How to use Nautilus in Openbox ?

[melodie]

Hi,
I am giving it a try, as it could be a good replacement for PCManFM which does not seem stable enough at the moment, and for Thunar as well when we want to use it to replace or get the features we don't have with PCManFM. Thunar does not provide access to internal partitions, at the moment, for instance.

Nautilus provides lots of interesting features, can manage the background and iconsn... and much more. The problem is to get it to work out of the Gnome environment.

So far, I have installed in the first try:
Commit Log for Sat Jan  7 01:57:45 2012


Les paquets suivants ont été installés :
gnome-python-desktop (2.32.0-3pclos2010)
gnome-python-nautilus-burn (2.32.0-3pclos2010)
gnome-python-totem (2.32.0-3pclos2010)
libnautilus-burn4 (2.25.3-7pclos2010)
nautilus (2.32.2.1-1pclos2010)

and in a second shot, after browsing a bit the web to seek for information:
Commit Log for Sat Jan  7 11:22:35 2012


Les paquets suivants ont été installés :
gnome-menus (2.30.5-1pclos2010)
gnome-screensaver (2.30.2-1pclos2010)
gnome-settings-daemon (2.32.1-2pclos2010)
libgnomekbd4 (2.32.0-1pclos2010)
metacity (2.34.1-1pclos2011)
python-gnome-menus (2.30.5-1pclos2010)

The colored one are the ones I installed, the others are depends.

I solved a first problem: which was get it to appear in the menus, by changing the content of the Category line in the nautilus-browser.desktop file. I took the pcmanfm.desktop file as a model.

Then, when I wanted to start gnome-settings-daemon, I noticed it would not start "as is". It needs the full path which is /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon

My machine has tint2 configured to display the Openbox right-click menus, so the fact that I don't have gnome-menus in use is not too much of a problem for now. I just wonder how to figure out the rest ?

I don't want metacity to be launched;
I would like the desktop right-click menu to allow launching the desktop preferences

These two features are the ones I would like to try to get to work now.

Who wants to help ?

PS: I have more clues to how to use it now, the progress can be seen here.

[Hootiegibbon]

why not just use openbox instead of metacity in a gnome based install ?

PCManFM has been stable here, and I never had any problems with the Thunar that's included with Xfce 4.8

Something messed your your installs configuration?

Jase

[melodie]

Hi Hootie,
You have misread : it is Openbox which is in use, no problem with that. You haven't had problems using pcmanfm ? Are you sure you have used it at all ?

I invite you to read clarm's thread at Lxde sub-forum... http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,101214.0.html

Someone else uses the same version at home, in another rolling release distribution, and he meets with the same issue, just unmounting a usb stick.

As a matter of fact now Nautilus manages the desktop in one of my installs. If I would submit a small Openbox iso using it, the only problem left to solve would be to get the gnome-control-center to display less things, or have a direct menu to the main parts which are needed, such as Apparence, and gconf-editor.

Thunar does not provide sight and direct access to internal partitions are PCManFM and Nautilus do. And Nautilus offers many very nice features, which can interest the users, even if a little more greedy, in the light Openbox environment. The question will be if I provided versions using Nautilus instead of PCManFM, will it be still stable when we will be brought to switch to the new versions, and will it be easy for the new users to switch back to pcmanfm desktop managing, or feh + tint2 and so on...

[Hootiegibbon]

Mel,

http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,101214.msg863185.html#msg863185

and Sproggy is right thunar in 4.8 is pretty darn good.

your other option would be to have a dedicated volume-management daemon like ivman and then use it with any file manager you wish

Jase

[melodie]

Hi,
I like all file managers and don't mind to use this or this. Thunar as another one. I didn't see thunar show my partitions in the left column however, and in a Openbox install it brings about as many depends as Nautilus does. I have tried both up to now. Else, I think maybe it could be possible to have Nautilus only, for the people who want something else than feh to manage the background, and who want something else than idesk to manage the icons. I am not in a hurry, just doing some tests. And PCManFM will probably get a fix sooner or later. This is the purpose of the bug report.

Regards,
Mélodie

[melodie]

Hi,
I continue experimenting the use of Nautilus to replace PCManFM features in my Openbox install in a T60 laptop. Everything is smooth at the moment. Partitions are well mounted and well unmounted, and I still have to try additional features. I have prepared a tarball with files to be put under $HOME. It contains:

.local/share/applications:
gconf-editor.desktop  gnomecc.desktop  nautilus-browser.desktop

and the files inside are modified so to display entries in the menus (the categories are originally configured for Gnome menus).

In my install I have tint2, so I can access the Openbox menus with a right-click on the tint2 panel (configured to allow displaying the Openbox menus).

In my /home/user/.config/openbox/autostart.sh file I have added:

#Use Nautilus to manage wallpaper and icons
/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon &

nautilus --no-default-window &

and commented feh and pcmanfmdesktop starters.

I am now looking for a solution about the following:
http://www.linuxgator.org/gnome/forum/viewtopic.php?p=23180#p23180

* What is the program or part of program which displays the Nautilus right-click menus on the desktop ?
* There is still one entry which does not work, it is "Create a launcher". Any idea how I can fix it ?
* how could I add an entry in this menu to display the Openbox right-click menu, or else : replace it with the Openbox menu, and add an entry for Nautilus right-click menu in Openbox menu ?

I have had a look at nautilus-actions-configuration, tried to create a personalised launcher, but didn't succeed yet.
If someone wants to try in his Openbox or his Openbox Bonsai, I uploaded the modified menu entries here. (It is a .local directory in it... )

If someone has an idea how to progress further...

Regards,
Mélodie

[Hootiegibbon]

Mel,

Perhaps if you stop overloading the post with TMI, keep it simple and ask one question at a time, someone may be able to assist and if that link is important a summary of its contents will serve better

Post one question in priority order then move on  once answered...

Is your openbox remaster moving to a gnome base? as your questions would be better served on that forum.

Jase

[pclinmike]

@melodie Sent you a PM (About an old post).

[melodie]

@melodie Sent you a PM (About an old post).

pclinmike I answered your pm.

[melodie]

Hi,
I have been using Nautilus as background and icons manager in this laptop T60, 2GB ram, CPU Intel, dual-core, (1.83Ghz) during about 2 weeks now. I works well up to now, but I notice that most often the background is slower to be displayed at the start of the session (I get the grey background during a few seconds and it is the Openbox menu in use, instead of the Nautilus right-click menu, as long as the wallpaper is not in the background). I will probably keep this experience as a possible solution to provide to someone who would be willing to use Nautilus in Openbox, but I will not set up a version with it.

One detail is that I am used to have feh at work for the background and feh is very light. I will try to use pcmanfm only for some time from now on, to see if I also find the background to be delaying the display at the start of the session, or not at all.

[Taco.22]

Since the situation with Thunar I started looking at Nautilus as a possible replacement.  I remembered seeing this thread at some point and took the plunge.  Nautilus is now installed on a fresh Bonsai install and is doing fine.  I like to have a file manager do lists, and to give me the option of columns.  An old Mac trait of mine!  Thunar and Nautilus do this.  Currently Nautilus does the job.  But then I found an option in Nautilus that may just be the deal-maker.  When Nautilus is open there is a menu option of an "Extra Pane".  This effectively puts Nautilus into a twin pane mode.  Excellent.  And it has a keyboard command - F3.  Switch pane on -switch pane off.  Brilliant.

I should point out here that I run Bonsai in a very minimal mode - no icons, no panel, zip.  Conky lets me know if the 'puter is on!!  So I haven't delved into all the background options - yet.  

So far all is working well on my Bonsai install.  Might just be the thing - so give it a try.  It's only an eight meg download.  

[Taco.22]

Nup, gotta say, given Nautilus a week now and it has been fired.  The download was small, space occupied was small, but it kept trying to take over a desktop that doesn't exist!  Conky wasn't happy,  pcmanfm and nitrogen were confused - even had to configure geany to open in root-mode because Nautilus wouldn't allow system files to be opened.  Bottom line is that Nautilus belongs with Gnome - it was designed that way.  I have tried almost every other FM in the repos (again) and have now re-embraced pcmanfm.  It works.  My FM of choice is Thunar but it seems to have blown out of all recognition of late.  Bummer. 

So for those with OB, stick with pcmanfm for the time being.  It is quite configurable, doesn't have the bloat of Thunar and doesn't try to invade your "desktop" like Nautilus.  It also handles wallpaper and icons if you're that way inclined. 

Less is more .

[melodie]

Hi,
I had to search a bit to make Nautilus work the way I want it to work, and... the answers were not so far. In my menu.xml:

menu.xml:         <action name="Execute"><command>nautilus --no-desktop</command></action>



And it leaves the desktop alone.

If you need a right-click menu which also does that:

$ pwd
/home/melodie/.local/share/applications

$ ls nau<tab>
nautilus-browser.desktop

$ cat nautilus-browser.desktop
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Nautilus File Browser
Name[af]=Lêerblaaier
(...)
Comment=Browse the file system with the file manager
(...)
Comment[zh_TW]=使用檔案總管瀏覽檔案系統
TryExec=nautilus
Exec=nautilus --no-desktop --browser %U
Icon=system-file-manager
Terminal=false
StartupNotify=true
Type=Application
#Categories=GNOME;GTK;System;Utility;Core;
Categories=FileManager;X-MandrivaLinux-System-FileTools;
OnlyShowIn=GNOME;
X-GNOME-Bugzilla-Bugzilla=GNOME
X-GNOME-Bugzilla-Product=nautilus
X-GNOME-Bugzilla-Component=general
X-GNOME-Bugzilla-Version=2.32.2.1
$

You can copy the one from /usr/share/applications in that section of your home, then change the same lines as I did. Maybe the "OnlyShowIn=GNOME;" line might bother you... or not. If you have the switch '-g' in your openbox-menu line in the third line of the menu.xml it should not bother. Anyhow you can also comment it if needed.

Any other features you want or don't want from Nautilus: see "man nautilus", "nautilus -help", there are many options.
The only thing which bothers me up to now is that "open a terminal here" in the right-click menu of Nautilus always opens the console in my home instead of opening it in the directory where I am located at that moment. Maybe I should post at Linuxgator to ask if they know a fix for that.

Regards,
Mélodie

PS: For the paste week, I have had pcmanfm managing my desktop, and using Nautilus only as file manager... pcmanfm is faster to load the background than Nautilus, this is for sure. And I have prelinked Nautilus to make it start faster when I call it.

[Taco.22]

Hi Mélodie,

I tried the "--no-desktop" in .rc with daemon mode but I hadn't added it to the menu.xml.  The terminal issue was one annoyance, and not opening system files as root was another.  In the end it was the sheer amount of reconfiguring to get Nautilus to play nice that did me in.  Pcmanfm is a neat and simple fit, so I'll stick with that for the time being, although the tabbing isn't as useful as an extra pane.  Xfe had potential, but the features weren't quite there.

[melodie]

Hi Taco,

Wouldn't you want to ask for this additional pane as a feature request ? Here is the place if you are interested:
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=156956

It would be worth looking if someone else has already asked for it before, and if so maybe add a comment, and if not, create one and follow it : what do you think ?

PS: does it all : midnight-commander ! \o/ !