minor PDF issues:[Resolved]

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Kester
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minor PDF issues:[Resolved]

Post by Kester »

Hi,

I'm running Linux Mint 20.1 XFCE with Thunar 1.8.14 file manager. I have a minor issue with pdf files - I had previously installed Foxit Reader but decided to remove it in favour of Okular. I thought I had removed all traces of Foxit but if I right click a pdf file icon and then click 'Properties', 'Kind:' shows 'FoxitReader Document'. While this is not crucial as the documents open correctly in Okular, I wonder if there is something I can do to remove the Foxit reference.

Related in as far as it is a pdf issue, pdf files are shown with a thumbnail when I would prefer a simple icon. I don't wish to disable thumbnail view entirely as it is useful for image files like png and jpg but is almost pointless for a pdf as the details are invariably too small to give much clue to file contents. Is there a way I can disable thumbnail views of pdf files only and retain it for image files?

Thanks.
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mikeflan
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Re: minor PDF issues:

Post by mikeflan »

Do you have a 'Menu - Preferred applications'?
If so, is Okular listed across from 'PDF'?
Maybe you should show a picture of your 'Type:'. On LM19.3 it looks like this:
pdf.png
Kester
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Re: minor PDF issues:

Post by Kester »

Hi mikeflan,

Thanks for your reply.

Yes I do have 'Preferred Applications' but it seems limited only to the web browser and mail reader in the internet tab and file manager and terminal emulator in the utilities tab - I can see no obvious way of widening its scope to include pdf or indeed other file formats in general. I select my preferred programs via right clicking the file icon, clicking 'Open With', then 'Open With Other Application', choosing the one I want from the list and ticking the box 'Use as default for this type of file'.

Right clicking a pdf file thumbnail and then selecting 'Properties' produces a result similar to the following:
ksnip_20210509-185545.png
The problem is no big issue but seems to be a bit of untidiness left behind by Foxit which ought to be straightforward to clear up but which apparently is not. Other nuisance issues cause by Foxit Reader contributed to my reasons for removing it in favour of Okular which does the job I need without causing any fuss.

The other issue I mentioned I can live with although I would be pleased if there is a way to replace the pdf file thumbnail with a standard pdf file icon.
mikeflan
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Re: minor PDF issues:

Post by mikeflan »

If you want to you can do this:
Create a Timeshift snapshot. Open Synaptic Package Manger and search for Foxit. If you can, you might want to mark it for complete removal. Then restart.

Better yet, if you recently installed Foxit, consider just Timeshifting back to before you installed it.
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rossdv8
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Re: minor PDF issues:

Post by rossdv8 »

In Mint Xfce with Thunar, you could try opening Thunar, finding a directory with some PDF files then:

Right Click a PDF file
From the context menu, the item Below Open with Foxit (probably still showing) > Choose
Open With >

In the list that opens with the arrow Choose
Open With Other Application... (at the bottom of the list)

You should see a window with Apps that Thunar thinks might open a PDF
Down below that list should be:
> Use a custom command:
[ ] Use as default for this kind of file

Put a check in the box for
[x] Use as default for this kind of file
Then choose Okular
Click Open

Your PDF should open.

Close Okular, Close Thunar (probably not necessary - but you may as well start fresh)

Open Thunar and check the Properties on a PDF and see if anything has changed.

It might not fix stuff for you - but it has always worked nicely for me :D
Current main OS: MInt 21.3 with KDE Plasma 5.27 (using Compiz as WM) - Kernel: 6.5.0-15 on Lenovo m900 Tiny, i5-6400T (intel HD 530 graphics) 16GB RAM.
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Kester
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Re: minor PDF issues:

Post by Kester »

Hi Ross and Mike,

Thanks for your replies.

I have already set Okular as the default PDF reader and that works well. The issue is merely that Thunar still refers to PDF files as 'FoxitReader documents' despite Foxit being removed.

Foxit does not appear in Synaptic. It is not in official repositories and has its own installation and uninstallation procedures which, in my view, are flawed. Uninstalling is mainly a question of manually removing related files and folders. Timeshift snapshots won't help me as none predate the installation of Foxit. It appears that the Foxit installation edited a system file somewhere and uninstallation did not address that edit. The problem appears only cosmetic so I can live with it until I need to do a fresh install of Linux Mint at some time in the future - however, if there were some relatively simple way to address the issue, I would have a go.
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rossdv8
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Re: minor PDF issues:

Post by rossdv8 »

Here's another thing to try, which I tend to forget until I've tried other stuff.
What I'm suggesting shouldn't show Foxit, but if it does, it might be part of the problem. I'm curious to know?

Go to Settings in your Xfce Menu
Type in mime in the search section or Scroll through until you find MIME Type Editor
Open it

There should be a long list of 'stuff'

There's a search bar a the top of that window too
Type in: pdf

You should get a list of things that Mint / Xfce thinks might open a pdf

If Foxit is in the list, maybe try deleting it?

Hmm, just checked the MIME Type Editor and there doesn;t seem to be any way to delete Foxit if it is in the list, but double clicking a line lets you choose a different editor 'If' Foxit happens to be set (doubtful).

This is grasping at straws by now, but there must be something telling Xfce that pdf is a Foxit extension

If it is not there, at least you've ruled out another possum ability. :)
Current main OS: MInt 21.3 with KDE Plasma 5.27 (using Compiz as WM) - Kernel: 6.5.0-15 on Lenovo m900 Tiny, i5-6400T (intel HD 530 graphics) 16GB RAM.
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Kester
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Re: minor PDF issues:

Post by Kester »

Hi Ross,

Thanks for your persistence in trying to help me.
ksnip_20210512-080230.png
You can see from the snapshot image attached that the Mime Editor recognizes Okular as the default program to open pdf files - the mystery continues .... :roll:

Foxit is not listed as an alternative application so is clearly recognized as not being installed yet the 'Select Application' window is headed with 'Open application/pdf and other files of type "FoxitReader Document" with:' The problem may be embedded in the Thunar file manager somewhere as when I tested the Dolphin file manager, it did not refer to pdf files as FoxitReader documents. After installing and testing Dolphin I uninstalled Thunar and then reinstalled it but the Foxit issue remains. I have since removed Dolphin as I prefer to keep Thunar - there must have been some residue of Thunar left behind when I uninstalled it so the pdf reference was able to reappear after reinstallation.

Cheers.
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rossdv8
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Re: minor PDF issues:

Post by rossdv8 »

Because I use Mint 20.1 Xfce, and Thunar and Dolphin, I'm interested.
On the other hand, I've never had Foxit. I suppose I could try installing it and see if I can replicate the problem.
Of course, then you might have to help ME fix it :lol:

In the meantime, did you try the 'maintenance tool' the Foxit directory?


This is from https://askubuntu.com/questions/1153330 ... untu-18-04
Answers - 1
I encountered the same problem and solved it by using:

./maintenancetool
, which is located in your foxitreader directory.:
~/opt/foxitsoftware/foxitreader

It removes all the files including the file associations (e.g. for *.pdf).
If you try it, you might post a reply saying how it went.. I'm sure there will be others who have this problem if they install Foxit to sign or fill in PDF forms :-)
Current main OS: MInt 21.3 with KDE Plasma 5.27 (using Compiz as WM) - Kernel: 6.5.0-15 on Lenovo m900 Tiny, i5-6400T (intel HD 530 graphics) 16GB RAM.
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Kester
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Re: minor PDF issues:

Post by Kester »

Hi Ross,

I reinstalled Foxit Reader and followed the procedure in the link you gave and uninstalled Foxit using the mentioned maintenance tool. This leaves the situation as before so it looks like, to get rid of my issue, I will have to identify the file that Foxit has changed, but which its maintenance tool does not change back after uninstallation, and undertake a manual edit. Which file I just don't know but I'm guessing it is somewhere within Thunar.

Cheers.
michael-hi
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Re: minor PDF issues:

Post by michael-hi »

Hi Kester

From a bit of experimentation on my part, it looks as if Foxit creates some files within your home folder which are not removed in the uninstall process, eg:

~/.config/mimeapps.list
~/.local/share/applications/defaults.list
~/.local/share/mime/application/pdf.xml
~/.local/share/mime/application/ppdf.xml

With Thunar set to show hidden files, you could check out the above and maybe delete these files altogether if (on your system) they only relate to Foxit. If they also refer to other programs, then just delete any lines or entries relating to Foxit. Log out and back in.

Re your other query, there doesn't appear to be any setting within Thunar itself to disable thumbnails just for pdf files. However, there is a config file at /etc/xdg/tumbler/tumbler.rc where you can scroll down to the PDF/PS thumbnailer and change Disabled=false to Disabled=true which might do what you want. I assume you can edit this file in situ (as root) but this link
https://docs.xfce.org/xfce/tumbler/available_plugins
says you can also copy it to your home folder and edit it there.

I haven't tried this out as I was testing stuff on a Live session and I think you would need to reboot to make it work. Also, I don't know if you would need to clear the cache(s) of existing thumbnails at ~/.cache/thumbnails

Hope the above suggestions are of some help and don't cause any damage!
Kester
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Re: minor PDF issues:

Post by Kester »

Hi Michael,

Thanks for your input and your detective work which has resolved the issue for me.

I edited out the FoxitReader references in ~/.config/mimeapps.list and ~/.local/share/applications/defaults.list and removed the two xml files which included only references to FoxitReader. (I played safe and actually moved the xml files to a usb memory stick so I could reinstate them if necessary and noted down my edits in the two lists just in case I needed return them to their original state). Initially nothing appeared to change but, on restarting the system, the references to FoxitReader do not show in the right click > Properties window after 'Kind:' as in my screenshot;
ksnip_20210512-195322.png
Ross and Mike, who were also interested in my problem, will also be interested in the resolution you have provided. In the end, what was required was not that complicated but it was your effort that shone the light through the mist - I am very grateful and can now mark this thread as 'resolved'.

Cheers.
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rossdv8
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Re: minor PDF issues:[Resolved]

Post by rossdv8 »

...shone the light through the mist
Congratulations Kester. You would be surprised how many times the actual solution is not handed out on the forum, but the suggestions about what 'might work' lead to the light shining!

In this case you lucked out having someone who actually has Foxit, as well as those of us enjoying the digging around.

I suppose it's a bit of a of 'teamwork' thing. :)
Current main OS: MInt 21.3 with KDE Plasma 5.27 (using Compiz as WM) - Kernel: 6.5.0-15 on Lenovo m900 Tiny, i5-6400T (intel HD 530 graphics) 16GB RAM.
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michael-hi
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Re: minor PDF issues:[Resolved]

Post by michael-hi »

Cheers, Kester. I'm pleased that worked in the end.

And I agree with rossdv8 about the teamwork :)
Kester
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Re: minor PDF issues:[Resolved]

Post by Kester »

Hi all,

This forum is all about helping each other so I totally agree with your sentiments - it's great that fellow humans from all around the world can come together in this way. What a shame other aspects of our world are not so harmonious.

I'm about to open a new thread regarding file types and the icons associated with them so you may be able to help me with that.

Cheers.
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