Beginner Guide

Configuring Preferences

Customize Captain's Deck to match your workflow with these configuration options.

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Opening Preferences

Access preferences via:

  • Menu: Captain's Deck -> Preferences
  • Keyboard: Cmd+,

General Settings

Startup

  • Start at login: Launch Captain's Deck when you log in
  • Restore last session: Reopen tabs from your previous session
  • Default directory: Where to open new tabs (Home, Desktop, or last used)

File Operations

  • Confirm before delete: Show confirmation dialog for deletions
  • Use Trash for delete: Move to Trash instead of permanent delete
  • Show operation progress: Display progress for copy/move operations

Admin Mode

  • Helper status: Shows if privileged helper is installed
  • Always use Admin: Enable admin privileges for all operations in this session

Function Keys

Instructions for configuring macOS to use F1-F12 as standard function keys.

Appearance

Theme

  • Modern: Clean, contemporary interface matching macOS style
  • Norton Commander: Classic blue DOS-style theme (Pro feature)

CRT Effects (Pro)

When using Norton Commander theme:

  • Scanlines: Retro monitor effect
  • Screen curve: Simulated CRT curvature
  • Glow: Phosphor glow effect

Colors

  • Follow system: Match macOS light/dark mode
  • Always light: Force light theme
  • Always dark: Force dark theme

Font

  • Font family: Choose a monospace font
  • Font size: Adjust text size (10-18pt)

Columns

Configure which columns appear in the file list:

  • Name: Always shown
  • Size: File size
  • Date Modified: Last modification time
  • Date Created: Creation time
  • Kind: File type
  • Permissions: Unix permissions (rwx)
  • Owner: File owner

Drag columns to reorder. You can also right-click column headers in the main window.

Keyboard

Navigation Style

  • Vim + Arrows: Both hjkl and arrow keys work (default)
  • Arrows only: Disable Vim-style navigation
  • Vim only: Disable arrow key navigation

Custom Shortcuts (Pro)

Customize keyboard shortcuts for any action. Click an action and press your desired key combination.

Terminal

Shell

  • Default shell: Use system default (from /etc/passwd)
  • Custom shell: Specify path to alternative shell

Appearance

  • Font: Terminal-specific font
  • Font size: Terminal text size
  • Cursor style: Block, underline, or bar
  • Scrollback: Number of lines to keep in history

Behavior

  • Sync with file browser: Bidirectional directory sync
  • Close on exit: Hide terminal when shell exits

Advanced

Performance

  • Directory cache: Cache directory listings for faster navigation
  • Thumbnail generation: Show image previews (may slow large directories)

Hidden Files

  • Show hidden by default: Always show dotfiles

External Editor

  • Editor application: App to open with F4 (default: TextEdit)

License

  • Status: Shows trial days remaining or license info
  • Activate: Enter license key
  • Deactivate: Remove license from this machine
  • Purchase: Open store to buy a license

Resetting Preferences

To reset all preferences to defaults:

  1. Quit Captain's Deck
  2. Open Terminal
  3. Run: defaults delete com.captainsdeck.app
  4. Relaunch Captain's Deck

Note: This will reset all settings including bookmarks and saved connections.

Next Steps

Norton Commander Theme Setup Complete Keyboard Shortcuts Reference