Appendix A. Hidden Directories
This appendix describes the hidden directories that the
GNOME Desktop adds to the home directories of users.
A hidden
directory is a directory that has a name that begins with a period (.). Table A.1, “Hidden Directories in User Home Directories” describes the hidden directories that the GNOME
Desktop adds to the home directories of users.
Table A.1. Hidden Directories in User Home Directories
Directory |
Description |
.config
|
This is the default location for the environment variable XDG_CONFIG_HOME,
if it is not set. User defined menus can be created at menus/applications.menu. |
.fonts
|
Contains fonts specific to a particular user. When a user installs a font by dragging it
to the fonts:/// URI in nautilus, it is copied to this location. |
.esd_auth
|
Contains the authentication cookie for the GNOME
sound daemon. The GNOME sound daemon is the Enlightened Sound Daemon (ESD).
NOTE: This is a file, not a directory.
|
.gconf
|
Contains the GConf configuration
source for the user. When the user sets a preference, the new preference information
is added to this location. |
.gconfd
|
Contains the following GConf
daemon details:
Configuration information. Lock information for objects that are referenced by an Interoperable Object Reference (IOR). State information for objects that are referenced by an IOR. |
.gnome
|
Contains user-specific application data that is
not stored in the GConf repository.
NOTE: this directory is deprecated and is only used by
GNOME 1.x applications.
|
.gnome2
|
Contains user-specific application data that is
not stored in the GConf repository. For example,
this directory contains the following:
Keyboard shortcut information. Window location information. Desktop entry files for panel launchers. This directory may also contain sub-directories that store
application specific data.
|
.gnome2-private
|
Ignore this directory. This directory has no function
at the time of publication of this guide. |
.local/share
|
This is the default location for the environment variable XDG_DATA_HOME,
if it is not set. User defined desktop entries can be created in the subdirectory applications.
User defined mime types can be created in mime/packages/Overrides.xml. |
.metacity
|
Contains session data for the Metacity window manager. |
.nautilus
|
Contains file manager data that is specific to the
user. For example, this directory can contain the following:
|
.themes
|
Contains controls theme options, window frame theme
options, and icons theme options that the user adds. The user can add themes
from the Theme preference tool. |
.thumbnails
|
Contains image thumbnails for the user. The image
thumbnails are used in the file manager. The file manager contains a preference
that the user can select to stop generation of thumbnail images. |
