I'm probably missing something obvious, but hoping someone can help me here. I recently upgraded from Mint 19.3 MATE to 20.1 MATE. One of the features I constantly used in 19.3, was to highlight a desktop icon and open it--not by using the mouse--but just by typing the name of the icon on the keyboard and hitting "enter." For instance, assuming I had no active windows open, if I wanted to open up a desktop file called "readme.txt," I literally just started typing the characters of the filename, and the icon would become highlighted and I'd then open it with the default application by hitting enter, just as if I had double-clicked with the pointer.
On my 20.1 desktop, I type in icon names, and... nothing. I searched high and low for an option to enable this, but I figure I'm just overlooking it somewhere. I tried searching this forum plus my best google-fu, but still coming up short. I figure I'm just a bonehead missing a simple configuration setting. Can anyone help, please?
Thanks!
[SOLVED] Selecting a desktop icon by typing the name...?
Forum rules
Before you post read how to get help. Topics in this forum are automatically closed 6 months after creation.
Before you post read how to get help. Topics in this forum are automatically closed 6 months after creation.
[SOLVED] Selecting a desktop icon by typing the name...?
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
Re: Selecting a desktop icon by typing the name...?
Hi, caja searches in the selected (focused) directory--Desktop included.
If you first click an empty spot on the desktop will it search by keystroke then?
If not try temporarily creating a new user with the Users and Groups utility.
Log off and log back in as the new user and test it there. New users get a fresh
set of config files.
Everything in life was difficult before it became easy.
Re: Selecting a desktop icon by typing the name...?
Thanks for the reply - I am going to call myself out for being an idiot first, though! I had accidentally grabbed the installation USB with fxce on it, not MATE, so I installed the wrong one (I had a couple different versions laying around). I don't believe this feature ever existed on xfce so no wonder it wasn't working as I expected.
You'd think I'd be observant enough to think "Hey this looks like Xfce instead of MATE," but no, I thought "Wow, Mint 20.1 looks totally different than 19.3!"
I do the same kind of thing, i.e. overlook the obvious, when trying to fix my car, too, btw.
Anyway, I installed the mate-desktop package, and if I can now figure out how to get my login screen to show the desktop session option, I'm back in business. Online tutorials make it sound as though I'm supposed to have an option from the login screen to select which desktop manager I want to use, but the icon doesn't show up on my screen where it supposedly should. So I'm stuck logging into xfce still. I'll keep working on it, but this is sucking up too much of my life!
You'd think I'd be observant enough to think "Hey this looks like Xfce instead of MATE," but no, I thought "Wow, Mint 20.1 looks totally different than 19.3!"
I do the same kind of thing, i.e. overlook the obvious, when trying to fix my car, too, btw.
Anyway, I installed the mate-desktop package, and if I can now figure out how to get my login screen to show the desktop session option, I'm back in business. Online tutorials make it sound as though I'm supposed to have an option from the login screen to select which desktop manager I want to use, but the icon doesn't show up on my screen where it supposedly should. So I'm stuck logging into xfce still. I'll keep working on it, but this is sucking up too much of my life!
Re: Selecting a desktop icon by typing the name...?
That would do it. I use several desktop environments and sometimes a different featureI had accidentally grabbed the installation USB with fxce on it, not MATE,
puzzles me too, but stiIl, I enjoy using all the Mints including LMDE.
Everything in life was difficult before it became easy.
Re: Selecting a desktop icon by typing the name...?
After going into "Software Manager" and finishing the MATE installation there (I had been missing a few packages), I now have MATE installed and running (plus a few other WMs to try). So I guess the solution to my problem is, "When Caja doesn't seem to be searching the desktop for the icon you're typing in, make sure you're using MATE and not Xfce or something else." Solved.