How to downgrade an applet

[kuzja]

Linux Mint 17.1, Cinnamon 2.4.8

The built-in Applets manager (accessible via Settings / Applets) does a nasty thing: It lets you choose and install an applet which is not compatible with your Cinnamon version. Only after you try to use it (i.e. to add it to a panel), it produces an error, and if you check the Looking Glass, you can see the cause was the compatibility issue.

This is unpleasant when you want to try a new applet; but at least you can uninstall it again and get back where you were before. But unfortunately the same problem can occur during an applet update, and then I don't know how to revert the action.

In particular, I was using the "Window List With App Grouping" applet - I cannot tell which version it was, but it was working (more or less) with Cinnamon 2.4.8. As there were some issues in functionality, I decided to update the applet (using the Applet manager). But after the update, the above described problem occurred, and the applet cannot be started.

I can uninstall the new version, but it does not bring the old version back. If I install it again, the most recent - and therefore incompatible - version is downloaded. There is no choice which version should be used. The applet's webpage does not give any clue as well.

So what can be done about it? Is there any way to revert the upgrade back, or to restore the old version of the applet?
Thanks for help.

[Cosmo.]

If you have a backup of your home - then yes. All spices (applets and other typed) are stored in ~/.local/share/cinnamon (~ stands for your home). If not, than you have declared your data as superfluous.

[kuzja]

Well, I have the backup. So with your help the recovery was really simple. Thank you!

But anyway - I agree it is important to make backups, and there is always a certain risk with any update or upgrade. But the fact the Applet manager actively offers you something that will break (a part of) the functionality of your system, with no apparent way back, that seems to be very strange to me.

[Cosmo.]

I agree, that the situation is not good. This is especially true, because the build-in so called backup tool is not really of help, as you cannot pick a certain object for restoring and end with overwriting newer versions of a user file with an older one, just to get the needed spice back. (Or you restore it manually from the backup archive, but for this usage one does not need a so called backup tool at all.) That beside other limitations. So far concerning Mint 18.3. But in Mint 17 to 18.2 the situation is not better, but there are other problems.

[smurphos]

I can uninstall the new version, but it does not bring the old version back. If I install it again, the most recent - and therefore incompatible - version is downloaded. There is no choice which version should be used. The applet's webpage does not give any clue as well.

So what can be done about it? Is there any way to revert the upgrade back, or to restore the old version of the applet?
Thanks for help.

Hi,

You can restore an old applet version via the spices repository on Github if you don't have an appropriate backup.

Visit the applet's page here -

https://github.com/linuxmint/cinnamon-s ... @gmail.com

Click on History. That will show you a list of all the commits (updates) to that applet with some description of the change. if you can work out which change caused the issue (and I strongly suspect it is the 17/5/17 commit that limited the applet to versions 2.6, 2.8 and 3.0 of cinnamon) then click on the button with this <> symbol on the commit directly below the suspect one.

You are now looking at a copy of the entire spices repo at that point in history. Click the green download button and select to download zip. You now have a copy of every applet in the state they were in at that date.

Final stage is to delete the existing WindowListGroup@jake.phy@gmail.com folder from ~/.local/share/cinnamon/applets and then extract the copy from the zip and place it in ~/.local/share/cinnamon/applets. Finally Ctrl-Alt-Esc to restart Cinnamon.

As you've now manually installed the applet Applet Manager won't try and update it in future even if you hit update all.

As an aside if you have any existing applet that you want to prevent being updated the simplest way is to delete its metadata.json file. Applet Manager will then treat it as a manually installed applet. Same goes for themes, extensions and desklets.