Apparix accelerates file system navigation with a mix of Cdargs utility and CDPATH shell mechanism, allowing users to swiftly move around directories.
One of the most notable features of Apparix is the ability to attach marks to locations and jump to them by loading the mark. The process of marking, unmarking, and jumping is straightforward and can be performed within the current shell. With the help of convenient aliases for marking and jumping, users can navigate through the file system in a fast and intuitive manner.
The software also comes with a list of additional options available for pruning and squashing bookmarks, which can be found under the OPTIONS section. Moreover, the NOTES section contains a brief discussion of the advantages of Apparix over other approaches, such as setting up aliases for often visited directories, using symlinks, CDPATH or a combination of these.
The HISTORY section explains the differences between cdargs and Apparix. Notably, Apparix operates in a similar manner to cdargs, and users can invoke Apparix using pre-defined aliases such as bm for bookmark, portal for a CPPATH-style bookmark, and to for initiating an apparition (jump).
Apparix works efficiently with aliases for two primary reasons: necessity and convenience. When bookmarking, it is convenient to have the option of doing so with a few keystrokes. However, when jumping, Apparix cannot change the current directory in the current shell. Instead, it writes the result destination in a results file $HOME/.apparixresult. An alias with a conveniently short name such as to can then be used to achieve the desired change of directory.
To further illustrate how Apparix works, let's suppose a user frequently visits a directory called /home/eez/cvs/xyz/tfa/faq/zut/bar/foo. The user can create a bookmark for this directory using the command, bm foo added: foo -> /home/eez/cvs/xyz/tfa/faq/zut/bar/foo. The user can then navigate to this directory using the command, cd /home/eez> to foo /home/eez/cvs/xyz/tfa/faq/zut/bar/foo>.
If a user has a directory that contains many subdirectories with distinctive names, they can bookmark all of these subdirectories by marking the parent directory as a portal. This is similar to adding the parent directory to the CDPATH environment variable, except that Apparix bookmarks are not part of the cd namespace.
Apparix also allows identical bookmarks to point to different locations, and when asked to visit such a bookmark, it will present a list of options. Users can also specify an additional subdirectory after the bookmark when jumping (apparating), and Apparix will append the subdirectory to the destination. This requires users to know the exact name of the subdirectory they want to visit.
Overall, Apparix is a powerful and efficient software that provides an excellent way to navigate through the file system. Its combination of features and convenient aliases make it an essential tool for both frequent and infrequent Linux users.
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