Photofolder/screensaver [SOLVED]

[tha_lode]

Just installed Mint 8 (full version) on a EEEbox 202. Everything seems to work fine. Hooray!

My first stumble block:

When on XP I had the screen saver show photos from the our LAN server.
I found the screen saver which shows photos, but it defaults to the Photo folder in the home directory.
Is there a way to either point the screen saver to the server, or change the location of the Photo folder?

Or another screensaver I can download which does what I need?

I should add that I have succesfully added the share so I now have a shortcut to the picture folder on the server just below where Photo, Music etc are in Nautilus.

Thanks.

[Aging Technogeek]

You can try this http://www.kde-look.org/content/show.ph ... tent=33197 from KDE-look.org. It seemsto be what you are looking for.

[remoulder]

You are talking about the f-spot pictures screensaver? You can change the location of your photo folder by running f-spot and changing the preferences. The location of your other home folders can also be changed by installing ubuntu-tweak or hand-editing the config file.

[tha_lode]

Thank you for your replies.

The installation process for SmoothSlideSaver seemed a bit "high tech" as a first solution.

I was talking about the built in screensaver that is called pictures folder.

But since you mentioned F-Spot I tried that.
But it won't allow me to import from the shortcuts I created to the Lan share...
They just aren't visible in the import folder window.

I couldn't find the ubuntu-tweak program on synaptic. Where is the config file? And what should I write? The address is 192.168.0.99 and the share is called tt19.

[remoulder]

I was talking about the built in screensaver that is called pictures folder

Ok, but you were talking about the Photos folder which is created by f-spot as the default import folder, you only have the Pictures folder if you don't run f-spot. I assume the pictures screensaver uses the Pictures folder as source.

You can setup the repo for ubuntu-tweak here

When you say you created a shortcut to the server share, did you mean a link or have you created a mount point? Just wondering why you can't see this in the browse for folder?

[tha_lode]

Ah I see. I mixed up the names. What I meant was the Pictures folder which the built in screen saver uses.

I'm unsure what a mount point is. I used "connect to server" from the Nautilus menu and entered the address, etc for the share. Then I dragged one of the folders from that share onto the space on the left where there is a short cut to documents, music, pictures, videos and downloads.

Short cut might be a Windows specific term. Is "link" the right name for it in Linux?

Anyway the folder link/short cut is there in Nautilus, but not in F-spot.

The share on the server is really vital for the funcionality of the computer. (All the music, videos and pictures are stored there.)
Should I make a mount point... (He asked not knowing what it is, but it sure sounds more powerful than link... )

I just tried Ubuntu-tweak. It can't see the share either, so clearly I'm not accessing the share the way I should.

[remoulder]

Accessing the share as a link is fine but if you want to map a folder such as photos to the share permanently you'll need to mount it. Unfortunately I'm getting a little out of my depth here, the user who has more knowledge on this is altair4. He may see this thread or you could try sending a private message. For starters have a read of this link https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Setti ... ing%20CIFS which should give you an idea of what's involved. It's not as bad as it looks!

[tha_lode]

I got this far:

sudo mount -t cifs //myserver_ip_address/myshare ~/mnt -o username=samb_user,noexec

but I got this:

mount: block device //192.168.0.99/tt19/lyd is write-protected, mounting read-only
mount: cannot mount block device //192.168.0.99/tt19/lyd read-only

The user does have write privileges on the server, so I don't understand.
The "manual" says I should be asked for a password, but that didn't happen.

(First I created the group, and included my user in that group, then I made the mnt directory.)

[remoulder]

username=samb_user

The username is meant to be your username I think, which has to have permissions on the share. But as I mentioned, I'm a little out of my depth on this stuff, you might want to PM altair4 and ask him to have a look.

[tha_lode]

I replaced "samb_user" with the username needed to access the share.
I just didn't want to post the username here.

I already PMed altair4 so I'm hoping he can help me.

[altair4]

Well since my name has come up a couple of times I thought I'd drop by. But I don't understand the description of the problem.

The LAN server holds the Pictures / Photos?
And what operating system is on the "Lan Server" ?

The client that's trying to access this Lan Server is Mint8?

Part of my problem is that I wouldn't know a EEEbox 202 if I tripped over it but assuming you have Mint8 on it I guess we should consdier it just another PC.

I found the screen saver which shows photos, but it defaults to the Photo folder in the home directory.
Is there a way to either point the screen saver to the server, or change the location of the Photo folder?

I was talking about the built in screensaver that is called pictures folder.

I'm also unaware of any of this functionality on Mint8 so I may not be your best hope.

If the core of this problem is that the application you are using cannot "see" the remote (LAN ) share then the problem is how nautilus mounts the share. It does create a mount point but the developers decided ( just for fun ) to put it in a hidden directory.

Open Nautilus > Edit > Preferences > check "Show hidden and backup files"
Now got to /home/your_username/.gvfs

You should be able to see the server share from there. Now the questions of the moment is can the application see the "hidden directory"? If it can go to /home/your_username/.gvfs then you have your solution. If not then you could create a symbolic link from the .gvfs directory to a real directory in your home folder.

[tha_lode]

Sorry about the lack of details.
It is a prebuilt computer by Asus. Essentially a stationary version of the first netbooks they released without the screen & keyboard.
Yes I have installed Mint 8 on it.
All hardware seems to work properly with Mint 8. (That is why I didn't go into the hardware)
In short, just another PC.

The server is a QNAP 209 II (a linux server if I understand it correctly.)
http://www.qnap.com/pro_detail_feature.asp?p_id=93

Yes, the pictures are on the server.

Anyways:

If I already have accessed the link in Nautilus by clicking on the share folder on the left side in Nautilus: I can see the share when I go through .gfvs
If I haven't acessed it yet since last boot: The link isn't there in .gfvs.

Also:
When I try to make a link by right clicking the link in .gfvs I get the following error.
"Error making symbolic link: No such file or directory"

I need the computer to log on during boot or as soon as it it has booted, so all applications can find whatever they need there.
So a mountpoint ala the guide remoulder gave me seems to be more "permanent". Have I understood it correctly, and if so; could you help me with that?

[altair4]

Once again I don't know anything about the QNAP 209 II. I don't know if it's expecting a username and password to gain access or if guest access is allowed. If you want the classic way of permanently mounting a remote share I suggest you look at this:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=288534
Ignore the part about nsswitch and installing winbind - that's mostly drivel. Go directly to the parts titled Manual Mount and Permanent Mount

If you want the gnome way of handling this then I suggest you try this:

Open Terminal
Type gvfs-mount smb://Server_ip_address/share_name
If the server requires a username and password then enter it and select "remember forever" before selecting "connect"

Once you are sure that this works create a script with that same command and put it in your Autostart Folder:

Open gedit
Enter the following:

#!/bin/sh
gvfs-mount smb://Server_ip_address/share_name

Save it to /home/user_name/lanmount.sh
Make it executable: chmod +x /home/user_name/lanmount.sh

Go to Menu > Preferences > Startup Applications > Add > point it to your lanmount.sh file.

Logoff and logon again and you should have your share mounted to /home/user_name/.gvfs/ automatically ( assuming the server is running )

If you can point your applications to the hidden ".gvfs" directory then you're done. If not then create a symbolic link to that directory:

Open Terminal
Type mkdir /home/your_user_name/LanShare
Type ln -s /home/your_user_name/.gvfs /home/your_user_name/LanShare

[altair4]

I was checking up on you this morning and after reviewing my instructions I realized that for password authentication it won't give you the option of "remember forever" from the terminal. So let me amend the procedure:

Step 1: Connect to the Server from Nautilus

Nautilus > Network > Workgroup > Machine

If the server requires authentication then enter it and click on the "remember forever" option before entering "Connect"
Once you have successfully connected go back and unmount the remote share.

Step 2: Connect from the terminal

Open Terminal
Type gvfs-mount smb://Server_ip_address/share_name

Make sure this remounts the remote share to /home/user_name/.gvfs without prompting for authentication.

Step 3: Create a script that will automate this process and place it in the Autostart folder:

Open gedit
Enter the following:

Code: Select all

#!/bin/sh
gvfs-mount smb://Server_ip_address/share_name

Save it to /home/user_name/lanmount.sh
Make it executable: chmod +x /home/user_name/lanmount.sh

Go to Menu > Preferences > Startup Applications > Add > point it to your lanmount.sh file.

Logoff and logon again and you should have your share mounted to /home/user_name/.gvfs/ automatically ( assuming the server is running )

Step 4: If your aplications cannot access the hidden .gvfs folder create a symlink to the .gvfs folder

Open Terminal
Type mkdir /home/your_user_name/LanShare
Type ln -s /home/your_user_name/.gvfs /home/your_user_name/LanShare

I apologize for leaving out step one - no other excuse but sloppiness on my part.

[tha_lode]

There was some trouble with your procedure, but it got really late yesterday, so I didn´t trust my self in problem solving anymore.

I also couldn´t get the guide you posted the link to to work. But as I said, it was getting late...

I´ll give it a fresh start tonight. Thank you for your help.

[tha_lode]

I was just told that my QNAP also supports NFS.

Is there a different way of connecting then?

I tried again, but step two doesn't work.
Step one works like you describe, but after unmounting, I am asked for credentials when mounting in terminal.
(Before you ask: Yes I checked for remember forever) Does the keyring need a password, or is it ok to leave it blank?

[altair4]

Well, I don't know what to tell you. I went through the steps on my own network before I issued my revision - That's where I noticed step 1 was missing. It works as it always has.

Making matters worse I know nothing of NFS. And I don't use a keyring - all of my machine except for a MacBook are physically connected to a router. Besides the username and password for the remote share isn't in the keyring, it's should be here:

Menu > Accessories > Passwords and Encryption Keys > Passwords Tab

Expand the "Passwords: login" entry and you should see the the entry for the remote share.

Sorry I couldn't be of any use to you.

[tha_lode]

A friend of mine came by and helped me.

Since I hate support threads that don't give the solution to the problem, I got a description from him on what he did.

I had already made a file containing the credentials for the server following one of the guides posted on this thread so he used that one when referring to "credentials=/root/.smbcredentials"

1. Added an entry in /etc/hosts for the ip address of the nas in order to mount by name instead of by ip.
2. Created directory /mnt/foo to use as a permanent mount point
3. Made sure that the package smbfs (containing mount.cifs) was installed
4. added the following entry in /etc/fstab
//nas/volume /mnt/foo cifs credentials=/root/.smbcredentials,file_mode=0777,dir_mode=0777 0 0

I don't really know what this means, but maybe it can help others out there.

[tha_lode]

There was some trouble with the way files and folders were created, so my linux mentor had to add the following at the end of the line in the fstab file:
uid=[username],gid=[username]

[tha_lode]

I was drooling over the faster boot time on the new Mint, but since I had so much trouble configuring the previous version I am a bit hesitant about taking the leap. (The wisdom of "don´t fix it if it aint broke" paradigm)

3 questions:

1 Will the upgrade bring the special config over to the new version or will it be lost.
2 If so will I be able to simply re-insert the stuff and and the mounting will work as before?
3 Is there some kind of cloning tool for Linux that you can recommend which will let me easily go back to my previous set up if it doesn´t turn out so good?