Downloading
and Installing Gentoo via APT/Synaptic: Just type Gentoo
in the Find box of the Synaptic main window, click Install Latest Version, click Execute, and then follow the general
procedures you learned in Chapter 10.
Running
Gentoo: Once installed, you
can run Gentoo by going to the Main panel menu and selecting Accessories > More Accessories >
Gentoo File Manager.
Changing
Permissions with Gentoo: There are many things that you
can do with Gentoo. As I already mentioned, I mainly use it to change
file permissions in batches. To see how easily this can be done, choose
any subfolder in your Home folder to experiment with. Photos would be a
safe choice.
- First locate and then
click once on the Photos
folder in the left pane of the Gentoo main window.
- Once you've done
that, click the ChMod button
in the button bar at the bottom of the window. The Change Mode window
will then appear.
- To experiment a
little, let's change the permission so that the folder and everything
in it is write-protected (meaning that no one can alter any of the
folders or the files therein). To do so, make sure that your Change
Mode window looks like the one in the image below. Once it does, click OK.
- Now open your Home
folder in Nautilus and have a look at your Photos folder. You will
notice that the folder now has a verboten
symbol on signifying it's no-write status. If you look inside, you will
not see this mark, though all the files are in fact write-protected
(right-click on one and check the permissions, if you don't believe
me). This is because the main folder is already write-protected, which
means that nothing within it can be altered. The extra verboten symbols would thus be
redundant.
- To see what I am
talking about, go back to the Gentoo window, click on your Photos
folder in the left pane again and then click the ChMod button once more. In the
Change Mode window, check the box next to the word Write in the second column (the one
under the word Owner). Then
uncheck the box next to Recurse
Directories? by clicking on it. Once you've done that, click OK.
- Now go back to the
Nautilus window for your Home folder and have a look at the Photos
folder again. As you see, the verboten
symbol is gone, as we have given it write permission. However, if you
look inside the folder, you will see that the files and folders within
it now have verboten symbols,
whereas they did not before. This is because the symbols are no longer
redundant because the Photos folder is now write enabled, while its
contents are not.
- Now let's get
everything back the way it should be (unless you prefer the present
state of affairs) by write enabling the whole shebang. To do this, go
back to the main Gentoo window, make sure your Photos folder is
highlighted (click on it once to be sure), and then click the ChMod button again.
- This time around,
check the checkboxes next the word Write
in the other two columns. Once you've done that, check the box next to Recurse Directories? (this applies
the changes to the folder and everything within it). Once ready, click OK.
- If you go back to the
Nautilus window for your Home folder and take a look at the Photos
folder, you will find that it and everything therein is now once again
write enabled.
As
you can see, this is a very handy tool, especially when dealing with
files and folders you've transferred from CD. Experiment with the other
functions to see what else Gentoo can do. If you would like to find out
more, go the
Gentoo project page.
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