[FIX] Evince is unable to open external link

When trying to open a external link in evince (document viewer) I got this message:

Unable to open external link
Failed to execute child process "exo-open" (Permission denied)

It seems that AppArmor is preventing evince from executing exo-open, which would handle the link.

Fix

Open a terminal window and run (two lines):

sudo ln -s /etc/apparmor.d/usr.bin.evince /etc/apparmor.d/disable/usr.bin.evince && sudo service apparmor restart

References

Evince: "Failed to execute child process" at Ubuntu Forums

[FIX] VLC is unable to open the MRL (smb://)

When I tried to open remote video files with VLC via a Samba share I got this error message:

Your input can't be opened:
VLC is unable to open the MRL 'smb://...'

It seems that this problem is related to credentials and can be fixed by entering the credentials for the Samba share in the VLC preferences (Tools > Preferences > Input / Codecs > Access Modules > SMB Input):

Note: I only experienced this problem when accessing remote files with PCManFM.

Related Posts

Install PCManFM in Xubuntu
Add support for Samba shares to Thunar

References

VLC with Samba shares at Kubuntu Forums

Install PCManFM in [X]Ubuntu

PCManFM is a lightweight file manager with support for tabs. So is a great alternative to Xfce's file manager, Thunar.

I miss the possibility of selecting files that match a pattern (like in nautilus) or finding files (catfish to the rescue), but PCManFM has built-in tools for opening current directory in terminal or as root.

Install

Open a terminal window and run:

sudo apt-get install pcmanfm -y

OR

Click here to install PCManFM

Related Posts

No Tabs for Thunar
[FIX] VLC is unable to open the MRL (smb://)

Install diodon (clipboard manager) in [X]Ubuntu 12.04 (ppa)

"Diodon is a lightweight clipboard manager for Linux written in Vala which "aims to be the best integrated clipboard manager for the Gnome/GTK+ desktop". It lightweight having a small memory footprint."

Diodon features include Ubuntu indicator, clipboard sync (primary selection and Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V clipboard) and an option to set the clipboard size.

Install

Open a terminal window and run:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:diodon-team/stable -y
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install diodon -y

Just in case you're running Ubuntu (and Unity), you might also want to install the diodon-plugins package which contains the "Unity Lens" plugin that provides access to clipboard history with the unity dash:

sudo apt-get install diodon-plugins -y

Footnotes

• Run diodon pressing Alt+F2 and type diodon before hitting return
• Access diodon clipboard history with the shortcut Ctrl+Alt+V (it can be changed in the preferences).
• Diodon will be added to Xfce session startup program list, however it's not enable. Just open "Session and Startup" settings and enable it (see this if you need help).

Related Posts

Install pastie from source in Xubuntu
Install pastie in Xubuntu (deb)

References

DIODON: A LIGHTWEIGHT CLIPBOARD MANAGER WITH UBUNTU INDICATOR APPLET SUPPORT

[FIX] Shrunk Window List in Xfce 4.10 Panel

After upgrading to Xfce 4.10 all items on the Xfce panel were align to the left. This happens because in Xfce 4.10 the "Window Buttons" panel item no longer expands, one has to add a separator and set this separator to expand.

Fix

Open a terminal window and run:

xfconf-query -c xfce4-panel -p /plugins/plugin-3/expand -n -t bool -s true

Things should be back to normal by now. But if the problem persists, open the panel preferences, check if there's a separator after the "Window Buttons" item and the separator should be set to "expand":

Related Posts

Install Xfce 4.10 in Xubuntu 12.04 Precise (ppa)

References

Xfce 4.10 tour

Install Xfce 4.10 in Xubuntu 12.04 Precise (ppa)

Xfce 4.10 has been released. Just below this paragraph are some highlights (more information is available at Xfce 4.10 tour). In the "Install" section are instructions for installing Xfce in Xubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin.

• The application finder has been completely rewritten and combines the functionality of the old appfinder and xfrun4 (press Alt+F2 and start typing the name of the application you want to open).
  
• The new settings manager groups configuration dialogs in categories and allows you to search for their names or descriptions.

• The new MIME type editor does just that. It allows you to easily assign a default application to a file type, see your changes and reset them to default settings when necessary.
  
• In 4.10 you can drag and drop a tarball with a downloaded theme onto the style or icon list. Xfce will attempt to extract and install the files into the ~/.themes or ~/.icons directory.
  
• Xfdesktop has gained support for single-click operation, automated background image cycling and thumbnail rendering.
  

Install

Open a terminal window and run:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:xubuntu-dev/xfce-4.10 -y && sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Related Posts

[FIX] Shrunk Window List in Xfce 4.10 Panel

References

Xfce 4.10 tour
INSTALL XFCE 4.10 IN XUBUNTU 12.04 PRECISE PANGOLIN VIA PPA

Video Thumbnails for Nautilus in Xubuntu 12.04

To get video thumbnails for Nautilus just follow the procedure on the "Install" section below.

Install

Open a terminal window and enter the following two lines:

sudo apt-get install ffmpegthumbnailer -y
wget -q http://goo.gl/KofKV -O- | sudo tee /usr/share/thumbnailers/video.thumbnailer

References

Thumbnailing...