Debian Linux     

Linux is the free, non-evil and reliable OS with a penguin mascot. Debian is my favorite flavor.

  • man cd   is a help page about a command. q exits
  • right-click on virtual desktop   pans desktops
  • middle-click on virtual desktop   moves windows on other desktops without having to change to that screen
  • alt-up/down/left/right   moves between virtual desktops (num lock must be off!)
  • alt-tab   cycles between windows (num lock must be off!)
  • | more   displays large amounts of text screen by screen; press space to advance screen
  • | less   same as more but you can move backwards by pressing b
  • xclock   shows you the time, even though you may not want to know. Adding -chime makes it beep on the hour and half-hour.
  • cd /tmp   takes you to the temporary files so you can delete your pdfs that are taking up all the memory
  • rm -i journal.html   deletes file and asks for confirmation
  • *   wildcard (useful in deleting your tmp files: *p* will delete all ps and pdf files)
  • ls -latrR --color   lists directory contents. The -l (file properties like size, owner and date), a (shows hidden files; must be used with l) t (sorts by time; must be used with l) r (sorts in reverse time and must be used with t), R (yes, capital. It shows everything below the current directory) and --color (color codes file types) are optional
  • cd ~   takes you to your home directory
  • cd ~-   takes to to the last directory you were in
  • cd ../   takes you one level up
  • if you type the first few letters of a file/directory, pressing tab will automatically complete the word
  • Floppy disks
    put disk in drive in the office (not in the terminal you're probably using right now!)
    mount /floppy   makes the contents of the disk available to you
    cd /floppy   brings you to the floppy disk directory
    view the files (ls) and copy (cp) them to your own directory (ex: cp *jpg ~/public_html/pictures)
    cd ~   exits the floppy directory (important!)
    umount /floppy   only after this command can you remove the disk from the drive
  • xv schrodingerkeg.jpg   opens image for viewing or editing (right-click on picture)
  • xfig   vector drawing program
  • gv   postscript & pdf viewer
  • xpdf   pdf viewer
  • df   shows what's going on in the computer (check if things are mounted, etc)
  • su yiyi   log in while someone else is. exit logs you out
  • locate mot.html   search
  • gzip and gunzip zip and unzip files (compress/decompress them)
  • cd public/journal/ ; ls -ltr   a semicolon allows you to execute multiple commands...perfect for those lazy power users
  • catdoc lab.doc > lab.txt   changes a .doc file to a .txt file! Make sure you have the redirect, >
  • scp ~me/localFile.txt notMe@otherNetwork.gov:~/transfered/file.txt    secure copies file in local directory to another network. If you want to keep the original filename and put it into ~ use :.

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