• From: lower Alabama
  • Registered: 2010-08-12
  • Posts: 72

Topic: [solved]menu won't open synaptic but shortcut will

Don't know what caused this but synaptic won't open when I click on it using the menu. It will open when I use the shortcut. It seems that all the other menu entries work fine and the other shortcuts. I first noticed it when I was trying to install remind and its gui. Around the same time I had uninstalled kalarm because I couldn't get it to open at boot. Don't know of anything else that I might have done to cause this to happen. Should I use terminal and uninstall and re-install synaptic?

Last edited by houndhen (2010-09-07 19:54:40)

Thanks,
Harold
Crunchbang Statler 32bit Xfce
  • From: Nagoya, Japan
  • Registered: 2009-01-07
  • Posts: 1,971

Re: [solved]menu won't open synaptic but shortcut will

^That seems a bit hasty. smile
What's the shortcut that works? Can you launch synaptic from the terminal? Your menu.xml entry should look like this:

            <item label="Synaptic Package Manager">
                <action name="Execute">
                    <execute>
                        gksudo synaptic
                    </execute>
                </action>
            </item>

ie the command to launch synaptic is 'gksudo synaptic' (on Crunchbang 9.04 anyway - Statler might possibly need gksu instead of gksudo?)

John
------------------------
( a boring Japan blog , and idle twitterings )
“Good morning sir, which way up would you like your reality today?”  "As it comes, Jeeves, as it comes..."

johnraff's Website

  • From: lower Alabama
  • Registered: 2010-08-12
  • Posts: 72

Re: [solved]menu won't open synaptic but shortcut will

johnraff wrote:

What's the shortcut that works? Can you launch synaptic from the terminal?

The shortcut that works to open synaptic is 'windows key' + s. I didn't try to launch from the terminal. I will when I get back on that computer. Also will post my menu.xml entry.

Thanks,
Harold
Crunchbang Statler 32bit Xfce
  • Registered: 2010-03-26
  • Posts: 548

Re: [solved]menu won't open synaptic but shortcut will

....Statler might possibly need gksu instead of gksudo?

Apparently either one works although someone may choose to offer the correct technique.  smile

EDIT - I said apparently because I just tried both ways in terminal and, um, apparently either, or both ways work.  wink

Last edited by winotree (2010-09-04 18:25:38)

  • From: lower Alabama
  • Registered: 2010-08-12
  • Posts: 72

Re: [solved]menu won't open synaptic but shortcut will

johnraff wrote:

Can you launch synaptic from the terminal?

Yes I can launch it from the terminal. It is just the menu that doesn't work. Here is the the code from menu.xlm: 

</item>
            <item label="Synaptic Package Manager">
                <action name="Execute">
                    <execute>
                        gksudo synaptic
                    </execute>
                </action>
            </item>

Looks the same to me as what johnraff posted.

Thanks,
Harold
Crunchbang Statler 32bit Xfce
  • From: Nagoya, Japan
  • Registered: 2009-01-07
  • Posts: 1,971

Re: [solved]menu won't open synaptic but shortcut will

^Yes it does look the same. That's very weird. And 'gksudo synaptic' in a terminal works OK? The menu entries just before and after Synaptic's work OK?

OK try substituting something else instead of 'gksudo synaptic' in that bit of code. 'leafpad' or something, and see if that works. Also try pasting in 'gksudo synaptic' between <execute> and </execute> in another section of the menu that worked OK up to now.

John
------------------------
( a boring Japan blog , and idle twitterings )
“Good morning sir, which way up would you like your reality today?”  "As it comes, Jeeves, as it comes..."

johnraff's Website

  • Istvan
  • #! CrunchBanger
  • Offline
  • From: Budapest, Hungary
  • Registered: 2010-02-20
  • Posts: 139

Re: [solved]menu won't open synaptic but shortcut will

Navigate to /usr/share/applications
Open as root with a text editor the desktop file Synaptic, and look for the line "Execute..." .
Change the command to "gksudo synaptic"   (without the quotes)
Save and exit.
Done.

Last edited by Istvan (2010-09-07 17:27:43)

Ha ezt el tudod olvasni, biztosan nem vagy rövidlátó.
  • From: lower Alabama
  • Registered: 2010-08-12
  • Posts: 72

Re: [solved]menu won't open synaptic but shortcut will

Istvan wrote:

Navigate to /usr/share/applications
Open as root with a text editor the desktop file Synaptic, and look for the line "Execute..." .
Change the command to "gksudo synaptic"   (without the quotes)
Save and exit.
Done.

That seems to have fixed the problem. The menu entry for Synaptic is working again. Thanks Istvan.

Thanks,
Harold
Crunchbang Statler 32bit Xfce
  • Registered: 2009-09-06
  • Posts: 214

Re: [solved]menu won't open synaptic but shortcut will

I am running statler 2 xfce. The  menu launcher for synaptic doesn't work for me either. I launch it either from the gksudo keyboard shortcut I have created or from the terminal .

I have googled around but haven't found a definitive solution to the menu problem. Editing the menu in xfce4 also seems to be problematical, unlike openbox which I am familiar with. But you can't have everything in life though!

"In spite of the cost of living, it's still popular."
Kathleen Norris
  • From: California, USA
  • Registered: 2008-11-29
  • Posts: 8,647

Re: [solved]menu won't open synaptic but shortcut will

@luvva_cuppa -  Did you try Istvan's suggestion (a couple posts above)?

Note: ** Please read before posting **

BTW if you wish to contact me, send me an e-mail instead of a PM.
  • From: Nagoya, Japan
  • Registered: 2009-01-07
  • Posts: 1,971

Re: [solved]menu won't open synaptic but shortcut will

....AAAHHH "the menu" wasn't the Openbox menu! lol
That's why menu.xml looked OK.

houndhen, it must have been another menu like xfce's or the ADeskBar menu that you were using, right?
Those menus pick up data from the .desktop files in /usr/share/applications.

Glad you fixed it anyway. smile

John
------------------------
( a boring Japan blog , and idle twitterings )
“Good morning sir, which way up would you like your reality today?”  "As it comes, Jeeves, as it comes..."

johnraff's Website

  • Registered: 2009-09-06
  • Posts: 214

Re: [solved]menu won't open synaptic but shortcut will

@anonymous thanks for pointing me to Istvan's fix; I thought it was an openbox thread so I missed it.  Anyway it did the the trick nicely.

I tried applying the same gksudo logic to the Software sources exec command below which is also not working in my xfce menu but alsa to no effect. The original command is as follows:

Exec=gksu --desktop /usr/share/applications/software-properties.desktop /usr/bin/software-properties-gtk

"In spite of the cost of living, it's still popular."
Kathleen Norris
  • Istvan
  • #! CrunchBanger
  • Offline
  • From: Budapest, Hungary
  • Registered: 2010-02-20
  • Posts: 139

Re: [solved]menu won't open synaptic but shortcut will

houndhen wrote:
Istvan wrote:

Navigate to /usr/share/applications
Open as root with a text editor the desktop file Synaptic, and look for the line "Execute..." .
Change the command to "gksudo synaptic"   (without the quotes)
Save and exit.
Done.

That seems to have fixed the problem. The menu entry for Synaptic is working again. Thanks Istvan.

Glad to hear you solved the problem.

Ha ezt el tudod olvasni, biztosan nem vagy rövidlátó.
  • From: Nagoya, Japan
  • Registered: 2009-01-07
  • Posts: 1,971

Re: [solved]menu won't open synaptic but shortcut will

luvva_cuppa wrote:

I tried applying the same gksudo logic to the Software sources exec command below which is also not working in my xfce menu but alsa to no effect. The original command is as follows:

Exec=gksu --desktop /usr/share/applications/software-properties.desktop /usr/bin/software-properties-gtk

There seems to be a bug with this app (and update-manager) - at the moment if I try to run either of them in a terminal I get the same error message: " GLib-CRITICAL **: g_str_has_prefix: assertion `str != NULL' failed" (on #! Statler).
http://crunchbanglinux.org/forums/post/79781/#p79781
http://crunchbanglinux.org/forums/post/78982/#p78982
Hopefully a bug fix will come through eventually...

John
------------------------
( a boring Japan blog , and idle twitterings )
“Good morning sir, which way up would you like your reality today?”  "As it comes, Jeeves, as it comes..."

johnraff's Website

  • Registered: 2009-09-06
  • Posts: 214

Re: [solved]menu won't open synaptic but shortcut will

@johnraff thanks for the update. I am pretty sure it was working at some point in the past which means that it must have got broken during an upgrade.
I also tried launching from the terminal and got a long series of error messages. I am sure it is being worked on.

"In spite of the cost of living, it's still popular."
Kathleen Norris