Error message using easy-codec-install (gstreamer1.0-packagekit) is not useful & confusing

[Doug McMahon]

See attached screen

Test case:
On a fresh install or if on existing make sure the gst bad, ugly, libav & vaapi plugins aren't installed.
Try to open a h.264 video or .mp3, .m4a in totem
When prompted click on the find in Software button
Error message will appear at top of Software window

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 17.10
Package: gstreamer1.0-packagekit 1.1.6-2
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.12.0-12.13-generic 4.12.8
Uname: Linux 4.12.0-12-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia_uvm nvidia_drm nvidia_modeset nvidia
ApportVersion: 2.20.7-0ubuntu1
Architecture: amd64
CurrentDesktop: ubuntu:GNOME
Date: Sat Sep 9 10:56:17 2017
InstallationDate: Installed on 2017-09-07 (1 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 17.10 "Artful Aardvark" - Alpha amd64 (20170906)
ProcEnviron:
 TERM=xterm-256color
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set>
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: packagekit
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Matthias Klumpp (ximion)]

I think the message is even wrong... You shouldn't need the app-install-data package for this to work. I guess maybe this happens because the app-install-data package contains .desktop files indicating mimetypes, and PK/AppStream gets confused by that.
There is definitely no hardcoding of this message in PackageKit though, and AFAIK also not in GNOME Software.

[Doug McMahon (mc3man)]

Description updated because for whatever reason I searched apt-install-data instead of app-install-data..

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

Thanks, could you describe what you do exactly though/what steps you take to trigger the action?

[Doug McMahon (mc3man)]

On 09/18/2017 08:40 AM, Sebastien Bacher wrote:
> Thanks, could you describe what you do exactly though/what steps you
> take to trigger the action?
>
> ** Changed in: packagekit (Ubuntu)
> Importance: Undecided => Low
>
Updated description on how..

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

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

[Matthias Klumpp (ximion)]

See https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/packagekit/+bug/1719077/comments/7