newly installed apps not showing up in the menu

[beth]

I've found a solution to my search for a file splitter that will load and place an icon on the menu on Mint 7 RC1 --

After going through all the installation "stuff" that didn't work on Mint 7 to install a Linux compatible file splitter, I loaded the Wine package that's in the Mint Software Package. Then on the internet I downloaded a free file splitter that I used on Windows -- GSplit.

GSplit loaded on the desktop, and from there it was a simple click and Wine picked it up and installed it, complete with an icon in the menu. Yea!!!

I also tried to load GSplit using Crossover, and it wouldn't work.

The motto for Linux -- "If at first you don't succeed, you'll be trying and trying and trying again ..." This is a real learning experience and worth every bit of the frustration!

[mitsuzero]

hmmmm .... i get some problems! with it too but i do these steps:
1. run the terminal.
2. write the name of the program in it.
3. press enter...
4. the programs load , search it in the menu (the program is there)...

I hope it helps....

[Frank130]

Hi , I am a convert from Windows XP and have installed Linux Mint Gloria. I am impressed with it except that I am having trouble installing any software or updates. The panel says that installation is complete but then says that not all changes and updates succeeded. Why is this happening?I have taken a snapshot of the panel to show what it says.
I will be very grateful for any help and advice anyone can give me as I want to stay with Linux.
Thank you in anticipation of help,
Frank.

Screenshot.png (27.75 KiB) Viewed 5141 times

[richyrich]

Frank130,
Just restart your computer, no harm, no foul, then mintUpdate will find more packages to update, perform it again, . . .and then, to be sure everything has loaded properly, you can logout & back in again, or do what I did, and restart again. . . sorta sounds like Wind*** . . . . brrrrrr.

No errors on restart, updates went along fine, no problems.(for me)
I think it has to do with how "libqtcore4" and "dbus" interact, and as you are updating libqtcore4 . . .

regards, Richard

[marty510]

I just installed mint 7 and all is good except I can't seem to find my beloved wallpaper tray so I can look at all my pretty pictures. I installed it and reinstalled it but I can't find it anywhere, it usually takes a restart for it to show up.........it must not be on my system?

Ah, Yes, desktop DRAPES. Nicer than wallpaper tray (I think, I haven't seen....A New?.... wallpaper tray yet). Tried to find it, but no luck at all. Sure would like to know why this is. Synaptic shows wallpaper tray is installed.

[kat22]

i have a mint 6 KDE CE destop
earlier had elyssa worked fine. now have problems starting the virtual machine after installing virtualbox i get the error - no suitable modules
i tried modprobe vboxdrv, still unable to get the virtual machine to start, user group has been added, virtual drive has also been created
please help

[Quake3DeathGod]

Ok, got the same thing going on here, Mint 7, 64 bit. I've installed several programs from the package manager, wallpaper-tray and drapes the most recent, and nothing is showing up in the menu. I've done the reload thing, nothing. Searching for wallpaper tray comes up with nothing that is runnable.... This started AFTER installation of virtualbox. Dont know if it has anything to do with it, but something needs to be fixed. Dont know if that is what caused the trouble or not, thats just the last program that was installed that showed up after install. I have tried un-installing it, and tried installing other things, nothing is working so far.

Also, games section is completely empty in the package manager too, dont know if that is suppose to be or not?

KL

[Lazy and Stupid]

I installed Mint about a month ago and am very disappointed that unlike other distributions, installing software is almost as bad on Mint as it was in most distributions 5 years ago. I just spent 7 hours trying to install some software. Some of it finally worked and some of it didn't. In some cases I found the executable but clicking on it did nothing. I experienced all the problems mentioned in this thread and I have the latest current version of Mint.

Installing software is about as fundamental a task as anyone does on a computer, and to make it this difficult is ridiculous. I cannot recommend Mint to Windows users until the software installation problem is solved. I was very pleased at first when Mint loaded and ran without fiddling with it, so much that I removed Windows completely. But if I can't install the software I want what good is it? Just one of many examples: I installed Nessus using a deb package and the deb installer. Nessus is nowhere to be found, even using the terminal. If I install from source the executable simply will not run.

This is not a request for support, just a comment made while very angry. I used CPM/DOS/Windows and a PDP-11 for twenty years and never ever had to ask for technical support, not even once. I have had Mint for one month and have had to ask twice (this doesn't count since I don't need or want any help). I have to say I am re-thinking my choice.

[qbicdesign]

I know your post is not a request for support, but in order to improve the product it would be useful to know exactly what app you were trying to install, and what installation method you used. There's several ways to install, and you'll find different methods on the net on different sites - not all of them good methods.

Here's how i do it and so far i have had ZERO problems installing.
Apologies before I start if it seems like I'm teaching Grandmother to suck eggs... but this is also for the benefit of anyone else who might be reading this thread.

Wherever possible I use the Mint installer - however this only shows you the most popular apps.
Failing that, I use Synaptic to find the app, more choice but it can sometimes be a bit hit and miss trying to get the exact right app and its correct dependencies.

If i need a custom application and .deb files are available for it, i open terminal:

Code: Select all

su wget [url of application]
[enter password]
gdebi [name of app file you just downloaded]

This should install all dependencies, and adds the app to the menu too.

[emorrp1]

Lazy and Stupid: firstly, that's probably not true, more like: windows veteran entering new territory. qbicdesign's advice is good. Use mintInstall Software Manager to install apps, or synaptic Package Manager for anything you can't find there (e.g. nessus is available in synaptic), there's practically no need to go to a website, download software and install it, that's the Windows way of doing things. You might want to have a gander through this article, which explains the main differences: http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm

[gcampton]

and if you still can't find it type which <name> or whereis <name?> like has been said already. then simply make a (shortcut) symbolic link/hard link to it from the menu:

ln -sv <from_target> <to_target>, the 's' argument make the link 'symbolic' rather than hard (if you don't understand this then you can wikki or type: man ln). The 'v' is used in most utility commands/bash commands as 'verbose', Verbose simply means it will explain what has happened after the even has occured. For example:

Code: Select all

ln -sv firefox /home/gcampton/Desktop
`/home/gcampton/Desktop/firefox' -> `firefox'

the second line simply states that a symbolic link was made to the desktop, this is the verbose output. This exact command will only work if I am in the /usr/bin/ folder as that is where firefox is located. If I was however sitting in my desktop in command mode then I would type: ln -sv /usr/bin/firefox
to change directories in command the 'cd' command is used. so when first opening terminal I would be in my home folder. I can use the utility list 'ls' to list the contents of the current directory and I can print working directory by typing 'pwd'. So I have just opened the terminal my command prompt will be a dollar sign, it may be different depending on the shell you are currently in or whether or not you are in user mode or root.:-

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$ pwd
/home/gcampton/
$
$ which firefox
 /usr/bin
$
$ cd /usr/bin
$
$ pwd
/usr/bin
$
$ ls
(this will print out an extremly large amount of output, in fact about 100+ programs)
(if we pipe through the program 'less' or 'more' then it will only display a screen at a time)
(piping allows us to use 2 or more utilities/programs or scripts at the same time)
$
$ ls | more
(the pipe key is just above the enter key and is a very handy tool)
(a better way to do this is to use wildcard characters)
(wildcard characters allow us to substitute characters if we don't know how to spell or simply want to type less)
(we will pass the wildcard 'f*' to list, which will give us all the programs starting with F, another way we could do this is)
( pass '*fox' to list which would return any program that ends with fox. The star key is like an unlimited wildcard)
(other wildcards you can use is '?' and '_', these two replace one of the letters for example 'fir??ox' would return firefox)
(alternately simply
$
$ ls fi*
file  fileroller  find  find2perl  findsmb  finger  firefox
$
$ ln -sv firefox /home/gcampton/Desktop
`/home/gcampton/Desktop/firefox' -> `firefox'


P.S. /home/gcampton is my username, yours will be more than likely something different: /home/ <your_name> / Desktop etc....

[Phosphoric]

OK, so I've found the path of my application: /usr/lib/gnome-panel/wp_tray.

This is Wallpaper tray which I previously had working with Ubuntu 8.04.

I've clicked on the blue diamond icon which has changed to green but nothing else seems to have happened.

Any help for next step please?

First post from "hoping to be Mint convert"

[paranomos]

help please
i m a new linux user and i need a flash player
i visit the adobe site but i cant do it
i have tried some of this option on the site but nothing
plz help

[Midnighter]

help please
i m a new linux user and i need a flash player
i visit the adobe site but i cant do it
i have tried some of this option on the site but nothing
plz help

This is not the thread for what you are after.

That said, flash should be installed already, unless you installed the universal edition, and even then it is easy to install thru the package manager, just open it and search for "flash"

[Lits]

I had the same problem... but all I did was reboot and the applications showed up in my menu. Not sure if its the same case for you guys but just thought i should share that.

[Midnighter]

Should not be necessary to reboot, just run

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killall gnome-panel

from a terminal to reload the panel and menu, and the entries should show up.

[sam500]

Hello all, this is my first ever post so please be gentle!

I successfully managed to download Gzip via Synaptic. But as you probably guessed (because I'm posting on this thread), I can't find it anywhere in the menu.

The terminal has confirmed its existence and location but I am unable to find it in that folder for some reason (/bin/gzip). There is also a compression issue that I don't understand. Any help appreciated thanks!

$ which gzip
/bin/gzip

$ gzip
gzip: compressed data not written to a terminal. Use -f to force compression.
For help, type: gzip -h

$ gzip -h
Usage: gzip [OPTION]... [FILE]...
Compress or uncompress FILEs (by default, compress FILES in-place).

[Anthrogue]

I installed two programs last night, K3B and GnomeBaker. Both installed via mintInstall and neither showing on menu.
Then one doesn't know where to look. Looks like usr/share directory is a general place to look. But I find GnomeBaker dir and no executable.

Using the file manager's search feature (and with paths somehow turned on since the Nautilus thing does not show a path to anything), I found executables for K3B and GnomeBaker. But, damned if they don't have paths under their icons........ so I have the ludicrous situation of having found them but still not knowing where they are (say in order to make a launcher in the menu). Oh, there it is... right click properties and there's the path o_0

Installing software is about as fundamental a task as anyone does on a computer, and to make it this difficult is ridiculous. I cannot recommend Mint to Windows users until the software installation problem is solved. I was very pleased at first when Mint loaded and ran without fiddling with it, so much that I removed Windows completely. But if I can't install the software I want what good is it? Just one of many examples: I installed Nessus using a deb package and the deb installer. Nessus is nowhere to be found, even using the terminal. If I install from source the executable simply will not run.
.... just a comment made while very angry. I used CPM/DOS/Windows and a PDP-11 for twenty years and never ever had to ask for technical support, not even once. I have had Mint for one month and have had to ask twice (this doesn't count since I don't need or want any help). I have to say I am re-thinking my choice

I'm beginning to wonder as well. Video cards not working... buy new one, drives not being recognized and no clue how to nudge the system to see them. Load a blank DVD and get prompted to run Brasero, which then can't seem to see the disc or the drive that just prompted the program. But hey... I just found GnomeBaker and burned a disc. Glorah to Gawd! Now I'm happy until next inconceivable mole comes along to make me wonder how to whack it.

edit: Though I found GnomeBaker in usr/share/applications, I cannot see it when trying to make a launcher in the menu. It's there but not there

So yeah, I wonder. The time involved in trying to get set up - injurious to productivity as it is - is not conducive to freedom. And this appears in many ways to be associated with a lack of elegance.. Still, when I think of Windows... as familiar as it is, I think I'll hang out with Mint for a while.

[MALsPa]

For me, if a newly installed application is not showing up in the menu, most of the time I can simply log out and then log back in and it will be there.

If you want to find where the files for a particular application are located it's really very easy to do. Open Synaptic, find the application, click on the "Installed Files" tab down there in the bottom right section of the screen. All of the files are listed right there. You can find out where the binary is, where the icons are, everything.

[Midnighter]

Should not be necessary to reboot, just run

Code: Select all

killall gnome-panel

from a terminal to reload the panel and menu, and the entries should show up.

Have any of you actually tried this? I keep seeing complaints, but no one saying they tried and it failed. So I'm assuming it's just being ignored.