VLE-Ben User Manual

English edition of manual.md.

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, and one character of cyan continues on each side. When a pane is inactive, that name is cyan text. Only the letters that were yellow become black on a yellow bar. The bar is the same height as the white bar. An inactive pane is not inverted; a line sits under its title. 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. When files are tagged, the focused filer or search title shows the count as [3]. When the right side is the viewer, editor, or gallery, the left count stays. That count is not inverted. It does not appear on the preview side. While Quick Look is showing, the right end says QuickLook. Image and video previews show pixel size and camera name at the right end

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 ⇧1)

• 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 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 (asks first). 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 password is not stored in the pair

• The tree root is the startup folder
• ← → 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. Returning to the same folder keeps that position. If there are no files, the cursor stays on the folder. With always-preview on, that file (including the first) is previewed
• Enter moves into that folder and returns to the ordinary filer. While extensions are shown, a package is a folder. While they are hidden, you do not enter; only a .app asks before launch
• 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)
• Opening a file from ⇧2 (two filers) lays the viewer over the other pane. Esc returns to two filers
• Focus normally stays on the filer
• When the right pane has focus, ↑ ↓ scrolls the text by one visible line, or advances a Quick Look preview. Text moves without animation. An animated image steps one frame. Page Up / Page Down and Space / ⇧Space move one screen. Home / End go to the start and the end. The left list does not move during this. Space does not tag the left pane. Commands aimed at the left pane (copy, delete, tag, and so on) do not arrive. Move between panes with Tab, ⇧Tab, and ←→. E opens the EDITOR. ⇧1–⇧4 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. The same file is not redrawn. This is meant for ⇧1 (viewer on the right). A folder shows the immediate counts, the sum of file sizes, the number of images, and the first 100 rows of the current sort. Beyond that it shows “… N more”. Document packages (.pages / .key / .numbers / .rtfd / .egwud / .egwut) are previewed too. An application (.app) shows its icon. Enter steps inside while extensions are shown, and stays outside while they are hidden. 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. The caret and the scroll start at the top
3. ⌘S saves
4. Esc returns to the VIEWER (unsaved changes ask first)

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. The text starts under it
• When the caret leaves the screen, and on Page Up / Page Down, the view moves without animation

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 (Esc does not)
• 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. When the destination is FTP, 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 file shows Preview (the VIEWER). A folder or archive shows Enter (step inside). While extensions are shown, a package also shows Enter. While they are hidden, a .app shows Enter and asks before launch, a document package shows Preview, and other packages cannot be entered. Exec opens the file in its associated app. Inside an archive, Exec, Rename, Attr, Compress, Edit, New Folder, and New File are unavailable. Inside a ZIP, copy, move, and delete work. tar and the others can be copied out. Preview and copying the name still work. A row that was not selected becomes the only selection. A row that was already selected keeps a multiple selection. Inside a multiple selection, Add Tag appears and puts * on the selected files. If any tag exists, Clear All Tags appears too. Copy Name and Copy Full Path are there as well (a multiple selection is separated by newlines)
• 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

• ⇧2 (filers on both sides): the other pane. Confirmation is enough. A single-file copy shows that file name at the start of the prompt
• ⇧1 / ⇧3: 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
• Copy, move, and delete show the file name and File 2 / 5 even when they finish quickly. Progress is a row of [####----]. Esc cancels

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>. When there are many, the list appears first and the sizes fill in afterward.

Thumbnails of the images in the left list are laid out on the right. The arrow keys move the selection. While it is active, the blue and black themes use a white bar, and only yellow letters sit on yellow. The white theme uses dark blue. Enter opens that image in the VIEWER. Esc returns to the VIEWER. While the right side is active, going to the parent does not move the folder on the left. Tab or ⇧← returns to the left.

The left pane becomes search. Opening it clears the left pane’s tags. Spotlight looks under the folder you name. From the top: Place, then Find.

Place starts as the current folder when search opened. 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. 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). ↑↓ in the editor moves through the text and does not change the file
• A right-click on a result selects that row and opens a menu. A file offers Preview, Exec, Edit, and Tag. A folder offers Enter. While extensions are shown, a package also offers Enter. While they are hidden, a .app asks before launch, and a document package offers Preview. If any tag exists, Clear All Tags appears too. Copy, Move, and Delete match the keys, and existing tags are the target. Copy Name and Copy Full Path use that row. An archive does not offer Edit. Rename, Attr, Compress, New Folder, and New File are absent
• Esc ends search

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.

FTP Connection… on the VLE-Ben menu stores as many explicit-FTPS connections as you like. 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 deletes and Esc closes. 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. 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. A folder listing you have opened is kept for 3 days in a temporary folder private to your user. Opening the same folder shows that listing first, then fetches the server again and replaces the list when the fetch succeeds. A cursor you moved in the meantime stays on that row. Unused listings disappear after 3 days. To fetch again without that wait, use ⌘R (that pane) or ⇧⌘R (both). 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. A file’s time appears when the server returns a detailed listing (MLSD). The owner and group in the status line are the names from that listing. Numeric uid and gid are not shown; a missing name is -. When the detailed listing has no names, they are filled in from the Unix-style listing.

Transfers and deletes show the file name and File 2 / 5. Esc cancels. A drop from Finder of files or folders 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. A file you have opened is kept for 3 days; the next time it is shown first and then fetched again. If the contents are the same, the screen stays as it is. 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. The path in the title is the FTP path. A file already open in the viewer uses that temporary file. If it is not text, a message says it cannot be edited. After a delete or a create, the list stays on screen until the new listing arrives, then it is replaced.

Save on the File menu writes the editor’s contents.

From the Edit menu:

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

From the View menu:

• Viewer, 2 Filers, Gallery, Right Pane: Filer (⇧⌘F), Toggle Right Pane (⌘1)
• 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. Website on the Help menu opens the site that matches the display: the Japanese site, the English site, or the German site
• 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 · E T G P · F S L · J H O U V W · Q

While Shift is held:

⇧D ⇧Space ⇧. ⇧O ⇧J · ⇧← ⇧→ · ⇧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, 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