GNOME panel can't always launch folders with filenames containing spaces

[Jeff Connelly]

Steps to reproduce:

Drag a folder on the desktop into the GNOME panel at the top of the screen (analogous to the Windows taskbar).

Cursor changes to a squared +, indicating that the item can be copied.

Release cursor. A new item is added to the panel: a red X. Clicking pops up a dialog "Could not launch item", "Not a launchable item."

Expected results: clicking opens the folder that I dragged onto the GNOME panel.

More information:

Right-click -> Properties brings up a Launcher Properties window showing the following: Type is Application. Name, Command, and Comment are empty. There is no icon.

Workaround:

I go about manually creating the launcher. I type in a name, and for the location I click Browse and try to select the folder on the desktop. Peskily, the dialog that pops up is "Choose a file" and does not seem to allow choosing a directory - selecting a directory just opens it. Which I suppose makes sense given the name of the dialog.

I resign to selecting a file within the directory, and then manually editing the Location to be a file:/// URL pointing to a directory. This works, at last.

[Jérôme Guelfucci (jerome-guelfucci-deactivatedaccount)]

Thank you for your bug report. Could you give us the version of Ubuntu and of gnome-panel you are using ? I can't reproduce this with my computer, it works for me.

[Jeff Connelly (launchpad-xyzzy)]

Sure:

Ubuntu Feisty Fawn 7.04

GNOME panel is the latest:

$ dpkg -l gnome-panel
Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
| Status=Not/Installed/Config-files/Unpacked/Failed-config/Half-installed
|/ Err?=(none)/Hold/Reinst-required/X=both-problems (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
||/ Name Version Description
+++-==============-==============-============================================
ii gnome-panel 2.18.1-0ubuntu launcher and docking facility for GNOME 2
$

My GNOME is up to date with the repositories, and I'm using it as installed (no major configuration changes).

Thanks,
-Jeff

[Jérôme Guelfucci (jerome-guelfucci-deactivatedaccount)]

Well this is quite strange, I will have a look in the upstream bugtracker.

[Jérôme Guelfucci (jerome-guelfucci-deactivatedaccount)]

Could this be the same as in bug http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=432942 ?

[Jérôme Guelfucci (jerome-guelfucci-deactivatedaccount)]

And bug 107941 (just putting it in case of further triage).

[Jeff Connelly (launchpad-xyzzy)]

The launcher also sometimes reverts to its blank, empty state. It just happened after I rebooted. The bugs you linked look like they could be related.

If it matters, my launcher links to the location file:///boot/grub/mygsd/Operating%20Systems.

[Jérôme Guelfucci (jerome-guelfucci-deactivatedaccount)]

Well, I'm not sure that this is the same bug so I'm leaving this as new.

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

Thank you for your bug. Does it happen with any folder or only when there is a space in the name?

[Jeff Connelly (launchpad-xyzzy)]

Only with spaces. I created several new folders to test:

untitled folder - shows up as "X" when dragged to panel
untitled folder1 - shows up as "X" when dragged to panel
untitled - shows up correctly as folder
untitled1 - shows up correctly as folder

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

The bug should be fixed in gutsy then, feel free to reopen if you still get issue after upgrading though

[Jeff Connelly (launchpad-xyzzy)]

Still seeing this in Gutsy Gibbon, clean install. Steps to reproduce:

1. On desktop, Right-Click -> Create Folder.
2. Drag "untitled folder" to the GNOME panel.
3. Drag the folder across the GNOME panel.
4. Click the icon.

Results:
Icon changes to a spring with a platform on top. Clicking it pops up a dialog:

Error
Could not launch application
Not a launchable item

Right-click -> Properties brings up the Launcher Properties dialog, which says:

Type: Application
Name:
Command:
Comment:

(all the fields except Type are blank).

Not exactly sure how to re-open. I set the Status of this bug to New.

[Yann Rouillard (yann-pleiades)]

I am under hardy (which is currently very close to gutsy I think), and strangely I was not able to reproduce your bug.

[Mike Siegel (siegelmike)]

I am reproducing this by trying to create a launcher that opens a file "Transaction Register.ods". The bug will only reproduce when the launcher is on the GNOME panel. If the launcher is on the Desktop, the bug does not reproduce.

I am running Gutsy Gibbon.

[Pedro Villavicencio (pedro)]

Thanks for your report, This is working fine for me with Hardy, may someone test too and confirm? thanks in advance.

[Jeff Connelly (launchpad-xyzzy)]

I can confirm that this appears to be fixed in Hardy Heron Alpha 4 (tested both with live CD and installed on hard disk). The launcher on the GNOME panel correctly has spaces replaced by %20, and opens the folder without problems.