Hidden backslash in dir name

bobby953 · 04-17-2009, 01:28 PM

Hi
I copied a music folder from my Win XP to my Linux Server via Samba (Drag and Drop in Windows through Network Neighborhood).

Now, on my server, when I do a ls, the dir name appears as such
ENYA - 1995 - The Memory of Trees

But when I want to cd into it, I have to type:
cd ENYA\ -\ 1995\ -\ The\ Memory\ of\ Trees

Otherwise, I can't change into the dir. Why are these '\' hidden in the directory name
I'm curious. Please let me know. Thanks all in advance.

MS3FGX · 04-17-2009, 01:43 PM

That is how file names with spaces are handled under Linux, it is normal. If you don't want to type the slashes, put the whole thing in quotes like:

Code:

cd "ENYA - 1995 - The Memory of Trees"

Your shell should be able to finish the file name properly with Tab completion once you start with the quotation marks.

custangro · 04-17-2009, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobby953

Hi
I copied a music folder from my Win XP to my Linux Server via Samba (Drag and Drop in Windows through Network Neighborhood).

Now, on my server, when I do a ls, the dir name appears as such
ENYA - 1995 - The Memory of Trees

But when I want to cd into it, I have to type:
cd ENYA\ -\ 1995\ -\ The\ Memory\ of\ Trees

Otherwise, I can't change into the dir. Why are these '\' hidden in the directory name
I'm curious. Please let me know. Thanks all in advance.

"\" means escape.

Basically you are telling the shell to "ignore" the spaces...

FYI...

Maybe I'm "old school". But I think that you should never put spaces in file names...

If I absolutely need separation; I use underscore (i.e. ENYA_1995_The_Memory_of_Trees)

But I'm probably alone on this one :P

-C

bobby953 · 04-17-2009, 01:53 PM

Thanks tons for such a prompt answer.

pixellany · 04-17-2009, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by custangro

Maybe I'm "old school". But I think that you should never put spaces in file names...

But I'm probably alone on this one

Nope, you are not alone......
Filenames should not have spaces.
People should learn the CLI
And filenames should not have more than 8 characters...
And real men program Fortran with punch cards....

(I guess I'm older school than you.....

)

unSpawn · 04-17-2009, 02:23 PM

Ah, and you forgot that 640K ought to be enough for anybody.

pixellany · 04-17-2009, 02:55 PM

Ummmm, 640K is HUGE.....
Apple-II 64K
Mac 128K

Almost forgot: I did a paper in college on magnetic core memory. In those days, you could actually SEE a bit.....

farslayer · 04-17-2009, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by custangro

Maybe I'm "old school". But I think that you should never put spaces in file names...

If I absolutely need separation; I use underscore (i.e. ENYA_1995_The_Memory_of_Trees)

But I'm probably alone on this one :P

-C

Definitely not alone on this one.. I even do that on Windows systems out of habit

Valery Reznic · 04-18-2009, 01:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pixellany

ummmm, 640k is huge.....
Apple-ii 64k
mac 128k

almost forgot: I did a paper in college on magnetic core memory. In those days, you could actually see a bit.....

pdp-11 - 64 kb (without memory dispatcher)