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I have simple problem that I have to long directories which I want to cd into, but I would like to know easy way.

mosquito@mosquito-K56CB:~/Downloads$ ls | grep Guns
Guns n' Roses - Appetite for Destruction (Japanese Edition) 1987
Guns n' Roses - Use Your Illusion I 1991

Of course I can just copy the name and put it like this: cd "Guns n' Roses - Appetite for Destruction (Japanese Edition) 1987"

But why when I write cd Guns then tab, it finishes line into: cd Guns\ n\'\ Roses\ -\ then by my understanding I should just start writing App.. with tab and it should finish whole name, but it does not. And hitting tab twice does not show me anything either. What I am missing here?

user1880405
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  • I never knew the trick with the tab key - thanks! You might look into being able to open a terminal in a directory from nautilus - this link shows how to enable that function. http://askubuntu.com/questions/207442/how-to-add-open-terminal-here-to-nautilus-context-menu – Charles Green Jun 09 '14 at 15:34
  • @user1880405 I've tested it. It seems character `'` has some objections try after removing it. – Pandya Jun 09 '14 at 15:51
  • You are right sir, removing ' fixed the problem, now I will know! – user1880405 Jun 09 '14 at 15:55

1 Answers1

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EDIT: Actually trying the same directory names in bash, I get the same error. Removing the ' from the directory names makes it work, so I'm guessing that this is a bug in the bash tab-completion.

EDIT 2: According to this question, it's a known bug that will be fixed in a future release.

You could still try zsh as a drop-in replacement and install the Grml zsh config, which really takes you to a whole new level of tab completion:

sudo apt-get install zsh
wget -O ~/.zshrc http://git.grml.org/f/grml-etc-core/etc/zsh/zshrc
wget -O ~/.zshrc.local  http://git.grml.org/f/grml-etc-core/etc/skel/.zshrc
zsh

If you like it and want to use it as your default shell, run chsh -s /usr/bin/zsh.

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kraxor
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  • Hitting tab 3 or any amount of times does not do anything. Added your line, didn't change anything. – user1880405 Jun 09 '14 at 15:46
  • Please see my edit, I think bash-completion is just buggy. – kraxor Jun 09 '14 at 15:51
  • I see now, thanks kraxor. But those 2 methods (copying name and 'tabbing') are the only ways to get into multiple word directory? – user1880405 Jun 09 '14 at 15:52
  • You could do something like `cd Gun*Japan*` as a workaround. But if you use the terminal quite often, you should definitely try `zsh`, once you get there, you never even look back. It's pretty much compatible so you don't have to learn anything new, just enjoy the extra features. – kraxor Jun 09 '14 at 15:58
  • Wow that's a nice trick! Anyways, gonna take a look into zsh as you say. Thank you, case solved. – user1880405 Jun 09 '14 at 16:04