SOLVED: Unable to access ~/.config folder as normal user

foolishgrunt · 2011-11-20 02:52:23

Whenever I try to start libreoffice or any of its components, the splash screen appears and then disappears after a few seconds. When I run the command from the terminal, I get the following output:

[Java framework] Error in function createSettingsDocument (elements.cxx).
javaldx failed!

Before somebody tells me to use the search function, I'm aware of this thread, this thread, this thread, and this wiki entry. Unfortunately, the prescribed solution doesn't work for my system. Whenever I enter the following command:

sudo chown -vR andy:users ~/.config

...I get the following output:

ownership of `/home/andy/.config/.libreoffice/3/user/autotext/mytexts.bau' retained as andy:users

...followed by dozens of otherwise identical lines pointing to different files in ~/.config. If I'm not mistaken, that means I already own the folder and the problem is being caused by something else.

Can anybody help me identify the problem? I'm at a loss.

Last edited by foolishgrunt (2011-11-28 21:18:15)

foolishgrunt · 2011-11-23 16:41:57

Sorry for the bump, but does anybody have an idea?

HeSaid · 2011-11-23 19:06:35

Did you

mv ~/.config/.libreoffice ~/.config/.libreoffice.old

then re-start libreoffice?
--
Neal

foolishgrunt · 2011-11-24 19:39:31

I did, no dice. However, I just tried re-running it and got the following error:

mv: accessing '/home/andy/.config/libreoffice.old': Permission denied

I double-checked my .config folder to be sure that my user does own it, and it does. But for whatever reason, I can't access it except as root. I figure that's probably the cause of my problem, but if I've already run 'chown' what else can I do?

HeSaid · 2011-11-25 19:30:32

There appears to be a "dot" missing preceding the libreoffice. (maybe just a typo)
the file name is

/home/andy/.config/.libreoffice.old

I'm thinking there is a permissions issue. Try this

ls -al /home/andy/.config

you should see this line along with a lot of others:

...
drwxr-xr-x  3 andy users 4096 Sep 30 15:28 .libreoffice
...

If your user does indeed own .libreoffice, check the files/folders inside of it. Here's mine:

ls -al /home/andy/.config/.libreoffice/3/user
drwxr-xr-x 17 hesaid users  4096 Nov 15 08:05 .
drwx------  3 hesaid users  4096 Nov 15 08:05 ..
drwxr-xr-x  2 hesaid users  4096 Sep 30 15:28 autocorr
drwxr-xr-x  2 hesaid users  4096 Sep 30 15:28 autotext
drwxr-xr-x  2 hesaid users  4096 Nov 13 13:25 backup
drwxr-xr-x  3 hesaid users  4096 Sep 30 15:28 basic
drwxr-xr-x  3 hesaid users  4096 Sep 30 15:28 config
drwxr-xr-x  3 hesaid users  4096 Sep 30 15:28 database
drwxr-xr-x  4 hesaid users  4096 Sep 30 15:28 extensions
drwxr-xr-x  2 hesaid users  4096 Sep 30 15:28 gallery
drwxr-xr-x  4 hesaid users  4096 Sep 30 15:28 psprint
-rw-------  1 hesaid users 47366 Nov 15 08:05 registrymodifications.xcu
drwxr-xr-x  2 hesaid users  4096 Sep 30 15:28 Scripts
drwxr-xr-x  2 hesaid users  4096 Sep 30 15:28 store
drwxr-xr-x  2 hesaid users  4096 Sep 30 15:28 temp
drwxr-xr-x  2 hesaid users  4096 Sep 30 15:28 template
drwxr-xr-x  3 hesaid users  4096 Sep 30 15:28 uno_packages
drwxr-xr-x  2 hesaid users  4096 Oct  4 09:48 wordbook

Or use your file manager/properties to look at each file ownership
--
Neal

foolishgrunt · 2011-11-28 05:42:32

Sorry, that was a typo. I actually did include the other period, but got that same error message. As for your next suggestion, I ran

ls -al /home/andy/.config

and got this returned:

ls: cannot access /home/andy/.config/.libreoffice.old: Permission denied

...which I find strange, because running the exact same command with sudo returned

drwxr-x--x  3 andy users 4096 Nov 19 16:29 .libreoffice.old

as expected. I'm again at a loss, but what else is new?

EDIT: I should probably add that I haven't had a ~/.config/.libreoffice folder since I moved it to ~/.config/.libreoffice.old. Apparently that folder is only created upon a successful launch of the program, which of course I haven't had yet.

Last edited by foolishgrunt (2011-11-28 05:45:36)

foolishgrunt · 2011-11-28 19:52:38

I'm now certain this problem is deriving from a permissions issue with my ~/.config folder. Whenever I run my media player (xnoise) and make a change in the preferences, I get this error message in the terminal:

Error opening file '/home/andy/.config/xnoise/xnoise.ini': Permission denied

...supporting the conclusion that my normal user account is unable to write to ~/.config, even though I own it. I'm changing the thread title to reflect that.

Last edited by foolishgrunt (2011-11-28 21:18:40)

putte_xvi · 2011-11-28 20:06:15

Use -d to list the directory entry itself rather that its contents, i.e.

ls -ld ~/.config

If the permissions are incorrect, fix them with chmod:

chmod u+rwx ~/.config

foolishgrunt · 2011-11-28 21:17:44

That solved my problem. Running ls -ld showed me the permissions for the folder were not correct, so I ran chmod as you suggested. I can now open LibreOffice and save preferences in all my programs.

Thank you for your help, HeSaid and putte_xvi!

Arch Linux

#1 2011-11-20 02:52:23

SOLVED: Unable to access ~/.config folder as normal user

#2 2011-11-23 16:41:57

Re: SOLVED: Unable to access ~/.config folder as normal user

#3 2011-11-23 19:06:35

Re: SOLVED: Unable to access ~/.config folder as normal user

#4 2011-11-24 19:39:31

Re: SOLVED: Unable to access ~/.config folder as normal user

#5 2011-11-25 19:30:32

Re: SOLVED: Unable to access ~/.config folder as normal user

#6 2011-11-28 05:42:32

Re: SOLVED: Unable to access ~/.config folder as normal user

#7 2011-11-28 19:52:38

Re: SOLVED: Unable to access ~/.config folder as normal user

#8 2011-11-28 20:06:15

Re: SOLVED: Unable to access ~/.config folder as normal user

#9 2011-11-28 21:17:44

Re: SOLVED: Unable to access ~/.config folder as normal user

Board footer