How to Use remoTree

Contents

• Remote Connections
• Key Authentication
• File Management
• Remote Terminal
• Settings

Remote Connections

remoTree shows lists of available host servers on the Remote Files and Remote Terminal tab views. On the initial use, these lists will be blank. Use the "+" button at the upper right to add server information. The Display Name, User Name and Address are all required fields. The Private Key button will be discussed in the next section. Once those fields are entered, use the check button at the upper left to complete the host creation.

A tap or click on a host in the list will attempt to make a connection. It will prompt for a password if no authentication keys have been defined. Once connected, depending on the active tab, the file view or the terminal view will be active.

The menu button to the right of each host in the list can be used to edit or delete the host.

Key Authentication

When editing host information, the Add Private Key button can be used to set up key-based authentication. The first option, Create on server, will use the ssh-keygen command on the server to create the keys. It will prompt for a key passphrase - leave the field empty to skip the passphrase. It will then automatically add the public key to the "~/.ssh/authorized_keys" file on the server and load the private key into remoTree.

The second option, Load from file, will load an existing private key from the local file system. It will assume that the public key has or will be copied to the server manually.

File Management

Both the Local Files and Remote Files tab views support the following commands:

• Directories can be clicked or tapped to expand or collapse their contents.
• A long click or tap will toggle the selection of a directory or folder.
• The buttons in the file path at the top of the main view area will set higher level directories to become the new root directory.
• When nothing is selected:
  • The refresh button will update the view.
  • The eye button will toggle showing hidden dot files.
  • The sort button will allow the user to choose the sorting method.
  • On the remote view, a logout button will disconnect from the server.
• When files or directories are selected:
  • If one directory is selected, an anchor button will make the selected directory the new root directory.
  • If one text file is selected, a pencil icon will edit the file.
  • The copy button will collect selected files and/or directories for file transfer.
  • The "i" button can be used to show additional information about selected objects. Links in the information view can be used for renames or file permission changes.
  • The trash icon is used to delete selected files and/or directories.
  • The back button at the upper left can be used to cancel a selection.
• When items have been marked for copying/file transfer:
  • If one directory is selected, a paste button will copy or transfer the marked items.
  • The back button at the upper left can be used to cancel the copy marking.

Remote Terminal

If connected to a remote server, the Remote Terminal tab view will show a basic text-based terminal window. This emulates a dumb terminal, so it does not support curses applications or other advanced terminal programs.

Settings

The "Settings" menu item allows for changing several default options. These settings are automatically stored so that remoTree will re-start with the settings last used.

There are settings for the default file sorting method and the visibility of hidden dot files. These only affect the conditions at startup - the controls on the views can be used to override these settings.

The remaining options control appearances. The view scale ratio can be set to make the content smaller or larger (useful for high-dpi displays). The window size and position will be restored from the previous session use if enabled. The final setting selects between light and dark color schemes.