Wednesday, July 3

head_gedit, to check head of text files in gedit really quick (Ubuntu)

Recently I got some bit text files that I need to check the header of them and verify the format really quick. The traditional way is to go to command line, cd to this folder, then "head xxxx.txt".

Because I made "Mass Sequential Rename" script before, I know it doesn't take long to integrate "head" functionality into right-click of nautilus. Here is the result:


#!/bin/bash
# Nautilus script for head and gedit.
# Modified by Ben(AT)Fadshop.net. http://benincampus.blogspot.com .July 2, 2013
# Based on http://benincampus.blogspot.com/2009/03/mass-sequential-rename.html
# save this file as ~/.gnome2/nautilus-scripts/head_gedit

set -e

IFS=$'\n'   #for space in the file name.
for FILE in $NAUTILUS_SCRIPT_SELECTED_FILE_PATHS
do
  filename=""`basename "$FILE"`""

  head "$FILE" > "/tmp/head_gedit_$filename"
  gedit "/tmp/head_gedit_$filename"
  rm  "/tmp/head_gedit_$filename"
done


So the program creates a head file in /tmp/ folder, use gedit to show it, then remove it immediately.

Save the script as ~/.gnome2/nautilus-scripts/head_gedit , make it executable (chmod +x ~/.gnome2/nautilus-scripts/head_gedit) then in your nautilus, right click the text files you want to show (you can click multiple files!) and select "script - > head_gedit", you will see the heads of them showing in gedit instantly.

You can fine tune how many lines you want to show, or you can add a prompt to let user input a number by referring the "Mass Sequential Rename" script.

Have fun!

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