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Utilities

Utilities facilitate tasks such as keeping the clock up to date, archiving utilities, and more.

Rename multiple files at once

Krename is a tool to rename multiple files in a batch. It allows multiple plugins to save or add information to files.

sudo apt-get install krename

Archiving Utilities

ZIP

The command-line terminal utility ZIP creates files that are compatible with the time-honored PKZIP and WinZip. It is included in (K)Ubuntu by default. Extracting zip files can be done with the unzip utility. Using the -P option allows the creation of a password for the zip file:

zip -r -P mypassword destination.zip *

Note: The -r option indicates to include all subdirectories recursively. The wildcard * adds all files in the directory, but you can specify individual filenames as well. If special characters are to be used in the password, designate them with a preceding \. For example, if the password is to be notsosecure123# then the command should be

zip -r -P notsosecure123\# destination.zip *

For more info, enter in the command-line terminal:

man zip

X-archiver (Archiving GUI)

Xarchiver is a GTK-based GUI front-end for many archiving utilities. It allows the addition of passwords. Install:

sudo apt-get install xarchiver

Ark (Archiving GUI)

Ark is a front-end for zip (and other archival utilities) but does not allow passwords. It is the default for KDE/Kubuntu.

BChunk

BChunk is a command-line utility that allows you to convert .cue and .bin files into an .iso file (so that they can be opened and manipulated in Kubuntu). Warning: If the bin/cue image has audio tracks, they will be lost.

Get BChunk

sudo apt-get install bchunk

To convert .cue and .bin files, navigate to the folder and run this command (replacing filenames with your own):

bchunk inputfilename.bin inputfilename.cue outputfilename.iso

After the file is converted into ISO you can mount it using:

sudo mount -o loop outputfilename.iso /media/output

Navigate to /media/output and you should see all the content there. You can then copy it anywhere.

To unmount:

sudo umount /media/output

HJSplit Files Joiner/Splitter

HJSplit for Linux (Java version).

Make sure you have Java Runtime Environment installed:

sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre

Download the HJSplit JAR file:

wget http://www.freebyte.com/download/hjsplit/hjsplit_g.jar

Create the directory for HJSplit:

sudo mkdir /opt/hjsplit

Move the file to an appropriate directory:

sudo mv hjsplit_g.jar /opt/hjsplit/

Run:

cd /opt/hjsplit/ && java -jar hjsplit_g.jar

Note: You could also make a terminal shortcut (menu item) in K Menu Editor.

Rar

Rar archives files into the proprietary .rar format.

sudo apt-get install rar

This application is a 40-day trial.

Unrar

Unrar extracts files archived with the proprietary .rar format. A free version can be installed:

sudo apt-get install unrar-free

or the proprietary version (also free for noncommercial use) can be installed with the kubuntu-restricted-extras package or with:

sudo apt-get install unrar

Once one of these two utilities is installed, you can use Ark to extract the .rar files.

7-Zip

The open-source 7-Zip archive format was originally designed for Windows (and DOS) but is also available for Ubuntu. The GNU/Linux version of 7-Zip does not come with a GUI, but Ark can hook into 7-Zip to handle 7z archives. Install:

sudo apt-get install p7zip-full

To allow the 7-Zip extension for Ark to extract .rar files, also install:

sudo apt-get install p7zip-rar

Hard Drive Utilities

KDiskFree (Hard drive properties monitor)

KDiskFree is a KDE utility for monitoring free disk space, etc.

sudo apt-get install kdf

Clock Utilties

Screensavers

A screensaver is useful as a security precaution as well as a power and screen element saver. Using even a simple "Blank Screen" screensaver with a password can slow a potentially malicious passerby from gaining access to your keyboard and computer while you are away from your desk.

K menu -> Settings -> System Settings -> Display and Monitor -> Screen Saver

Set a security password:

Screen Saver -> Require password to stop (ticked)

Run a media file as a screensaver

Video and other media can be run from the screensaver. Multiple files in random rotation can be used.

K menu -> System -> System Settings -> General -> Desktop -> Screensaver

-> Banners & Pictures -> Media Screen Saver -> Setup... -> Add..

Partition Managers

Also see these tips for partitioning scheme suggestions, other partitioning tools and methods, and usage of multiple partitions for multiple OSs.

GParted Partition Manager

Gparted is a GTK (Gnome)-based partition manager that can also be used with KDE.

This utility works best when run from a LiveCD. Recent versions of the Ubuntu LiveCD (but not the Kubuntu LiveCD) have a copy of GParted on them. Start the Ubuntu LiveCD in demo mode (not in install mode) and then start GParted:

Menu -> System -> Administration -> GParted

An alternative is to download the Gparted .iso image here. Follow these instructions to burn this .iso image to CD. Use this GParted LiveCD as your partition manager.

You can also install the package into your OS (once it is installed on your hard drive):

sudo apt-get install gparted

KDE Partition Manager

KDE Partition Manager is a KDE-based partition manager used during the installation of Kubuntu. It functions similarly to GParted (and can be used instead of GParted).

This utility works best when run from a LiveCD. Recent versions (Natty 11.04 or later) of the Kubuntu LiveCD (but not the Ubuntu LiveCD) have a copy of KDE Partition Manager on them. Start the Kubuntu LiveCD in demo mode (not in install mode) and then start KDE Partition Manager:

K Menu -> System -> KDE Partition Manager