Comment 8 for bug 1313586

menulibre 2.0.4-1 trusty
xubuntu trusty

terms:-
ml = menulibre
am = actual menu

Executive Summary.
Seems to me, if you have a non-default menu that was set up by alacarte, any pre-existing non-default menu categories (made by alacarte) _might_ have their launchers deleted as soon as ml saves anything. So then as can be expected, the empty categories don't show up on am. This happened on one trial, not another. If it doesn't, there's a possibility of a work around to save your categories & launchers.

For people who haven't got a pre-existing non-default menu, but want to start modifying their menu from scratch, things work better than when Trusty came out, making ml viable for people who haven't used alacarte.

Non-default categories & launchers created by ml persist between closing & opening ml.

Launchers moved into the non-default categories make that category appear in am.

Things moved about or created by ml seem to show up in am and stick without having to toggle any of the on-off options.

So for me, it looks like if I install ml it will trash my existing am (created by alacarte), but at least if I then re-create that menu system, it will be a bit easier, and will stick.

Run 1

existing categories include non-standard map, editors, places

map, qgis desktop , up into Graphics, Use Startup Notification on, off to get “save launcher” active, (which I read later isn't now necessary) click “save launcher”
→ actual menu reverted to no instance of map or editors or my other home-made categories.
===> fail

graphics, document viewer, up into Games, Use Startup Notification off, on to enable save, save.
→ actual menu contains Games, Document Viewer.
===> pass

Close all categories (don't show launchers)
+ , Add directory, → new directory.
Rename that to Dummy01, save. → now have category called Dummy01, selected.
+ Add launcher → new launcher
Command = kwrite , top name = kwrite, save
===> pass

Restore my menu system.
existing categories include map, editors, places
Run 2

Start menulibre
→ my menu still exists

Select games (a default category)
→ my menu still exists
+, Add launcher,
→ my menu still exists
top name = kwritezzz, command kwrite, save
→ my am disappeared, reverted to default
===> fail

Restore my menu system.
existing categories include map, editors, places
Run 3
Save something in ml
→ all my map launchers and my editor launchers disappeared in am.
But they persist in ml. (didn't last run, dunno why)
Trying not to loose them, so in ml I select a launcher, toggle an option on, off
→ save lights up, so I save
→ the big window bottom right suddenly goes from blank to Category name = menulibre-map, Description = menulibre-map, and that launcher shows up on am.

Repeat with other launchers in other categories.

But you have to do it with all categories & launchers that you want to save before you close ml, because when you re-open, the ones you didn't process are gone.

#Note to self. To revert from testing:-
delete ml from synaptic
Software sources – untick proposed
disable apport “crash” as in
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Testing/EnableProposed
restore old menu
~/.config/menus # not ~/config/menus
~/.local/share/desktop-directories
~/.local/share/applications

so for verification -needed, -done, -failed, hmmm, you can decide.
hope that all makes some sense
G