File manager Problem [Solved !]

[mhenriday]

I've just had occasion to reinstall 64-bit Mint 19.1 on an old Acer X1935 computer. To my surprise, and contrary to all my previous experience with Mint, I find that if I launch a file manager window by clicking the Files icon in the panel and then click the icon again, instead of opening a new file manager window on my screen, the first window instead is minimised to the panel, i e, the same frustrating behaviour one experiences in Microsoft Windows. I've checked the settings for the file manager on this machine, and as far as I can see, they are precisely the same as on my other Mint machines, but the behaviour is completely different. How can I configure the machine so that a new click on the Files icon opens, as has been its wont, a new file manager window ?...

Henri

[kyphi]

You can open nemo in as many workspaces as you have activated but never two full-sized versions in the same workspace.

You can, however split the screen to show two nemos side-by-side by pressing F3 (together with your Fn key).

If you minimise the displayed nemo you can then invoke another one and that will be reflected on your panel.

[mhenriday]

You can open nemo in as many workspaces as you have activated but never two full-sized versions in the same workspace.

You can, however split the screen to show two nemos side-by-side by pressing F3 (together with your Fn key).

If you minimise the displayed nemo you can then invoke another one and that will be reflected on your panel.

Thanks for your speedy reply, kyphi ! Note that I didn't specify «fullsized» instances of the file manager, but as a matter of fact, size makes no difference ; if I want to see several instances side by side on the same workspace, all I have to do is reduce the size of each instance so that they fit. On my main machine - and all other Linux Mint machinesI have used, with the exception of that above - I can easily open as many instances of the file manager as I like (in principle) simply by clicking the Files button in the panel as many times as needed. The following screen shot shows an example with three instances of the file manager open in the same work space (I've scrunched them up a bit in order to reduce the width to within the limits permitted attachments on this forum) :

Filhanterare_3_ex_sida_vid_sida_2019-03-09_01-02-31-min.png

So my experience with the file manager on Linux Mint seems to differ from yours. What I want to do now is make the Files button on the Acer machine work in the way it has always worked for me previously (including on the same machine, prior to the reinstallation of Mint 19.1). I should be most grateful for any suggestions which could lead to that end....

Henri

PS : Perhaps I should mention that the keyboard I use with the Acer machine, which is a compact desktop, does not have an Fn key, which I've only seen on laptop keyboards....

[kyphi]

Hello again Henri,

Nemo works the same way here if it is first reduced by a click on the "+" in the minimise, maximise, close options. You can also elect to view only the main file screen rather than replicating the sidebar or overlapping it.

I am puzzled - what is your desired outcome?

Fn keys are a peculiarity of some keyboards. My Logitech keyboard has an Fn key, my Enermax keyboard does not.

[mhenriday]

Hello again Henri,

Nemo works the same way here if it is first reduced by a click on the "+" in the minimise, maximise, close options. You can also elect to view only the main file screen rather than replicating the sidebar or overlapping it.

I am puzzled - what is your desired outcome?

Fn keys are a peculiarity of some keyboards. My Logitech keyboard has an Fn key, my Enermax keyboard does not.

Thanks again for your reply, kyphi ; kind of you to bear with me ! My desired outcome ? As stated above - «[on all other Mint machinese with which I've had experience,] I can easily open as many instances of the file manager as I like (in principle) simply by clicking the Files button in the panel as many times as needed». If, for example, I wish to move a file from Downloads to Documents, all that was required was to press the Files button twice, which gave me two instances of the file manager on my screen, which I could then snap, respectively, to the right and left halves of the screen, launch the respective directories, and drag and drop the file. Now, on my Acer machine, the Files button acts, like its Windows counterpart, rather as a toggle switch : if I press it once it opens the file manager in a window on my screen ; if I press it again, instead of launching a new window, the first one is minimised to the panel. I can deal with this problem by using the same trick that I use on my Windows machines, i e, holding the Windows key down and pressing the E, but I am surprised and disappointed that I now have to jump through this particular hoop. I fail to understand what's respo9nsible for the change, and I should be very happy if I could restore the situation to status quo ante....

Keyboards are a vexed subject ; I don't know which of the US

512px-KB_United_States-NoAltGr.svg.png

or the UK

640px-KB_United_Kingdom.svg.png

(I suspect the former) keyboards is found more frequently in Australia. Myself, I use a standard Scandinavian 105-key keyboard

Nordiskt_tangentbord_20190309.png

(note that in the attachments above, the function keys, arrow keys, and numeric keyboard have all been omitted) which makes comparison difficult. I don't recall ever seeing a key marked Fn on a separate keyboard designed for use with a desktop, but placed between the Ctrl and Windows keys, it is usually to be found on laptop keyboards here in Scandinavia....

Again, thanks for your reply above ; I hope that you - or some other knowledgeable reader here - can come up with a solution to this annoying, if not terribly grave little problem....

Henri

[Moem]

I think this problem is caused by the new desktop/panel layout. There are two now; one behaves as it did before, one behaves as you described here. Try opening the welcome screen, then the First Steps tab, and switching to the other desktop layout. I believe it's the 'Traditional' that you want.

[mhenriday]

I think this problem is caused by the new desktop/panel layout. There are two now; one behaves as it did before, one behaves as you described here. Try opening the welcome screen, then the First Steps tab, and switching to the other desktop layout. I believe it's the 'Traditional' that you want.

Did the trick, Moem - many thanks ! The strange thing is that when installing 19.1 from a flash drive earlier, I never encountered this problem, even if the panel icons were obviously of the «modern» type ; one of the first things I always did, after moving the panel to the top, was to use Theme to configure the panel to display Mint X (sand) icons, which I vastly prefer to Mint Y. I had never reflected on this matter previously, as the Files button always worked in the manner to which I was accustomed. But on the Acer machine mentioned above, it did not, nor were the theme changes I made sufficient to make it do so. I should never have imagined that I could deal with this problem via Welcome Screen → First Steps and switching to the traditional layout, so I am immensely grateful to you for your suggestion....

Thanks also to kyphi for responding so quickly. What a wonderful forum !...

Henri

[Moem]

You're welcome, glad I could help!