Please replace default Gnome extension "Desktop Icons" with "Desktop Icons NG (DING)" (by the same author)

[Paddy Landau]

By default, Ubuntu installs the Gnome extension "Desktop Icons" [1] (by rastersoft).

Unfortunately, this extension is now unmaintained, is problematic, and leads to several bugs, including but not limited to Bug #1901150 and Bug #1813441.

The same author has created, and continues to maintain, the far superior "Desktop Icons NG (DING)" [2]. It solves a number of problems including the two aforementioned bugs.

It's possible to disable, but not uninstall, "Desktop Icons", and then to install "Desktop Icons NG (DING)". I did this a while ago with great results.

If Canonical replaces the former with the latter, not only will Ubuntu be using a better desktop manager, but also it will be able clear all related bugs at a stroke.

This is a simple, cheap, quick and effective solution that will let the devs concentrate on more important tasks.

Please give this serious consideration.

More information:

Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS
64-bit
Gnome version 3.36.3

[1] https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1465/desktop-icons/

[2] https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/2087/desktop-icons-ng-ding/

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

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

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

Thank you for your bug report, did upstream recommend somewhere (reference?) to use NG? What makes you state that the current one is unmaintained, https://gitlab.gnome.org/World/ShellExtensions/desktop-icons/ shows recent commits

[Paddy Landau (paddy-landau)]

@seb128 — Hmm, maybe I'm wrong about it being maintained. It's just that it shows a lower level of compatibility in its Extensions listing. Sorry if I was wrong.

I don't recall where specifically I have came across the recommendation for NG, but I found it referenced in several places when I was trying to solve another problem with Desktop Icons (it shows a permanent error that cannot be fixed).

In any case, even if Desktop Icons is maintained, it lacks the features that NG has, so it would be much easier to just use the latter than to try to fix the former. I would hate to return to Desktop Icons, having used Desktop Icons NG (DING) for some time.

[Adam Dingle (adam-yorba)]

I also run Desktop Icons NG, and agree that it is superior to the the original Desktop Icons extension. Even if the original version is still supported, my impression is that the NG version is more actively maintained and is the focus of the author's development efforts.

[Jeremy Bícha (jbicha)]

The Desktop Icons NG extension is installed by default in Ubuntu 21.10.

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

Note also that we can't consider DING for inclusion in Ubuntu 20.04 focal because to render in Wayland sessions it requires mutter 3.38 or later.

[Paddy Landau (paddy-landau)]

> Note also that we can't consider DING for inclusion in Ubuntu 20.04 focal because to render in Wayland sessions it requires mutter 3.38 or later.

DING works perfectly for me:

Ubuntu 20.04
Mutter 3.36.9
Gnome 3.36.8
DING version 17 (according to the metadata.json file)

Ubuntu 20.04 doesn't use Wayland. Does this restriction exist because some Ubuntu derivatives use Wayland?

Mind you, Ubuntu 22.04 is close, so Ubuntu 20.04 is probably low priority.

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

It's because 'Ubuntu on Wayland' is an officially supported option in Ubuntu 20.04. We wouldn't want the desktop icons to just be missing in that session.