SOLVED: Desktop links not opening on current desktop.

[lfever]

I currently use 4 virtual desktops with my PCLinuxOS LXDE 2012.06 setup. I have created desktop links to a couple of my directories. They worked great but recently and it seems to have come about since the update problems with kde4 . I did the recommended method of :

It will require a change in the Synaptic Settings --> Repositories window's Section(s): box, changing the section kde4 to simply kde.

Then reloading and doing the updates.

What happens now is if I am on any desktop other than desktop1 and I click on one of the created links it will flash on the current desktop then disappears and opens on desktop 1. I have deleted the links and recreated them and the problem still exists. Also I installed gparted and can’t get it to work. Running from GUI it just sits there continually scanning very slowly for drives. I have left it scan for 30 minutes to no avail. So I closed gparted and ran from terminal and get the following:

[root@desk-linuxluver msswanson]# gparted
error: libhal_acquire_global_interface_lock: org.freedesktop.Hal.Device.InterfaceAlreadyLocked: The interface org.freedesktop.Hal.Device.Storage is already exclusively locked either by someone else or it's already locked by yourself

I am wonder if i did something wrong with updating that is causing the problems I am having???

I would appreciate any help regarding this matter.

Thanks,
lfever

[marcin82]

Show result of command:

Code: [Select]

ls -al /home

[lfever]

Show result of command:

Code: [Select]

ls -al /home

[msswanson@desk-linuxluver ~]$ ls -al /home
total 32
drwxr-xr-x  5 root      root       4096 Aug  9 18:15 ./
drwxr-xr-x 22 root      root       4096 Aug 19 07:43 ../
drwx------  2 root      root      16384 Oct  7  2010 lost+found/
drwxr-xr-x 48 msswanson msswanson  4096 Aug 19 10:36 msswanson/
drwx------  3 root      root       4096 Dec 15  2010 mysql/

[Neal ManBear]

I currently use 4 virtual desktops with my PCLinuxOS LXDE 2012.06 setup. I have created desktop links to a couple of my directories. They worked great but recently and it seems to have come about since the update problems with kde4 . I did the recommended method of :

It will require a change in the Synaptic Settings --> Repositories window's Section(s): box, changing the section kde4 to simply kde.

Then reloading and doing the updates.

     
The change from kde4 to kde is only necessary so that you can reload synaptic's package lists. If you do not do it, synaptic will give you an error message. (kde4 no longer exists.) While some people may have a problem with updating, the is no general "update problems with kde4."     
If you are using LXDE solo, the only effect in the change will be the switch to the naming of the section for kde.     
If you have kde installed, too, you will need to update it in the same manner as described elsewhere on the forum.     

----- snip----

I am wonder if i did something wrong with updating that is causing the problems I am having???

I would appreciate any help regarding this matter.

Thanks,
lfever

     
Did you change the section from kde4 to kde? Did you click on Reload after? Did you do a full upgrade? Were there any messages generated after the upgrade? If so, what were they? Do you have any kde4-4.65 packages installed on your system? If so, you need to remove them. You can install their 4.8.3 equivalents after.     

Describe in detail what you are doing to create desktop links.     

[lfever]

Hi Neal ManBear,

The change from kde4 to kde is only necessary so that you can reload synaptic's package lists. If you do not do it, synaptic will give you an error message. (kde4 no longer exists.)
While some people may have a problem with updating, the is no general "update problems with kde4."

I apologize,  not update problems with kde4 but synaptic error message due to kde4 no longer existing.

Did you change the section from kde4 to kde? Did you click on Reload after? Did you do a full upgrade? Were there any messages generated after the upgrade? If so, what were they?
Do you have any kde4-4.65 packages installed on your system? If so, you need to remove them. You can install their 4.8.3 equivalents after.

I am running running LXDE  solo. I changed the kde4 to kde in the repo and reloaded , did full upgrade.

Message generated:

While installing package apt-sources-list-1.0.2-1pclos2012:

warning: /etc/apt/sources.list saved as /etc/apt/sources.list.rpmsave
gtk-update-icon-cache: No theme index file.

The only package I found installed that relates to kde4 was "oxygen-icon-menu" which
I did not uninstall as system has never been anything other than LXDE solo.

The  desktop links to two directories were created prior to the synaptic error message:

Code: [Select]

cd Desktop
ln -s /home/msswanson/Dropbox
su
ln -s "/mnt/Volume_1"
Both links would open on the current desktop.

I just duplicated the problem on another machine running LXDE only:
I happened to have a laptop that  hadn't been upgraded due to the synaptic error message because of the nonexistence  of kde4
so  I just did the whole kde4 to kde procedure, reloaded, did full upgrade, now the same problem exists on the laptop???

Message generated:
While installing package apt-sources-list-1.0.2-1pclos2012:

warning: /etc/apt/sources.list saved as /etc/apt/sources.list.rpmsave
gtk-update-icon-cache: No theme index file.

 

[Neal ManBear]

The only package I found installed that relates to kde4 was "oxygen-icon-menu" which
I did not uninstall as system has never been anything other than LXDE solo.

     
If you have the kde4-4.6.5 package installed, you need to remove it and install the kde-4.8.3 package. This is not about being LXDE solo. It is about being fully upgraded, so that you do not run into problems in future.     

While installing package apt-sources-list-1.0.2-1pclos2012:

warning: /etc/apt/sources.list saved as /etc/apt/sources.list.rpmsave
gtk-update-icon-cache: No theme index file.

     
The first part of the message is telling you that your new sources list was installed and a back up of the old created. If you had a PASS account in the old, you can transfer it to the new. Otherwise the old is not really of any use and can be deleted.     
The second part can be seen as a null message; i.e. it can be ignored safely.     

To create a desktop link to an application in LXDE is as easy as this:     
Menu > SubMenu > right click application entry >> choose "Add to desktop."     

If you are one of those users who think the terminal must be used, open lxterminal and issue the command ---     

Code: [Select]

cd /home/lfever/Desktop     
If lfever is not the name you are using, change it to the correct name.     
After the prompt shows you have switched to your ~/Desktop, create your links.     
Note: A link to launch an application is a link to its .desktop file. These are found in /usr/share/applications.     

For help with the link command ---     

Code: [Select]

ln --help     

[Neal ManBear]

scoundrel,     
In Synaptic search, change "Name and Description" to "Provided Packages" and search for v4l1compat.so.     

[lfever]

Good morning Neal,

If you have the kde4-4.6.5 package installed, you need to remove it and install the kde-4.8.3 package. This is not about being LXDE solo. It is about being fully upgraded, so that you do not run into problems in future.

   

I do not have kde4-4.6.5 package installed.

To create a desktop link to an application in LXDE is as easy as this:     
Menu > SubMenu > right click application entry >> choose "Add to desktop."

I am aware that I can create desktop links to applications by this method but I see
no option for the right click method to add a directory to the desktop.
 
The links that I created were to my Dropbox dir (folder) and cifs shared dir (folder)
The following are the actual links I created with my actual user name word for word:

Code: [Select]

cd Desktop
ln -s /home/msswanson/Dropbox
su
ln -s "/mnt/Volume_1"
Both of the links worked properly before I changed kde4 to kde in the repo, reloaded
and did a full upgrade. 

[scoundrel]

scoundrel,     
In Synaptic search, change "Name and Description" to "Provided Packages" and search for v4l1compat.so.     

sorry .. pulled my post after I found another way to do it.. ..

checked in synaptic and its already installed ..

[Neal ManBear]

lfever,   
Menu > Internet > right click the Dropbox entry > Add to desktop.     
This works fine here. I've just tested it.     

[lfever]

Hi Neal,

lfever,   
Menu > Internet > right click the Dropbox entry > Add to desktop.     
This works fine here. I've just tested it. 

Yes, that works but that is to run Dropbox. That is not what I'm after, the link I am creating is a desktop shortcut to my Dropbox directory. 

[Neal ManBear]

lfever,     
Right click the icon > open with leafpad > edit line #5 to change the Exec= to     

Code: [Select]

pcmanfm /home/lfever/Dropbox/     

[lfever]

Right click the icon > open with leafpad > edit line #5 to change the Exec= to     
Code:

pcmanfm /home/lfever/Dropbox/

Sweet! That takes care of Dropbox, now how do I create a desktop shortcut for /mnt/Volume_1 ? Also what has changed that the links that I originally created no longer work properly?

[Neal ManBear]

  I don't do a mind reading act. What do you mean by "/mnt/Volume_1?" Full and complete information is required. Include what you did previously.     

[lfever]

I don't do a mind reading act. What do you mean by "/mnt/Volume_1?" Full and complete information is required. Include what you did previously. 

In the /mnt directory I created a directory for my DLink NAS called Volume_1
I want to create a desktop shortcut to Volume_1

Previously to accomplish the link I did the following:

Code: [Select]

[msswanson@desk-linuxluver ~]$ su
Password: ******
[root@desk-linuxluver msswanson]# cd Desktop
[root@desk-linuxluver Desktop]# ln -s "/mnt/Volume_1"
[root@desk-linuxluver Desktop]#

The above created the link and would open on whatever desktop I was on but what happens now is if I am on any desktop other than desktop 1 and click on the link it will open for a second then disappear and be displayed on desktop 1.
 
I hope that explains what I have done, how I did it and what is happening. 

But for the sake of simplicity, in my home directory I have a directory called Pictures which is created during the install of PCLinuxOS. How would I make a desktop shortcut or link to the directory Pictures that would open on what ever virtual desktop I am currently on?

Previously this would create the link and open on what ever desktop I was currently on:

Code: [Select]

[msswanson@desk-linuxluver ~]$ cd Desktop
[msswanson@desk-linuxluver Desktop]$ ln -s /home/msswanson/Pictures/
[msswanson@desk-linuxluver Desktop]$
The above will still create the desktop link but if I click on it while on say desktop 3 it will open momentarily then disappear and be displayed on desktop 1. No matter what desktop I am on other than desktop 1 will produce this result.