[SOLVED] Need help with Grouped Window List: Can't edit apps

[poseidon]

Dear Cinnamon Users,

I have used Cinnamon for years now and always could place apps on the panel by Add to Panel in the main menu and then edit them by right clicking them.

I recently installed a new notebook computer with desktop environment Cinnamon, of course. Now there's a new Grouped Window List on the panel containing the apps I have added by "Add to panel" (main menu). In the Cinnamon I'm used to I always could right click an Icon on the panel and then edit it, e.g. to edit the program's args. Grouped Window List doesn't offer this. How am I supposed to edit the app commands now? Am I supposed to edit some ascii files? Where are they then?

Cheers
Paul

[JoeFootball]

I have used Cinnamon for years now and always could place apps on the panel by Add to Panel in the main menu and then edit them by right clicking them.

I had the same misunderstanding. Those icons are no longer launchers, but pinned apps. More info here and here.

Joe

[poseidon]

Thank you, Joe!

Strange. I'd consider this being a severe loss of a handy feature.

Workarounds as far as I have understood them:

1. Adding from the main menu is not an option, as I want to start e.g. librewriter with several different files. The main menu hosts only one libre writer entry.

2. Using a panel launcher: Well, I seem to be restricted to add apps by filling in a dialog: Name, Command, Icon and searching in the file system (quick: Where are all the icons stored?). Until now I could just drop an app from the desktop (e.g.) onto a panel, nothing else was to be done, it used to just work.

Cheers
Paul

P.S.: Such "regressions" made me move to Cinnamon coming from KDE, where they seemed to start from scratch on a regular basis and loosing handy features that way.

P.P.S.: Someday I may wonder how things like this can happen: Bug, newbie in the team, ...

[smurphos]

Just swap out the grouped window list for a window list applet and panel launcher applet and you'll have exactly the same workflow as before.

[poseidon]

Well, not quite: Every time I click on "Add to panel" a new panel launcher is added, but the app is not. Heck, where's my Cinnamon?!

Cheers
Paul

[smurphos]

OK it sounds like you are getting in a muddle. You only need one panel-launcher applet added via right click on the panel and add to panel - it holds multiple launchers. Once you've got one set up and no grouped-window-list, add to panel via right click on the program in the menu will add a panel launcher for that app to the applet rather than a pinned app to the grouped-window-list. A panel launcher in the panel-launcher applet can be edited in the way you are used to.

Another route is to open the welcome screen app from the menu and setting your panel to traditional layout - this set the panel to the pre 19.1 default layout and thus the workflow you are used to. I will also affect a few other things (panel size, themes etc), and remove any additional applets you may have added but you can re-modify those to your taste afterwards should that be important to you.

By the way - the workaround to add customised pinned apps via the menu involves adding additional launchers to the menu with your customised commands not using the existing entries. Once you've added the pinned apps you can then hide them from the menu if you wish to avoid clutter. All this is achieved from the menu-editor - right click on menu > preferences > configure > select menu-editor.

[poseidon]

Thank you for your support, smurphos!

I guess by "A panel launcher in the panel-launcher applet can be edited in the way you are used to." you mean "An app launcher in the panel-launcher applet can be edited in the way you are used to."? Yes it can here, too. Anyway, when I do "Add to panel", then a new panel launcher (containing Firefox, Nemo and Terminal) is added to the panel. This must be a bug. So adding entries to the main menu which then could be added to the panel will not work.

It is only fair at this point to mention, that I am not on Mint, where everything may work as intended. I'm on Arch, in particular on NamibArch (= Arch + a usable installer). I am here as this seems to be THE Cinnamon forum. My workaround will be to not use the panel for launching apps anymore but to use the Desktop to host the app launchers. This does work: "Add to desktop" works, and the launchers placed on the Desktop can be edited.

Cheers
Paul

[smurphos]

Anyway, when I do "Add to panel", then a new panel launcher (containing Firefox, Nemo and Terminal) is added to the panel. This must be a bug.

OK, I can reproduce that in Cinnamon 4.0.9 on Mint immediately after removing the grouped-window-list and adding a new panel-launcher.

I can workaround it by restarting Cinnamon via Ctrl-Alt-Esc after adding the first panel-launcher applet. It all works as it should having done that. Time for a bug report.

Just to be clear the adding customised launchers to the menu workaround is suggested as a solution if you wanted to retain the grouped-window-list but pin apps with non-default commands.

[poseidon]

Man, you are my hero! Works now as intended.

A minor issue, though: The app started from the panel launcher is not shown in the task bar with its icon after start, but with a cogging wheel. The launcher shows the app's icon. Seems that the task bar is looking itself for an icon and doesn't find it where it searches for it. Any idea? Well, just a minor detail.

"Just to be clear the adding via the menu workaround is suggested as a solution if you wanted to retain the grouped-window-list but pin apps with non-default commands." Ok, but I really prefer the panel launcher where I can directly edit the app launchers.

Thanks again, smurphos!

Cheers
Paul

[poseidon]

Icon okay now. Seems to add the app's path in the command helped.

As for the bug report: Am I supposed to file it? And would you recommend to mark this issue as SOLVED?

Cheers
Paul

[smurphos]

As for the bug report: Am I supposed to file it? And would you recommend to mark this issue as SOLVED?

It's OK - report is filed - https://github.com/linuxmint/Cinnamon/issues/8390

Yes please do mark this thread as solved by editing the title on your first post. At least other readers will be made aware of the issue adding the first panel-launcher and find the workaround if they attempt the same steps as I doubt this will get fixed until Cinnamon 4.2 now.

I suspect this is actually a long-standing bug that no one ever exposed before because there was always a pre-existing panel launcher applet by default prior to Cinnamon 4.0.x