Getting Started

Getting Started with Unifyl Basic

This guide walks you through your first experience with Unifyl Basic, from launching the app to performing your first file operations. By the end, you will understand the core concepts that make Unifyl a powerful file management tool.

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Table of Contents

• First Launch
• Understanding the Interface
• Core Concepts
  • Dual-Pane Layout
  • Active vs. Inactive Panel
  • Cursor vs. Selection
  • The Function Key Bar
• Your First File Operations
  • Navigating Directories
  • Selecting Files
  • Copying Files Between Panels
  • Creating a New Folder
  • Renaming a File
  • Deleting Files
• Essential Shortcuts to Learn First
• Next Steps

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First Launch

When you launch Unifyl Basic for the first time:

1. Both panels open to your Home directory. The left panel and right panel each display the contents of ~/ (your user home folder).
2. The left panel is active by default. You will see a highlighted cursor on the first item in the left panel.
3. The function key bar appears at the bottom of the window, showing the classic F1--F8 commands: Help, Refresh, View, Edit, Copy, Move, New Folder, Delete.
4. The workspace is saved automatically. When you quit and relaunch, Unifyl restores your exact panel layout -- directories, tabs, sort orders, and active panel.

Tip: If you are coming from Finder, the biggest adjustment is that Unifyl uses a cursor (highlighted row) that is separate from selection (checked/marked items). This dual concept is what makes power operations possible.

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Understanding the Interface

The Unifyl window is divided into several key regions:

+------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Menu Bar                                                         |
+-------------------------------+----------------------------------+
|  Left Panel                   |  Right Panel                     |
|  [Tab 1] [Tab 2] [+]         |  [Tab 1] [+]                     |
|  /Users/you/Documents         |  /Users/you/Downloads            |
|  ┌─────────────────────────┐  |  ┌──────────────────────────┐    |
|  │ ..                       │  |  │ ..                        │    |
|  │ > Projects/         ►   │  |  │ screenshot.png            │    |
|  │   README.md              │  |  │ report.pdf                │    |
|  │   notes.txt              │  |  │ archive.zip               │    |
|  │   image.png              │  |  │ installer.dmg             │    |
|  └─────────────────────────┘  |  └──────────────────────────┘    |
|  5 items, 2 selected (1.2 MB) |  4 items                         |
+-------------------------------+----------------------------------+
|  F1 Help | F2 Rename | F3 View | F4 Edit | F5 Copy | F6 Move   |
|  F7 MkDir | F8 Delete                                            |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+

Interface Components

Component	Location	Purpose
Tab Bar	Top of each panel	Switch between multiple directory tabs within a single panel
Path Bar	Below the tab bar	Shows the current directory path; click segments to navigate
File List	Main area of each panel	Displays files and folders with columns for name, size, date, etc.
Status Bar	Bottom of each panel	Shows item count, selection count, and total size of selected items
Function Key Bar	Bottom of window	Quick access to F1--F8 operations
Preview Panel	Optional right side	Shows a preview of the cursor item (toggle with Ctrl+Q)

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Core Concepts

Dual-Pane Layout

The defining feature of Unifyl is its dual-pane layout: two independent file panels side by side. This design enables:

• Direct file operations: Copy or move files from one panel to the other without drag-and-drop or dialog boxes.
• Directory comparison: See two directories simultaneously to compare contents.
• Independent navigation: Each panel has its own tab system, navigation history, sort order, and filter.

The split ratio between panels is adjustable by dragging the divider. Your preferred ratio is saved automatically.

Active vs. Inactive Panel

At any given time, one panel is active (has keyboard focus) and the other is inactive:

Property	Active Panel	Inactive Panel
Visual indicator	Highlighted title bar / border	Dimmed or neutral title bar
Keyboard input	Receives all keyboard shortcuts	Does not respond to keyboard
Cursor	Visible, highlighted row	May retain its last cursor position
File operations target	Source for copy/move	Destination for copy/move

How to switch panels:

• Press Tab to toggle focus between left and right panels.
• Click anywhere inside the other panel.

Important: When you press F5 (Copy) or F6 (Move), files are copied/moved from the active panel to the inactive panel's current directory. This is the fundamental dual-pane workflow.

Cursor vs. Selection

This is the most important concept to understand in Unifyl:

Concept	What It Is	Visual	How to Move/Set
Cursor	A single highlighted row indicating your current position	Highlighted background row	Arrow keys (Up/Down), click a row
Selection	One or more items explicitly marked for batch operations	Checkmark or colored highlight	Insert, Space, Shift+Up/Down, Cmd+A

Key behavior -- selectedOrCursorItems:

When you invoke an operation like Copy, Move, or Delete, Unifyl uses this logic:

1. If one or more items are selected (explicitly marked), the operation applies to all selected items.
2. If nothing is selected, the operation applies to the cursor item (the single highlighted row).

This means you never need to explicitly select a single file -- just move the cursor to it and press the operation key. But when you want to operate on multiple files, you select them first, and the cursor position becomes irrelevant to the operation.

The Function Key Bar

The function key bar at the bottom of the window provides quick access to the most common operations:

Key	Action	Description
F1	Help	Open context-sensitive help
F2	Inline Rename	Edit cursor filename in place. Refresh moved to ⌘R in 1.1.0.
F3	Viewer Window	Open in independent viewer window (survives app switching). For Quick Look use Space.
F4	Edit	Open the cursor item in the default editor
F5	Copy	Copy selected/cursor items to the opposite panel
F6	Move	Move selected/cursor items to the opposite panel
F7	New Folder	Create a new folder in the active panel's directory
F8	Delete	Move selected/cursor items to the Trash

Tip: If your keyboard has a Touch Bar or requires holding Fn to use function keys, you can change this in System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Function Keys, or use the equivalent Cmd shortcuts in Unifyl (e.g., Cmd+D for Copy to Opposite Panel).

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Your First File Operations

Navigating Directories

Enter a directory:

• Move the cursor to a folder using Up/Down arrow keys.
• Press Return (Enter) to enter the directory.
• Alternatively, double-click the folder.

Go up one level:

• Press Backspace or Cmd+Up to go to the parent directory.
• Or click the .. entry at the top of the file list.

Go to a specific path:

• Press Cmd+Shift+G (Go to Folder) to open a path input field.
• Type or paste an absolute path and press Return.

Navigate back and forward:

• Cmd+[ goes back in history.
• Cmd+] goes forward in history.

Jump to Home:

• Press Cmd+Shift+H to jump to your home directory.

Selecting Files

Select a single file for a batch operation:

• Move the cursor to the file.
• Press Insert to toggle selection and automatically advance the cursor to the next item.
• Or press Space to toggle selection without advancing.

Select multiple contiguous files:

• Hold Shift and press Up or Down to extend the selection.

Select all files:

• Press Cmd+A to select all items in the current directory.
• Press Cmd+A again to deselect all.

Invert selection:

• Press Cmd+Shift+A to invert the current selection (selected become unselected and vice versa).

Copying Files Between Panels

This is the quintessential dual-pane operation:

1. In the left panel, navigate to the directory containing the source files.
2. In the right panel, navigate to the destination directory.
3. Switch back to the left panel (press Tab if needed).
4. Select the files you want to copy (use Insert, Space, or Cmd+A).
5. Press F5 (or Cmd+D).
6. A confirmation dialog appears showing the source files and destination.
7. Press Return or click Copy to confirm.

The files are copied to the right panel's current directory. A progress indicator appears for large operations, with pause/resume controls.

Creating a New Folder

1. Press F7 (or Cmd+Shift+N).
2. A dialog appears prompting for the folder name.
3. Type the desired name and press Return.
4. The new folder appears in the file list, and the cursor moves to it.

Renaming a File

1. Move the cursor to the file you want to rename.
2. Press Shift+Return (or select File > Rename from the menu).
3. The filename becomes editable inline.
4. Type the new name and press Return to confirm, or Escape to cancel.

Note: Unifyl follows the macOS convention where Return enters a directory (for folders) or opens a file, while Shift+Return activates rename. This differs from Finder where bare Return triggers rename.

Deleting Files

1. Select the files you want to delete (or just position the cursor on a single file).
2. Press F8 (or Cmd+Delete).
3. A confirmation dialog appears listing the files to be deleted.
4. Confirm to move the files to the macOS Trash (not permanent deletion).

Safety: Unifyl always moves files to the Trash by default, never permanently deleting them. You can restore trashed files using Finder's Trash or Cmd+Z (Undo) in Unifyl.

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Essential Shortcuts to Learn First

These ten shortcuts will cover 90% of your daily file management:

Shortcut	Action
Tab	Switch between left and right panels
Return	Enter directory / open file
Backspace	Go up to parent directory
Insert	Toggle selection + advance cursor
Cmd+A	Select all / deselect all
F5	Copy to opposite panel
F6	Move to opposite panel
F7	Create new folder
F8	Delete (move to Trash)
Cmd+F	Filter current directory

Tip: Once you are comfortable with these basics, explore the full keyboard shortcut reference to discover more powerful operations like Smart Folders, Advanced Search, and the Command Palette.

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Next Steps

Now that you understand the basics, here are the recommended pages to read next:

1. Dual-Pane Navigation -- Learn about tabs, bookmarks, workspace saving, preview mode, and thumbnail grid.
2. Keyboard Shortcuts -- The complete reference for all keyboard shortcuts, organized by category.
3. File Operations -- Deep dive into copy, move, delete, rename, undo/redo, and the operation queue.
4. Selection -- Master the selection model for efficient batch operations.
5. Search and Filter -- Learn to find files instantly with real-time filter and multi-criteria Advanced Search.
6. Smart Folders -- Collect files from multiple directories into a virtual cart for batch operations.