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‎README.md‎

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# softdrink
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A directory launcher/shortcut system for gnome+nautilus
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# SoftDrink
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A directory launcher/shortcut system for Linux desktops with GNOME Files (Nautilus) file manager (Ubuntu, Fedora etc)
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<p align="center">
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<img width="200" height="200" src="images/ic_softdrink_689x.png", alt= "softdrink folder icon"/>
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</p>
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## What's with the name?
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softdrink is a wordplay on softlink, or a soft (symbolic) link
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## What does it do?
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In some way it mimics the shortcuts available on Windows machine. Allows you to create shortcuts to directories. You double-click on the shortcut and that directory is opened in a file browser. The location bar shows the original path to the directory.
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## Where can I place these 'shortcuts'?
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Wherever you want, as many as you want.
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No restrictions on placing them on the desktop or in any other directory.
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## Why would I need this?
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To easily access related places from a folder. They work not just as a launcher, but also as handy bookmarks.
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## How is this different from creating a soft link to target directory?
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In a way, softdrink is a dumbed down version of soft link.
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Value of softlinks to directories ( `ln -s /path/to/direcotry`) cannot be overstated, and a linux user's life without them will be impossible.
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However, a softlink changes the context and makes the target look like a member of the host directory. From a GUI users perspective, if you double-click a softlink icon in file browser, the opened window does not show the location of the target dir. Same about 'open terminal here' option in the target directory.
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This hides the real directory structure of the system. You might think you are working in a subdirectory and end up changing something 'miles' away.
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A lot of this and you forget what is where. A lot of differently named soft links end up targetting the same location.
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I have been looking for a system that opens the directory and shows its real location on the disk. and eventually ended up making this.
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## How is this different from creating a .desktop launcher?
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There was a time when .desktop launchers worked from any folder on your system and were widely used for this purpose. But this capability was removed due to the security risk inherent in launching random programs with a click. You can no more use them in Nautilus( Gnome Files) windows other than the desktop.
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## Then, is this safe?
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Softdrink does not allow you to launch anything other than a directory.
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## How is this implemented?
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We have a program called softdrink which handles a custom mime type called `x-jump` .
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A file of mime type x-jump is a text file with the extension `.jump`
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User creates a .jump file and puts the address to target location in it.
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When the system invokes softdrink to process this file, softdrink reads the path mentioned in it and launches it in file browser.
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# How do I use it?
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1. In the file browser, go to the directory where you want to create a shortcut.
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2. Create a text file
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3. Open this text file in text editor and type in it the path to your target directory, say *~/disk2/backups/2022* ( just one line, nothing else )
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4. Rename this text file with a descriptive name and change the extension to .jump. Say, *backup_lastyear.jump*
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5. Double click on backup_lastyear.jump, the directory *~/disk2/backups/2022* will be opened in a new window.
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**Alternatively, create the .jump file from the terminal** with the command : `echo "/path/to/your/directory">somename.jump`
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### Optional : Adding to right-click menu
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place the file `assets/make_jumpfile.sh` in Nautilus script folder. This folder is usually located at `~/.local/share/nautilus/scripts`
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# How to Install :
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1. Download softdrink tarball from the `Latest Release` page, extract the archive.
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2. **cd to the directory **containing Makefile.am and configure.ac
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3. Make sure autoconf, libtool, automake are installed.
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If not , install them using following command
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For Ubuntu/Debian:
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sudo apt install autoconf libtool automake
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For Redhat/Fedora:
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$ sudo dnf install autoconf libtool automake
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4. ** Run the following commands**:
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# These two needed only if you've cloned the repo
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# autoreconf -i
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# automake --add-missing
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# Commands for everyone
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./configure
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make
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5. **Install the software **
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sudo make install
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6. Once installed, you can delete the downloaded material
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# How to Uninstall :
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1. Follow steps 1 to 4 in installation
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2. **Uninstall the software**
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sudo make uninstall
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## Tested On
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- Ubuntu 20.04
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- Ubuntu 23.04
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- Fedora Linux 35 (Workstation Edition)
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## Limitations:
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1. Strictly GUI. Useless in terminal. Though you can still peek into them with a `cat`, which is quite useful as a bookmark.
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2. No drag and drop support
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## License :
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softdrink is released under the MIT License.
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--------------------
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### Copyright : © Rahul Singh
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‎images/ic_softdrink_689x.png‎

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‎softdrink_code/Makefile.am‎

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# ####################################################
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# Author : Rahul Singh
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# URL : https://github.com/codecliff/softdrink
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# License : MIT
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# email : codecliff@users.noreply.github.com
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# Disclaimer: No warranties, stated or implied.
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# Description :
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# This File is part of softdrink project
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# A personal attempt to create directory shortcuts
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# for Gnome and Nautilus file browser
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# (Acknowledgment: This project has heavily used LLMs
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# viz. Phind, Bard and ChatGPT )
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# #####################################################
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# #####################################################
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# Start development build with this file
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# Not needed for install
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# Version number update to be done in configure.ac
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# #####################################################
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# SHELL = /bin/bash
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SUBDIRS = src
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EXTRA_DIST = assets
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AUTOMAKE_OPTIONS = foreign
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# in if - else, use \ as make takes each line as separate command
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# indents are very important for scoping
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# use double $$ for shell variables
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# also, no comments inside the hook
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# target rah_os_dep_target is run conditional on os type
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###### Prepare different stuff for Ubuntu vs others #########
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# OS (Ubuntu / Fedora Linux etc)
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RAH_OS = $(shell grep -oP '^NAME.\"\K.*(?=\")' /etc/os-release)
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# Demarcate diferent targets for different OSs
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rah_os_dep_target = $(if $(filter Ubuntu,$(RAH_OS)),rah_ubuntu_hook,rah_nonubuntu_hook)
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# Define os-specific parts
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rah_ubuntu_hook:
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@echo "OS is Ubuntu"
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@echo "Installing custom mime for all users"
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sudo cp ./assets/application-x-jump_ubuntu.xml /usr/share/mime/packages/application-x-jump.xml
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sudo update-icon-caches /usr/share/icons
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sudo update-icon-caches /usr/share/icons/hicolor
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rah_nonubuntu_hook:
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@echo "OS Not Ubuntu"
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sudo cp ./assets/application-x-jump_others.xml /usr/share/mime/packages/application-x-jump.xml
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@echo " Resorting to gtk-update-icon-cache \n"
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sudo gtk-update-icon-cache -tf /usr/share/icons
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sudo gtk-update-icon-cache -tf /usr/share/icons/hicolor
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# to call these parts, run this
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rah_conditional_hook: $(rah_os_dep_target)
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################## Installation ########################
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install-exec-hook:
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@echo "Going to install custom mime and icons for all users"
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@echo "Installing .desktop file for all users"
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sudo cp ./assets/softdrink.desktop /usr/share/applications/
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sudo chmod 755 /usr/share/applications/softdrink.desktop
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@echo "Installing icon for all users"
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sudo cp ./assets/softdrink.svg /usr/share/icons/softdrink.svg
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sudo chmod 644 /usr/share/icons/softdrink.svg
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sudo cp ./assets/softdrink.png /usr/share/icons/softdrink.png
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sudo chmod 644 /usr/share/icons/softdrink.png
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sudo cp ./assets/softdrink.svg /usr/share/icons/hicolor/scalable/mimetypes/application-x-jump.svg
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sudo chmod 644 /usr/share/icons/hicolor/scalable/mimetypes/application-x-jump.svg
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$(MAKE) rah_conditional_hook
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@echo "Updating mime and desktop databases etc:"
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sudo update-mime-database /usr/share/mime
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sudo update-desktop-database /usr/share/applications
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@echo "Done with install-exec-hook"
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################## Unisntallation ########################
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uninstall-hook:
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@echo "Removing custom mime for all users"
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sudo rm -f /usr/share/mime/packages/application-x-jump.xml
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sudo rm -f /usr/share/mime/application/x-jump.xml
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@echo "Removing softdrink.desktop file for all users"
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sudo rm -f /usr/share/applications/softdrink.desktop
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@echo "Removing scalable icon for all users"
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sudo rm -f /usr/share/icons/softdrink.svg
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sudo rm -f /usr/share/icons/softdrink.png
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sudo rm -f /usr/share/icons/hicolor/scalable/mimetypes/application-x-jump.svg
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@echo "Updating mime databases etc:"
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sudo update-mime-database /usr/share/mime
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sudo update-desktop-database /usr/share/applications
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sudo update-icon-caches /usr/share/icons
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@if [ $$? -ne 0 ]; then \
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@echo " Resorting to gtk-update-icon-cache \n;" \
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sudo gtk-update-icon-cache -tf /usr/share/icons; \
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sudo gtk-update-icon-cache -tf /usr/share/icons/hicolor; \
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fi
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@echo "Done with uninstall-hook"
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