Wrong app starts when clicking an http link 'Solved'

[Iron Dutchess]

Weird, If I drag a bookmark from Firefox to the desktop and double click on it Thunderbird opens instead of Firefox. The bookmarks work OK in Firefox it's just when they are put on the desktop they loose the plot. Even created one from scratch and it does the same thing.

Any ideas?

TIA

[lagagnon]

For me it works fine and opens FF as it should (I assume you are using Gnome). Right click in the desktop icon, choose Properties and see if that gives you a hint. Also, go to Control Center, Preferred Applications and see if you have mistakenly set something amiss there.

[altair4]

I've read a couple of your posts now and it does seem you are having a series of very unusual errors. I hope you get them sorted out because this has to be very frustrating.

You also might want to check the following:

Press Alt+F2
Type gconf-editor
Go to /desktop/gnome/url-handlers/http/command

On my system it looks like this:

command: firefox %s
Enabled checked
needs_terminal unchecked

It may be that this gconf-editor listing and lagagnon's post point to the same place so this may be redundant. Sorry, I can't reproduce your problem.

[Iron Dutchess]

Mine reads

/opt/firefox/firefox "%s"
Enabled checked
needs_terminal unchecked

A quick check confirmed that /opt/firefox/firefox is the location of Firefox.

The properties of any link I drag to the desktop don't tell me much. Just the properties of the link itself not where it points to.
Basic tab:
Name; Linux Forums
Type; HTML document (text/html)
Size; unknown
Location; /home/chris/Desktop
Volume; unknown
Accessed; unknown
Modified; unknown

The other tabs are just Emblems - Permissions - Notes. Nothing of use there.

I'll keep digging.

[altair4]

That's interesting. If I do a which firefox or a whereis firefox in a Terminal, I get the the location at: /usr/bin/firefox.

What version of firefox are you using and how did you install it?

Of course, none of this explains why Thunderbird starts up.

[dawgdoc]

Of course, none of this explains why Thunderbird starts up.

Well, don't Firefox and Thunderbird both run off the gecko engine? Whatever difference that makes.

[DrHu]

Even created one from scratch and it does the same thing.
...
A quick check confirmed that /opt/firefox/firefox is the location of Firefox.

That is not the default location for the executable file for Firefox 3x on Linux mint 7 (gloria) main edition Gnome Desktop
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/firefox
Are you using Ubuntu which might use that directory /opt/firefox or installing Firefox directly from the mozilla site ??

And check the thunderbird file settings, since it is activating Firefox
http://archives.devshed.com/forums/mozi ... -1791.html

Terminal, check (Linux mint 7..)

which firefox
/usr/bin/firefox

Since Nautilus manages the Gnome desktop, I might consider a re-install of nautilus via Synaptic (mint menu>Package manager, after a reload to update the repositories)
Terminal, check

apt search nauitilus
i nautilus - file manager and graphical shell for GNOME

I have only used Firefox 3.0.14, the original from mint, not the new release 3.5
Terminal, check

firefox --version
Mozilla Firefox 3.0.14, Copyright (c) 1998 - 2009 mozilla.org

Code: Select all

locate firefox
/etc/firefox-3.0
/etc/alternatives/firefox-flashplugin
/etc/alternatives/firefox-javaplugin.so
/etc/firefox-3.0/pref
/etc/firefox-3.0/profile
/etc/firefox-3.0/pref/firefox.js
/etc/firefox-3.0/profile/bookmarks.html

Even though the dropped bookmark shows on my desktop and works to bring up the web page, I don't know what kind of linking it does, other than perhaps being an executable file for that filename ?
In the same way you can use an application.desktop file to run a program, rather than the binary (executable) file location..
http://standards.freedesktop.org/deskto ... ec/latest/

When you drop a bookmark to the desktop it uses the bookmark name and adds .desktop extension to the file
--which you can see, if you drop to a terminal..

cd Desktop
ls
ls - l filename.desktop

I don't know how Gnome handles those file types, but in a terminal
In terminal, checking..

locate .desktop
--gets the whole list, including mime types

[Iron Dutchess]

That's interesting. If I do a which firefox or a whereis firefox in a Terminal, I get the the location at: /usr/bin/firefox.

What version of firefox are you using and how did you install it?

Of course, none of this explains why Thunderbird starts up.

Version 3.5.4 installed with the script from sourceforge

I get

chris@Iron-Dutchess ~ $ which firefox
/usr/bin/firefox
chris@Iron-Dutchess ~ $ whereis firefox
firefox: /usr/bin/firefox /usr/bin/firefox.ubuntu
chris@Iron-Dutchess ~ $

Why two locations for whereis?

Edit:
Interesting, I uninstalled Thunderbird, now the links just open up in gedit. It's like Firefox doesn't exist as far as Gnome is concerned.

[DrHu]

Why two locations for whereis?

Presumably due to the Ubuntzilla script expecting to find some Ubuntu directories/setups..

Interesting, I uninstalled Thunderbird, now the links just open up in gedit. It's like Firefox doesn't exist as far as Gnome is concerned.

And if you start Firefox from /usr/bin/firefox, what happens ?

Here are my two locations for Firefox
In terminal, check

whereis firefox
firefox: /usr/bin/firefox /usr/lib/firefox

http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/u ... t_Features

Note: after installation, do not remove the repositories version of Firefox, as doing so will break a lot of Gnome packages that depend on the Gecko rendering engine.

In the script selection, you used Ubuntzilla to get the latest Firefox (also Thunderbird, perchance ?)
--did you take note of not using sudo with script..

Although if you do that, I don't know how it will get anything into /usr/bin

[Iron Dutchess]

And if you start Firefox from /usr/bin/firefox, what happens ?

I have usr/bin/firefox and usr/bin/firefox-3.5 - the first one opens Firefox 3.5.4, the second one opens something called Shiretoko 3.5.2, which an exact clone of Firefox.

--did you take note of not using sudo with script..

Yes ran it under chris@Iron-Dutchess ~ $

Although if you do that, I don't know how it will get anything into /usr/bin

When it runs it asks for the root password before it installs.

I'm going to experiment and use the script to uninstall both Firefox 3.5.4 and Thunderbird 2.0.0.23 and go back to the original installs and see what happens. If it all works OK I'll use the script to Install Thunderbird 2.0.0.23 again and see if it breaks Firefox, if it doesn't I'll use the script to install Firefox 3.5.4 again and see what happens. If it doesn't break Firefox I'll use the script to remove Thunderbird then reinstall Firefox. Hopefully, that way I will be able to tell which one is causing the problem. That's if I haven't lost the plot by then

[Iron Dutchess]

I'm going to experiment and use the script to uninstall both Firefox 3.5.4 and Thunderbird 2.0.0.23 and go back to the original installs and see what happens. If it all works OK I'll use the script to Install Thunderbird 2.0.0.23 again and see if it breaks Firefox, if it doesn't I'll use the script to install Firefox 3.5.4 again and see what happens. If it doesn't break Firefox I'll use the script to remove Thunderbird then reinstall Firefox. Hopefully, that way I will be able to tell which one is causing the problem. That's if I haven't lost the plot by then

Using the Sourceforge script to completely remove Firefox 3.5.4 and Thunderbird 3.0.0.23, then using Package manager to uninstall then reinstall the original versions cured the problem. Now I'm going to experiment to see if I can find what breaks things.

Edit: Carried out the rest of the steps above. I now have Firefox 3.5.4 and Thunderbird 3.0.0.23 installed and nothing broke, links now open Firefox. . . . I hate it when that happens, things should have gone back to their broken state at some time in the process, but didn't. So the problem is fixed, but I am none the wiser as to what caused it