xdg-open should use xdg-mime instead of run-mailcap when no DE detected

[John Carlyle-Clarke]

Binary package hint: xdg-utils

xdg-utils 1.0.1-2 on Ubuntu Gutsy

When no desktop environment is detected, xdg-open falls back to a generic mechanism based on run-mailcap. This is rather limited as it depends on file extensions. It would seem better to use file or probably xdg-mime to choose how to open the file.

The mime type could be fetched with:

file --mime "$1"

and extracted from the output and prepended to the filename before passing to run-mailcap.

However, it looks to me like a better option would be to use xdg-mime, since xdg-mime query default "$1" will give you the default application to open the file.

[auquicu (agsimo)]

xdg-open is broken on Ubuntu, and the suggested change would not improve it.
The whole idea of having xdg-utils is to have a uniform utility that works the same on all distributions.
Now xdg-open honors the BROWSER environment variable, but Ubuntu patches it to use run-mailcap instead, thus introducing two important differences between distributions.
If a utility needs a browser and asks vanilla xdg-open it will get one. But on Ubuntu the patched xdg-open may give some random utility such as
html2text. This means that Ubuntu breaks all such utilities.

[Lei Zhang (thestig-google)]

Indeed. As an example, run-mailcap doesn't know how to handle directories. So on non-KDE/Gnome desktops, xdg-open /home fail.

The fix is simple - do what upstream xdg-open does. Rather than bailing out when run-mailcap fails, fallback to sensible-browser. Attached are *trivial* patches for Hardy and Jaunty/Karmic.

[Lei Zhang (thestig-google)]

Upstreaming https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xdg-utils/+bug/220765

Original report:
----
When no desktop environment is detected, xdg-open falls back to a generic mechanism based on run-mailcap. This is rather limited as it depends on file extensions. It would seem better to use file or probably xdg-mime to choose how to open the file.

The mime type could be fetched with:

file --mime "$1"

and extracted from the output and prepended to the filename before passing to run-mailcap.

However, it looks to me like a better option would be to use xdg-mime, since xdg-mime query default "$1" will give you the default application to open the file.
----

IMO, xdg-mime does a better job of figuring out what program to open a given file with. xdg-mime also uses defaults.list, which might be part of a fd.o spec? OTOH, run-mailcap is a Debian-ism that doesn't exist on all distros. Thus in open_generic(), we should try to use xdg-mime first before falling back to run-mailcap.

[Lei Zhang (thestig-google)]

I filed a bug upstream: http://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=23280

[Tuxdev103 (tuxdev103)]

Created an attachment (id=30974)
look up mime type and association and run associated app if possible

The original comes from Slackware's xdg-utils-1.0.2. Not sure where run-mailcap fits in here exactly..

[Lei Zhang (thestig-google)]

Ping. The patch posted in comment 1 looks decent. Can you review?

[Fathi Boudra (fboudra)]

The proposed patch couldn't be commited as-is.
I commited another fix based on the proposal:
http://webcvs.freedesktop.org/portland/portland/xdg-utils/scripts/xdg-open.in?r1=1.25&r2=1.26

Let me know if you have a regression or if I missed something ;)

[danmb (danmbox)]

Why hasn't the patch been incorporated? It's absolutely ridiculous that xdg-mime and xdg-open do entirely different things. I'm using Lucid and still this is a problem (Google Chrome uses xdg-open and I have no desktop env)

[Pavlo Bohmat (bohm)]

I have only fluxbox, not DE. Ubuntu 10.10
Still this is a problem Chromium 10.0.608.0 (68926) uses xdg-open and enters into a stupor at the "Open" the saved file, or "Always open files of this type" !!! Vicious cycle of downloads: browser -> xdg, xdg-> browser and so again 50-60 download!!! a distribution for people, what place?
I have the same problem with chromium and transmission-gtk, to add torrent to my transmission-gtk. Browser itself opens a file with xdg...

 ~$ chromium-browser
Gtk-Message: (for origin information, set GTK_DEBUG): failed to retrieve property `gtk-enable-event-sounds' of type `gboolean' from rc file value "((GString*) 0x7f8ba5484900)" of type `gboolean'
Gtk-Message: (for origin information, set GTK_DEBUG): failed to retrieve property `gtk-enable-input-feedback-sounds' of type `gboolean' from rc file value "((GString*) 0x7f8ba5484760)" of type `gboolean'
Gtk-Message: (for origin information, set GTK_DEBUG): failed to retrieve property `gtk-button-images' of type `gboolean' from rc file value "((GString*) 0x7f8ba54846e0)" of type `gboolean'
Gtk-Message: (for origin information, set GTK_DEBUG): failed to retrieve property `gtk-menu-images' of type `gboolean' from rc file value "((GString*) 0x7f8ba5484860)" of type `gboolean'
[4653:4667:23525915482:ERROR:chrome/browser/extensions/extension_protocols.cc(135)] Denying load of chrome-extension://hcamnijgggppihioleoenjmlnakejdph/sounds/boing.mp3 from about:blank because the extension does not have access to the requesting page.
[4653:4667:23525988469:ERROR:chrome/browser/extensions/extension_protocols.cc(135)] Denying load of chrome-extension://gffjhibehnempbkeheiccaincokdjbfe/notify.mp3 from about:blank because the extension does not have access to the requesting page.
[4653:4667:23526167546:ERROR:chrome/browser/extensions/extension_protocols.cc(135)] Denying load of chrome-extension://hcamnijgggppihioleoenjmlnakejdph/sounds/boing.mp3 from about:blank because the extension does not have access to the requesting page.
sh: transmission: not found
Warning: program returned non-zero exit code #127
Gtk-Message: (for origin information, set GTK_DEBUG): failed to retrieve property `gtk-enable-event-sounds' of type `gboolean' from rc file value "((GString*) 0x7febbc8ad900)" of type `gboolean'
Gtk-Message: (for origin information, set GTK_DEBUG): failed to retrieve property `gtk-enable-input-feedback-sounds' of type `gboolean' from rc file value "((GString*) 0x7febbc8ad760)" of type `gboolean'
Gtk-Message: (for origin information, set GTK_DEBUG): failed to retrieve property `gtk-button-images' of type `gboolean' from rc file value "((GString*) 0x7febbc8ad6e0)" of type `gboolean'
In the current browser session creates a new window.
sh: transmission: not found
Warning: program returned non-zero exit code #127
Gtk-Message: (for origin information, set GTK_DEBUG): failed to retrieve property `gtk-enable-event-sounds' of type `gboolean' from rc file value "((GString*) 0x7f99ce115900)" of type `gboolean'
Gtk-Message: (for origin information, set GTK_DEBUG): failed to retrieve property `gtk-enable-input-feedback-sounds' of type `gboolean' from rc file value "((GString*) 0x7f99ce115760)" of...

[danmb (danmbox)]

Workaround available in my PPA,

https://launchpad.net/~danmbox/+archive/ppa

With a backported xdg-utils from Maverick plus two pathes picked up from upstream (freedesktop.org) the problem is solved. Let's hope for a new release in natty, followed by a Lucid backport. This is not an acceptable state of affairs for an LTS release.

[Pavlo Bohmat (bohm)]

Chromium 11.0.654.0 (73098) Ubuntu "Natty" and xdg-utils_1.1.0~rc1-1_all.deb :OK

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

the fix is in the current version of Ubuntu

[Ben (ben2talk)]

Is this bug responsible for my files opening (via Chromium/Miro) with Nautilus instead of the correct mime assocated in Nautilus?

i.e. If I open files in Nautilus, behaviour is normal (torrent > Deluge etc) but if I download a .torrent in Chromium, it opens with Nautilus - and from there it opens normally with Deluge.

Why does everything open with Nautilus from applications?