Sort order in nautilus

Patrick K · 06-11-2007, 02:17 PM

In Windows when I wanted to move a file to the top of file listing in Win Explorer I would put a "~" in front of it. This doesn't work in Nautilus. Is there a way to force a file to the top of the file listing?

More generally, how does Linux sort items?

meng · 06-12-2007, 07:47 AM

By default Nautilus lists in alphabetical order. Alphabetical order in Nautilus means numbers before tilde before alphabets. Folders listed before files. If you go to View > Arrange Items you have other choices for sorting order.

Patrick K · 06-12-2007, 11:08 AM

I found putting a number in front of the filename moves it to the top. However, this isn't great when the filenames already start with a number. But I guess it will have to do.

My version of Nautilus (2.16.1) doesn't have View > Arrange Items. (I usually run in Edgy since I find it more stable then Feisty.) I'll have to boot to Feisty to see if it has a different version that has that option. Thanks!

meng · 06-12-2007, 01:14 PM

I'm pretty sure the option should be present in 2.16, although it may be labeled differently.

fragos · 06-12-2007, 08:53 PM

There is a sort manual which implies in the order you drag the files but I haven't tried it. Date modified also looks interesting because it can place the most recently accessed files first.