Font Viewer fails to start from dash: Unknown option --gapplication-service

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

Dropping the line

DBusActivatable=true

from the .desktop file works around the issue.

(Possible) fix:

Put a # in from of "DBusActivatable=true" in /usr/share/applications/org.gnome.font-viewer.desktop

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Font Viewer
Comment=View fonts on your system
Keywords=fonts;fontface;
Icon=preferences-desktop-font
Exec=gnome-font-viewer %u
Terminal=false
Type=Application
DBusActivatable=true
StartupNotify=true
Categories=GTK;GNOME;Utility;X-GNOME-Utilities;
MimeType=application/x-font-ttf;application/x-font-pcf;application/x-font-type1;
application/x-font-otf;
X-GNOME-Bugzilla-Bugzilla=GNOME
X-GNOME-Bugzilla-Product=gnome-font-viewer
X-GNOME-Bugzilla-Component=general
X-GNOME-Bugzilla-OtherBinaries=gnome-thumbnail-font
X-GNOME-Bugzilla-Version=3.16.2
X-Ubuntu-Gettext-Domain=gnome-font-viewer

One liner:

sudo sed -ir 's/^\(DBus\)/#\1/' /usr/share/applications/org.gnome.font-viewer.desktop

Gunnar, I suspect this is fixed with https://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-font-viewer/commit/?id=acf919c

Could you test to see if that commit fixes this bug?

Then please evaluate whether it's better to backport that commit to xenial or backport 3.20.2 instead. If you think 3.20.2 makes sense for xenial, then please link to the NEWS file in this bug's description.

Nice catch, Jeremy. Haven't tested (at least not yet), but given the error message the OP found in /var/log/syslog, that's most certainly it.

OTOH, other changes seems to consist of minor bug fixes and translations updates, so personally, and since there are no depencency issues involved, I still think this proposed backport makes sense.

Thanks. I don't have the right permissions to sponsor this for you. :(

unsubscribing sponsors, there doesn't seem to be a debdiff or update ready for sponsoring

Thank you. I have the right permissions now and uploaded this to xenial's unapproved queue.

Hello Rinzwind, or anyone else affected,

Accepted gnome-font-viewer into xenial-proposed. The package will build now and be available at https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-font-viewer/3.16.2-1ubuntu1 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!

I installed gnome-font-viewer 3.16.2-1ubuntu1 from xenial-proposed, and could successfully start it from the Dash.

I can confirm post #11.

The verification of the Stable Release Update for gnome-font-viewer 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.

This bug was fixed in the package gnome-font-viewer - 3.16.2-1ubuntu1

---------------
gnome-font-viewer (3.16.2-1ubuntu1) xenial; urgency=medium

  * debian/patches/gapplication.patch:
    Use GApplication commandline handling to fix Font Viewer failing to start
    (LP: #1607937).

 -- Gunnar Hjalmarsson <email address hidden> Wed, 10 Aug 2016 18:37:00 +0200