1. A short introduction into the Worker basics
This page should give a new Worker user a basic overview about how to use Worker. Some information is more or less common knowledge, others are not so obvious.1.1. The main window
On top of the main window you can see the state bar which usually displays information about the content of the current directory.
The two little buttons at the left of the state bar opens the "about" window (A) and the configuration (C).
Below the state bar there are two big buttons which are called "list view bars". These buttons display information about each side like the free space in the directory. The grey list view bar indicates the inactive side (destination side), the red bar indicates the active side (source side).
Right under the list view bars you can see the file list of the entered directory (the so-called list view). The header shows all displayed information like file name or file size.
Below the list view you can see several buttons for each side. The ".." button enters the parent directory when clicked. The "<" and ">" buttons change the directory cache. The text area shows the current directory.
The button grid below is used to start commands. The first column shows a list of paths for quick access to frequently used directories. The remaining columns are free configurable buttons which can start arbitrary commands.
At the bottom of the main window you can see the clock bar which shows the current date and time and some more information like free memory (if supported).
1.2. Directory navigation
The list view displays a list of all files and directories in the current directory. To enter a sub directory just double click on the directory in the list view, double clicking ".." enters the parent directory.
To enter another directory you can click in the text area below the list view and enter the name of the directory.
To make a side active (source side for copy operation etc.) just click on the corresponding list view bar. Clicking on an entry also activates the corresponding side.
1.3. Selecting files
Most commands operate on the set of selected files so if you want to run commands on multiple files, you have to select them first.Any of the entries shown in the list view can be selected with the left mouse button. To unselect an entry just click again with the left mouse button on the entry. While any entry can be selected, only one entry can be active at any given time. There are also keyboard bindings to navigate through the list of files and change its selection state, see list of hotkeys below.
The active entry is important when using the keyboard for navigation. Selecting an entry with the left mouse button also activates it, while using the middle mouse button activates it without changing the selection state.
File commands itself like copy, rename, delete, etc are always executed on the set of selected files, regardless of the active file.
There are a few exceptions, though. If there is no selected file at all, most commands will operate on the active file instead. So you do not have to select it first when you want to copy just a single file. Also, pressing enter will always execute the specific file type action of the active file.
External commands also run on selected files (or the active one if there is no selected file) but there are some exception described here.
1.4. Starting commands
To start an operation (for example copying a file) you can click on the corresponding button at the bottom of the main window. Some buttons can have alternative commands when clicking with the right mouse button on the button instead of the left. You can recognize such buttons by the small dog-ear at the top right-hand side of the button. In many cases the alternative operation starts an extended version of the command but basically this is freely configurable.
1.5. Bank concept
The buttons at the bottom part of the main window are actually banks of buttons. There are many operations which are less frequently used. Instead of showing a huge amount of buttons it is possible to separate all buttons into several small button banks. Left Clicking on the clock bar at the bottom switches to the next button bank, right clicking switches back to the previous bank. One can also use the mouse wheel to quickly change the bank.
The path buttons in the first column use indepentent path banks which can be switched by right clicking on any of the path buttons.
1.6. Hotkeys
Clicking on a button is not the only method to start an operation. There are several hotkeys defined to start frequently used operation with the keyboard. This includes file navigation with the cursor keys, selecting some files or start copying files.
1.6.1. Most important hotkeys
The following table shows the most important hotkeys. You can display all currently defined hotkeys by clicking on the button "ShortkeyList" on bank 4.
| Hotkey | Action |
|---|---|
| TAB | Switch active side |
| Cursor up/down | make previous/next entry active |
| Page up/down | move the active entry up/down a whole page |
| Home/End | Jump to the first/last entry |
| Cursor left | Go to parent directory |
| Cursor right | Enter directory marked by the active entry |
| Insert | Change selection state of active entry |
| Numblock + | Select all entries |
| Numblock - | Deselect all entries |
| Return | Simulate double click on active entry, i.e., enter directory or start command associated with file type of active entry |
| F3 | Show active entry |
| F4 | Edit active entry |
| F5 | Copy selected files to destination side |
| F6 | Move selected files to destination side |
| F7 | Create new directory |
| F8 | Delete selected files |
For more hotkeys see this list of important hotkeys.
1.7. Start external programs
To start an external program which is not available on a button you can use the "start prog" button. Clicking on it opens a dialog where you can enter the command in the text area (which contains the file name of the active file). Hint: Double clicking an entry with an unknown file type starts the same dialog!
1.8. Worker configuration
You can configure Worker by clicking the small button "C" at the top left-hand position.