Most file managers I’ve encountered default to icon view. One of the first things I do is set the default to detailed list view. Might be a preference for seeing names and dates over many identical folder icons, or just an old habit from using Windows. But I’d be curious to hear about the benefits of icon view and why it’s usually the default in Linux GUI file managers.
What does everyone else use and any reasons to prefer one over the other?
Icons for pictures, detail view for everything else. Easier to sort in the detail view.
Same. For pictures max size icons.
Dolphin filemanager from KDE. Nowadays I default to “compact” view without “preview” enabled. This is similar to “Icon” view, but the icons are small. Lot of files scrolls horizontal instead vertical.
- filenames in compact mode can be longer in one line, which is kind of similar to the look as “details” view, but are all displayed in a multiple rows instead one row
- preview disabled, because this is extremely fast, as I have ton of files that do not even have a preview image
That’s my default. Occasionally I enable preview image and switch to bigger “icon” view when I look into images or videos. Or sometimes I enable “details” view when needed. In normal usage I don’t need the details anyway.
Detail
The last time I found icon view useful was in Mac OS 9. There were three main characteristics that made it useful that no current systems have AFAIK:
-
The icon grid was tight (32 pixels) and you could either snap items to that grid or place them freely.
-
Window sizes and places were directly associated with folders. (There was no “browser-style” single-window mode.)
-
File names used dynamic spacing. Longer names would occupy multiple grid spaces as needed.
These factors meant that every folder had a consistent and potentially unique size, placment, and layout.
OS X took the Finder and either ruined or neglected everything good about it. Windows explorer has always been garbage. Never found a Linux file manager with a compelling icon view either (though to be fair, I’ve never looked all that hard). The lack of system-level metadata for layout kind of mandates an abstraction between a directory and its display.
-
Detailed view everywhere except folders with mainly visual media, where I prefer icons.
Detail unless it’s pictures or something where the icon is a preview of the file’s content.
Detailed view all the way
I prefer details since it’s easier for me to scan visually, with my eyes only having to go straight down, to find either a name, date, or size. Sorting I also find more intuitive. However, I prefer icon view for my pictures and videos folders
I think it heavily depends on the files one has to browes the most. I deal with text files all the time, so i dont need an icon to jump in my face telling me, that its a text file.
The media-, design people I know love the previews that icons give them, because its much easier to spot the image file, they are looking for while scanning through a directory
I mostly prefer Detail view, but I enable Icon view in Videos, Photos, and Music folders so I can see previews.
I’m guessing most file managers have similar behavior, but on XFCE Thunar, I’m able to set detail as the default but have it remembery choice per folder.
ls -hal
I’ve personally become a fan of
-rtAh, to see the most recently modified files last (i.e. above my prompt).ls -shitwhich is (iirc, guessing from memory): block size, human readable sizes, inodes, sort by time.
Terminal.
All jokes aside, its personal preference. If you’re working in a dense file tree, you probably need the info that details view gives you. Icon view really only matter for media.
For some reason, I can’t ever find a view that feels like “list view” from Windows OS. That would be my preference. Detail view is useful in specific conditions—such as troubleshooting or in search results. As is icon view (mostly for images).
When I am not on the terminal, I use list/detail view all the time. In the details most of the time only last modification date is relevant to me. I always make the list icons one step smaller as the default and sort directories before files in Nautilus.
I don’t need thumbnails. When I need to see pictures, I open them with the now new image viewer in Gnome and use the arrow keys to go through, if I am unsure what I am searching for. I most cases I go by file name.
I use Krusader on Linux which I don’t think has icon view.
When I have to use something else (eg Windows Explorer at work), obviously I prefer detailed list view. I like seeing things like the last modified date.
