Some app-indicators not showing menus

[Walter Garcia-Fontes]

Impact
======
In Ubuntu 16.10 the menus of the Dropbox and hplip app-indicators are not working. I attach a video of the problem.

Test Case
=========
sudo apt install hplip-gui
Log out
Log in (to Unity)
Click the hp indicator in the top left of the screen.
Does it show items or is it blank?

appmenu-qt 0.2.7+14.04.20140305-0ubuntu2 is installed

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 16.10
Package: unity 7.5.0+16.10.20160906.1-0ubuntu1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.8.0-17.19-generic 4.8.0-rc7
Uname: Linux 4.8.0-17-generic x86_64
.tmp.unity_support_test.0:

ApportVersion: 2.20.3-0ubuntu7
Architecture: amd64
CompizPlugins: No value set for `/apps/compiz-1/general/screen0/options/active_plugins'
CompositorRunning: compiz
CompositorUnredirectDriverBlacklist: '(nouveau|Intel).*Mesa 8.0'
CompositorUnredirectFSW: true
CurrentDesktop: Unity:Unity7
Date: Fri Sep 30 11:44:26 2016
DistUpgraded: 2016-09-01 11:00:51,009 ERROR got error from PostInstallScript ./xorg_fix_proprietary.py (g-exec-error-quark: Failed to execute child process "./xorg_fix_proprietary.py" (No such file or directory) (8))
DistroCodename: yakkety
DistroVariant: ubuntu
DkmsStatus:
 virtualbox, 5.1.6, 4.4.0-9136-generic, x86_64: installed
 virtualbox, 5.1.6, 4.8.0-11-generic, x86_64: installed
 virtualbox, 5.1.6, 4.8.0-15-generic, x86_64: installed
 virtualbox, 5.1.6, 4.8.0-16-generic, x86_64: installed
 virtualbox, 5.1.6, 4.8.0-17-generic, x86_64: installed
GraphicsCard:
 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Bonaire [FirePro W5100] [1002:6649] (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
   Subsystem: Dell Bonaire [FirePro W5100] [1028:230c]
InstallationDate: Installed on 2015-10-17 (348 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 15.04 "Vivid Vervet" - Release amd64 (20150422)
MachineType: Dell Inc. Precision Tower 7810
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-4.8.0-17-generic root=UUID=63c3c29d-24d9-4ecb-8511-3f2291792bc5 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
SourcePackage: unity
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to yakkety on 2016-09-01 (29 days ago)
dmi.bios.date: 04/14/2015
dmi.bios.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.bios.version: A07
dmi.board.name: 0GWHMW
dmi.board.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.board.version: A00
dmi.chassis.type: 7
dmi.chassis.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnDellInc.:bvrA07:bd04/14/2015:svnDellInc.:pnPrecisionTower7810:pvr01:rvnDellInc.:rn0GWHMW:rvrA00:cvnDellInc.:ct7:cvr:
dmi.product.name: Precision Tower 7810
dmi.product.version: 01
dmi.sys.vendor: Dell Inc.
version.compiz: compiz 1:0.9.13.0+16.10.20160818.2-0ubuntu2
version.ia32-libs: ia32-libs N/A
version.libdrm2: libdrm2 2.4.70-1
version.libgl1-mesa-dri: libgl1-mesa-dri 12.0.3-1ubuntu1
version.libgl1-mesa-dri-experimental: libgl1-mesa-dri-experimental N/A
version.libgl1-mesa-glx: libgl1-mesa-glx 12.0.3-1ubuntu1
version.xserver-xorg-core: xserver-xorg-core 2:1.18.4-1ubuntu6
version.xserver-xorg-input-evdev: xserver-xorg-input-evdev 1:2.10.2-1ubuntu1
version.xserver-xorg-video-ati: xserver-xorg-video-ati 1:7.7.1-1
version.xserver-xorg-video-intel: xserver-xorg-video-intel 2:2.99.917+git20160706-1ubuntu1
version.xserver-xorg-video-nouveau: xserver-xorg-video-nouveau 1:1.0.12-2
xserver.bootTime: Thu Sep 29 08:45:37 2016
xserver.configfile: default
xserver.errors:

xserver.logfile: /var/log/Xorg.0.log
xserver.version: 2:1.18.4-1ubuntu6
xserver.video_driver: radeon

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[professordes (d-a-johnston-hw)]

Me too.....

[oldos2er (oldos2er)]

I'm on Xubuntu 16.10, and this bug is present on xfce4-panel, at least for the Dropbox icon. All other icons I have there (Boinc Manager, Network indicator, clipman, Volume, pulseaudio, and qbittorrent) appear normally.

[oldos2er (oldos2er)]

Addendum: This bug was present on 16.04 too, but running "dropbox stop && DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS="" dropbox start" after login fixed the Dropbox icon. It no longer works in 16.10; the command runs successfully

 dropbox stop && DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS="" dropbox start
Dropbox daemon stopped.
Starting Dropbox...Done!

but the icon remains as a rectangle with a red lined circle inside it (same as in wgarcia's video) that shows no info.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Khurshid Alam (khurshid-alam)]

Dropbox won't show any menu if it starts as old systray menu. Under Unity (Ubuntu >=17.04) it has to start as appindicator.

env XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=Unity dropbox start -i

It should also work for other desktop-environment which also uses indicator-applet like gnome-flashback session.

[Kai-Heng Feng (kaihengfeng)]

Thanks for the hint, Khurshid.

The env XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=Unity:Unity7 breaks some applications.

Both slack-desktop and skypeforlinux are are missing because of this env var.

Export XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=Unity in their desktop files can bring their indicators back.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Matthew Gregg (mcg)]

Running up to date 17.04 and I also have this issue. In my user env XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=Unity is already set, but Electron based apps do not show a tray/indicator icon. I attempted to set this in /etc/profile.d/ which worked and I had tray/indicator icons, but had the effect of breaking various Unity things like the control/settings app. Seems like apps launched from the gnome-session are missing this env?

[Matthew Gregg (mcg)]

I should clarify that if I launch an app from the shell, where the XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=Unity is set, things work correctly. Launching via the Dash, do not.

[Mark Tidd (paddy.stone)]

Yes, I have this same problem with the dropbox indicator and also the pia indicator, the latter is more important as I can no longer switch which server I am using, so if this server I am currently using goes awry then I am stuck. I am a relative beginner with linux so don't have the means to fix this myself. Hope someone can fix this with some clear instructions or an update.

[Pat (pat-pathmanathan)]

@Mark Tidd, I had the same problem with pia indicator. I contacted pia's help desk and they gave me the folowing instructions to fix it. You can copy and past the instructions in the terminal. It is best to remove the app and re-install it. The instructions below were sent to me by the pia's support team:

To remove the app follow these instructions:

Please, I will encourage you to fully remove the PIA app, then download a fresh copy of the app and re-install, then check if issue persist. To uninstall our application you can simply run the following terminal command:

    NOTE: Please make sure this step is completed very carefully. All symbols, and spacing are VERY important. Incorrect usage of this command can lead to DATA LOSS. (It is best to simply copy and paste the command below)

rm -rf ~/.pia_manager/

If the command is successful, there will be no confirmation, it will simply go to a new line in the Terminal window.

Once you have done that, you can install the app from: https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/installer/download_installer_linux ,

Then, from the terminal in the directory you downloaded to:

1) Extract file: tar -xzf pia-v68-installer-linux.tar.gz

2) Tell OS to proceed: chmod +x pia-v68-installer-linux.sh

3) Run installer: ./pia-v68-installer-linux.sh

Please enter your login details and click save. Make sure not to select Start application at login and Auto-connect on launch.

To fix the pia app not showing on the indicator, pia's support team suggested the following:

From the terminal type the following instructions:

1. Open terminal and type:

cd ~/.pia_manager/pia_manager/

Next run the following (this is case sensitive, so it may be best to copy and paste),

env XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=Unity ./run.sh

After trying the above, does the icon appear in the tray(it may take 15 seconds or so)? If not, is there any errors in the terminal?

If the above worked, please proceed to the next step:

2. Next you need to edit pia_manager.desktop in /.local/share/applications and add the following line after Exec=:

env XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=Unity

To do so, please enter the following commands in terminal:

cd ~/.local /share/applications

Next, type the following:

nano pia_manager.desktop

The final result should look something like the following (additional information in bold; YourUserName will of course be different, e.g Arthur):

Type=Application Name=Private Internet Access
Exec=env XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=Unity /home/YourUserName/.pia_manager/pia_manager/run.sh
Icon=/home/YourUserName/.pia_manager/pia_tray_files/img/default_app_logo.png

(there is a space between Unity and /home)

To exit and save, hit ctrl-x on your keyboard and hit y

I also copied the edited pia_manager.desktop in /.local/share/applications to /user/share/applications folder. This is so that I can search for the app in the dash. All you need to do in dash is start type priv it sholud show two green icons for Private Internet Access. Select the bigger one of the two (it is slightly brighter than the other). Once the app started, you should see the icon on ...

[txemi (txemitron)]

worked for me:

dropbox stop

[wait....]

env XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=Unity dropbox start -i

⟫ cat /etc/lsb-release
DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=17.10
DISTRIB_CODENAME=artful
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 17.10"

[dino99 (9d9)]

This is an unsupported release now. Please think to install the next LTS 'Bionic 18.04'

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-next/daily-live/current/
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2018/02/ubuntu-18-04-minimal-install-option

[Simon Quigley (tsimonq2)]

Marking as Invalid because the release is EOL is not correct. Marking as Incomplete. Also, 18.04 is (at the time of writing) still in development, and you should expect some breakage.
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/Responses#Release_has_reached_End_of_Life_.28EOL.29

Reporter, is this still present on 17.10 or 16.04?

[Walter Garcia-Fontes (walter-garcia)]

Yes, this is present in 17.10.

[dino99 (9d9)]

Unity is dead; nobody will spend time about it.

Reporting 'bug' suppose to run a fresh real install, not one from a virtual space, nor one disturb by old/borked settings left behind.
If the dropbox doesnot/didnot display icons while other apps correctly react, then its a dropbox problem.

Reporting a problem on a system mixing gnome & xfce makes such report useless too.
So let genuine install which is fully tested working as expected. If installations are the result of many untested/unexpected configs, then dont waste time reporting. Only report about genuine installation.

[Simon Quigley (tsimonq2)]

> Unity is dead; nobody will spend time about it.

You're wrong there, Unity is still maintained and will be for the rest of the 16.04 cycle at minimum.

Also, about the "mixed install" part of this, that shouldn't matter, as this is reported against appmenu-qt.

Please, stop marking the status to Invalid. Let's keep it at New where it belongs.

[dino99 (9d9)]

@Simon

If you think understanding that report, tell me why 'importance' & 'assigned to ' are still not set by devs ?
When that report have been opened (2016), there was a transitional time where many users have hit the problem, then only a few (with rolling systems/mixed install/...)
About xenial, it will never receive 'cosmetic' fixed but only 'security' ones and maybe some SRU/backport; nothing related to such report.

So you can still spend your time to undo what i have set, its useless and does not help to get solutions nor 'makes ubuntu better'.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for gnome-session (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for unity (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for appmenu-qt (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]