MSL Files as the Linux file browser
What turning Linux's file manager and file dialogs into MSL Files actually changes.
On this page 3 sections
With Set MSL Files as the default file browser for Linux on — which it is by default — Linux apps use MSL Files instead of a Linux file manager.
What changes#
| In a Linux app | You get |
|---|---|
| Opening a folder, or "show in folder" | MSL Files, at that folder |
| An app's Open or Save As dialog | MSL Files, as the dialog |
| Starting the file manager from the Linux applications menu | MSL Files, at that instance's home folder |
The dialog is the same browser as the rest of MSL Files — the same sidebar, view modes, sorting and search — with Cancel and Open along the bottom. It can see your Mac's disk as well as the instance's, which a Linux file chooser cannot.
Why it is experimental#
Some apps will keep their own dialog whatever this is set to, because they draw it themselves in a way nothing outside them can redirect. That is not a fault; those apps simply work as they do on Linux.
Turning it off#
With it off, folders open in whatever Linux file manager is installed (Nautilus, Dolphin, and so on), and Open and Save dialogs are the app's own. MSL Files still works as a Mac app — it is only the Linux side that stops pointing at it.