Places menu / Nautilus side-bar ignores xdg-user-dirs

[Scott Cowles Jacobs]

Why does Ubuntu/Nautilus/Gnome not use the xdg-user-dirs info?

I have a separate /data partition where my personal info is stored, but I allowed Ubuntu to set up its /home directory within / so that if/when I install newer Ubuntu versions or other Linux distros, the app data specific to that installation will not conflict with that of other distros/versions.
I have set up xdg-user-dirs to point at my /data partition directories for documents, photos, etc.
However, when I select the Places menu, only the /home/scott installed documents/photos/etc. directories show up.
I must select Computer, then when the window finally comes up (why is everything so slow now?),
I can see my directories listed under the Computer heading, but the other non-used directories are listed first, under Bookmarks.
While it is possible that once in a while, I might want to access the configuration files or whatever that apps would store in /home/scott, having the directories under /home/scott the only ones visible from the main Places menu, and the ones given pride-of-place in the Nautilus side-bar seems not to make much sense.

I also take issue with the fact that other partitions that I mounted from /etc/fstab so that I could have easy access to them do not come up in either the main Places menu or in the Nautilus side-bar, but are accessible only by clicking on “File System”, and then on the individual directories in / that fstab sets up.
This includes my /data partition.
Not only that, but two partitions that have nothing in them, and are not mentioned in fstab ARE available in the main Places menu AND in the Nautilus side-bar (each as “17 GB File System”).

This same behavior is evident when one uses the “SaveAs” or “Save-A-Copy” from Evince, Gedit, LibreOffice Writer, Eye-Of-Gnome, etc. (In fact, I get the impression from the similarity in windows that appear when the save request is made, that there is some universal (Gnome?) requester that all(?) apps use/modify to save data): my personal directories in /data are nowhere to be seen, the /home directories elsewhere christened “Bookmarks” are there, and the two unused partitions are there also.

Surely this behavior is nonsensical – stuff that should be easily accessible, isn't; stuff that is shouldn't be accessible at all (for ordinary use), is...
The purpose of xdg-user-dirs is to REPLACE the original photos/downloads/etc. locations, so one should expect to see the directories in (in my case) /data/scott, in Places and Nautilus side-bar, and NOT see the directories in /home/scott.

I am sure that somebody will tell me how to “fix” this issue, and I will be happy to accept and implement such advice, but why was this set up this way in the first place, and if incorrect, why has it not been fixed...?

I am using Ubuntu 11.10, and usually use Gnome Classic ("Fallback Session"?), but the same thing seems to occur in Unity and Gnome-Shell (and I believe Englightenment).
[I have since read that one can access a Places style menu in Unity by moving the mouse up to the top bar, but I have not tested this out yet to see what it shows - I suspect it will show the same info as for Classic Gnome's Places menu...]

-Scott

[Scott Cowles Jacobs (scott092707)]

John:

Thank you for taking action on my bug report from February.

I was uncertain if it had been read...

I am, however, confused at the terminology used in the reply.

 "No longer affects: ayatana-design"

leaves me wondering if it means:
"bug is fixed, so therefore it no longer affects ayatana-design"
or
"this is not an ayatana-design issue, therefore it no longer affects [it]",
or ... what...

I had been expecting a more conversational reply, or series of replies,
where people would state why they agree or disagree with my points, and/or
planned to fix the issues raised...

Was this issue, in fact, raised in the wrong place (and where is the right one?)

Do you personally have an opinion on my points?
They seem logical to me (but then, they would...).

Thank you for reading this email, and for any time you can give to a reply.

-Scott Jacobs

-----Original Message-----
From: John Lea <email address hidden>
To: scott092707 <email address hidden>
Sent: Thu, Apr 19, 2012 9:31 am
Subject: [Bug 939224] Re: Places menu / Nautilus side-bar ignores xdg-user-dirs

** Also affects: unity
   Importance: Undecided
       Status: New

** No longer affects: ayatana-design

--
You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
report.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/939224

Title:
  Places menu / Nautilus side-bar ignores xdg-user-dirs

Status in Unity:
  New

Bug description:
  Why does Ubuntu/Nautilus/Gnome not use the xdg-user-dirs info?

  I have a separate /data partition where my personal info is stored, but I
allowed Ubuntu to set up its /home directory within / so that if/when I install
newer Ubuntu versions or other Linux distros, the app data specific to that
installation will not conflict with that of other distros/versions.
  I have set up xdg-user-dirs to point at my /data partition directories for
documents, photos, etc.
  However, when I select the Places menu, only the /home/scott installed
documents/photos/etc. directories show up.
  I must select Computer, then when the window finally comes up (why is
everything so slow now?),
  I can see my directories listed under the Computer heading, but the other
non-used directories are listed first, under Bookmarks.
  While it is possible that once in a while, I might want to access the
configuration files or whatever that apps would store in /home/scott, having the
directories under /home/scott the only ones visible from the main Places menu,
and the ones given pride-of-place in the Nautilus side-bar seems not to make
much sense.

  I also take issue with the fact that other partitions that I mounted from
/etc/fstab so that I could have easy access to them do not come up in either
the main Places menu or in the Nautilus side-bar, but are accessible only by
clicking on “File System”, and then on the individual directories in / that
fstab sets up.
  This includes my /data partition.
  Not only that, but two partitions that have nothing in them, and are not
mentioned in fstab ARE available in the main Places menu AND in the Nautilus
side-bar (each as “17 GB File System”).

  This same behavior is evident when one uses the “SaveAs” or
  “Save...

[Bilal Akhtar (bilalakhtar)]

This is a bug in GNOME libraries, and not ubuntu/unity, which is why John un-marked it from Ayatana Design earlier