Gnome is driving me batstuff insane
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| tuxchick Sep 24, 2009 8:13 PM EDT |
Obviously my google-fu is failing me and I can't figure out how to fix this-- I want a nice "open with..." right-click dialog for everything. Just like KDE. For example, when I plug in a card reader or insert a DVD, I want an "Open with..." dialog somewheres, and it either shows me an applications menu or gives me a run command dialog. Hardly anything has an "Open with..." dialog, except when Gnome doesn't know what application to use, and then "Open with..." takes me to my homedir. I hate gnome. any suggestions? Thanks! |
| dinotrac Sep 24, 2009 8:29 PM EDT |
TC -- I feel your pain. I don't do GNOME these days, using XFCE instead. But -- I remember a beautiful day when I had a wonderful desktop developed by people who really seemed to "get it". Who knows? Maybe those days will return. I'm not kompletely konfidant, but it kould happen. |
| tuxchick Sep 24, 2009 8:40 PM EDT |
dino, I thought of that, and I've already installed my nice favorite full-of-features apps like Digikam, K3B, Gwenview, Ksnapshot, Thunar, and such because Gnome apps are beyond simple-minded and well into drooling. I've been a bit nervous about installing KDE because aside from Gnome's innate deficiencies, 64Studio is performing splendidly with nice low-latency audio recording, and that is such a voodoo exercise I'm scared to rock the boat. And really, all I need to be happy is right-click "Open with..." everywhere. Surely I can have that in gnome. |
| gus3 Sep 24, 2009 8:45 PM EDT |
Would you accept a solution written in Bash? It sounds like a quick hack using Zenity would fit the bill nicely. |
| dinotrac Sep 24, 2009 8:45 PM EDT |
TC -- Yeah, you got the studio voodoo done vooed, it's a little scary to make changes. I get the same thing with MythTV. Good luck!! |
| gus3 Sep 24, 2009 9:06 PM EDT |
I'm hacking together a solution right now. Please stay tuned. |
| tuxchick Sep 24, 2009 9:12 PM EDT |
I love the sound of hacking. |
| gus3 Sep 24, 2009 9:17 PM EDT |
Okay, now to test it. |
| tracyanne Sep 24, 2009 9:20 PM EDT |
Carla which bits is missing |
| azerthoth Sep 24, 2009 9:30 PM EDT |
Sounds like the same bits that are always missing from Gnome, functionality and true customability. |
| gus3 Sep 24, 2009 9:41 PM EDT |
I've hit a snag with spaces in the file name. Still working. |
| gus3 Sep 24, 2009 9:42 PM EDT |
az, what do you think I'm doing right now? |
| azerthoth Sep 24, 2009 9:44 PM EDT |
gus3, does it involve cookies or pie? :) |
| gus3 Sep 24, 2009 9:49 PM EDT |
LOL nope |
| gus3 Sep 24, 2009 9:59 PM EDT |
GOT IT! ------------cut here #!/bin/sh # Copy this into "~/.gnome2/nautilus-scripts/Open-with..." # and make executable # We want only newlines to affect word-splitting, since that's the # Nautilus way. IFS=" " for i in ${NAUTILUS_SCRIPT_SELECTED_FILE_PATHS} ; do FILES="$FILES "$i"" done # a sane starting directory cd /usr/bin APP=`zenity --title="Choose application" --file-selection` # if anything other than success if [ $? -ne 0 ] ; then exit ; fi # make sure selection is executable while [ ! -x $APP ] ; do zenity --error --text="Selected file is not executable. Please try again." APP=`zenity --title="Choose application" --file-selection` # if anything other than success if [ $? -ne 0 ] ; then exit ; fi done # finally, valid selection # this launches one process, passing names of all selected files eval exec $APP $FILES |
| gus3 Sep 24, 2009 10:06 PM EDT |
Also available for direct download here: http://gus3.typepad.com/Open_with... The indentation is preserved in the download. |
| Sander_Marechal Sep 25, 2009 4:05 AM EDT |
@gus: Gnome already has that IIRC. Open Nautilus, go to Edit->Preferences->Media and change your settings. IIRC there is a setting that allows you to get a popup asking you waht to do when you connect new media. |
| tracyanne Sep 25, 2009 8:30 AM EDT |
Quoting:Sounds like the same bits that are always missing from Gnome, functionality and true customability. I've had no trouble customising my Gnome Desktop t the way I want. I have all the functionality I had with KDE3.5 now. and in some cases that functionality works better. |
| gus3 Sep 25, 2009 8:48 AM EDT |
@Sander: But that change is persistent. What if I want to open one SVG file in a text editor, just one time? Select the file, right-click, go to Scripts/Open_with..., and find /usr/bin/gedit. No file association changes needed. I might even adjust it to look for Xlib in the linking, and open a terminal window if it isn't found. |
| tuxchick Sep 25, 2009 10:43 AM EDT |
gus3, I'll try it this weekend. TA, "it works for me" doesn't help all that much-- does Gnome already have a way to turn on a universal "Open with..." dialog? so that I can right-click on any icon for any file and see "Open with..." as one of the options? Here is one example of braindead behavior: when I insert a DVD Totem automatically opens and tries to play it. I don't want Totem, and it takes a good 4-5 minutes for it to quit farting around and get to a point where I can close it. (My decade-old #1 computer wish: an instant Go Away Now button.) |
| gus3 Sep 25, 2009 11:10 AM EDT |
@TC: I keep an "xkill" launcher on my panel. |
| tuxchick Sep 25, 2009 11:34 AM EDT |
Heh, xkill is good, but sometimes it leaves messes. It's not good to use it routinely :) I wrote an article once on the various kill commands, and got scolded by a reader who thought it was excessively violent. |
| jdixon Sep 25, 2009 11:59 AM EDT |
> I wrote an article once on the various kill commands, and got scolded by a reader who thought it was excessively violent. Nah, shutdown -r now, now that's excessively violent. :) |
| gus3 Sep 25, 2009 12:12 PM EDT |
Alt-SysRq-B. Or hold down the power button for 4 seconds. Or, for the extremest of all, pull the power cord. |
| Bob_Robertson Sep 25, 2009 12:18 PM EDT |
> Or, for the extremest of all, pull the power cord. The town I live in now has the most unreliable power of anywhere I have ever lived. EXT3 works fine. The wife's Windows machine, not so good. |
| azerthoth Sep 25, 2009 1:22 PM EDT |
YAY, TC and I can agree on something today. Works for me is based upon opinion and expectation, and opinions are worth exactly what you pay for them (sometimes less). I expect a DE to stay out of my way or to ask me questions when it's unsure. Gnome doesnt meet this expectation for me therefor my opinion is that it annoys the heck out of me. To the point where if my choice is gnome or nothing, I choose option 3 and do it by hand. X :1 -ac -terminate & DISPLAY=:1 xterm -maximize Thats how much I feel Gnome gets in my way ... I flat refuse to use it. Others dont feel this way, and thats fine, it 'works for them'. p.s. my default preference is Fluxbox with odds and ends pulled in from Gnome, KDE, XFCE, and Afterstep. Each has apps I find useful then tie them in to a WM that wont get in my way because all it really does is handle my hotkeys and draw pictures on the screen. |
| gus3 Sep 25, 2009 2:07 PM EDT |
Quoting:I wrote an article once on the various kill commands, and got scolded by a reader who thought it was excessively violent.Gee, I wonder what response would be evoked by HTTP SUBMIT requests? |
| Sander_Marechal Sep 25, 2009 6:12 PM EDT |
Quoting:But that change is persistent. What if I want to open one SVG file in a text editor, just one time? Isn't there an "Always ask" option? I can't check myself. Debian Lenny's Gnome is a few generations older so I don't even have the "Media" tab yet. |
| tracyanne Sep 25, 2009 6:44 PM EDT |
Quoting:TA, "it works for me" doesn't help all that much-- does Gnome already have a way to turn on a universal "Open with..." dialog? so that I can right-click on any icon for any file and see "Open with..." as one of the options? Carla that's why I asked you what is it you are missing In answer to that question. Yes. If I right Mouse click on a media file an avi for example I get the option to open it in "Movie Play", which on a standard install of Ubuntu happen to be MPlayer. I also get the option to "Open With...." and a popout menu offering, on my rig AviDemux, VLC, and Xine, I also get the option to "Open with Other Application" which when clickd opens a window which lists probably every application that has a GUI, tat's on my system I also get the option to open the current directory in a Terminal (what actually happens is the terminal opens at the current directory) I've added the Nautilus scripts package to my Nautilus config directory, so I also get all of the Nautilus extra scripts. I have 2 panels on my Nautilus (3 if you count the left hand panel). That was an extra, there a repository that contains a modified Nautilus. I have 9 virtual desktops arranged on a 3 by 3 grid (This is an extension, an improvement, of the 9 desktops I had on my KDE set up), using a combination of Compiz and the GNOME workspace switcher, that display when I move my mouse pointer to the Top left corner of my screen. It's a liitle like the GNOME Shell but without the menu that slides in from the left side. Moving the mouse to the top right corner initiates the scroll through All open applications. Right Mouse click on any file offers in the popup menu the option to 'Send to ...." and the selection, from the window that opens, of Email, CD/DVD Creator, Instant message application (Pidgeon) or removable media. Right mouse click on any iso image and you get the option to burn to CD/DVD, very handy, or mount it as filesystem. |
| krisum Sep 26, 2009 3:56 AM EDT |
Carla, you can install nautilus-actions package for more configuration of right click menu. For inserted media what Sander mentions works fine i.e. choose "Ask what to do" in the Media tab of nautilus preferences. edit: As TA mentions, there is a "Open with other application" item already in nautilus. Are you looking for something else? If you go to the "Properties -> Open With" tab in the right client menu of an item then you can add more apps there that will be shown in the right-click menu of those kinds of files and also change the default app. Using nautilus-actions package will allow you to add more actions to right click menu. |
| tuxchick Sep 26, 2009 11:30 PM EDT |
Quoting: YAY, TC and I can agree on something today. Is that allowed? Thanks gus3, TA, and krisum for suggestions, I will try them out soon. |
| tracyanne Sep 27, 2009 1:01 AM EDT |
Carla, if you need directions, just ask, but it was pretty easy to find on google in Ubuntu How Tos and forums, once I knew what I was looking for. And, of course, Nautilus extras will be in the main repository anyway, I also have ubuntu tweak installed, but can't remember if it's in the main repository. If you want pictures, I'll send some. I've also set up a netbook like my main machine, but with a 2 by 2 grid, 3 by 3 somehow doesn't seem to make sense on a netbook. |
| helios Sep 28, 2009 8:55 AM EDT |
shutdown -r please-be-gentle do-not-hurt-me-please-because-I-am-sentient-a-being this-is-not-a-good-time-for-me now There...the politically correct, if not improperly written shutdown command h |
| gus3 Sep 28, 2009 11:27 AM EDT |
root@paul:/home/gus3# shutdown -r please-be-gentle do-not-hurt-me-please-because-I-am-sentient-a-being this-is-not-a-good-time-for-me now Usage: shutdown [-akrhHPfnc] [-t secs] time [warning message] -a: use /etc/shutdown.allow -k: don't really shutdown, only warn. -r: reboot after shutdown. -h: halt after shutdown. -P: halt action is to turn off power. -H: halt action is to just halt. -f: do a 'fast' reboot (skip fsck). -F: Force fsck on reboot. -n: do not go through "init" but go down real fast. -c: cancel a running shutdown. -t secs: delay between warning and kill signal. ** the "time" argument is mandatory! (try "now") ** root@paul:/home/gus3# |
| azerthoth Sep 28, 2009 2:27 PM EDT |
aha gus gives us proof that Linux is not politically correct. |
| gus3 Sep 28, 2009 2:39 PM EDT |
Yeah, and look at all that poorly disguised profanity. |
| Steven_Rosenber Sep 29, 2009 4:14 PM EDT |
There should be a GNOME Hacks book, if there isn't one already. |
| jdixon Sep 29, 2009 4:33 PM EDT |
> There should be a GNOME Hacks book, if there isn't one already. I'm afraid that would take an entire encyclopedia, not just a single book. And yes, KDE's just as bad, just in different ways. |
| caitlyn Sep 29, 2009 4:58 PM EDT |
...and you all wonder why I prefer Xfce :) |
| tracyanne Sep 29, 2009 5:18 PM EDT |
what's wrong with GNOME? |
| montezuma Sep 29, 2009 5:33 PM EDT |
Ask Linus.... |
| caitlyn Sep 29, 2009 5:33 PM EDT |
TA: I don't like it. Is that good enough? I could go into a long exposition of what I hate about GNOME if you like. |
| Sander_Marechal Sep 29, 2009 5:36 PM EDT |
Quoting:...and you all wonder why I prefer Xfce :) Xfce. Pah! I'm well into my 3rd month of Awesome WM and I'm liking it ever more. Awesome + Vimperator means I hardly have to use the rat-beast anymore. Big yay for my wrists! |
| tracyanne Sep 29, 2009 9:49 PM EDT |
caitlyn I've got GNOME and XFCE, and occassionally KDE 4, desktops running and for the life of me Ican't see anything about XFCE that makes GNOME looke bad, they seem about the same to me. I dislike intensly the menu system that comes with MINT, though, reminds me of the thing that comes with KDE4 |
| azerthoth Sep 29, 2009 10:26 PM EDT |
cant wait to see Gnome 3 (aka Kgnome) |
| tracyanne Sep 29, 2009 11:55 PM EDT |
I like GNOME Shell |
| Steven_Rosenber Sep 30, 2009 12:59 AM EDT |
I have Xfce (not Xubuntu) on my Ubuntu installation; have to give it another whirl. |
| bigg Sep 30, 2009 6:40 AM EDT |
> I dislike intensly the menu system that comes with MINT, though, reminds me of the thing that comes with KDE4 I actually like the default menu on Mint quite a bit, much better than the one on KDE 4. I always change the menu immediately back to classic when using KDE 4. The KDE 4 menu is one of the experiments that turned out to be a really, really bad idea, but for some reason they kept it as default. |
| jdixon Sep 30, 2009 11:35 PM EDT |
> ...and for the life of me Ican't see anything about XFCE that makes GNOME looke bad... Try them both on an old machine with 256M of memory or less, then get back to us. :) Oh, and don't use Xubuntu, try Vector or Zenwalk if you want a good, fast XFCE implementation. |
| gus3 Sep 30, 2009 11:36 PM EDT |
XFCE doesn't suck on a netbook. Fluxbox sucks even less. |
| tracyanne Sep 30, 2009 11:52 PM EDT |
I've been using GNOME, it seems to work just fine. But I just might give XFCE a go. |
| gus3 Oct 01, 2009 2:34 AM EDT |
ta, one thing I've noticed about XFCE is that its programs (like file manager, text editor) consistently launch more quickly than their counterparts in GNOME. |
| Sander_Marechal Oct 01, 2009 4:17 AM EDT |
You just mentioned the two slowest things on a Gnome desktop Gus :-) Nautilus and GEdit are slow but you can replace them with a different file manager and text editor. During the last ODF Plugfest the AbiWord guys were very pround that AbiWord could start up faster than GEdit does. A full fledged word processor starting faster than a simple text editor! |
| bigg Oct 01, 2009 6:02 AM EDT |
> you can replace them with a different file manager You can replace Nautilus as the default? When I last checked, that was possible, but rather difficult. Is there an easy way to do it? |
| Steven_Rosenber Oct 01, 2009 1:59 PM EDT |
The Mousepad text editor in Xfce is super-fast to load, but it's lacking a lot of features compared with GEdit and other editors. I was a big Geany user for quite some time, but I started using GEdit and have continued. I like the syntax highlighting, and otherwise I'm fairly happy with it. The search/replace is pretty good. What I don't like about GEdit is that while it has a "change case" function, there's no keyboard shortcut for it. And it's a function I use a whole lot. Mousepad doesn't even have it; if it did, I'd be more inclined to use Mousepad, which I do like quite a bit apart from that reason. I expect there's some way I can set up keybindings for GEdit's change-case function (you can select type then type alt-e, then "h," then "i" to invert case, but that's a bit cumbersome compared with Geany's ctrl-alt-u to invert case. To sum up, I like the relative simplicity of GEdit, albeit with the syntax highlighting I've grown accustomed to using. I don't find it slow at all on a 1.3 GHz Celeron. On a much lower-spec system, I probably wouldn't be running GNOME at all ... I think Thunar is a great file manager, but I'm also very happy with Nautilus at present, so there are more than a few things keeping me using GNOME for the time being. |
| Sander_Marechal Oct 01, 2009 6:38 PM EDT |
@bigg: On Debian at least it's easy thank to their alternatives system. I do think there will still be one copy of nautilus running that manages your desktop and icons on it (nautilus does that too). @Steven: One word: gVim |
| hkwint Oct 04, 2009 1:09 PM EDT |
@Dino:
Quoting:I remember a beautiful day when I had a wonderful desktop developed by people who really seemed to "get it". Oh no, sounds like you are using acid err, I mean Win3.11 again. Am I correct or not? |
| dinotrac Oct 04, 2009 2:50 PM EDT |
How'd you know? After all, with all the starting over that had to be done for KDE 4, KDE 3 must have been a real piece of cr@p. |
| gus3 Oct 04, 2009 4:23 PM EDT |
Quoting:with all the starting over that had to be done for KDE 4, KDE 3 must have been a real piece of cr@p.Kinda like Mozilla starting over as Seamonkey? |
| dinotrac Oct 04, 2009 4:35 PM EDT |
gus3 - Don't know how that's working out, but Mozilla's original do-over took place ten years ago when they scrapped the Netscape code base and let the entire non-IE world hang out to dry. Fortunately, along the way, they made some pretty good tools and Hyatt/Ross took those tools to make another, better browser than Mozilla. Firefox has managed to grab back some of that market share from IE, and, along the way, loosened Microsoft's grip on the internet. |
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