Occasional problem with desktop icons not opening.

Brian Alex

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Mint 22.3 fully updated and working wonderfully except that occasionally I will double click a desktop icon and get a little notice ""Opening ( Name of Link ) You can stop this operation by clicking cancel" . However nothing happens. If I right-click the icon and select "properties" I get a similar notice but nothing happens. I have to right click the icon and choose "open with Firefox" to proceed. This I can easily do but I would like to have these icons behave normally. This has happened on maybe 3 different icons that are links to Websites. I have maybe 85 icons on my desktop if that matters. I searched this problem an did not find one result. Thanks! -BA
 


how were the desktop icons put there....by which method?

Do you have a lot of tabs open when this happens?

if you click on menu and type in preferred applications, then tap enter....what do you see ?
 
Thanks for the reply Condobloke. These icons to websites were put there by dragging the lock icon from the address bar to the desktop while using the Firefox browser.This happens with only one or two tabs open. The thing is, these icons work fine for weeks or months, then suddenly don't. Under Preferred Applications I see "Internet/Web/Firefox Web Browser" if that's what you mean.
 

Attachments

  • Preferred aplications.png
    Preferred aplications.png
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I have three Icons on my Desktop...Computer...Home and Trash.

You can pin short cuts to applications to either the Desktop or the panel but web sites...never why would you.
All my web sites are saved as a HTML file and can be imported to any browser...on any Mint version.
1776041387151.gif
 
if you want to cut back the number of icons on your desktop, there is a star symbol ate the end of the url bar....if you hover your mouse over that, it should tell you "Bookmark this page"

You should have a bookmarks toolbar immediately below the url bar. A click on the start will add it to that. They can be arranged etc etc etc
If the bookmarks toolbar is not there, go just past the end of the url bar, and right click, and you will get "bookmarks toolbar' with a side arrow giving you three options...always show, never show etc etc
 
Mint 22.3 fully updated and...

G'day Brian, is it Cinnamon you are working on?

I am following your steps, so far on my 22.1 'Xia' Cinnamon, but on my tomorrow (signing off in 30 mins) I will do likewise in my 'Zena' Cinnamon.

On 22.1, double-clicking worked, albeit it took a few seconds for Firefox to launch.

1776065698877.png


Later

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz
 
make sure your Firefox is default browser - instead of dragging the "lock" what happens if you drag the website address?
I just tried that and it works. Seeing how the lock icon has been eliminated by Firefox, I'll be using this method. Thanks!
 
I have three Icons on my Desktop...Computer...Home and Trash.

You can pin short cuts to applications to either the Desktop or the panel but web sites...never why would you.
All my web sites are saved as a HTML file and can be imported to any browser...on any Mint version. View attachment 31343
Thanks Bob466. I never tried shortcuts and am used to icons. Everything I need is one double-click away. Disks utility, Spades or Chess games, County Assessor, Flightradar24, everything is exactly where I want it for instant access.
 
G'day Brian, is it Cinnamon you are working on?

I am following your steps, so far on my 22.1 'Xia' Cinnamon, but on my tomorrow (signing off in 30 mins) I will do likewise in my 'Zena' Cinnamon.

On 22.1, double-clicking worked, albeit it took a few seconds for Firefox to launch.

View attachment 31348

Later

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz
Yes, Cinnamon. Oh well. I can just trash the non-op icon and set a new one.
 
If that's what you prefer.

I repeated the exercise with my Zena - had to set Firefox as default browser first because I often use Waterfox...and then it worked fine, so I am at a loss, I am afraid.
 
Personally, the only website URLs I have on my desktop are those for my videochat 'webapps'.....which run from within 'Puppy's Chrome-portable browser. This lets me choose either Google 'Meet', Jitsi 'Meet', M$ Teams OR Zoom.

These are called from a single icon, which launches a YAD-powered, 'selector' mini-GUI. Each launcher here calls a dedicated, custom launch script which I've set-up, in the Chrome-portable directory, for each chat app.....which then launches the respective 'webapp' AS a 'desktop client' running within its own window.

These can also be launched from their own respective Menu entries.....which then further permits the addition of these launchers to the 'QuickLaunch' area immediately to the right of the 'Menu' button in the tray.

Never let it be said I don't do things thoroughly!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

This 'webapp' functionality is peculiar to the Chromium ecosystem, and dates back more than a decade to somewhere around Chrome 35 or 36 (approx 2013/early 2014).

Firefox has never had this ability.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

@Brian Alex :-

If it was me, I would set up desktop icon launchers for each URL that simply call the 'default browser'.....and use the website URL as the 'argument'. This should be more stable.

(I can't give specific instructions, because I haven't run a standard, 'mainstream' distro since at least late 2014.....and 'Puppy's' way of doing a lot of things is rather unique, so our methods for making stuff work wouldn't function for you.

This is where I'll leave it to our bevy of Mint experts, since they have direct, up-to-date experience of using it.)


However, as you can already see, certain basic principles operate across the Linux community.....regardless of how they're actually implemented. The concept of using a website URL as the 'argument' when calling the 'default' browser is a long-standing one.....and is a pretty reliable method.


Mike. ;)
 
Last edited:
G'day Brian, is it Cinnamon you are working on?

I am following your steps, so far on my 22.1 'Xia' Cinnamon, but on my tomorrow (signing off in 30 mins) I will do likewise in my 'Zena' Cinnamon.

On 22.1, double-clicking worked, albeit it took a few seconds for Firefox to launch.

View attachment 31348

Later

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz
Nice wallpaper Chris :)
 


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