One thing I have always struggled with in antiX is browsing local Samba network shares.

I spent some time trying to figure out Connect Shares, and on one occasion made it work, but had to manually edit the .conf file to do so. Even when working, it's not the most convenient way of doing things. I have also tried to find a better way of doing things myself, with a variety of file managers, together with the addition of various gvs and smb files, with a total lack of success.

Most distros these days have an icon in the file manager that allows connection to the local network shares without any user intervention. I realise space constraints might make that unachievable for antiX, so I wondered if this facility could be added to the Meta Package Installer, either as a stand-alone add-on for one of the existing file managers, or preferably using PcManFM or Thunar.

Chris

the"browsing" feature is difficult to implement. generally it requires gvfs and gvfs-backends, and all the overhead that brings with it. I doubt this feature will be added to antiX, as the default file managers don't support it anyway (well, spacefm sort of does but not by default).

check out my video on this very topic


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dolphin_oracle wrote:the"browsing" feature is difficult to implement. generally it requires gvfs and gvfs-backends, and all the overhead that brings with it. I doubt this feature will be added to antiX, as the default file managers don't support it anyway (well, spacefm sort of does but not by default).

check out my video on this very topic


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Thanks DO; it was your video that allowed me to get Connect Shares working once before, albeit by manually creating the .conf file.

Why would a 'one-click' solution be so difficult to implement in antiX? It's already in MX. I realise it can't be there OOTB, but as an addition that included a different file manager, is it still not possible?

Chris

chrispop99 wrote:Most distros these days have an icon in the file manager that allows connection to the local network shares

The basic idea in antiX is not to be tied to any particular file manager. Connectshares works with any file manager and/or any app that can browse the file system (e.g. word processor music player etc), rather than limiting the user to a single file manager to access shares. Put another way, Connectshares provides a way of accessing shares without the need to load a file manager. In addition to Samba shares, it also gives access to NFS shares.

Both PcManFM and Thunar will work with it. The three main file managers shipped with antiX, ROX-Filer, SpaceFM (both GUI) and Midnight Commander (ncurses), together with the command line (terminal or console) also work with it.

To obtain that degree of lightweight, independent, flexibility means Connectshares is configured once only. It is effectively set-and-forget.

In addition to the video mentioned by dolphin_oracle, have a look at the Connectshares section of the antiX FAQ

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0r the local shipped copy Help-->antiX-->antiX FAQ

Edit
Cross posted

Thanks SamK; the FAQ's are helpful. I have it set up to auto-mount shares now, and can see the benefit of it.

Chris

chrispop99 wrote:Thanks SamK; the FAQ's are helpful. I have it set up to auto-mount shares now, and can see the benefit of it.

Having reached this point, you can begin to tailor things to suit your way of working.

Your previous posts in this thread indicate you are familiar with Thunar. In antiX it is possible to use Connectshares in conjunction with SpaceFM to achieve some similartity of operation. Setting up SpaceFM to use its bookmark facility with your shares might be a good place to start.

This comparison of Connectshares and Thunar might be of interest
handling-network-shares-connectshares-v-thunar-t4844.html
Although it was produced a just over couple of years ago, the essence of it will still be pretty much OK.