to SSH to copy file, to whatever. Wouldn't it be great to be able to use a program to record everything you type, then script it up automatically and be able to run it? That is what expect does. Using autoexpect, which creates the script, you teach your computer what to "expect". If you type cd /etc, and get /etc prompt, autoexpect is recording it, and when you run it, it will dutifully enter "cd /etc" and once it gets the prompt it expects, will enter the next command it recorded. This is more for the experienced users, but I have used this to create expect scripts that ssh to a remote machine, starts DXPC, exit, spawn another terminal with ssh redirection to grab the DXPC port and redirect it to my local machine, ssh to a third machine, point it to the machine running DXPC, start a process and after all that, the gui, running on the third machine fed through to the DXPC machine is arriving on my local screen after going through the SSH redirection. All this now happens with the click of an icon on my desktop.

5) Advanced User: DXPC A little know utility, but essential for anyone doing remote UNIX/LINUX support over dialup (as I do most every day). When you don't need the security of SSH (like a direct dialup link to a remote site), and need max compression to get that remote GUI locally, Differential X Compression is something you should look at. Again, for the more experienced Linux user.

6)All: Knowing which application does what is sometimes hard. If it isn't in the Start menu, how do you know gFTP is a fantastic FTP Client? It may be installed, it might still be on your CD, but knowing the name is key. Here is a link I relied on a lot, and can point you in the right direction. Linux Native Replacements to Windows Programs

7) All: Autocomplete. OK, you have opened the console to do your thing. Linux bash (most likely your command tool environment) will complete typing for you. Suppose you want to rename ThisIsMyFirstSavedFile.txt to ThisIsMyFirstSavedFile.txt_orig. If you enter the first few letters "Thi" then press tab (or esc twice, UNIX convention) it will finish typing the whole word. If you have another file called ThisIsMySecondSavedFile.txt in the same directory, it will type as far as it can ("ThisIsMy") then beep. Hit tab again, it will list all the possibilities. Once you get good with this, you will wonder how you ever got along without it.

8) All: command History. You are still working in the command line, and you have to enter the command "cp ThisIsMyFirstSavedFile.txt ThisIsMyFirstSavedFile.txt_orig" again. What a pain. Wait, press the up arrow. Each time you press up, the previous command in the history shows up.

9) All: man is your friend. No, not the guy next to you, but man pages. Virtually all command line commands have a man page (manual page). "man cp", "man tail", "man [command]" which will give you syntax and option information. An easier way to read man pages, that I find is simple "man [command]" in google. Someone has posted the man page in HTML format.

10) All: Pico and/or Nano. One or both of these is likely installed, or is on your cd to be installed. These are console text editors. In many help forums, you may have someone tell you to "vi/vim the file and change 45 to 46 on line 200". vi/vim are great, incredibly powerful and completely counterintuitive (until you learn it, then usage is obvious) command line editor. Anywhere you want/need to edit a file in a command tool (as opposed to kwrite, gedit, or any other GUI based editors that you can also use), pico or nano is your tool. Then learn vi/vim to impress your friends.

There are many other tips, but these are ones that in my experiences, help the most.