mc-notes.md

Midnight Commander

Using the command line file manager to its fullest

• C-o switches in and out of a full shell window.

• The following makes it possible to view XZ-compressed PDF files in Midnight Commander (it goes in ~/.config/mc/mc.ext):

  # .xz-compressed PDF
  shell/.pdf.xz
    Open=/usr/lib/mc/ext.d/doc.sh open pdf
    View=%view{ascii} /usr/lib/mc/ext.d/doc.sh view pdf
  

  Note that it is not necessary to pass along %f or the like; the filename appears to be handled by environment variables set by Midnight Commander itself.

• It is possible to launch Windows executables from, for example, games from GOG installed on Wine, like so:

  # Windows executables
  shell/i/.exe
    Open=wine %f
  
  shell/i/.lnk
    Open=wine start /unix %f
  

  Note that these instances are case-insensitive. Note also that the /unix switch is necessary for wine start; it tends to choke without it.

• A user-defined listing mode for both panels with size:4 not only saves a little more of the limited screen real estate of the file manager than would otherwise be the case, but also makes sizes display in ways that are more readily comprehensible with familiar suffixes. (Remember to use "Save Setup" after this.)

• The following is necessary to compel Midnight Commander to use Vim as its external editor (here with custom build of Vim):

  export EDITOR=/usr/local/bin/vim

  Place in .bashrc or similar.

• If there's a bunch of crap left on the screen from the last command you typed in, type Ctrl-L to refresh the screen.

• Use the * to (de)select all files in a pane.

• Safe deletion may be a good option.

• To show human-readable file sizes in Midnight Commander, use size:4 in the user-defined listing format for each panel.