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?
Detailed view everywhere except folders with mainly visual media, where I prefer icons.
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
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
Detail unless it’s pictures or something where the icon is a preview of the file’s content.
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.
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.
ls -hal
ls -shitwhich is (iirc, guessing from memory): block size, human readable sizes, inodes, sort by time.I’ve personally become a fan of
-rtAh, to see the most recently modified files last (i.e. above my prompt).
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).
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.
My graphical goto tool is double commander, so lists. In the terminal, it’s either ls -hal, fzf or mc, depending on use case.
I have it on grid view :3… just cause it can fit a lot more files into the same screen space
In list view I have to scroll to see all the files in my home folder, and in grid view it only takes like half of the available space, if I have the app maximized
ranger, a terminal file browser, which is obviously a list
if i need a gui file browser, i use pcmanfm with normal grid view
I work in a design industry that requires a lot of source files so I end up having to constantly switch. Lists when I’m looking for the relevant folder, or looking for a particular file based on name, or icons if I’m looking for something based on image. There’s no consistent way to switch between them with a keyboard shortcut among different OSs, either.
