Question: There is not an `Edit | Preferences` option. How do I get the files to display in a list view with details, and not as icons?

Answer: 
In 12.04 and 12.10 (under the default Unity desktop environment), **hold down the** `Alt` **key for just a second**, and you'll see the options for Edit->Preferences and the rest (top left of the screen). 

Maximization will also let you see the pull-down menus, but isn't necessary. The handy shortcut to maximize your application or window is `Ctrl`+`Super`+`Up` ("Up" is the "Up Arrow" key). The same combo but with the down arrow reverses the maximization effect. 

In Unity, hold down the Super or Windows key to see shortcuts. 

**It's generally easiest**, though, to use `Ctrl`+`2` to see a list view, and `Ctrl`+`1` to go back to icons.
From a command line you can list what is in a directory with `ls -la`

For example 

```
warren@min:~/workspace/crc8$ ls -la
total 52
drwxrwxr-x  4 warren warren  4096 Apr  3 10:41 .
drwxrwxr-x 14 warren warren  4096 May 22 13:39 ..
-rw-r--r--  1 warren warren 31048 Jun 10  2011 .cproject
drwxrwxr-x  3 warren warren  4096 Apr  3 11:22 Debug
-rw-r--r--  1 warren warren  2380 Jun 10  2011 .project
drwxrwxr-x  2 warren warren  4096 Apr  3 10:41 src
warren@min:~/workspace/crc8$ 

```

Its also possible to get a tree like view by installing **tree**

To install `sudo apt-get install tree`

Typical output.

```
warren@min:~/workspace/crc8$ tree
.
├── Debug
│   ├── crc8
│   ├── makefile
│   ├── objects.mk
│   ├── sources.mk
│   ├── src
│   │   ├── crc8.d
│   │   ├── crc8.o
│   │   └── subdir.mk
│   └── txt
└── src
    └── crc8.c

3 directories, 9 files
warren@min:~/workspace/crc8$ 

```