(SOLVED) New programs not providing .config for user

hilltownboy · 2015-09-10 14:30:04

Installed libreoffice-still and thunar, but they did not create files in /home/user-name/.config. Thus I can only load and use them as root.

$ uname -r:

4.1.6-1-ARCH

$ ls .config:

openbox
tint2

that's all in .config, though both programs are installed:

$ pacman -Ss libreoffice-still
extra/libreoffice-still 4.4.5-2 [installed]
    LibreOffice maintenance branch
extra/libreoffice-still-af 4.4.5-2
    Afrikaans language pack for LibreOffice still

(plus another 100+ language packs)

$ pacman -Ss thunar
extra/thunar 1.6.10-2 (xfce4) [installed]
    Modern file manager for Xfce
extra/thunar-archive-plugin 0.3.1-5 (xfce4-goodies)
    Create and extract archives in Thunar
extra/thunar-media-tags-plugin 0.2.1-2 (xfce4-goodies)
    Adds special features for media files to the Thunar File Manager
extra/thunar-volman 0.8.1-1 (xfce4)
    Automatic management of removeable devices in Thunar

Last edited by hilltownboy (2015-09-11 23:56:16)

Raynman · 2015-09-10 14:38:03

hilltownboy wrote:

Installed libreoffice-still and thunar, but they did not create files in /home/user-name/.config. Thus I can only load and use them as root.

Why "thus"? Do they actually refuse to start, screaming at you about missing config files? I don't use thunar, but I've never seen libreoffice do that. If they fail to start without specifically mentioning config files, let's not jump to conclusions about the cause of the problem.

Most programs start just fine without a configuration file (sometimes they create one on the first run) and if they don't, they usually provide a default/example config that you can copy to your home directory. pacman should never mess with your home.

Last edited by Raynman (2015-09-10 14:40:01)

runical · 2015-09-10 14:42:48

I just checked on my system and libreoffice-fresh has an entry here. Did you start the program at least once? As for thunar, that stores its setting in a Xconf channel [1].

[1] http://docs.xfce.org/xfce/thunar/faq#wh … references

EDIT: Missed the "Thus" statement Raynman pointed out. Raynman is right and I'm not sure how you got to this conclusion without trying to start the programs at least once.

Last edited by runical (2015-09-10 14:44:50)

torors · 2015-09-10 14:47:56

I'm also using openbox and tint2. I have ~/.config/Thunar and ~./config/libreoffice. I think those directories was created the first time I started the programs, but I don't know.

niceman · 2015-09-10 16:24:13

hmm Well I have libreoffice-fresh and found its folder in .config.

If you were newbie to linux then know that most programs create their configuration files on the first run(they don't necessarily create it after the installation) and some programs run without them(Xorg for example doesn't need 20-nvidia.conf file to work correctly but generating it may save him some time).

So run libreoffice with your regular user, if a message appears saying "failed to create configuration files" then we have an issue.

Last edited by niceman (2015-09-10 16:25:44)

WorMzy · 2015-09-10 16:51:47

Applications should never create config files in user directories at install time. They shouldn't do anything in the user directories at install time.

hilltownboy · 2015-09-10 19:50:50

Running libreoffice as regular user, the message I get is

The application cannot be started
User installation could not be completed

WorMzy · 2015-09-10 19:53:34

What are the permissions on your home folder, ~/.config folder, and (if it exists) ~/.config/libreoffice folder?

Trilby · 2015-09-10 20:30:04

If nothing odd shows up in the folder permissions, the output of `strace loffice` would be helpful.

Head_on_a_Stick · 2015-09-10 21:17:06

http://askubuntu.com/questions/613941/n … untu-15-04

hilltownboy · 2015-09-11 15:58:52

WorMzy: Permissions of .config:

drwxr-xr-x  4 root   root       4096 Jul  6 12:25 .config

Permissions in .config

$ la .config
total 16
drwxr-xr-x 4 root   root  4096 Jul  6 12:25 .
drwx------ 9 norman users 4096 Sep 11 08:34 ..
drwxr-xr-x 2 root   root  4096 Jul  5 21:09 openbox
drwxr-xr-x 2 root   root  4096 Jul  6 12:25 tint2

HoaS: That reference as far as I can tell does not apply to a missing .config/libreoffice file

Trilby: I was not able to copy or to redirect all or any part of 'strace loffice". While long, it flashed by almost instantly and immediately opened libreoffice. The only
warning that I recognized was

Could not find a Java Runtime Environment!
Warning: failed to read path from javaldx

Perhaps if I knew what to look for in the trace I coiuld find the problem.

Your suggestions inspired me to look at my applications menu. It is not configured to bring up libreoffice but rather libreoffice-calc and libreoffice-writer. On my second-to-last upgrade I replaced those with libreoffice-still. That's when my trouble started.

But I also have a keybinding that should bring up libreoffice. It only brings up the "cannot be started" message.

From .config/rc.xml
 <keybind key="W-o">
    <action name="Execute">
      <startupnotify>
        <enabled>true</enabled>
        <name>office</name>
      </startupnotify>
      <command>loffice</command>
    </action>
  </keybind>

Tutti · 2015-09-11 16:18:53

hilltownboy wrote:

WorMzy: Permissions of .config:

drwxr-xr-x  4 root   root       4096 Jul  6 12:25 .config

Permissions in .config

$ la .config
total 16
drwxr-xr-x 4 root   root  4096 Jul  6 12:25 .
drwx------ 9 norman users 4096 Sep 11 08:34 ..
drwxr-xr-x 2 root   root  4096 Jul  5 21:09 openbox
drwxr-xr-x 2 root   root  4096 Jul  6 12:25 tint2

Your .config directory and contents are owned by root:root, your normal user do not have permission to write to the directory.
Assuming your normal user is norman and group is users try:

chown norman:users ~/.config

with sudo, you should also fix ownership on the .config contents.

Trilby · 2015-09-11 16:34:48

Tutti wrote:

chown norman:users ~/.config
with sudo, you should also fix ownership on the .config contents.

Or just do it all at once:

sudo chown -R norman:user ~/.config

And, @OP, stop running X11 applications as root. That is the cause of the problem.

hilltownboy · 2015-09-11 23:55:02

Thank you, Moderators, your help is truly appreciated. I've been using linux exclusively for 10 years (letters, documents, spreadsheets, internet and email) but I guess I'll always be a newbie. The solution seems so simple when you know how.

It's a mystery to me why .config changed to root, but I'll mark this solved. Here's a backup of my .config from some time before the problem occurred.

$ la .config
total 48
drwxr-xr-x 2 norman users 4096 Sep  2  2013 fontconfig
drwx------ 2 norman users 4096 Nov  7  2014 gtk-2.0
drwx------ 2 norman users 4096 Sep 11  2013 gtk-3.0
drwx------ 2 norman users 4096 Aug 22  2013 leafpad
drwxr-xr-x 3 norman users 4096 Feb 20  2014 libreoffice
-rw-r--r-- 1 norman users  257 Nov 15  2014 mimeapps.list
drwxr-xr-x 2 norman users 4096 Jul 30  2014 openbox
drwx------ 2 norman users 4096 Aug 22  2014 spacefm
drwx------ 2 norman users 4096 Aug 20  2013 Thunar
drwxr-xr-x 2 norman users 4096 Mar  3  2014 tint2
drwx------ 2 norman users 4096 Nov 13  2013 viewnior
drwxr-xr-x 3 norman users 4096 Aug 20  2013 xfce4

WorMzy · 2015-09-11 23:58:46

I think its a bit unfair to single out mods for thanks. This was a community effort.

Please remember to mark your thread as solved by editing the first post and prepending [solved] to the title.

EDIT: You already marked it solved. I'm slow today.

Last edited by WorMzy (2015-09-12 00:01:38)

Trilby · 2015-09-12 00:46:17

Trilby wrote:

stop running X11 applications as root. That is the cause of the problem.

hilltownboy wrote:

It's a mystery to me why .config changed to root

Some days I wonder why I bother responding at all.

snakeroot · 2015-09-12 18:11:35

Trilby wrote:

Some days I wonder why I bother responding at all.

So all of us lurking in the thread will learn something. Seriously, thanks for all you do in these forums.

Last edited by snakeroot (2015-09-12 18:13:00)

Trilby · 2015-09-12 18:27:18

Thank you snakeroot. Perhaps I was a bit tactless in my previous post, my appologies to hilltownboy and the community if I was - the quoted exchange just confuses me.

hilltownboy · 2015-09-14 14:27:41

No apologies needed for your superb contribution to the Arch community.

niceman · 2015-09-16 12:20:17

hilltownboy wrote:

The only warning that I recognized was
Could not find a Java Runtime Environment!
Warning: failed to read path from javaldx

Despite that your problem is solved this warning means you don't have java installed, As I recall libreoffice is able to work without java but you may encounter problems with some extensions.

Last edited by niceman (2015-09-16 12:20:35)

Arch Linux

#1 2015-09-10 14:30:04

(SOLVED) New programs not providing .config for user

#2 2015-09-10 14:38:03

Re: (SOLVED) New programs not providing .config for user

#3 2015-09-10 14:42:48

Re: (SOLVED) New programs not providing .config for user

#4 2015-09-10 14:47:56

Re: (SOLVED) New programs not providing .config for user

#5 2015-09-10 16:24:13

Re: (SOLVED) New programs not providing .config for user

#6 2015-09-10 16:51:47

Re: (SOLVED) New programs not providing .config for user

#7 2015-09-10 19:50:50

Re: (SOLVED) New programs not providing .config for user

#8 2015-09-10 19:53:34

Re: (SOLVED) New programs not providing .config for user

#9 2015-09-10 20:30:04

Re: (SOLVED) New programs not providing .config for user

#10 2015-09-10 21:17:06

Re: (SOLVED) New programs not providing .config for user

#11 2015-09-11 15:58:52

Re: (SOLVED) New programs not providing .config for user

#12 2015-09-11 16:18:53

Re: (SOLVED) New programs not providing .config for user

#13 2015-09-11 16:34:48

Re: (SOLVED) New programs not providing .config for user

#14 2015-09-11 23:55:02

Re: (SOLVED) New programs not providing .config for user

#15 2015-09-11 23:58:46

Re: (SOLVED) New programs not providing .config for user

#16 2015-09-12 00:46:17

Re: (SOLVED) New programs not providing .config for user

#17 2015-09-12 18:11:35

Re: (SOLVED) New programs not providing .config for user

#18 2015-09-12 18:27:18

Re: (SOLVED) New programs not providing .config for user

#19 2015-09-14 14:27:41

Re: (SOLVED) New programs not providing .config for user

#20 2015-09-16 12:20:17

Re: (SOLVED) New programs not providing .config for user

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