Linux Mail Server Setup and Howto Guide

This article describes how to manage your files in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 or CentOS 5.

File Management (GUI)

Managing files in GUI mode is a simple as launching the File Browser.

1. Click Applications, select System Tools then click File Browser. This will launch the File Browser window.

2. From the File Browser tool you can now perform your desired file operation.

File Management (Console)

Below are the console commands to manage files. This is just an overview of the commands available, to get more information, type in man command to get the manual for the specified command.

Common Operations

• cp -a source dest
  copy the specified file or directory
• rm -rf name
  delete the specified file or directory and all of its contents
• mv old new
  move a file or directory to a new location. Also used to rename a file or directory
• ln -s source linkname
  create a symbolic link to the specified file or directory

Directory Operations

• cd
  change to the home directory
• cd path
  change to the specified directory
• pwd
  print working directory
• ls
  list directory
• mkdir name
  create the specified directory
• rmdir name
  delete the specified directory. Directory should be empty

File Operations

• chown owner file
  change the file owner to the specified user
• chmod permissions files
  change the file permissions
• cat file
  shows the file content
• more file
  shows the file content a few screens at a time
• less file
  shows the file content similar to how vi displays a file
• vi file
  edit the specified file. Learn how to use the vi editor
• head file
  shows the first few lines of a file
• tail file
  shows the last few lines of a file
• sort file
  shows the file content in order by lines
• uniq file
  shows the file content, discarding all but one of successive identifical lines
• grep pattern file
  searches for the pattern inside the specified file
• file filename
  determine file type
• diff file1 file1
  compares two files

Recommended Book

Linux Command Line and Shell Scripting Bible

It is painful to work with Linux if you are not familiar with its arcane commands. Googling the right command for every problem encountered wastes a lot of valuable time.

Learning its commands enables you to do more with less time. Wouldn’t it be great if those backups are performed automatically everyday. Or you are notified via email if your file server is about to run out of disk space.

This book provides a comprehensive list of Linux commands and shows you how to use them in a clear and concise manner.

Get the book and harness the full power of Linux.

Visit the forum to ask for help or to give a comment.

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Posted on 8/29/2010 and last updated on 9/11/2010
Filed under CentOS 5 , Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 , System Administration