Deleted folder in terminal but still shows up in GUI

winning

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I deleted a hidden folder in the terminal with: sudo rm -rf .filename but it still shows up in the ubuntu GUI file manager. Any help is appreciated.
 


What hidden folder are you trying to delete, some of those folders are recreated at next boot - hence they are hidden so you don't delete them
 
I installed the thinkorswim program which got installed 2x, and I want to delete the extra one. I would uninstall it but it will not let me do that either. Thanks for responding.
 
To completely remove packages and their configuration settings file, you use apt with purge options.

Code:
sudo apt purge thinkorswim
 
how do I do that if it is a hidden file as it is .thinkorswim? when I tried that command in the root I got:
E: Unable to locate package .thinkorswim
E: Couldn't find any package by glob '.thinkorswim'
 
no, the period is really there and denotes hidden files and folders as seen in the screen shot.
 

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You don't purge hidden files, you purge applications and that takes the hidden files with it in the process.

Again, you have a superfluous period in your command.

(Assuming it's an app installed with apt, and removed as such, according to one @Lord Boltar above.)
 
@winning - Am I missing something?
I’m not seeing anything called thinkorswim, or .thinkorswim in your screenshot.

Firstly, where did you get the software from and how did you install it?
Secondly, where did you install it to both times?

You said you installed it twice. Normally, if you install via a package from your distros software repositories, if you install a second time - it just overwrites the existing installation.

If you used some other standalone installer (e.g. building and installing from source, or running an installation script), installing a package a second time will typically overwrite the original, unless you explicitly specify a different install path.

Or perhaps if you’re using something like an appimage, a flatpak, a snap, or a docker image - it may be possible to have multiple versions, or instances of a program installed side by side.

If you give us a little more detail on the background of the problem - we will be better placed to help you.

If you delete a hidden file, or directory using the rm command in the terminal - it will be gone. It will not show up in your file manager/gui.
If it does still appear in your file manager, you may need to hit F5 to refresh the view of the current directory.
But usually file managers will automatically update the view after files have been added/removed by another process (e.g. a terminal, or another external program).

Also, the screenshot shows the contents of roots home directory, NOT your user.
If the file manager is open to your home directory and you’ve only removed the hidden file from roots home - then the solution is to navigate to your home directory and remove the hidden file/directory from there.

Hidden files/folders typically just contain per user configuration options for installed programs. They don’t typically contain the programs themselves.

Run a program as root and it will store options/settings in dot-files in roots home directory (/root/). Run a program as a normal user and settings will be saved in dot-files in the currently logged-in users home directory (e.g. /home/yourusername/).

If you want to uninstall a program, you should run whatever uninstall method is required, according to the installation method you used to install it.

So if you installed from source via make - you’d run make uninstall. If you installed via apt - you’d use apt remove, or apt remove —purge. If you used snap, or flatpak, or some other installation method, you should uninstall using the relevant method for that type of installation.
That way, you can be sure that the program is uninstalled completely.

After uninstalling a program, if there are any leftover configs in dot files, you can safely remove them.
 
I’m not seeing anything called thinkorswim, or .thinkorswim in your screenshot.
If you look they have added a period(.) in the command line - they have
Code:
sudo apt purge .thinkorswim
when it should be
Code:
sudo apt purge thinkorswim
that is why it cannot locate it - thinkorswim is a financial app if I am not mistaken or needs java to run (Zulu OpenJDK 11) apparently they have 2 of them installed - so my suggestion is to purge it then reinstall it - as far as I know thinkorswim is installed using .sh
Code:
 sudo bash ./program name.sh
 
Last edited by a moderator:
TDAmeritrade developed thinkorswim and it is a trading platform for various financial securities. I did not use a stand alone installer and installed thinkorswim from the command line both times using: sudo sh thinkorswim_installer.sh which I downloaded from TDAmeritrade's website, and it was installed in different directories. Different directories were selected at the recommendation of TDAmeritrade's support line, as I was having trouble getting it to launch properly. Thus, I have: computer/home/thinkorswim and home/thinkorswim, as seen in the attached screen shots. I want to only remove the computer/home/thinkorswim copy, which is the hidden copy, although to see it in the GUI I must drill down under other location, computer, home, thinkorswim. The command line shows it as .thinkorswim, and it will not let me run the uninstall of that copy, as the red X shows in the GUI. I do not want to uninstall or remove the home/thinkorswim copy as I had some trouble getting it to appear and launch properly. Please forgive my lack of knowledge and information on Linux as I am still learning the vast skills of troubleshooting problems. Thank you for all your help.
 

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In Ubuntu or Buntu based OS, the best way to install a .sh is to right click select properties, then click Permissions and put a check mark in "Allow the file to run as a program" then run
Code:
sudo bash ./thinkorswim_installer.sh

Since the one folder has missing permissions and won't function you could open Nautilus as root and simply delete that folder
Code:
pkexec nautilus or sudo nautilus
 
Do you know if there is a way to adjust the width of the vertical and horizontal slide bars in nautilus?
 

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