Jump to content

MimeticDE - homebrewed lightweight all-in-one distro


Hedon James

Recommended Posts

Hedon James

After many months of working on this in "spare" moments (is there such a thing?), I've finally gotten my Lubuntu remix to a place where it's ready for use. Just in time for the much anticipated point release on July 21!

 

While my primary targeted user is ME, a very close 2nd is the folks I provide support to in my family & friends circle. Some of those users have become pretty independent, and rarely need my help; while others have made no progress in 10 years, still calling with such issues as "I can't find my file". Probably shouldn't be using a computer, but that's a different discussion. In the meantime, I'm trying to provide something for everyone, while reducing the fragmentation of systems I work on. For little more background and explanation, this READ ME file is placed on the desktop, available to be read in a LiveSession and immediately upon installation, linked below from my DropBox account:

 

https://www.dropbox....EAD ME.pdf?dl=0

 

In a nutshell, I've created a hybrid that looks like Unity (for me); but in a more lightweight and responsive system (Lubuntu); with the ability to look like other desktop Paradigms (LXLE); but with cross-platform software offerings that I prefer (64-bit version only; 32-bit version uses default Lubuntu apps). And a special shout out to Security Breach for his assistance and advice in the ArchBang thread, and Saturnian for his advice about the Fluxbox desktop in that same thread! While I just can't make the switch to Arch at this time (my supported users can't handle it, IMO), I have become QUITE ENAMORED with the Fluxbox desktop and have gotten it to a place where I'm pretty pleased with it. I'd like to make it the default window manager in my MimeticDE, but I'm just not confident enough in its long-term viability and behavior to replace OpenBox. I've experienced OpenBox for several years; been working on MimeticDE for almost a year; Fluxbox only 2-3 months. But I did put a Mimetic-Flux desktop paradigm in it (again, mostly for ME!) and a customized start script that can invoke the LXDE lxpanel "skins" used by OpenBox for the different desktop paradigms. While Fluxbox is set for its default configuration, simply uncomment the lxpanel "skin" you want to autostart and....voila....a Fluxbox-powered paradigm. THANK YOU Saturnian and Security Breach...you have no idea how valuable your advice was to me!

 

For the curious, here is a link to the 32-bit version hosted on my DropBox account, as well as md5 and sha256 checksums to verify integrity:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qrm6vno2p3vpxwu/AADsHmZJHIl6K_iK-0du17kwa?dl=0

 

EDIT: and here is a link to the 64-bit version hosted on my DropBox account, as well as md5 and sha256 checksums:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hri27kfjevr4odm/AADLPpCBVIlwycXjeduPNGiaa?dl=0

 

While the MimeticDE distro has been very stable and release-worthy, there are a few bugs/quirks in the ISO-creation process for a LiveCD that are giving me fits. I'm hoping some of you may have suggestions how to resolve the following:

  • I've used 2 different "mastering" softwares to create installation media, Pinguy Builder and Systemback
    • the linked download above was created with Pinguy Builder (PB). However, please be aware there is a bug in ubiquity that stalls the process during "retrieving file __ of __". This occurs whether you want to "download" updates or proprietary software at time of installation, or just install without downloads/updates. The recommended workaround for the installation is to click on the network manager applet and disable networking, then click install button. do NOT choose updates, nor proprietary softwares. with the network connection disabled, the installer no longer hangs on the "retrieving file" section of the installer, allowing for unattended installation! Re-enable network upon completion! I can confirm this works with no ill effects on the installation, but am at the mercy of PinguyBuilder and/or Ubiquity for a fix. Further complicating matters, ubiquity installed the base Lubuntu distro just fine. I can't isolate whether this bug is attributable to PB version of ubiquity or Ubuntu version of ubiquity, as I have tried both with the same result. I'm also considering whether this is a VirtualBox related bug, which is where MimeticDE was built. There was a PID conflict between PB and vboxadd that had to be addressed to make PB work. I'm wondering if this bug couldn't also be VirtualBox-induced, although I can't imagine how. Anyone here have thoughts?

    • alternatively, I have also mastered a version with Systemback. Systemback has it's own issue in that a Live Session without username or password isn't an option. I can create a LiveSession with username "Demo" and password "password". There is an installation icon on the desktop for ubiquity, but the user created is "Demo" and "password" regardless of what was entered in user setup. Everything APPEARS to work fine until reboot of your freshly installed system, only to discover that Demo is the only user account (and guest, as expected). The workaround is to log into the demo account, create a user with the desired credentials, logout, then log back in with that user. Not ideal, somewhat confusing, but perhaps a great safeguard to keep new users from being locked out of their machines...but also a security exploit with such easily guessed username and password combos. Again, thoughts? **EDIT** Systemback is no longer installed. While I actually prefer Systemback, the installation of a Systemback image is beyond the capability of many/most newer users. For most folks on this site, I suspect Systemback would be the recommended software. Creation of Live Systems is almost a secondary function of Systemback; its primary focus is actually the creation of "snapshot" restore points and complete Backup snapshots (perfect for rollout of customized OS on multiple devices). I encourage you to check it out for those purposes!

    [*]Once MimeticDE is installed, the lone remaining issue I'd like to resolve involves the chosen conky display. I've utilized an older conky from Noobslab PPA (for version 12.04 Precise, with an installer function to alter conky color and to choose whether to monitor eth0 or wlan0). The installer works fine, and conky will run, but will NOT autostart, despite being autostarted in desktop manager (pcmanfm). Starting conky from terminal runs just fine, but shows messages that conky appears to be in "old" format and is being converted. From this point, conky runs fine. Alternatively, Fluxbox doesn't use pcmanfm to manage the desktop, but can autostart conky from start file. Fluxbox will at least create a shadow "placeholder" where conky is supposed to display, but no conky. This would seem to point to the "old" format again, although there may be a 2nd issue in Fluxbox with pseudo-transparency, or perhaps the layer I'm running conky on. But I need to get conky autostarted first. Does anyone here know how to update a conky for the newer syntax? At that point, it will either work fine or I can cross syntax off the list of culprits... **EDIT** Conky has been updated and working properly!

I'm hoping some of you are interested enough to check out the distro and will download and install in VirtualBox or bare metal and will share your thoughts and impressions. I can't promise I'll implement those thoughts and suggestions, but differing perspectives and opinions are a good thing, and I promise I'll HEAR what you say and consider it. As for the ubiquity/installer issues, I'm worried I'll be at the mercy of ubiquity/PinguyBuilder/SystemBack developers to iron out their bugs/quirks; but if anyone here has suggestions or ideas (or expertise?!), I'd love to hear that too!

 

Thank you!

Edited by Hedon James
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

securitybreach

Nicely done :thumbup:

 

It's too bad about 32 bit only though. I am kind of surprised that you went with 32 bit but you must run across some really old machines Personally I couldn't install a 32bit distro on any of my machines but this is awesome, I am definitely gonna play with it in Virtualbox.

 

As far as the helping is concerned, I enjoy giving back and helping others as others have helped me along my path.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hedon James

64-bit version is coming SB! I just started with 32-bit for maximum compatibility across all machines, and to hone the skills a little before moving to 64-bit. I will be using 64-bit versions on my machines. And I do have some older 32-bit machines that get worked on cuz they're still going strong. 32-bit distros are becoming extinct, so I thought it might be a good idea to make one and keep it around for future reference...

 

Consider 32-bit the prelude...the 64-bit main event is on its way!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

securitybreach

One quick thought... you may want to add a checksum for the iso so those with slower connections can verify the iso before burning/dd-ing to usb.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hedon James

I've edited my initial post to show a better workaround (IMO) for the ubiquity installer issue.

  • **EDIT*** - a better workaround for the installation is to click on the network manager applet and disable networking, then click install button. do NOT choose updates, nor proprietary softwares. with the network connection disabled, the installer no longer hangs on the "retrieving file" section of the installer, allowing for unattended installation! Re-enable network upon completion! Again, not perfect, but better!

I'm also tinkering with Linux Respin mastering software, which is another fork of Remastersys (like Pinguy Builder) but without the GUI. This seems to work better if I create a custom launcher with root permissions for ubiquity; in fact, works EXACTLY as expected! Problem is, I then have 2 installation icons on desktop; 1 created by Linux Respin that crashes (due to lack of root permissions in the script) and a 2nd one created by me (gksu ubiquity seems to resolve the script permission issues) that works perfectly. If I can figure out how to remove the crash icon, or fix the script call command (preface 'sh' with 'sudo sh'), I'm in business! Any thoughts?

 

Or should I just stick with Pinguy Builder and instruct folks to disable network before installation?

 

Also, still looking for assistance with Conky syntax. Any Conky gurus on here who might be able to suggest what needs to be done to update my conky syntax, which hopefully enables my conky to autostart?

 

**EDIT** Found a site for conky syntax and got that cleaned up. Conky now autostarts as expected! There was indeed a 2nd issue in the Fluxbox session in that I have conky placed on the layer "desktop", but I was starting conky before the fluxbox desktop was drawn. Placed a sleep command in the autostart and now everything is good! Still tinkering with the remaster software though. Looks like I'll have to "pick my poison" until someone smarter than me fixes the ubiquity issues. I wish I knew whether Linux Respin or Pinguy Builder was going to solve this issue first...that would tip the scale in their favor! LOL!

Edited by Hedon James
Link to comment
Share on other sites

To convert an old conkyrc file to the new syntax, find the convert.lua script inside the /usr/share/doc/conky-xx.x folder, copy it inside your old conkyrc's folder, make it executable and run

 

./convert.lua .oldconkyrc

 

You don't need sleep for conky, it has it's own flag to pause before starting. I use

conky -p 5

 

Be careful with Remastersys. It works great but AV Linux found the default user it creates has UID of 1001 instead of the standard 1000. It only affects if you want to access partitions/files created in a multiboot. Not sure if they managed to circumvent but I had to run usermod, groupmod and chown to get back to UID =1000 and then it was fine.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hedon James

I've got conky working now sunrat, although I don't completely know the ins-n-outs of it. I did my conversion by hand, which was helpful. Not an expert, but know more than I did yesterday!

 

Looking at your conky command, I thought the '-p' flag was to run conky as a panel? Similar to running with '-w' flag to run in slit? If so, a panel can load before flux, as panels run "above" the desktop. I'm not saying you're wrong...just stating my understanding. If I'm wrong, please correct me!

 

I wanted conky on my desktop, "embedded" onto the wallpaper. I got it running now, but if your way is a 2nd way, I'm all about alternative choices, LOL!

 

EDIT: Nevermind, man conky does indicate -p flag is for pause. I'm confusing conky flags with conky syntax configuration. DOH?!!! Where were ya last week brotha...when I was pulling my hair out in the rabbit hole?! :w00t:

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

.. I did my conversion by hand, which was helpful.
That must have taken a while! On the upside, you now know more about lua syntax than I do. ;)

 

Where were ya last week brotha...when I was pulling my hair out in the rabbit hole?! :w00t:

I was around. You didn't ask the questions last week though. :)

 

Almost everything you need to know about Conky can be found at Crunchbang/Bunsenlabs or Arch forums, or the official docs at Sourceforge http://conky.sourceforge.net/documentation.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

securitybreach

I have not played with yet as the current version of virtualbox is buggy. May revert to the cached version if an update doesn't come out soon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hedon James
.. I did my conversion by hand, which was helpful.
That must have taken a while! On the upside, you now know more about lua syntax than I do. ;)

 

Where were ya last week brotha...when I was pulling my hair out in the rabbit hole?! :w00t:

I was around. You didn't ask the questions last week though. :)

 

Almost everything you need to know about Conky can be found at Crunchbang/Bunsenlabs or Arch forums, or the official docs at Sourceforge http://conky.sourcef...umentation.html

 

TOUCHE on asking last week! hahaha! As for the rest...

 

The hand conversion was tedious, but helpful. It's actually pretty simple and "cleans up" the code nicely. Found a helpful post on Arch(?) forum that summarized the changes from conky 1.10.x forward. For those who care to know, sharing the knowledge from memory...summarized as follows:

 

conky configuration must now be wrapped in 'conky.config = {{...}}', where the line 'conky.config = {{' starts the configuration and the last two brackets, on their own line, end the configuration '}}'

similarly conky text must now be wrapped in conky.text = [[...]]

 

with the two different components explicitly identified in "wrapped" brackets, the majority of changes include:

"yes" and "no" must now be "true" and "false" (minus the quotes)

variables must be set with an =

with the exception of true, false, & numeric values, all variables must be wrapped in single quotes

all config lines must end with comma ','

all # comments must now be -- comments

 

for instance, old conky example config:

# Use Xft?
use_xft yes
xftfont DejaVu Sans:size=8
xftalpha 0.8
text_buffer_size 2048

 

should now look like this:

-- Use Xft?
use_xft = true,
font = 'DejaVu Sans:size=8',
xftalpha = 0.8,
text_buffer_size = 2048,

 

Now you know as much as I do!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hedon James

I have removed the older links from my "rcPG4" and provided new links to my updated "...rcPG5" version (as well as related checksum files) with my "fixes" and workarounds discussed above. I have looked into numerous remix/remaster softwares including: Remastersys (only works for Ubuntus/Debians prior to version 14.04, and defunct for over 2 years now); Linux Respin (a fork of Remastersys); Pinguy Builder (also represented to be a fork of Remastersys); Customizer; Novo Builder; and some others that I can't even remember...it's all a blur now. Unfortunately, it seems that every one of them has a fatal flaw that keeps me from wholly endorsing it. Up until its time of abandonment, Remastersys was the bomb! It just worked, and worked beautifully! It appears that several projects have picked up Tony Brjelski's(?) a/k/a Fragadelic Remastersys project after a long abandonment/hiatus...including Bunsen Labs Imager (charges $50 for software & support), Linux Respin (no gui, CLI; but Fragadelic consults with them apparently), and PinguyBuilder (who seems to have the most similarly functioning project).

 

In only 2 short years Remastersys has gone from a supremely reliable and perfectly customizable remaster software, to several fork/offshoots that all have similar buggy quirks, although everyone's "bug" is different. Makes me wonder 2 things:

 

1. what has changed in 2 short years to have such an effect on Debian/'Buntu distros? Is it systemd? or something else?

2. why can't all 3 projects merge/collaborate, as each has an issue that a "competitor" has solved? working collectively on a single project would save them time & resources, and produce a single perfectly operational software!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Okay, finished up my 64-bit version and uploaded to Dropbox for anyone here to check out. Link provided in original post, edited to provide updated information. Also, in finishing up my 64-bit remix/remaster, I found an error in my Fluxbox keys file. With that fixed, I backported to the 32-bit version; remastered it, and updated the link for 32-bit offerings. Finally, note that the installation bug seems to still be present in either Pinguy Builder or Ubiquity; turn off network connection for installation, then turn back on once system is installed. Other than that, I'm mostly quite pleased with the finished product. This will suit my needs in an excellent fashion and I'll be slowly switching over my systems to MimeticDE, as well as those I provide support to. Either that, or they'll be finding a new computer guy, as I don't have the time to keep up with all the different systems. LOL!

 

If anyone else finds it interesting or useful, enjoy! And if anyone else spins it up in VirtualBox, out of curiousity, perhaps you can help me figure out 2 remaining issues. Neither is a deal-breaker, but they just bug me cuz they're "not right."

 

First issue is with Samba/Local Network Shares. Historically, I've used Nautilus and just right-clicked to invoke file-sharing. But I'm also family with system-config-samba GUI, as well as manual edit of /etc/samba/smb.conf file. My Lubuntu base uses PCManFM, which I have souped up for all kinds of right-click menu mods. However, network file sharing isn't one of them, so system-config-samba or manual file edits are the only way. I've created a share of my home folder with the system-config-samba, but I still can't access the shared folder via a network browse from a remote computer. The remote machine "sees" the MimeticDE machine in my network (as expected), but clicking on it gives the dreaded "Unable to access location Failed to retrieve share list from server: Connection refused" message. I have combed over the smb.conf file and cannot find anything that would obviously result in that message. And here's the kicker....if I manually invoke "Go To Location" from within the remote File Manager, and enter the local IP address of my shared MimeticDE file, it goes right to the shared folder with no issues whatsoever. So it appears that Samba is indeed, working fine. Browsing network does NOT work to navigate to share, but manually entering share location works just fine. Anyone have any ideas how to address this MINOR but ANNOYING issue?

 

My second issue is Fluxbox related. While I have created different desktop paradigms to accommodate user preferences, these are all LXDE/Openbox sessions. However, I am able to invoke the "LXDE skin" of the desktop paradigm by uncommenting a command line in the Fluxbox Start file. All available desktops are listed in the Start file, but are commented out; removing the comment invokes the "LXDE skin" but with Fluxbox as the window manager. This is for me...I put Fluxbox in MimeticDE for me! But when Fluxbox starts the lxpanel session, the application launch bars are NOT the same as they are with Openbox window manager. Some of the icons are missing, so my initial thought was "custom desktop files" are the culprit. But running down the list, this isn't limited to custom desktop files, nor custom icons. I just can't seem to find a common denominator. It's easy enough to fix, as MOST of the intended default launchers are there, so it's a simple matter to clean up the lxpanel. And logging out of Fluxbox and back into Fluxbox reveals that everything is maintained properly. But logging out of Fluxbox and logging back into a different Openbox-managed desktop shows the same "corrupted" launcher appearance. Again, easily fixed as long as you stay with the same window manager, but switching window managers re-corrupts the lxpanel. This makes NO SENSE to me whatsoever. The lxpanels are independent of the window managers, so what could be causing the window managers to display them differently?

 

Inasmuch as I'll be using the Fluxbox window manager to display my LXDE skin preference, once I "fix" the lxpanel it will be fine. No big deal for me. I'm thinking of those who might switch back and forth for variety, or just to make a decision of what's best for them. I'd like the lxpanel to remain the same, regardless of user's window manager preferences. Or is this just not a realistic expectation? Any thoughts from anyone?

 

If I can address these last 2 issues, I think it WILL be perfect (for me?!)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Free time...what's that? Ha ha! Much appreciated if you get the opportunity. Don't pull your hair out trying to help me troubleshoot. I only posted it in the hopes someone would see my issue(s) and immediately recognize the problem and solution. Perhaps Sunrat(?) with the Fluxbox issue, as he seems to be the only other user here who uses Flux for more than recreational purposes. But any thoughts/suggestions/help is much appreciated. Thanks in advance for anything you might see.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry I don't use Fluxbox. Currently using MX-15 with Xfce but waiting patiently for a stable Plasma5 distro.

 

DOH!!! My bad! Don't know why I typed Sunrat, when I meant Saturnian? Both start with S? I dunno...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, I use Fluxbox, but I've never tried what you're doing. Maybe it's better to use LXDE with Openbox, not with Fluxbox. You have some recent screen shots posted around here somewhere?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Screenshots in the README file, linked in original post. (also available on the desktop). Nothing for Fluxbox though, as I don't discuss Fluxbox in the README, other than to mention it's there. Here's what I'm talking about with Openbox vs Fluxbox lxpanels:

 

Openbox/LXDE managed lxpanels in default state:

http://imgur.com/tlH6qgU

tlH6qgU.jpg

 

Fluxbox managed lxpanels in default state:

http://imgur.com/ROz1fdX

ROz1fdX.jpg

 

Note the missing "upper launch bar" icon/launchers for PCManFM-Browser (a custom desktop launcher), Lubuntu Software Center & AppGrid (both stock launchers - LSC comes default with Lubuntu; AppGrid added by me). The "lower launch bar" is missing the AIO Control Panel (a custom desktop launcher), although the ForceQuit and Trash icons are also custom desktop launchers created by me in the same manner as AIO Control Panel.

 

Any thoughts as to why Fluxbox would choose to display the lxpanel configuration differently than Openbox managed LXsession? I get the same results if I type in terminal:

 

lxpanel -p Mimetic-Unity

 

where the "-p" is a switch/flag for a specific panel configuration (there are 5 different ones in my remix/remaster) and "Mimetic-Unity" is the name of the panel configuration. Similar behavior is shown with the same icons in the "Mimetic", "Mimetic-OSX", and "Mimetic-Windows" panels. This would seem to suggest to me that it's something about those icon/launchers, but inasmuch as they are a mix of stock launcher from Lubuntu (LSC), a stock launcher added from PPA (AppGrid), and custom desktop launchers created by myself (PCManFM-Browser and AIO Control Panel), I just can't seem to find the common denominator. If fresh sets of eyes see something, or have ideas, I'm happy to play along...

Edited by Hedon James
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Under Fluxbox, do you get error messages when running pcmanfm from the command line?

 

I'm thinking that LXDE comes with Openbox, and maybe it's so tied in with that window manager that some of its components won't run perfectly with Fluxbox. Or maybe there's a simple fix, not sure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I run pcmanfm with the option "--no-desktop" so I don't lose the Fluxbox root menu. But running pcmanfm --no-desktop in a terminal yields the following output:

 

0u7eT7j.jpg

 

Openbox is very tied to the LXDE desktop in Lubuntu, with Openbox invoking LXsessions, which specify lxpanel layouts, window manager, default programs, etc... I thought about having Fluxbox invoke an LXsession with fluxbox as the specified window manager, but I have concerns about pcmanfm drawing the desktop and taking away the root menu; that also seems like a roundabout way to invoke extra overhead. But you did give me another idea....I'm going to log into an Openbox session (pure Openbox, not Lubuntu/LXDE) and see what happens when I run

 

lxpanel -p Mimetic-Unity

 

from a terminal in pure Openbox. If it does the same thing as Fluxbox, that might indicate there are clues in the LXsession; if it does not display the same lxpanel behavior, that would seem to point squarely at Fluxbox and how fluxbox renders lxpanels.

 

Either way, it doesn't make any sense. Lxpanels should be agnostic to the window manager. I would like to get it figured out, but if I can't, it's not a deal killer. Just an inconvenience...another "bug" with a workaround. o:)

Edited by Hedon James
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting stuff Saturnian. I used the export XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=LXDE command in autostart and now invoking the lxpanel from terminal yields this:

 

vGZbOnb.jpg

 

So there's my troubleshooting error! There are 4 errors listed, and 4 icon/launchers missing, so I'm willing to bet there's correlation there. This would seem to suggest the *.desktop files, and I'm looking at the *.desktop files line by line, but I still can't figure out WHAT the issue might be. I'll come back to it with a fresh brain and fresh eyes and see if anything comes of that.

 

FWIW, I think you've got me pointed in the right direction at least! If you have any other helpful thoughts, don't go silent on me now! :whistling:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also, FWIW, invoking

 

lxpanel -p Mimetic-Unity

 

from the command line (for example...doesn't have to be "Mimetic-Unity", any of the custom panel configs will yield the same result) in an Openbox session yields the same result as a Fluxbox session. I believe this points to an issue differing from the way a "naked" window manager displays items versus the way LXDE/Lubuntu displays an item. Looks like I should be looking into lxsession config files. I could perhaps hack an Lubuntu lxsession file for Fluxbox as the window manager, but this is moving in a direction away from where I want to go.

 

Ultimately, I'm wanting to pursue a Fluxbox-managed desktop with LXDE components/tools, and ability to invoke "LXDE skins" based on user preferences (or leave the window manager naked!). The LXDE/Lubuntu desktop is just a means toward that end. By the time Ubuntu 18.04 rolls around, I'll have 2 years of Flux experience under my belt and will be in a much better position to provide that. Also, LXDE/Lubuntu is moving towards the LxQT desktop, away from GTK. If Fluxbox doesn't interface with QT in a manner I want, the Lumina desktop is already available and recently hit the 1.0 stable version. Lumina was originally a Fluxbox fork, but has been slowly re-written and/or ported to QT toolkits and is now fully QT compatible. So I think I have my bridges in place to accommodate future plans, if need be. As long as my bridges don't move, LOL!

 

Until then, looks like I'll just have to live with the fact that *Box window managers display lxpanels differently than LXDE tools, and lxpanels will have to be tweaked each time a user switches between them. Hopefully, this isn't too big of a deal, as I imagine that Fluxbox users are experienced enough to make the change (if they even use the panel paradigms?!), and Lubuntu/LXDE users will take one look at naked Fluxbox/Openbox and immediately log back into an Lubuntu/LXDE desktop paradigm.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting stuff Saturnian. I used the export XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=LXDE command in autostart

 

I'm running Fluxbox in openSUSE 42.1, which I installed with KDE. Added Fluxbox later. In the Fluxbox session, I noticed that if I was running any KDE apps, the iconbar showed a button for that app, with the application name, but no application icon. The icon was missing for every KDE app I tried running in Fluxbox.

 

Added the following to the ~/.fluxbox/startup file:

 

export XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=kde

 

Started a new Fluxbox session and the problem with the KDE icons was fixed!

 

Your situation might be different but maybe try adding that line (use "lxde" instead of "kde") to your ~/.fluxbox/startup (not to your autostart file) and see what happens.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I saw the Fluxbox/KDE troubleshooting thread in today's web crawl for answers. I tried your solution, but the same results. No dice for me.

 

I'm focused on LXDE and the lxsession. Fluxbox and Openbox experience the same issue with lxpanel. However, Openbox is the window manager in Lubuntu and Lubuntu/LXDE does not have this issue. Based on the difference between naked Openbox and Openbox with an lxsession, I can only conclude that lxsession is changing something. I have combed over the lxsession file and the lxpanel files. What is interesting to me is that Lubuntu/LXDE display the lxpanel exactly as the text file is configured. It is Openbox and Fluxbox that do not display the lxpanel in accordance with the text file. Maybe they're not parsing correctly; but whatever they're doing, they're doing it identically wrong.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay -- obviously, I wasn't reading carefully enough, sorry about that.

 

I'm about out of ideas. You wrote, "Lubuntu/LXDE does not have this issue." Well, let's say you're running Lubuntu and you switch over to an Openbox session and then try to run lxpanel there, in Lubuntu's Openbox session. In that situation, does lxpanel behave properly?

 

In Arch, I have Xfce, LXDE, and Openbox. So I was thinking about logging into the Openbox session there and then running lxpanel, to see what happens. Yeah, maybe I'll try that and report back. Very interesting problem, sir.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I switch to an Openbox session and run lxpanel from there, it displays the lxpanel just like Fluxbox...incorrectly. It's the weirdest thing I've seen in a long time. An Lubuntu/LXDE session, using Openbox as the default window manager displays the lxpanels as expected and intended. An Openbox or Fluxbox session displays the lxpanels I posted earlier....missing 4 icons.

 

I even asked the question on the SourceForge site for LXDE. In 48 hours, not a single person has responded, nor even acknowledged that a question was asked. Maybe it's a ghost site, with lots of members but little activity.

 

In any event, I'm not gonna stress about it too much, as I suspect that Openbox/Fluxbox users may flip back and forth between the *Box sessons, but not as likely to use the LxSessions. Conversely, I expect the LxSession users may check out OpenBox/FluxBox and promptly log back out due to the spartan interface. Even if they stick around, they're unlikely to invoke the lxpanels by accident. You have to either explicitly type the command in a terminal, or you have to specifically uncomment one of the pre-loaded Fluxbox startup lines. Both are skillsets of the more advanced user(s) who will likely just reload the missing icons into the lxpanel, or customize to their own liking anyhow.

 

I'd like them to match, no matter which session a user is logged into. But it's such a minor issue, I'm not sure it's worth all the attention it's getting. But if someone looks at this thread and thinks "oh yeah, I had that problem...here's how to solve it...." I sure won't ignore them!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, in Openbox in Arch, when I run lxpanel from the terminal, this runs the default panel at /etc/xdg/lxpanel/default/panels/panel (not my customized panel from ~/.config/lxpanel/lxde/panels/left). All icons show up fine (even the one for PCManFM), but here's the output:

 

$ lxpanel

** (lxpanel:445): WARNING **: The directory '~/Templates' doesn't exist, ignoring it

** (lxpanel:445): WARNING **: lxde_power_manager.so is not a lxpanel plugin

** (lxpanel:445): WARNING **: launchbar: desktop entry does not exist


** (lxpanel:445): WARNING **: launchtaskbar: can't init button


** (lxpanel:445): WARNING **: tray: another systray already running

** (lxpanel:445): WARNING **: lxpanel: can't load tray plugin

 

 

This is with tint2 panel already running, thus the message about another systray already running.

 

 

Here, in the panel config file, one of the .desktop files referenced does not actually exist, and I think that corresponds to the one "launchbar: desktop entry does not exist" warning. In my case, the warning message is correct.

 

You had four of those warnings, and four missing icons. Hm. But your corresponding .desktop files DO exist.

 

Also in Openbox in Arch, for kicks I ran the following:

 

$ pcmanfm --no-desktop

** (pcmanfm:1325): WARNING **: The directory '~/Templates' doesn't exist, ignoring it

 

 

In my case, PCManFM starts up fine except for that warning message.

 

Certainly Arch is not the same as Lubuntu (for example, with LXDE in Arch, there's no Lubuntu Software Center). I hope there's something in here that will be of help to you.

 

One last thing: What if, from Openbox, you run the lxpanel --profile LXDE command? In my case, all icons show up fine in lxpanel, and the output of the command shows no warnings about desktop entries not existing. That command runs my customized lxpanel, not the default one from /etc/xdg/lxpanel/default/panels/panel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One last thing: What if, from Openbox, you run the lxpanel --profile LXDE command?

 

Never mind, dumb question, you already wrote about what happens with commands like the following:

 

lxpanel -p Mimetic-Unity

 

I'm stumped. Unless lxpanel is looking in the wrong places for your .desktop files, but that makes no sense.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...