InformIT: Red Hat Linux 7 Unleashed > Creating and Editing Filesystems Graphically with fsconf and linuxconf

Creating and Editing Filesystems Graphically with `fsconf` and `linuxconf`

The fsconf utility allows you to edit, add, or delete mounts. When you invoke the filesystem configurator, you are given the choice of five tasks (see Figure 18.2).

Figure 18.2 The fsconfig tool—top level.

If you look at Figure 18.3 you will notice that linuxconf uses the same menu layout as fsconf.

Figure 18.3 The linuxconf tool—top level.

Each of these utilities is detailed here.

Access Local Drive

The first option you see is Access Local Drive. As you can see from Figure 18.4, this option shows the current local filesystems.

In Figure 18.5 you will find the same dialog for linuxconf.

You get the Volume Specification window, as seen in Figure 18.6, when you click Add. Both linuxconf and fsconf supply exactly the same GUI for these options (see Figure 18.6).

Figure 18.4 Accessing the Local Volume in fsconf

Figure 18.5 Accessing the Local Volume in linuxconf.

Figure 18.6 The Volume Specification window.

You will notice that both the Partition and Type input boxes are drop-down menus. Clicking their arrows allows you to select from a list of possible values.

Figure 18.7 shows the screen with the partitions selected. The window gives you a list of all of your current partitions.

Figure 18.7 Volume Specification—list of current partitions.

The screen showing the volume type is shown here as Figure 18.8.

Figure 18.8 Volume Specification—Volume Type.

As you can see from the list, you have a good set of options to choose from, and you don't have to remember whether it is called MS DOS or just DOS!

The DOS option is here because DOS and OS/2 are single-user systems, whereas Linux is a multiuser system. DOS and OS/2, therefore, have no means of assigning ownership of files. To get around this problem, and to keep everyone from seeing everyone else's DOS files, Linux allows entire filesystems to be mounted with the user and group IDs defined with the default you set here.

Just like many other screens, this one also has drop-down menus that allow you to choose the default user ID, the default group ID, and the translation mode. This can be seen in Figure 18.9.

Figure 18.9 Volume Specification—DOS Options.

The translation mode can be a bit confusing. There are three options and they're shown in Figure 18.10.

Figure 18.10 Volume Specification—Translation Mode.

These options are binary, auto, and text. Text files are stored differently in DOS than in Linux. In Linux, the end-of-file marker is a single ASCII line feed. In DOS, the end-of-file marker is an ASCII carriage return followed by an ASCII line feed. The three options listed allow for translation from one type of system to the other. Binary indicates no translation. Auto means to translate all files that are not named to indicate that they are an executable, program code, graphics, TeX, or an archive file. Executable files have an extension of BIN, COM, EXE, or SYS. Program code has an extension of APP, DLL, DRV, LIB, OBJ, OVL, OVR, or PIF. Graphic files have an extension of BMP, GIF, GL, JPG, PCX, and TIF. TeX files end in DVI, GF, PX, PXL, TFM, and VF. Archive files traditionally have an extension of ARC, ARJ, DEB, GZ, LHA, LZH, TAR, TAZ, TPZ, TZ, TZP, Z, ZIP, and ZOO. Finally, text means to translate all files regardless of type. This third option can cause problems if you accidentally translate a file that should not be translated.

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