PCManFM won't open files that have a pound sign in the filename [RESOLVED]

[user-01]

I installed lxde a few days ago. Everything runs fast and stable, except PCManFM won't open files with pound-sign # or percent-sign % anywhere in the filename or parent directory name. When I try to open a said file in pcmanfm, the application (any application) opens but then errors and says the file doesn't exist. I can open those files directly through their associated applications. Copying/pasting those files/folders with pcmanfm works okay. Filenames with spaces, dashes, or underscores open properly. My system is up to date.

In searching for answers, all I found so far is:

http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&aid=3572024&group_id=156956&atid=801864

They say it's a conflict with the libfm version. They suggest installing the git version of pcmanfm, but right now I don't have the knowledge nor time to mess with compiling anything, plus it's not recommended by the gurus here anyway.

I have a LOT of pound signs in my filenames and folders, and many are associated with other documents, reports, etc, so changing them is not an option for me. For now I'll have to open them directly with their app's rather than pcmanfm.

[ThirdOfSix]

That is one of those things that you risk when you get creative with filenames in order to make your current project go faster.

When I started programming in the seventies, I worked for a fortune 500 company and a big part of my job was helping middle managers with there new desktop computers of every type imaginable to interface with corporate databases.

It was a nightmare at times until we insisted that they never use anything but asci characters in filenames.

You just never knew when a particular existing system was going to choke on a character that worked for most systems.

Given that lxde is a lite system, I am not surprised to find that they did not include all of the overhead of coding in numerous exceptions for any and all characters that a user may decide to use.

At this point, it looks like your choices are to rethink your use of special characters in file names or to use a different tool.

I doubt that you will have any luck in convincing the authors of lite systems to start down the path of feature creep that eventually leads to bloated systems that require large fast machines that use lots of resources.

Of course, you could write your own routines to automatically escape those characters out of your file names and then put them back in again on export.

You would probably find that this would be more costly than the savings you attain by using a lite system.

I suspect that most young users and programmers will agree with you that this is a bug that ought to be fixed but you will find many of us older folks who will have no sympathy as it is a choice that you have made.

If you do a search on PCManFM special characters, you will find a lot of folks talking about it. I do not have the time to read all those articles to see if any solutions are forthcoming.

Just the fact that shell programs like the Bourne shell use the # to identify comments would be enough to keep me from ever using it in a file name.

In a brief search, I have found that a number of sites dealing with photographs and multimedia do not work with that character in a file name.

Is it really worth the risk?

Either way, I do not envy you. You have a hard decision to make.

[Neal ManBear]

The special characters # and % should not be used in file names.     
Common definitions:     
# = comment (ignore what follows this character  ///  in terminal - root prompt symbol
% = used by rpm to define a macro - %install for example will be part of a spec file for creating an rpm for any given app, but % will not be part of the name of the spec file.     

Using special characters in file names will create conflict for PCManFM/libfm because these are 'known' to be reserved.     

[user-01]

Understood. Thanks, Neal. Chalk it up to getting spoiled by Dolphin (and previously Nautilus), which had no problems with those filenames.  Even WinXP (rest its forgotten soul) handled them fine in my previous PC life. But I don't plan on installing any heavy window managers with LXDE as I really like the speed and responsiveness of this system as-is. This issue is not a game-changer for me as I only use a few of those files on any given day, so I'll just open them with their respective applications as needed.

[Just17]

It eventually hit home that by 'pound sign' you meant a hash ....  #

and not a 'pound sign' .........  £

[Neal ManBear]

It eventually hit home that by 'pound sign' you meant a hash ....  #

and not a 'pound sign' .........  £

     
Here in the US, the hash -- # -- has pound sign as an alternative name. Isn't it 'fun' to see the differences and similarities we encounter while using the "same" language?      

[Just17]

It eventually hit home that by 'pound sign' you meant a hash ....  #

and not a 'pound sign' .........  £

     
Here in the US, the hash -- # -- has pound sign as an alternative name. Isn't it 'fun' to see the differences and similarities we encounter while using the "same" language?      

Yeah!  I must have read the thread 4 times before it finally dawned on me 

[Bald Brick]

It eventually hit home that by 'pound sign' you meant a hash ....  #

and not a 'pound sign' .........  £

     
Here in the US, the hash -- # -- has pound sign as an alternative name. Isn't it 'fun' to see the differences and similarities we encounter while using the "same" language?      

And sometimes you call it the number sign, although most people in the word would understand that to be the № ligature or the or the Nº combinations of characters. In Finnish it's colloquially called risuaita, "rustic fence". I've been told that whatever you call it you should realize that it is not the same as the sharp sign in music.

[user-01]

I happened to check on this issue again today, just out of curiosity, as I remembered having a recent update to PCMANFM. It now works to open files that have a hash mark or a percent-sign in the filename, at least on my system. Don't know if it works with other unusual filename characters as I don't normally use any others myself.
  If any of the gurus here passed the question on to the developers or modified the program themselves, many thanks!

[jimwilk]

It eventually hit home that by 'pound sign' you meant a hash ....  #

and not a 'pound sign' .........  £

     
Here in the US, the hash -- # -- has pound sign as an alternative name. Isn't it 'fun' to see the differences and similarities we encounter while using the "same" language?      

Was it Winston Churchill who said, "America and England - two nations divided by a common language"?

Jim