(SOLVED) Nautilus woes

I've had a little difficulty with nautilus lately on my Zorin12 laptop.

I have tried to change the permissions of files using “sudo nautilus”, “gksudo nautilus” and even “sudo -i >password >nautilus”

Unlike before, when I change the permissions for the folder (successfully) and press the “change the permissions for files inside the folder” (or similar) button - nothing happens.

As I have about 200 files to change manually, I am looking to regain the “whole folder” permissions change feature that used to work.

Any ideas anybody? - I tried “administrator for nautilus” - but no joy and I lost my desktop contents layout (“administrator”now removed and desktop layout recreated).

I feel your pain - this is why I wish Zorin could look elsewhere to an OS that supports accessibility well, no systemd, no pulseaudio and no Ubuntu shenanigans:

http://www.webupd8.org/2015/03/how-to-r ... -root.html

see also:

https://ubuntu.pkgs.org/16.04/ubuntu-un ... 4.deb.html

and also:

https://github.com/tianon/docker-brew-u ... /issues/48

Finston Pickle wrote:I've had a little difficulty with nautilus lately on my Zorin12 laptop.

I have tried to change the permissions of files using “sudo nautilus”, “gksudo nautilus” and even “sudo -i >password >nautilus”

Unlike before, when I change the permissions for the folder (successfully) and press the “change the permissions for files inside the folder” (or similar) button - nothing happens.

As I have about 200 files to change manually, I am looking to regain the “whole folder” permissions change feature that used to work.

Any ideas anybody? - I tried “administrator for nautilus” - but no joy and I lost my desktop contents layout (“administrator”now removed and desktop layout recreated).

Swarfendors suggestions are great.

But my solution was just as easy... I wiped Nautilus off my machine as one wipes off a puppy dogs landmine from the bottom of their shoe. "Nautlius" and "woes" go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Currently, my favorite is Caja. It has a small Mate dependency, but nothing major.
Thunar is a close second.
If you are feeling tolerant of GTK3 bullsnout, you can use Nemo3 which is similar to Nautilus except that it works, has all the features and isn't trying to buy your first born child with reduced functionality as the trade.
If you want a not very pretty but POWERFUL file manager, SpaceFM is the Captain Kirk of GUI fm's.
Both Nemo and SpaceFM offer a full GUI method of file permissions in a drop down menu. It's extremely handy in that regard.

Thanks, both.

I will look at your links, Swarf.

Aravisian,

I have thunar installed but I could not see where you could change the file permissions in a folder - I tried "sudo thunar" but no joy. How can I use Thunar to do the changes?

Having read the links "pkexec thunar" should do the trick.

I hope some more features become visible to enable changing file permissions in foders!


P.S I knew su / sudo had gone from Z15, but thought Z12 was still OK - my mistake.

I will also install Aravisian' recommendations as a back up.
Question Aravisian - spacefm or spacefm-gtk3?

It's a shame I can't just delete nautilus, as so much is linked to it.

Finston Pickle wrote:P.S I knew su / sudo had gone from Z15, but thought Z12 was still OK - my mistake.

I would have thought so, as well.

Finston Pickle wrote:Question Aravisian - spacefm or spacefm-gtk3?

I don't really know, actually... I just used

Code:

sudo apt-get install spacefm

Finston Pickle wrote:It's a shame I can't just delete nautilus, as so much is linked to it.

My method was pretty straight-forward- I removed the desktop and installed XFCE d.e., instead.
On 12.4 Lite with linux kernel 4.15.0.64, gksu is still rockin'.
When I got to where I needed to do another wipe and reload, I installed Zorin 12.4 Lite (XFCE).
That happens ridiculously often with me... the plaguing question I have while working on the computer is, "I wonder what happens if I do this..."
A re-install later and now I know what happens when I do that.
I poke, pry and prod all through the Root folders trying to figure out how it all works.

On using Thunar to elevate root, you need to create a Custom Action: Edit - configure custom action,

Code:

Name: Open as admin
Command: thunar admin://%f
File pattern: *
Appears if selection contains: Directories


User j.paradise offers up the following hack as a bin bash script:

a dirty little trick i use because on my distro the "%f" will never be blatantly passed on to pkexe

create a newfile with the following

#!/bin/sh
# Super User Execute
# Gives PkExec current environmental variables
# and passes current parameters thru running shells to it.
#
# Use this file instead of gksu, gksudo, and, pkexe.
# /usr/bin/suxe

pkexec env DISPLAY=$DISPLAY XAUTHORITY=$XAUTHORITY $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6

save it as: ~/suxe (note: some distros DO NOT like the ~/ shorthand for home folder access. So, use your actual path in this situation) e.g /home/Johnny/Documents/suxe

then make it an executable file in /usr/bin

sudo cp ~/suxe /usr/bin/suxe

make it executable

cd /usr/bin
su chmod -x ./suxe

now in Thunars' custom action use:

Name: Open with admin access

Command: suxe thunar %f

File pattern: *

Appears if selection contains: Directories

hope this helps

The Thunar work around seems a bit heavy for me - thanks anyway.


pkexec thunar gave nothing extra - perhaps it won't work as root without the workaround - Swarf's first link suggested it would. I'm studying the Thunar manual but nothing on changing files in folders or owner or elevating to root.


I've now realised that what I really want to do is change the owner of the folders and files from root to plex for the project that I am doing at the moment - more under a separate thread if it works.

Does the advice on apprpriate File managers stand for changing owners?

I will try spacefm next - how do you elevate spacefm to root?

I don't know what command to use pkexec to change ownership but it usde to be:

Code:

sudo chown [your username] [name of folder/file to take ownership of]

Finston Pickle wrote:Does the advice on apprpriate File managers stand for changing owners?

I will try spacefm next - how do you elevate spacefm to root?

Right click the item and scroll down to Properties. From there you can choose "Permissions".
You also could scroll down one from Permissions to "quick" which is a quick preset list on permissions.
Below that one more is "Root" and moving to root, then scrolling down the next drop down menu is "Owner". Easy and straight forward.

I am starting from a low ebb with spacefm.


When I use nautilus, I find the folders and files I am trying to change permissions under "Computer>var>...".


No sign of "Computer" or my folders and files in spacefm - where can they be hiding?

Finston Pickle wrote:I am starting from a low ebb with spacefm.


When I use nautilus, I find the folders and files I am trying to change permissions under "Computer>var>...".


No sign of "Computer" or my folders and files in spacefm - where can they be hiding?

Finston, when you run Nautilus as a user, it opens at your /home/$USER or ~/$USER folder.
/home is one folder in a group of folders that we ordinarily refer to as Root (Even though "Root" folder is one folder in that top level group).
So in order to get to any folder in the "Root Group" - just hit the Up Arrow on your file manager, no matter what file manager you are using.
Going back up ot my post just above yours, I have included a screenshot in it. You will see the pathbar and in that it says, "/home/nrr/Documents"
To the left is a blue orb looking thing. That is just the Home icon. To the left of that is the Up Arrow.
Your theme/icons will be different, but the layout is the same. That is where the Up Arrow is- hit that until you stop moving up and that top level is your Root Group. From home, that is two clicks upward.
This makes going to Root folder Easy.
Once in that top level grouping, you already know that is where /var folder is.
/home, /usr, /bin, /root/, /etc, /var- all are the top level you can get to by hitting the up arrow in any file manager.

I never pay much attention to Nautilus' confusing sidebar... and when I click on "filesystem" or "computer" in Nautilus, it takes it forever to do anything, whereas in SpaceFm, Thunar, Caja or Nautilus, mashing the up arrow gets me there in about 0.4 seconds flat.

EDIT:
I forgot to mention, Nemo is a fork of Nautilus and very similar to it. So it may be more like what you are familiar with and it also has the Root Permissions functionality.
SpaceFM is a more powerful no nonsense go getter, it is forked from PcmanFM.

Well I have made progress with spacefm:

I found a well faded out, up arrow, which lead me to var>lib...etc.

Better still took a gamble on “root window” or some such and found the normal window in different colours (presumably with “root” privileges).

Best of all found that you could change the Owner in preferences and found a tick box with tick for recursive preferences to be cascaded through sub folders and files - pay dirt!!

BUT

Blow me the tick box did not work - no change the sub folders or file ownership.


Probably time to call it a day on changing ownership and go for a fresh install of plex. I made the mistake of doing a sudo nautilus before using Gdebi to install the latest plex - result root as owner, not plex - Dash it!

Finston Pickle wrote:Well I have made progress with spacefm:

I found a well faded out, up arrow, which lead me to var>lib...etc.

Better still took a gamble on “root window” or some such and found the normal window in different colours (presumably with “root” privileges).

Best of all found that you could change the Owner in preferences and found a tick box with tick for recursive preferences to be cascaded through sub folders and files - pay dirt!!

BUT

Blow me the tick box did not work - no change the sub folders or file ownership.


Probably time to call it a day on changing ownership and go for a fresh install of plex. I made the mistake of doing a sudo nautilus before using Gdebi to install the latest plex - result root as owner, not plex - Dash it!

Are you using Zorin 15?

I am unaware of a tickbox in preferences for root ownership on SpaceFm... I can verify in full that the Drop Down Menus I screenshotted above work perfectly on Zorin 12.4 Core and Lite.

Actually, as the problem starts in var>lib>plexmediaserver, if I can find a file manager which does change the owner from root to plex and cascade that recursively to all sub folders and files - my problem is solved, so it is probably worth persisting.

Thanks for the explanations Aravision - I posted before I read your previous posting - now I understand file managers, in general, a lot better. I did find something like the screen that you posted, but I could not figure out how you clicked on root and were not presented with plex as an option - my username is not plex, of course and that was all I could find.

I am using Zorin12 and I think that, from what I have seen sudo nautilus IS giving me root authority.

What I can't find in nautilus is a means of selecting the recursive feature, which I think used to be the default setting.

Perhaps someone could figure out a command line way of changing var>lib>plexmediaserver owner from root to plex - that would be great!

I don't have one - some interesting articles here:

https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-tips/276247/14

and here:

https://support.plex.tv/articles/200288 ... 1569271066

and:

"Ensure that the permissions are set so that Plex can write to its directory. chown -R plex:plex /var/lib/plexmediaserver, where plex:plex is the user and group in the plexmediaserver.service file. If the directory doesn't exist, create it and then set permissions." - Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/ ... on_ubuntu/

Aravisian,

I got onto spacefm with root authority, then carefully recreated the view that you posted for the plexmediaserver folder.

I inadvertently clicked on the final root on the rhs bottom and found a plexmediaserver
properties box displayed, modified to root owner, root group (had been plex owner, plex group, manually selected by me earlier in sudo nautilus).

Progress, I thought.

I entered plex as owner (read, write, run as programme), plex as group (read, run as programme), others (read, run as programme), ticked the recursive box to apply to sub folders and files and clicked UK.

Great News!! - it finally worked - everything in plexmediasever folder with the same permissions.

I think that I was a little like the monkies typing randomly away (with guidance) and finally creating the Bible.

Thanks for your help both Swarf and Ara - issue solved.

I've still got to check that my mods to Plex are running OK, but one hurdle passed, thanks again.

I will close the thread as SOLVED after any comments are in.

Finston Pickle wrote:I think that I was a little like the monkies typing randomly away (with guidance) and finally creating the Bible.

LOL
Is that who I can blame?
I certainly know the feeling of "solution by trial and error..."

Finston Pickle wrote:I've still got to check that my mods to Plex are running OK, but one hurdle passed, thanks again.

I do not use SpaceFM as my primary file manager, but I must admit that when you are in a hurry, it comes in real handy when you need it.

Plex running fine - locked, loaded with libraries and ready to go - thanks all.

Glad you are sorted Finston - while you have a working Zorin, now is the time to get that redobackup CD out and backup your entire system.

Also might be a good idea to install TimeShift. If you run Synaptic Package Manager, search for Timeshift and install. That way if any future updates screw your Plex connections you can take your system back to when it worked. I would advise two shapshots a day and either use space on your drive set aside or external drive - whatever you have available.