can't move link type .desktop files around on desktop

[Florian Diesch]

* Impact
links can't be moved on the desktop

* Test case

Save the following as e.g. test.desktop in your ~/Desktop folder and try to move it around on the desktop:

[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Type=Link
Name=test
URL=https://launchpad.net/index.html

* Regression potential
Dnd should keep working

------------------

If I have a .desktop file with Type=Link on my desktop and try to move it around it doesn't stay where I drop it but goes back where it was before and tries to download the URL it is referring to instead.

Save the following as e.g. test.desktop in your ~/Desktop folder and try to move it around on the desktop:

[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Type=Link
Name=test
URL=https://launchpad.net/index.html

This affects at least 13.10 and 14.04.

 In 13.10 Nautilus crashes if the URL as a file:// URL referring to a file on your desktop.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.04
Package: nautilus 1:3.10.1-0ubuntu3
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.13.0-7.26-generic 3.13.1
Uname: Linux 3.13.0-7-generic i686
ApportVersion: 2.13.2-0ubuntu2
Architecture: i386
CurrentDesktop: Unity
Date: Mon Feb 10 14:06:24 2014
GsettingsChanges:

InstallationDate: Installed on 2013-10-11 (122 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 13.10 "Saucy Salamander" - Beta i386 (20130925.1)
ProcEnviron:
 TERM=xterm
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set>
 LANG=de_DE.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/zsh
SourcePackage: nautilus
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to trusty on 2013-12-07 (64 days ago)

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

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

[Alberto Salvia Novella (es20490446e)]

It's a usability issue that doesn't limit the functionality of a core package.

[bitinerant (bitinerant)]

This bug makes saving URLs to the desktop unusable (e.g. from Firefox). In addition, Nautilus crashes if moving multiple files at once if the .desktop file contains certain types of URLs.

Steps to reproduce crash:

  * save this as test.desktop on the Ubuntu desktop:

[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=test
Type=Link
URL=https://www.google.com/contacts/?hl=en&tab=mC#contacts/group/40/Directory
Icon=text-html
Name[en_US]=test

  * create an empty directory on the Ubuntu desktop
  * use the mouse to draw a box around these two icons and then move them together to another place on the desktop

[Felix Kay (felix-kiessling)]

Probable dublicate of Bug #1310864.

See there for more descriptions of unexpected behaviour when moving an URL on the desktop.

Why are URL here processed differently by the system to Files/Folders?

[Felix Kay (felix-kiessling)]

Any "workarounds"?

[Felix Kay (felix-kiessling)]

As of today moving URLs mysterically works on my desktop.

Other experiences? Please help to solve this bug. Thanks

Apport Data:

DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.04
Package: nautilus 1:3.10.1-0ubuntu9.1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.13.0-29.53-generic 3.13.11.2
Uname: Linux 3.13.0-29-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.2
Architecture: amd64
CurrentDesktop: Unity
Date: Mon Jun 23 20:07:44 2014
GsettingsChanges:
 b'org.gnome.nautilus.list-view' b'default-zoom-level' b"'smaller'"
 b'org.gnome.nautilus.list-view' b'default-column-order' b"['name', 'size', 'type', 'date_modified', 'date_accessed', 'owner', 'group', 'permissions', 'mime_type', 'where']"
SourcePackage: nautilus
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[bitinerant (bitinerant)]

Still not working for me, same nautilus 1:3.10.1-0ubuntu9.1. Felix, try the steps in post #4.

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. The issue you are reporting is an upstream one and it would be nice if somebody having it could send the bug to the developers of the software by following the instructions at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/Upstream/GNOME. If you have done so, please tell us the number of the upstream bug (or the link), so we can add a bugwatch that will inform us about its status. Thanks in advance.

[Felix Kay (felix-kiessling)]

I tried the steps in #4. Worked for me.

BUT: In fact I can't confirm nor deny the bug because I use NEMO instead of NAUTILUS FILES now for some weeks and it is all okay there..

[Gaele Strootman (gaele)]

This was already reported upstream: https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=720390

[Gaele Strootman (gaele)]

A partial workaround: use right-click and Move To... a random folder. Then move it back to the desktop. At least the links then will line up neatly to the left.

[William Maddox (wmaddox)]

Please note that this bug does not only affect links on the desktop, but appears to affect any *.desktop file of type "Link". When I drag the "Examples" link in my home directory to another folder, I get a copy of the the referenced directory "example-content".
This kind of flaw in basic functionality looks really bad to new users coming from Windows, and made 14.04 a non-starter for me until I replaced nautilus with nemo.

[Felix Kay (felix-kiessling)]

I can only endorse comment #13.

[Felix Kay (felix-kiessling)]

Can anyone test if the bug is there on Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS? Thank you.

[zwaardmeester (zwaardmeester)]

Yes it is still there in 14.04.1 LTS (I suffer the same problem with a link downloaded from Firefox).

How to reproduce:
- Click and hold the website icon in adressbar (alternatively: the lock icon) and move it to the desktop
- Try to move around this icon

:(
Bad regression IMO and even worse for new users as someone above mentioned

[skunkbad (rbgttr)]

Yes, still a problem for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. This is a major annoyance as it is very basic desktop usability issue.

[SirWeazel (sirweazel)]

How this this bug low priority for a LTS release!!! This should be basic desktop function. Grab title bar from firefox, drag to deskto to create shortcut, then unable to move the icon and receive errors and extra files created when moving. Just like mentioned above.

Ubuntu 14.04.1LTS 64bit, fresh install with VirtualBox, Citrix Reciever, chrome installed (but haven't even launched chome yet).
Firefox 32.

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

the issue has been fixed upstream with https://git.gnome.org/browse/nautilus/commit/?id=fa1211f8ed069a3a9e994249caa35e041e835030

[Felix Kay (felix-kiessling)]

Bug still persisting. Any news?

[Felix Kay (felix-kiessling)]

I am volunteering to test any fix available (Ubuntu Trusty/Nautilus). Best wishes, Felix

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

@Felix, thanks, that fix should be backported next week

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

SRUed to trusty, it's waiting on review from the SRU team next

[Brian Murray (brian-murray)]

Hello Florian, or anyone else affected,

Accepted nautilus into trusty-proposed. The package will build now and be available at https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/nautilus/1:3.10.1-0ubuntu9.7 in a few hours, and then in the -proposed repository.

Please help us by testing this new package. See https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Testing/EnableProposed for documentation how to enable and use -proposed. Your feedback will aid us getting this update out to other Ubuntu users.

If this package fixes the bug for you, please add a comment to this bug, mentioning the version of the package you tested, and change the tag from verification-needed to verification-done. If it does not fix the bug for you, please add a comment stating that, and change the tag to verification-failed. In either case, details of your testing will help us make a better decision.

Further information regarding the verification process can be found at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/QATeam/PerformingSRUVerification . Thank you in advance!

[Florian Diesch (diesch)]

1:3.10.1-0ubuntu9.7 works for me on Trusty i386

Thanks! :-)

[Felix Kay (felix-kiessling)]

»1:3.10.1-0ubuntu9.7« (Ubuntu:14.04/trusty-proposed [amd64])

Works for me too. Good work!

[Felix Kay (felix-kiessling)]

verification-done

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

This bug was fixed in the package nautilus - 1:3.10.1-0ubuntu9.7

---------------
nautilus (1:3.10.1-0ubuntu9.7) trusty; urgency=medium

  * debian/patches/git_link_dnd.patch:
    - "dnd: fix dnd issues with Type=Link desktop files" (lp: #1278437)
 -- Sebastien Bacher <email address hidden> Wed, 25 Feb 2015 16:40:16 +0100

[Scott Kitterman (kitterman)]

The verification of the Stable Release Update for nautilus has completed successfully and the package has now been released to -updates. Subsequently, the Ubuntu Stable Release Updates Team is being unsubscribed and will not receive messages about this bug report. In the event that you encounter a regression using the package from -updates please report a new bug using ubuntu-bug and tag the bug report regression-update so we can easily find any regressions.

[Michael Foley (foli)]

This is still broken or a regression in 15.04.

I can duplicate original posters test and cannot move/arrange the resulting file file with drag and drop on the Desktop.

[BarryD9545 (k-barry-x)]

I have just upgraded to 15.04, and I am having the same issue.

[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=Link to Server Settings
Type=Link
URL=http://192.168.1.2:9000/settings/index.html?player=
Icon=/usr/share/icons/Custom/Logitech.png
Name[en_US]=Admin

Sorting and removing the COMMENT, as shown:

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Admin
Encoding=UTF-8
Type=Link
Icon=/usr/share/icons/Custom/Logitech.png
URL=http://192.168.1.2:9000/settings/index.html?player=

Changed the error to:

There was an error copying the file into /home/Barry/Desktop
...
Error opening file '/': is a directory

Note that in gedit, it is only shaded after the first slash (/).
This, combined with the error message aboput copying a directory, is giving the appearance that only HTTP:/ is being read.

Of course, I'm also trying to move, not copy,

[Simon Rigét (simon-riget)]

This is a very basic desktop usability issue. Its a shame it still persists, now 2 years later in version 15.10
This is the sort of thing that makes Ubuntu unusable for regular human beings. It should have been long gone...

[Ian (imyxhuang)]

A few discoveries in 15.10:
1. This bug doesn't affect non-URL type files.
2. (URL files only) Comment four doesn't work for me. Nautilus just crashes and all my files disappear until I log out and log back in.
3. (URL files only) If I repeat comment four with a file instead of a directory, it doesn't move anything but creates a new file-'thisismyurl.com (http)'.

But yeah, as far as bugs go this seems fairly trivial (but annoying) to me :D.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

This bug was fixed in the package nautilus - 1:3.18.2-1ubuntu1

---------------
nautilus (1:3.18.2-1ubuntu1) xenial; urgency=medium

  * New version (lp: #1463662) and resynchronize on Debian
    - better layout in the icons view (lp: #589433, #1019298)
    - can move link type .desktop (lp: #1278437)
  * The update uses GtkHeaderBar decorations and has no menubar for now,
    the menus are coming back later and UI is likely to be tweaked again
    based on the feedback from this version
  * Removed changed, deprecated or included in the new version
  * debian/patches/revert_remove_unused_GtkActions.patch:
  * debian/patches/restore-traditional-menu-bar.patch:
    - not needed with the new proper menubar changeset
  * debian/patches/11_copy_skipping_pager.patch:
    - the new version has no copy dialog
  * debian/patches/14_bring_del_instead_ctrl_del.patch:
    - resolved in the new version
  * debian/patches/git_name_column.patch,
    debian/patches/git_multiple_desktop_names.patch,
    debian/patches/git_file_dnd.patch,
    debian/patches/git_sidebar_selection.patch,
    debian/patches/git_slot_order.patch,
    debian/patches/git_unmount_seg.patch,
    debian/patches/git_valid_list.patch,
    debian/patches/git_nomodel_segfault.patch,
    debian/patches/git_open_dir_with.patch,
    debian/patches/git_wrap_label.patch,
    debian/patches/git_null_uri.patch,
    debian/patches/git_revert_location_entry.patch,
    debian/patches/ignore-no-desktop-if-not-first-launch.patch,
    0001-application-use-correct-order-to-watch-for-GSettings.patch:
    - included in the new version
  * Remaining changes
  * debian/control.in:
    - Build-Depends on dh-migrations, libunity-dev,
      updated gnome-pkg-tools requirement
    - lower gnome-sushi Recommends to a Suggests
    - don't recommends gnome-icon-theme-symbolic it's deprecated
    - nautilus-data should not need to recommends nautilus,
      lower to a suggests so file-roller doesn't bring in nautilus
  * debian/changelog, debian/rules: set epoch number (which was added by error)
  * debian/mount-archive.desktop:
  * debian/mount-archive.desktop.in:
    - New nautilus context menu item to allow mounting zip, iso, etc
  * debian/nautilus.install:
    - don't move the autostart to usr
    - install mount-archive menu
    - install nautilus-folder-handler.desktop
  * debian/nautilus-data.install:
    - install apport hook
  * debian/nautilus-folder-handler.desktop:
    - ship a copy of nautilus.desktop with NoDisplay=true since some user
      configurations refer to it
  * debian/nautilus.migrations,
    debian/nautilus-unity-launcher-icon-rename.py:
    - change the nautilus.desktop entry in the unity configuration to the
      new org.gnome.Nautilus name (lp: #1436297)
  * debian/source_nautilus.py:
    - Apport hook to list versions of files in /usr/lib/nautilus and reassign
      the crashes when there are not due to nautilus code directly
  * debian/rules:
    - use dh_migrations and build compat desktop entries
  * debian/patches/03_translations_list_update.patch:
    - Translate the mount-archive menu entry
  * debian/patches/04_suppress_umount_in_ltsp.patch:
    - Don't list unmount and eject...

[qolyx (qolyx-aesc)]

Please fix it, this is very bad and very uncomfortable!

[Matt Billx (mbbillx)]

I am having the same problems reported in this thread. Does anyone find this humorous and ironic:

Ubuntu.com takes us to a website titled "The leading OS for PC, tablet, phone and cloud | Ubuntu"... and (despite the websites self-acclamation) dragging a link to that location on our desktop-workspace produces a link which is (for all practical purposes) useless as a desktop-link.

Sure, a link is created entitled "Link to The leading OS for PC, tablet, phone and cloud | Ubuntu" BUT! That link cannot be moved, and any attempt to do so merely creates a copy of the file, meaning we cannot organize our workspace, thereby rendering our Ubuntu desktop disorganized/unorganizable for internet projects.

Please tell me how Ubuntu claims to be "The leading OS for PC, tablet, phone and cloud | Ubuntu" when this basic feature of organizing one's "desktop" is practically unusable.

[Jacob (jacob11)]

How is this fixed?

I just downloaded 16.04 after a five year break from Linux. It was too many headaches back then. Just trying to print or install a program turned into days long ordeals. Drivers, dependencies, ahhhh AHHHHH!!!!! I just want to get some work done.

Now I'm back for another try and I don't even have it on my computer an hour. I try to move some desktop links so my desktop doesn't look like a sh*thole and the weblink won't move. Then it tries to copy and copy itself like some rabbit 4uckfest.

I'm off to the Apple store.

[Ryan (ryanjdillon)]

According to the patch comments, it looks like it is fixed from nautilus 3.15.4 onwards. I am running Ubuntu 16.04.1 LTS and the "latest" version of nautilus I am running is 3.14.3. Sucks.

[Greg Malone (gmalone)]

Affirming that I can reproduce the "can't drag a link icon around on the desktop" issue on 16.04

When reporting it separately was referred to this thread by sysop. Looks like this issue's been around a long while.

Like has been said, doesn't prevent core functionality of Ubuntu or Nautilus, but is a rather up-front issue -- because it's a basic desktop action -- that causes consternation at times.

Still, I really appreciate Unity desktop.

[dash (dash-r)]

Just upgraded to 16.04 LTS and a desktop URL link icon can't be dragged around. When trying to drag such an icon, where it would be dropped appears a copy of the webpage referred to.

WHY DO YOU HAVE TO SUCK SO MUCH? WHY IS INCOMPETENCE THE NORM?

[Greg Malone (gmalone)]

All together now, breath through your nose... Ahhhh... that's better.

Yes, this is a longstanding issue, but maintaining a major component of an OS is no small task, I'm sure you know. The Unity desktop dev team, I'm sure, are working their tails off to improve the s/ware, which includes prioritizing the issues.

I share your concern, though, and hope to see this issue resolved sooner than later.

Kinda goes with choosing Linux as one's OS... it has gotten so much more solid over the last decade, but still shows seams here and there.

Now, exhale.... !

[Lonewar (lonewar)]

Still having this issue on 16.04

[Ken Wagner (beaucoder)]

Still having issue on 16.04.1. Even after updates and a dist-upgrade.

Are we any closer to a resolution?

Or is there a reliable workaround?

Thanks.

Ken Wagner

[alfie (alfie-original)]

still same issue 16.04

[K W (kw23)]

I am also having this issue in 16.04, std/default desktop install.

Here's a work-around. Edit the ~/Desktop/xxxx.desktop file to remove the "URL" entry (e.g. change "URL=http..." to "xxURL=http..."). (Perhaps also need to change the "Type-=Link" line as well -- not sure.) Doing this made the desktop icon movable for me. Once you have the icon where you want it, undo the edits of the *.desktop file.

So it seems to be the presence of the URL entry in the *.desktop file which causes the problem.

[William Maddox (wmaddox)]

I am running Ubuntu 16.04.2 and still see the bug. I downloaded the source package nautilus_3.18.4.is.3.14.3-0ubuntu5 and observed that the upstream patch referenced in comment #19 was *not* present. I applied the patch, ran configure/make, and the resulting nautilus binary no longer exhibited the bug. Can we get an updated package for 16.04? It seems it would ease the pain for a lot of people and should be easy to do. I'm not an Ubuntu or Debian developer, and do not know the niceties of preparing a proper package for distribution.

[sunnix (sunnix)]

Hi William, for me these two lines in the terminal solve the problem (by adding the gnome3 repository to my system and upgrade), first:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3

then:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade