VLE-Ben User Manual

A keyboard-first two-pane filer. The mouse works too; this manual centers on the keys.

Requires macOS 12 (Monterey) or later.

• In the blue and black themes, the focused title is a white bar with black text. FILER, FTP, VIEWER, EDITOR, SEARCH, TREE, and GALLERY sit on a cyan bar with black text. When a pane is inactive, that name is cyan text. In the white theme, the focused header is dark blue
• The toolbar at the top is a hint of the commands. While Shift is held it switches to the ⇧ keys. While fn is held it switches to F3–F8
• The status line at the bottom shows the selected file’s attributes, owner, size, date, and name. While Shift is held it switches to free space on mounted local disks. When the current location is Samba or FTP, only that drive is listed. In two panes it follows the active side. The filer title’s right side shows the file count. .. is not counted. With tags it shows 3 / 12, then the sort. With no tags it shows only the file count. On the active bar the count inverts so it stays visible. Search shows the number found the same way, 3 / 12 when files are tagged. The leave hint is on the bottom row. The tag count and tag marks stay on that pane when it is not active. They are not shown on the preview. While Quick Look is showing, the right end says QuickLook. Image and video previews show pixel size and camera name at the right end

In Dual Filer Mode, the header of the side that does not have focus is a gray bar.

The window title is VLE-Ben - FILER: path: VLE-Ben, then the focused header. The tab name is only that header. A filer shows FILER: path, and an editor or viewer shows EDITOR: name. An unsaved editor adds * after the name.

1. On a folder you return to often, press ⇧O (set as the startup folder) so O can bring you back
2. On folders you visit often, press + to add them to the J jump list
3. To read text one file after another, turn P (always-preview) on (meant for Single Filer Mode)

• Lists folders left since launch, newest first. The folder open now is omitted
• The previous folder is selected. Enter returns there
• 1–9 and a click go there too
• The list clears when the app quits

• 1–9 in the list jumps immediately
• The list shows only the bookmarks for the volume you have open. Macintosh HD, an external disk, Samba, and an FTP connection each have their own list
• Home moves to the filter field
• Del deletes a bookmark
• S on a row asks, then sets that path as the startup folder. An FTP bookmark cannot be the startup folder
• On FTP, + remembers that connection’s folder

• ⇧J opens the list of saved left-and-right pairs
• 1–9 and Enter open that pair on both sides at once. The screen becomes two filers
• + in the list remembers the left and right folders you have open. Both sides must be folders. A folder inside an archive, or a right side that is the viewer, is not remembered
• Del removes that pair. Esc closes the list
• If either folder is gone, neither side moves, and the pair is removed from the list
• An FTP folder can be remembered

• The tree root is the folder open when you press T
• ← → collapse and expand. → on a folder that is already open moves to the file list on the right. After the folder changes, the cursor is on the first file
• Enter moves into that folder and returns to the ordinary filer
• Esc leaves the tree and stays in the folder you had open

• Enter on a file (or move the cursor while always-preview is on)
• The title and the name below match the filer
• In Dual Filer Mode, the viewer opens on the focused side. The other side stays. Esc and Backspace restore the filer that was under that side
• When the right pane has focus, ↑ ↓ scrolls the text by one visible line, or advances a Quick Look preview. Move between panes with Tab, ⇧Tab, and ←→. E opens the EDITOR. ⇧1–⇧2 change the layout

A large text file is cut off if loading takes too long. Speed comes first.

When it is on, the right pane follows the selection in the list. While the selection is cleared, the right pane is empty too. The next ↑ or ↓ shows that file again. While extensions are shown, Enter steps inside; while they are hidden, you stay outside. The preview is the same. An FTP folder is not downloaded; the right pane says “Always-preview does not run for FTP”. A file that was opened once and is still cached is shown from that cache.

1. Open a text file in the VIEWER (or select it)
2. E (or ⌘E) enters the EDITOR
3. ⌘S saves
4. Esc goes back (unsaved changes ask first). In Dual Filer Mode, a preview returns to that preview, and a filer returns to that filer

Notes:

• Files of 256 KB or more cannot use the built-in EDITOR. Use X and an external app
• A file inside an archive cannot be edited or saved
• Click the encoding at the right end of the status line to change it. Besides UTF-8, UTF-16, CP932, Shift_JIS, and EUC-JP, you can choose Windows-1252 / 1250 / 1251 / 1253 / 1254 / 1257, GB18030, Big5, EUC-KR, and CP949. Japanese Shift_JIS-family text is Shift_JIS unless bytes F0–FC appear, in which case it is CP932. Saving keeps the encoding the file was opened with
• A column ruler appears at the top of the EDITOR
• Tab and ⇧Tab do not move focus or swap the panes
• A file has one editor. If the other pane, another tab, or another window is already editing it, focus stays here and an error is shown

When any file is tagged, copy, move, and delete use the tags on the focused pane. Moving to another folder on that pane clears that pane’s tags. Moving the cursor or the folder on the other pane does not. With no tags and no mouse selection, copy and move use the file or folder under the cursor, and delete uses the file under the cursor (delete a folder with ⇧D).

You can work on items in the current folder with the mouse. This is separate from tags (*).

• A click selects that one item. A click on empty space clears the selection. The status line, Enter, and Copy leave that row alone. The next ↑ or ↓ brings the cursor back to that row (Esc does not clear it). While always-preview is on, the right pane goes empty too. A viewer opened with Enter while always-preview is off stays open
• A right-click on empty space shows only New File and New Folder
• ⌘-click adds or removes an item (a row already chosen from the keyboard stays)
• ⇧-click selects a range from the previous position
• Drag a selection onto a folder row (including ..) and choose copy or move into that folder
• A drop on empty space in the other filer (not on a file row) uses that pane’s current folder as the destination
• Files dragged from Finder drop onto a folder row or a pane the same way. A drop from the other pane onto FTP does the same: the upload goes to the open current folder no matter which row you drop on (asks first. Folders can be sent too)
• With two or more items selected, C / M use that selection (folders may be included)
• A right-click on a row opens a menu for that item (Preview, Enter, Exec, Edit, Rename, Attr, Tag, Copy, Move, Delete, Compress, Extract, New Folder, New File). A right-click inside a multi-selection keeps that selection. A right-click on an unselected row selects that one row. A file shows Preview (the VIEWER). A folder or archive shows Enter (step inside). Exec opens the file in its associated app
• A right-click on a filer pane title offers Copy Full Path, Open in Terminal, and Show in Finder. Terminal and Finder use the local folder you have open. They are unavailable on FTP and inside an archive. A viewer title offers Copy Full Path and Copy Name

• Dual Filer Mode: the other pane, when that pane is a filer or the gallery. Confirmation is enough. When the other pane is search, the viewer, or the editor, type a path. A single-file copy shows that file name at the start of the prompt
• Single Filer Mode: type a destination path. A relative path is from the current folder. Enter on an empty field uses the folder you have open. A single-file copy shows the file name instead of a count
• When the destination is the current folder and that file is already there, type another name. Enter with the same name warns and does not close

The first time, extension display follows Finder’s “Show all filename extensions”. After you toggle ⇧. once, the app keeps its own setting. The size column of a package (an application or a document) is that file’s size, not a folder’s <DIR>.

That pane shows the same files as the filer, as thumbnails and file names. Images use a thumbnail. Other files use an icon. The title bar matches the filer. Preview, Enter, and the right-click menu match the filer. When a file has no preview, the viewer shows its icon. In Single Filer Mode it is on the left. In Dual Filer Mode it is on the focused side. G again returns to the filer.

The left pane becomes search. Spotlight looks under the folder you name. From the top: Place, then Find.

Place starts as the current folder when search opened. The name follows localized names. Editing the path limits the search to that folder and below. ~ and a path relative to that current folder both work. An empty field returns to the current folder from when search opened.

Find is one word. Nothing is searched while it is empty. There are no wildcards.

Match is Name only or Include text. It starts as name only. Include text searches both file names and indexed contents under that place. On that row, ←→ or Space switches it.

• Each row uses the ordinary list layout: name, size, date, and the same colors as the filer. While a search is running, that status sits at the bottom
• ↓ enters the results, and ↑↓ moves in that list. The right preview and the bottom status follow that file. The cursor in the current folder does not move
• On a result, Space tags (not a folder), C copies, M moves, D deletes. Existing tags are the target. → moves to the preview on the right. While the preview has focus, Space / ⇧Space scroll it one screen, and tags or copy do not reach the results. Tab or ← returns to search. ⇧2 makes the right side a filer, and you can copy or move there. ⇧→ moves to the right pane. ⇧1 returns to the preview
• E edits, X opens externally (depending on the item)
• A right-click on a result selects that row and opens a menu. A file offers Preview, Exec, Edit, and Tag. A folder, a compressed file, or a disk image offers Enter. Open Containing Folder moves to that folder and selects the file
• Enter on a compressed file in the results opens it. .. or Backspace goes to the parent. At the top of the archive, that is the folder that holds the file. Esc returns to the search results
• Enter on a disk image (.dmg / .sparseimage and similar) mounts it and moves onto that volume. Going to the parent from the root returns to the folder that holds the image
• Esc ends search. Tags made in search are cleared and do not stay on the filer count

Folders are watched and refresh when something outside the app changes them (the inside of an archive is not watched). Bringing the window forward reloads as well.

Q asks “Quit?” and then quits. ⌘Q quits without that question. When the editor has unsaved changes, both ask “Save?”. Save writes the file and then quits.

FTP Connection… on the VLE-Ben menu stores explicit-FTPS connections. It opens on the list. Order is by server name, and by account name when the server is the same. ↑↓ selects a row, and Enter opens that setup. New starts a blank setup. In the setup, ↑↓ moves between fields. Space toggles FTPS and passive. Enter saves and returns to the list. Esc returns to the list without saving. On the list, Del asks before deleting, and Esc closes. A password no other connection uses is also removed from the Keychain. The defaults are explicit FTPS, port 21, and passive. To enter a public folder, put /public_html in the start folder. The password stays in the keychain.

In the V volume list, disks come first, then iCloud Drive when you use it, then the saved FTP connections. A removable disk has an icon on the right of the row; click it or press U to unmount after a confirmation. The startup disk has no icon. The label is user@server, in the same order as the FTP setups (server name, then account name on the same server). Enter on an FTP row opens the start folder. In one pane (viewer or gallery) that is the left side; in two panes it is the selected side. The other pane stays as it is, so both sides can be FTP. Enter on a folder, and .. goes to the parent. You cannot go above the server root. The left of the title says FTP. The dot on the right of the title stays visible even when that pane is inactive. Green means connected; red means disconnected.

Transfers and deletes show the file name and File 2 / 5. Esc cancels. A drop of files or folders from the other pane or from Finder uploads into the open current folder. The confirmation is the same as C. C copies to the other pane. The prompt shows From and To. Move (M) is the same. Delete (D / ⇧D) shows only From. FTP to local is a download, local to FTP is an upload, and FTP to FTP downloads to local first and then uploads. In one pane, type a local absolute path. You cannot copy into the same folder, or copy a folder into itself. After you confirm, a name that already exists directly in the destination asks overwrite, skip, or abort. ⇧Enter applies that choice to the remaining names. D deletes tagged files or the file under the cursor from the server. ⇧D deletes the folder under the cursor. Nothing goes to the Trash. N renames, K makes a folder, and I makes an empty file. Enter on a file downloads it once and views it. Always-preview does not run on FTP; the preview says “Always-preview does not run for FTP”. A file that was opened once and is still cached is shown on the right. E downloads to a temporary file, and saving sends it back to the server.

Save on the File menu writes the editor’s contents. It is gray when the editor is not open.

From the Edit menu:

• Search Files… (⌘F)
• Right Pane: Editor (⌘E)

From the View menu:

• Single Filer Mode (⌘1), Dual Filer Mode (⌘2)
• Refresh (⌘R), Refresh All (⇧⌘R)
• Language: System / Japanese / English / Deutsch. Japanese when the system language is Japanese, German when it is German, and English otherwise. Manual on the Help menu opens the website manual that matches the display. Website opens the site: the Japanese site, the English site, or the German site. The Help menu search field looks through the help book inside the app. Those pages follow the language of the Mac, which can differ from the language shown in the app
• Color Theme: Blue (Retro) / Black (Dark) / White (Light). The default is blue. It does not follow the system dark or light appearance
• Font Size: the monospaced size of the UI

With no modifier:

C M D N K I A X Z U · E T G P W · F S L · B J H O V Y · Q

While Shift is held:

⇧D ⇧X ⇧Space ⇧. ⇧O ⇧J ⇧F · ⇧← ⇧→ · ⇧1 ⇧2 ⇧3 ⇧4

While fn is held:

F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 (Enter, edit, copy, move, new folder, delete. The same as E C M K D)

(Labels follow the display language. For example X = Exec, P = Preview.)

The status chips at the right end also toggle when clicked. PREV is always-preview, .* is hidden files, and EXT is filename extensions. The sort is on the pane bar.

When the active pane is FTP, unavailable commands are dimmed: move, attributes, exec, Shift-X, compress, tree, extract, wildcard, and set startup folder. Move is also dimmed when the other pane is FTP. Gallery and file search are dimmed when the left pane is FTP. On a row’s right-click menu, exec, attributes, move, and compress are unavailable under the same conditions.

FDclone (lowercase only), FILMTN, and VLE-Ben. An em dash means no binding.

• A protected folder will not open — if macOS asks for permission on Documents, Desktop, or similar, allow it. If you need it, also consider Full Disk Access in System Settings
• An lzh will not open — lsar/unar or lha (Homebrew or similar) has to be installed separately
• A network volume — mount it again in Finder, then press ⌘R
• A disk image — .dmg / .sparseimage and similar mount with Enter. An image that needs a password follows the prompt macOS shows