[SOLVED] Right click broken in "XP Look" Start Menu

Hey all. With the coming XPocalypse, I'm setting up Zorin 8 on an old laptop. I don't have any experience with Linux (apart from its black-sheep cousin, Android), but so far Zorin seems like a nifty little OS.

One problem, though: right clicking on an application in the Start Menu (to put a shortcut on the desktop, for example) doesn't work when I switch the Zorin Look Changer to Windows XP style; it only works in Windows 7 style. Or, rather, in XP style it only works about 5% of the time. The rest of the time, the right-click menu pops up for about a quarter of a second, and then the whole Start Menu closes.

So, what's the dealio? Has anyone else had that problem? Any ideas on how to fix it? Thanks.

System info:
* IBM T43 1872-4AU Thinkpad laptop
* 486.6 MiB memory (I know, I know, and I've gone ahead and ordered another 1GB online for $10. But the menu fails to work even when the memory usage is below 70%, so I don't think it's that)
* Windows XP dual boot
* HDD partition: 20.9 GiB for Zorin (15.23 free), 15.87GiB for XP (5.67 free)
* CPU: Intel® Pentium(R) M processor 1.86GHz
* Graphics: Intel® 915GM x86/MMX/SSE2
* Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 2200BG [Calexico2] Network Connection (rev 05)

I will have to get back to you - I am in that 'other' 8!

Hi, it would appear that the way Zorin devs have had to deal with this in including the XP look (Zorin OS Box as it is now referred to) does not allow you to do this. There is a work around and whilst it might not be straightforward, at least you can copy the application icons onto the desktop to create the shortcuts. This is how to do it:

1. Open the 'file manager' next to the 'Z' and click on 'Computer' in the left pane.

2. Double-click on the 'usr' folder.

3. Double-click on the 'share' folder.

4. Scroll down until you get to 'Applications' folder - open this and choose the Application you want to have a shortcut on the desktop for, 'Copy', then 'right-click' and 'paste'.

Just remembered, can't remember if Nautilus normally shows in XP mode - if not, right-click the panel and select 'Preferences' then click on the 'Applets' tab and add 'docbar-x' - the 'filing cabinet' icon for Nautilus should then be the first one that appears next to the 'Z' menu button.

Swarfendor437 wrote:Scroll down until you get to 'Applications' folder - open this and choose the Application you want to have a shortcut on the desktop for, 'Copy', then 'right-click' and 'paste'.

A useful workaround — I had wondered where all my programs were hiding! Much obliged. Until/unless we can figure out this XP menu thing, that's a useful folder to have on hand... so useful, in fact, that I'd like to have it on my desktop. But copying the folder wouldn't do, since any new application programs I acquire wouldn't get in the new folder, right? So I need a link. And yet, when I right-click on the Applications folder, "Make Link" is grayed out. I tried making a symbolic link from the terminal, but it doesn't seem to have done anything (even after I pressed F5 on the desktop — the icons flashed, but no new shortcut). Did I do something wrong with this? —

Code:

sudo ln -s /usr/share/applications /home/desktop

I think it is protected. You could try opening a terminal and enter:

Code:

gksudo nautilus

then open a new terminal:

Code:

cd ..

Code:

cd /usr

Code:

cd /share

Code:

sudo chown [your username] applications

No guarantees as I think I tried this and failed - but keep us posted!

Cool, that worked fine (once I took the forward slash out of "share").

Code:

cd share

Strangely, although it let me use the right-click menu to create that link a minute ago, when I go back to that folder now, the Create Link option is grayed out again. I guess Zorin noticed that I did that and undid it? Weird. Ah well, at least I have my Applications desktop shortcut. Thanks, Swarfendor.

Glad that you are sorted! Have marked as [RESOLVED] for clarity of other visitors to the forum as it was not actually [SOLVED]!

This is the way I went about it in the "Win 7" look.

Open 'home/computer/user/ and then open 'applications' folder. Find the app you want to create for and right click it. Choose copy, open desktop, right click and select paste- voila, icon is created on desktop.