FAR Manager: nuances of using the program. FarRus Help Far in Russian

Far Manager is a free program for working with files (in other words, a file manager), which allows you to work both in windowed mode and with the command line. This “hybrid” file management allows not only advanced users, but also beginners to work with the program.

In order to install Far Manager, download the installer for free from the developer’s website in the downloads section. Far Manager has an official website - farmanager.com. If the version of the program you are using is lower than 2.0, it is advisable to register it, otherwise the functionality provided to the user will be limited. For example, the unlicensed version does not save Far settings, which is quite inconvenient. The Far Manager registration process is very simple and does not take much time. For residents of the former CIS and Russia, this procedure is free (up to version 1.61). You can register Far file manager by entering the command “far –r” in the console. In the window that appears, enter the following values: “xUSSR registration” and “name of the current day of the week.” Click “OK” and use the full version.

Far2.0 does not require registration, since from this version the program comes as open source. All functions are available by default.

How to work in Far Manager - basics

To decide how to work in Far Manager more conveniently, you need to consider both available options:

• Using a graphical (window) interface and menu.
• Using commands entered into the console.

Both options have their advantages and disadvantages, so both methods are most often used. Next, we'll take a closer look at both the GUI and the most commonly used commands entered into the command line.

The appearance of the program is quite simple - the main window is divided into 2 equal parts, which display files from the selected folder or disk. Below them is the command line and a list of commands called using the hot keys F1 – F12 and Alt+ F1 – F12.

The transition between panels is carried out with the Tab button. Using the arrows you can move through the list of files in the section. You can navigate through sections using the Enter key.

In order to view the result of executing commands entered into the Far Manager command line, you need to hide one or both panels. There are also hotkeys for this action: Ctrl+F1, Ctrl+F2 for the left and right panels, respectively. When pressed again, the panels will be displayed.

By default, the headlight manager menu language is English, but the program also supports the Russian version. To change the language, you need to call up the menu bar (by pressing F9 or LMB-clicking on the top of any of the panels). In the “Options” menu, select the “Languages” item and select Russian from the proposed list (main and help).

To change the directory in one of the panels, you can use the keyboard shortcut Alt+F1 for the left panel (or Alt+F2 for the right). Or you can simply left-click on the directory name in the current panel and select the “Change disk” sub-item from the “Left” or “Right” menu.

The main functions of any file manager are file system management. That is, creating, deleting and copying (moving) files and groups of files.

You can create a new file in Far Manager in the current directory by pressing Shift+F4. You will need to enter the name and extension of the new file:

Moving a file or group of files to another directory is done using the F5 (copy) and F6 (move) buttons. In order to perform these operations for a group of files, you need to mark them (Insert button on the keyboard). All marked files are highlighted in yellow.

Plugins in Far

There are additional routines that expand the range of Far-plugin capabilities. The most commonly used plugins in Far provide:

• Interaction with FTP and SFTP servers.
• Using regular expressions to match and replace characters (and groups of characters) in a file.
• Control of external devices connected to the PC (for example, printers).
• Highlighting syntax in program texts.
• Working with the Windows registry.
• Working with the basket.
• Renaming groups of files using templates.

In addition to plugins, there are a number of useful functions implemented by default in Far Manager; we will look at how to use some of them and how to call them in more detail.

Various modes for presenting information about files. There are 9 such modes in total. You can change the file system display mode in Far Manager using the CTRL+ key combination. Accordingly, there are only 9 available modes:

1. Brief. Part of the file name is shown (or the full name + extension if they add up to less than a certain number of characters).
2. Average. Most of the file name is shown (or the full name + extension if they add up to less than a certain number of characters).
3. Full. In addition to the name (if it fits) and extension (if it fits), the size of the file or folder is displayed, as well as the date and time of its creation or last modification.
4. Wide. The full file name and size are displayed.
5. Detailed. In addition to the name, information is displayed about the size, compression ratio, date of creation and last modification of the file, as well as the time of the last access to it and its attributes.
6. View descriptions. The name and short description of the file (if any) are shown.
7. View long descriptions. The name, size, and full description of the file (if any) are displayed.
8. View file owners. The file name, size, and owner are displayed.

Various file sorting modes in the panel. There are also only 9 of them; the keyboard shortcut in Far Manager to change the sorting mode is CTRL+. CTRL+F12 displays information about all available modes with the current one displayed:

Setting up an FTP connection in FAR

As mentioned earlier, you can work with FTP and SFTP servers in Far Manager; we will look at how to use these functions further. Depending on the Far Manager build, the FTP plugin may or may not be installed. It’s very easy to check its presence - if there is an FTP item in the disk change menu, then the plugin is there, if not, you can always download and install it.

The FTP panel displays a list of servers available for connection. If it is empty, you need to add a new connection. This can be done using the Shift+F4 key combination in Far. FTP setup in this case will require entering the following server data:

• FTP server name or IP address.
• User login and password required to access the server.

In addition, you can add a text description for this connection, which will help the user more clearly navigate the list of available FTP servers.

Attention! If the password field is left blank when creating a new connection, the password will be requested each time you try to connect to the FTP server. This connection option is preferable from the point of view of security and safety of personal data.

Once the creation of a new connection is successfully completed, its name will appear in the list of available servers. By highlighting it with the cursor and pressing Enter, you will be taken to the root directory of the FTP server. Transferring files from your computer to the server and vice versa occurs in the same way as when working with files on local storage.

Far Manager is very convenient to use for transferring your own website files to a virtual server. Usually, no questions arise during the transfer, but in case of emergency situations or simply incomprehensible moments, it is better to consult a professional. Such people work for us at RigWEB. Our support team is ready to help customers at any time, so call us! We promptly resolve problems that arise and answer all user questions.

Far Manager is a text-based file and directory management program for Windows that handles long file names and has a wide range of advanced features. FAR allows you to work with archives. In this case, files in archives are processed similarly to files in folders. FAR provides a significant number of service functions.

The file used to run the program is far. exe. After starting the program, two equal panels with different information appear on the screen. At the top of the screen, above each of the panels, there is a line indicating the path of the current location. At the bottom of each panel there is a status bar containing information about the selected file or directory (or group of files) - name, date and time of creation or last modification, as well as the size (in bytes) of the files and the word “folder” ) for catalogs. Below is a DOS prompt and a row of F1-F10 keys.

Directory names are located in panels at the beginning of the list of directory contents. In order to enter a directory, you need to place the cursor on the position with its name and press the Enter key. To exit a subdirectory, place the cursor at the position with two dots (..) and press the Enter key.

The program interface allows you to work using English or Russian. To switch from English (default) language to Russian, you must perform the following steps:

F9 – Options – Languages ​​– Russian (main language) – Russian (help language)

General commands for managing panels:

Change active Tab

Hide/show both panels Ctrl-O

Hide/show left panel Ctrl-F1

Hide/show right panel Ctrl-F2

Change current drive in left panel Alt-F1

Change current drive in right panel Alt-F2

Edit New File Shift-F4

• Function key assignments

F1. Help.

The Help table of contents contains links that point to topics with more detailed information. To move between links you can use Tab and Shift-Tab. Pressing Enter will bring up the page corresponding to the selected link. The same result can be obtained by clicking the mouse button on the required link. Pressing Alt-F1 or BS takes you to the previous page. You can use F5 to switch between full-screen help and text in a window.

F2. Main menu.

The User Menu is designed to make frequently used operations easier. It contains user-defined commands and command sequences that can be executed using this menu. The user menu can include submenus.

To edit or create a main or local user menu, use the “User Menu” command from the Command Menu. There can only be one main user menu. The main menu is called up if there is no local menu for the current folder. The local menu can be located in any folder. You can switch between the local menu and the main menu at any time using SHIFT-F2. You can also call up the local menu from the parent directory using the BkSpace key.

To execute a command from the user menu, select it using the cursor keys and press Enter. You can also use the hotkey assigned to this menu item.

You can delete a submenu or menu item using the Del key, insert a new submenu or menu item using Ins, and edit an existing submenu or menu item using F4. Press Alt-F4 to edit the menu as a text file.

Numbers, letters and function keys (F1..F12) can be used as hotkeys to access menu items. If F1 and F4 are used, their original functions are lost. In this case, Shift-F4 can be used to edit the menu.

When editing or creating a menu item, you must enter a hotkey for quick access to this item (“Hot Key”), the title of the item that will be displayed in the menu (“Label”) and a sequence of commands to be executed if this menu item is selected (“Commands”) "). When editing or creating a submenu, simply enter a hotkey and the title of the submenu.

F3. View file.

Calls the built-in file viewer. To select a file, you must place the cursor on its position.

Viewer commands:

PgUp - page up; PgDn - page down; Home - to the beginning of the file; End - to the end of the file;

F2 - Line wrap (on, off);

F4 - Switch text/hexadecimal mode;

Alt-F5 - Print file;

F6 - Switch to editor;

F7 – Search;

F8 - Switch DOS/Windows text viewing mode;

Go to next file

– - Go to previous file

F10 - Exit.

F4. Editing a file.

Call the built-in, external or associated editor, depending on the file type and editor settings.

Whenever you use a computer, there is an aspect of working with files. File managers are designed to help in this sometimes difficult matter. Each user has his own “favorite” from all their diversity. The user uses a specific program more often than others and, as a rule, its functionality suits him quite well. But there are situations in which the user’s desires remain unfulfilled. Some people lack convenience, some lack beauty, some lack speed, and some lack something else. In most such cases, a person resigns himself to the “shortcomings” of the file manager used, considering them inevitable. The purpose of this article is to show that sometimes a favorite program is fraught with ways to fulfill the user’s wildest desires. We will talk about one of the most common file managers, FAR. At the time of writing, the latest version is FAR 1.70 beta 5 build 1634, and we will talk about it. The author does not aim to increase the number of fans of this software product. The article will use examples to examine some possible user desires and ways to satisfy them. Practical conclusions must be made by everyone personally.

Note. The potential possibilities of FAR are almost endless, due to the support of external modules and macro commands. Therefore, we will consider only the standard composition and its capabilities. Everything related to additional plugins and add-ons can be found on the official website of the add-ons: http://plugring.farmanager.com/.

List of standard plugins

Before moving directly to problematic situations, it is necessary to express a general recommendation for the entire article: “More detailed information about all the things described can be found in the standard FAR help (called contextually by pressing the F1 key), help on external modules (Shift+ F2" in the help window), as well as on the official FAQ pages ( http://plugring.farmanager.com/faq/echo/ And http://plugring.farmanager.com/faq/). The article only describes the main ideas and directions for further research."

Wish 1. I have configured FAR settings and want to use them on another computer.
Execution. You can save the current settings to the files "Far\FarSave1.reg" and "Far\FarSave2.reg" using the command file "Far\SaveSettings.bat". To restore the settings, just import the reg files into the system registry (you can use "Far\RestoreSettings.bat").

Importing a reg file into the system registry

Wish 2. I want to get more information at a glance on the file panel.
Execution. The information content of file panels will be significantly increased by enabling the "File Coloring" option in the "Options -> Panel Settings" window and setting this same coloring in the "Options -> File Coloring" window. You can set a specific color and even a special symbol icon in order to immediately see the presence of groups of files and folders that interest you.

File coloring settings window

Wish 3. I have configured the FAR colors in "Options -> Colors" and "Options -> File Colorization" and want to use them on another computer.
Execution. Exporting and importing color settings can be done using the command files export_colors.bat and import_colors.bat from the "Far\Addons\Colors\" directory. In addition, in the "Custom Highlighting" and "Default Highlighting" directories you will find additional color schemes.

Directory "Far\Addons\Colors\"

Wish 4. In Windows, I can very quickly get to any of the frequently used directories (for example, "My Documents", "Desktop", etc.). I want the same thing for FAR.
Execution. FAR implements the "Folder Links" system ("Commands" menu). It allows you to quickly access frequently used folders. You need to create a link to the current folder either from the "Folder Links" dialog box or by pressing "Ctrl+Shift+0..9" in the file panel. After this, you can use "RightCtrl+0..9" in the panels to navigate to the folder recorded in the link. Also, “RightCtrl+0..9”, when pressed in the edit lines, will insert the link path at the cursor location.

Additionally, FAR can handle the "cd" command for the current panel. By calling it with the appropriate parameter when you need to go to a directory, you can achieve even greater flexibility than in Windows. You can invoke commands in FAR in three ways: in the console, in user menus and in macros (to be precise, a macro only automates the entry and execution of a command in the console). The first method does not provide the required convenience. But the second and third reduce the problem of going to pre-defined folders to pressing hot keys. The main user menu can be used and edited using the "F2" key. You can record and assign a macro command using the keyboard shortcut "Ctrl+Shift+." (the first click is to start recording, the second is to end), in this case it is necessary to correctly set the macro parameters “Empty command line” and “On the plugin panel”.

Edit Custom Menu Window

Wish 5. I work with three types of files: texts, images and audio recordings. They are stored in directories of the same name. I want to be able to launch a word processor from the user menu in the folder with texts, a graphic editor in the folder with images, and a sound mixer in the folder with audio recordings.
Execution. A local custom menu can provide a similar structure. You can create it using the command "Options -> User Menu". You can also edit it in the "FarMenu.ini" file of the corresponding directory.

Creating a Local Menu

Wish 6. One of the editors installed on my computer creates *.bak files (backup copies of modified documents). I want that pressing "Enter" on one of them in the current directory will delete all these temporary files.
Execution. To do this, just set the association for the mask "*.bak" using the menu item "Commands -> File associations". Where as a command executed by "Enter" specify "del *.!`". Here "!`" is a metacharacter that is replaced by the file extension.

Creating a Local Menu

Wish 7. I want to create a virtual disk based on a directory with my documents, the name of which is unknown in advance, i.e. it is entered during creation.
Execution. To determine the parameters of a command directly during its execution, FAR provides the metasymbol "!?