README                        TkDesk 1.0                        26.02.1998
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       TkDesk - a Desktop and File Manager for UNIX's running X11

       
Changes since 1.0b5:

   This is a pre-release of the "final" TkDesk 1.0.  It should be much
   more stable and more easily to install on non-Linux system than b5.
   There aren't any "big" new features in this release, this is mainly
   a bug-fix and clean-things-up release.  Once I get enough positive
   feedback from people using this release (which could also be lack
   of negative feedback), I'll officially announce the "real" 1.0 release.
   For this purpose, I'd appreciate it if you could test this release
   as thoroughly as you can and let me know of any bugs that may still
   be in there.

   Please also take a look at the change log ("Help"/"Changes"),
   especially for new configuration possibilities!

      
What is TkDesk?

   TkDesk is a graphical desktop and file manager for several brands
   of UNIX (such as Linux) and the X Window System.  It offers a very
   rich set of file operations and services, and gives the user the
   ability to configure most aspects of TkDesk in a powerful way.  The
   reason for this is the use of Tcl/Tk as the configuration and (for
   the biggest part of TkDesk) implementation language.

   TkDesk has been influenced by various other systems and file managers:
   NeXT, for laying out the file browser windows, Apple Finder, for the
   idea of file annotations and, (shock horror), Windows 95, for some
   other (of course minor and unimportant ;-)) inspirations.
 
   This is a brief overview of the most prominent features of TkDesk:
 
   o Arbitrary number of automatically refreshed file browsers and file
     list windows,
   o Configurable file-specific popup-menus,
   o Drag and drop,
   o Files and directories may also be dropped onto the root window,
   o Configurable application bar, with several displays and cascadable
     popup menus for each button, files can also be dropped here,
   o History of visited directories, opened files, executed commands
     and many other things, which is automatically saved to disk,
   o Find files through their annotation, name, contents, size or age,
   o Trash can for safe "deletion" of files and directories,
   o Calculation of disk usage for directory hierarchies,
   o All file operations (find, copy, disk usage, etc.) are carried out
     in the background,
   o Traversal of directory hierarchies through recursive cascaded menus,
   o Bookmarks, create menu entries for often used files/directories,
   o Comprehensive hypertextish online help (slightly out of date in this
     release...),
   o Built-in multi-buffer editor, providing virtually unlimited undo,
   o Remote control of Netscape and XEmacs,
   o Sound support,
   o Powerful on-the-fly configuration of nearly all aspects of TkDesk
     using Tcl/Tk, allowing for unlimited extensibility,
   o Free of charge! But see the file COPYING, or menu entry
     Help/License for information on usage and redistribution of TkDesk.

How do I install TkDesk?

   See the file INSTALL for instructions on how to install TkDesk.
   Usually the steps are: Install Tcl/Tk if you still don't have it,
   and then run "./configure", "make", and "make install".

Is there a Web page for TkDesk?

   Yes, please take a look at:
   http://people.mainz.netsurf.de/~bolik/tkdesk/

   Latest bug fixes, new versions and (in the future) binaries will be
   available first from there, or from the TkDesk mailing list.

Oh, there is a mailing list for TkDesk?

   Yes there is (thanks again to Chris Sterritt for running this list!).
   To subscribe, please send an email to majordomo@mrj.com with an empty
   subject, and the body "subscribe tkdesk".  There is also an archive
   of this list available on the web at
   http://www.findmail.com/listsaver/tkdesk
   
   
Hope you enjoy TkDesk!

     Christian  (Christian.Bolik@mainz.netsurf.de)