Xfce/ partitions/shorctuts [solved]

[daveinuk]

Hello folks

Total newb to Xfce but have been on mint 8/9/10 in the last 18 months or so, literally installed Xfce this morning after reading the recommendations at the top of the forum and 'cos I'm currently finding my way round linux on a T42 IBM laptop and it's not the fastest thing but does me for the purpose of having a machine solely to try linux on.

I do like this so far and even this laptop seems quicker than before, and I have a couple of questions for you . . . .

1. am i right in saying the whole point of not having desktop icons with this is that it makes it quicker because of the way it manages the desktop? I can live without them and tried to 'drag' one from the menu to the desktop, didn't work, then tried right click and that didn't work either lol, both launched the app', I can also live with that, but if I decide i want some how do I add them?

2. I completely formatted and clean installed, think I did it right and I have a 160gb HDD which i split roughly into 3 equal-ish partitions - I can find my (what I've called) disc2 and disc3 partitions, living in 'media' which is inside 'file system' on my desktop. I used to have these inside 'computer' on mint 10 but I don't see that anywhere now, and I want to use the space to put music/films etc back that I transferred to an external drive before formatting. So did I get the format right or is there something I missed, not sure how I know if I did it right . . . . .

3. Can i also mount them, or one, automatically at startup?

Thanks in advance

[linuxviolin]

1. Here if I drag one app from the menu, with the left button, I have an icon, an entry for this app on my desktop. But currently I am in Fedora 15 XFCE and the XFCE version is 4.8 In LMDE I think the version is not the same so perhaps this doesn't work... You also can create a launcher for the app you wish have on your desktop: right-click on the desktop and choose "Create a Launcher...".

2. You can create a link on your desktop for your two partitions, Disc2 and Disc3 if I understood well.

3. You must create an entry for them in fstab.

[altair4]

(1) To create a desktop icon for an installed application:

Open thunar and go to /usr/share/applications
Right click "name-of-application" > Select "Send To" > Desktop

(2) & (3) To automount a partition: Auto Mount Partitions on Boot: viewtopic.php?f=42&t=22093

Note: In Gnome if you mount a partition within your home directory or in /media a mount icon appears on the desktop automatically. That doesn't happen in XFCE so you can do the same thing you did in (1) above:

Let's say you created a mount point for the partition at /media/Data.
Open Thunar > Go to Filesystem > media > Right Click "Data" > Select "Send To" > Desktop ( Create Link )

[wayne128]

to create shotcut on desktop

try this
mouse to desktop, right click, click create launcher
it opens up a windows, type in name (example: firefox) , command (firefox), choose Icon. then click Create.

Should see the Icon on desktop.

[altair4]

The beauty of /usr/share/applications is all the work is already done for you:

Name of application, command, icon, etc ... Besides I may not know the exact name of the command at the moment I want to create a launcher.

[linuxviolin]

All of this is good of course but, as I said in my previous post, if I drag one app from the menu with the left button, I have an icon, an entry for this app on my desktop. Currently I am in Fedora 15 with XFCE 4.8 and this way works perfectly. Not in Mint?

[daveinuk]

Hi and thank you both for the replies, I've done the desktop shortcuts fine but I'm struggling with the auto mounting, tbh i don't even know what the fstab is !

i read through the link you added but it's pretty hard for me working out what file path I'm meant to type in as I don't yet understand how they're laid out, as you can see . . . . . .

dave@dave-t42 ~/Desktop $ sudo mkdir /media/Disc 2
[sudo] password for dave:
dave@dave-t42 ~/Desktop $ sudo mkdir /media/Disc 2
mkdir: cannot create directory `/media/Disc': File exists
dave@dave-t42 ~/Desktop $ sudo su
bash: /usr/bin/mint-fortune: No such file or directory
dave-t42 Desktop # su
bash: /usr/bin/mint-fortune: No such file or directory
dave-t42 Desktop # sudo mkdir /dev/sda3
mkdir: cannot create directory `/dev/sda3': File exists
dave-t42 Desktop # sudo mkdir /dev/sda3/Disc 3
mkdir: cannot create directory `/dev/sda3/Disc': Not a directory
dave-t42 Desktop #


this is what i don't get -

To auto mount an ext3 data partition in your /home open a terminal and type:

mkdir /home/fred/Data (I don't know how to work out the path)

sudo su (press enter after each command? is there something missing?some path?)

echo "/dev/sdxx /home/fred/Data ext3 defaults,noatime 0 2" >> /etc/fstab (do you take the quotes out?)

I can work out file paths in windoze but i've yet to master doing it in linux as you can probably tell lol . . . . .

what throws me also is when i look at system in the system manager it tells me 40 something gb free space, is this 'cos the other two partitions aren't mounted? As far as i can see I think I formatted correctly and the partitions are 'active' but not being used to how linux shows things it's got me questioning whether I'm trying to mount a partition that's not even active !

[linuxviolin]

dave@dave-t42 ~/Desktop $ sudo mkdir /media/Disc 2
[sudo] password for dave:
dave@dave-t42 ~/Desktop $ sudo mkdir /media/Disc 2
mkdir: cannot create directory `/media/Disc': File exists

The problem here is you have left some space in the name. You should avoid to give a name with space(s), rather use "_" in place of space(s) for instance. So now you must remove the directory Disc and create another, for instance Disc2 or Disc_2, as you like, in /media. Idem for Disc 3.

For fstab, I think it should be easier for you to edit the fstab file with a text editor like Mousepad. But wait, you must edit it as root. If not, you'll not be able to save the changes.

[altair4]

Code: Select all

dave@dave-t42 ~/Desktop $ sudo mkdir /media/Disc 2
[sudo] password for dave:
dave@dave-t42 ~/Desktop $ sudo mkdir /media/Disc 2
mkdir: cannot create directory `/media/Disc': File exists

You're attempting to create a directory with a space in it with the wrong syntax for a space so it's ignoring the "2" and the must already be a /media/Disk.

Let's say you have an ext3 directory at /dev/sda2 and you want to mount it at /media/Disk2 ( note my mount point has no space in it ):

[1] Create the mount point:

Code: Select all

sudo mkdir /media/Disk2

[2] then add a line in fstab:

Code: Select all

sudo su

Then press enter and enter the following line in the terminal:

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echo "/dev/sda2 /media/Disk2 ext3 defaults,noatime 0 2" >> /etc/fstab

Just as it is - quotes and all
That's it. - Close the terminal

To test the new line bring up a terminal and type:

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sudo mount -a

If there is a problem it will output errors. If it just brings you back to the prompt then it mounted successfully.

If you rin into problems post the output of the following commands so the commumity can see where you are at:

Code: Select all

sudo blkid -c /dev/null
cat /etc/fstab
mount

[linuxviolin]

Code: Select all

echo "/dev/sda2 /media/Data2 ext3 defaults,noatime 0 2" >> /etc/fstab

Defaults is not really essential if you use noatime. I always use noatime without defaults with no problems, and with different file systems.

[altair4]

@daveinuk, You know if this whole "sudo su", "echo" thing spooks you can just edit the fstab file directly:

[1] Create the mount point:

Code: Select all

sudo mkdir /media/Disk2

[2] Edit fstab as root:

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gksu mousepad /etc/fstab

or whatever your favorite editor may be
[3] Add the following line to the end of fstab:

Code: Select all

/dev/sda2 /media/Disk2 ext3 defaults,noatime 0 2

[4] Save fstab, exit mousepad, and run the following command to test for errors and mount the new partition:

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sudo mount -a

EDIT: just make sure that the partition you are trying to mount is in fact /dev/sda2. TO make sure run the following command to see how your system sees the partitions:

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sudo blkid -c /dev/null

[michaelzap]

Hello folks :D

Total newb to Xfce but have been on mint 8/9/10 in the last 18 months or so, literally installed Xfce this morning after reading the recommendations at the top of the forum and 'cos I'm currently finding my way round linux on a T42 IBM laptop and it's not the fastest thing but does me for the purpose of having a machine solely to try linux on.

I do like this so far and even this laptop seems quicker than before, and I have a couple of questions for you . . . .

1. am i right in saying the whole point of not having desktop icons with this is that it makes it quicker because of the way it manages the desktop? I can live without them and tried to 'drag' one from the menu to the desktop, didn't work, then tried right click and that didn't work either lol, both launched the app', I can also live with that, but if I decide i want some how do I add them?

2. I completely formatted and clean installed, think I did it right and I have a 160gb HDD which i split roughly into 3 equal-ish partitions - I can find my (what I've called) disc2 and disc3 partitions, living in 'media' which is inside 'file system' on my desktop. I used to have these inside 'computer' on mint 10 but I don't see that anywhere now, and I want to use the space to put music/films etc back that I transferred to an external drive before formatting. So did I get the format right or is there something I missed, not sure how I know if I did it right . . . . .

3. Can i also mount them, or one, automatically at startup?

Thanks in advance :)

I'm no Xfce expert, but I've used it a bit in the past and recently switched to it as my main system on my work laptop. I also really like it and find it to be far more resource-efficient than Gnome 2 (which is what I generally used previously). Thunar is an excellent file manager, although I do wish that it had a tabbed interface.

As far as showing files on the desktop goes, I believe that this is still not possible unless you run Nautilus and let it take over managing the desktop (in which case you'd lose the desktop menu on right-click). As of Xfce 4.4 (I think), you can show certain key shortcuts on the desktop (your user folders or minimized application shortcuts), but not individual files. I'm also used to saving my current work to the desktop while I deal with it, but I was forced to change my behavior in Xfce. I don't think that Xfce 4.8 has changed this, but I could be wrong.

Different Linux distros use different "mount points" for volumes other than the standard root, home, etc., and Mint's "Computer" is just one way of displaying mounted volumes to you. Xfce has automatically identified volumes that you can mount and given you mount points to access them in "media", but you're accessing the same volumes and files as you were in "Computer". You can use fstab (and other methods) to mount them automatically on boot, so do a quick Google for info on that if you're interested.

I'm running Crunchbang Xfce myself, which is based on Debian instead of Ubuntu. I'd highly recommend that you do this as well. My previous experiences with Xfce on Ubuntu (and Xubuntu) didn't impress me at all, but it really flies on Debian.

[linuxviolin]

As far as showing files on the desktop goes, I believe that this is still not possible unless you run Nautilus and let it take over managing the desktop (in which case you'd lose the desktop menu on right-click). As of Xfce 4.4 (I think), you can show certain key shortcuts on the desktop (your user folders or minimized application shortcuts), but not individual files. I'm also used to saving my current work to the desktop while I deal with it, but I was forced to change my behavior in Xfce. I don't think that Xfce 4.8 has changed this, but I could be wrong.

Well, like I said, currently in Fedora 15 with XFCE 4.8 I have no problem to drag an app from the menu or a file, even several at the same time, from Thunar on my desktop... But this makes copies of the files on the desktop, they are not moved. For cons, I admit I no longer remember if this was also possible in previous versions.

[wayne128]

The beauty of /usr/share/applications is all the work is already done for you:

Name of application, command, icon, etc ... Besides I may not know the exact name of the command at the moment I want to create a launcher.

Thanks altair4. Save some typing.

Good to learn also
with xfce4.8 from Debian-xfce-Sid, I can just drag any application from /usr/share/appications to Desktop or Panel

[linuxviolin]

Good to learn also
with xfce4.8 from Debian-xfce-Sid, I can just drag any application from /usr/share/appications to Desktop or Panel

Probably you can also do it from the menu, like I can do it in Fedora 15 with XFCE 4.8... No need to seek in a folder in Thunar.

[wayne128]

Good to learn also
with xfce4.8 from Debian-xfce-Sid, I can just drag any application from /usr/share/appications to Desktop or Panel

Probably you can also do it from the menu, like I can do it in Fedora 15 with XFCE 4.8... No need to seek in a folder in Thunar.

right on,
yes, simply menu>application, use left mouse click/hold then drag.

xfce4.8 is like mini-gnome with fast speed

[daveinuk]

Hello again folks. . . . thanks for all the replies, been a bit busy so only just come back to my post, I've had a go at creating the directory in the terminal and that bit went ok, but the bit I'm getting stuck on is this fstab part - I think i mentioned in my second post - I don't even know what it is that's being referred to or where/how to find it let alone edit it !

I'm alright doing things in the terminal but I sort of need step by step as i don't know yet how to work the paths etc out myself,

i did this and it worked -

sudo mkdir /media/Disk2

i do this

gksu mousepad /etc/fstab

in the terminal too??? press enter?

[3] Add the following line to the end of fstab:

Code: Select all
/dev/sda2 /media/Disk2 ext3 defaults,noatime 0 2

I have no idea how to do this !

Sorry, I know your answers are pointing me the right way i just don't know how to put them into action!

Well I am still very much a n00b lol . . . . . . . .

And for the poster who told me not to have spaces in the disc label that i had put on with disc utility, i edited them and took the space out and I now know they are dev/sda3 (Disc2) and dev/sda4 (Disc3) and i formatted them to ext3 when i installed xfce.

If someone can explain how i find/edit the fstab i might be able to work the rest out from all your replies, and thanks to everyone for taking the time to answer so far !

Dave

[daveinuk]

I'm getting somewhere . . . I think . . . . .

I found out what fstab was on tuxfiles and changed some 'stuff'

and then ran a command I'd been informed would check it for me and I got this but I don't know what it means !

dave@dave-t42 ~ $ sudo blkid -c /dev/null
/dev/sda1: UUID="5cf779fd-9c53-48ea-813f-e5e9c27c9a71" TYPE="swap"
/dev/sda2: UUID="88cf35bc-98d4-4a83-82f2-493d2e546e02" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sda3: LABEL="Disc2" UUID="fee0d30e-f030-48e3-a110-9f32f081fa17" TYPE="ext3"
/dev/sda4: LABEL="Disc3" UUID="e4439613-5382-4f0e-8851-36fb3f26e0a2" SEC_TYPE="ext2" TYPE="ext3"

They don't appear on the desktop yet but I think I have still to create a shortcut for them ??

TIA

Dave

[daveinuk]

I ran the command suggested by altair4 as suggested and this is the output :

dave@dave-t42 ~ $ cat /etc/fstab
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'vol_id --uuid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
# device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
# that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
/dev/scd0 /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto 0 0
proc /proc proc nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0
/dev/sda2 / ext4 rw,errors=remount-ro 0 0
/dev/sda3 /media/Disc2 ext3 defaults,noatime 0 2
/dev/sda3 /media/Disc3 ext3 defaults,noatime 0 2
dave@dave-t42 ~ $ mount

I don't know if this 'looks right' or not so if i've missed something . . . . . .?

[daveinuk]

Just when I thought i was getting somewhere . . . . . lol . . . . . . . .

Somebody somewhere is laughing their heads off I'm sure I can hear them in the distance . . . . .. so . . to recap

In 'media' I now have 5 folders !

Disc - this is where my music etc is
Disc2 ? - I assume this was meant to be Disc 3 ? Next in the list?
Disc3
Disc3_
Disc2

Any ideas what I've done !