Should provide Right-Click->Format...

This suggestion could be forwarded upstream.

GNOME indeed doesn't provide a 'format disk' program. The closest is gparted, which doesn't get installed by default and must be run as root.

Some work has been done in gnome-format, which was proposed for GNOME 2.22 at one point but this hasn't been packaged.

http://live.gnome.org/gnome-format

I agree that this is a bug and was indeed going to write a bug report myself but came across this one. Thanks Paul :)

Paul has mentioned all the places where an average user would search for this task, but here is what should also be taken into account:

1. Formatting an usb stick should NOT request admin priviledges.
- In a business environment, this should be a task that a user can do himself, without contacting the support personnel (this is why I had to take my workplace's usb stick home to be formatted, as our office's Windows XP did not let me do it...).

2. There should be a choice for which file system to use.
- This should default to the one already residing on the stick for a fast re-format, but should the user need to, there would be an options-button for a full list of file systems to use.

Thanks,
Mikko

In jaunty the gnome-format tool has been released: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/316908.

Maybe there's missing some integration with nautilus contextual menus (right-click) on devices.

People on GNOME are going to use an extension to nautilus called nautilus-gdb. Problem is that bug on upstream is unconfirmed. ¿Any proposed dates?

See:
- http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=353821#c3
- https://admin.fedoraproject.org/pkgdb/packages/name/nautilus-gdu

related blueprints:
https://blueprints.edge.launchpad.net/nautilus/+spec/simple-usb-format
https://blueprints.edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/reformat-usb-jumpdrive

Echoing what Juan said, gdu-format-tool seems like the best fit for this, given that it uses both devicekit-disks and policykit, and is written by the upstream for devicekit. We include gnome-disk-utility in karmic universe, but the Debian binary package does not include gdu-format-tool.

And Diskettes???? Gparted can't format

Thank you for bringing this bug to our attention. Unfortunately a paper cut should be a small usability issue that affects many people and is quick and easy to fix. I'm afraid this bug can't be addressed as part of this project. As this requires new packages to be added to Ubuntu, it cannot be considered trivial to fix.

Good news!
This feature is included in Karmic now (i saw it today on nautilus-2.27.91/Gnome 2.27.91)
So i change the status of the bug to fix released!

e this option (they are random-access read/write media like floppies or USB drives, so it should do it for DVD-RAM media just as it does for others).

Also, the option does not show up in the places sidebar for media; only in Computer.

Work has progressed, but this bug isn't fixed completely yet.

Format in a context menu is a very risky move! It should *not* be accessible so easily.
A context menu is only for commonly used actions and format is not a commonly used action for *most* users.

The sensible location for this option is in the properties window , similar to how Windows does it.

I have literally been scared to even click on that option , for fear of loosing the contents of the partition. :(
BTW , what does it do? instant format? or open Palimpsest / gparted?

Since this has not been done this way , I'd like to know how to prevent it from being present in the context menu.

It presents a dialog with what appears to be a very underpopulated list of filesystem choices not based on what the system is capable of doing. The clue that it does not take immediate action but presents a dialog is that the text is "format..." not "format" (note the ellipsis).

Ideally, this functionality should Just Work for all read/write media. If I put a floppy or DVD-RAM in and it is unformatted, I should additionally get a dialog asking me if I'd like to format the device. (And in the event that the device *is* formatted, but has a filesystem that isn't understood by the local system, that can be detected and a dialog can appear that says "support for this filesystem isn't installed" or something like that.)

For read/write media, I should be able to right-click, select format, and be able to choose any filesystem that is supported for creation on my system. I should be able to format using FAT12/16/32, various versions of UDF, ext2/3/4, btrfs, and so forth. The tool should provide sanity checks as well, so that if someone is formatting a 1 GB device neither FAT12 or Minix filesystems are options, as an example. (Minix filesystems are still useful when using very old floppy disks...)

It is a nice touch that it supports formatting logical volumes. Still, it needs more love.

Glad to hear there is progress in this =)

It is embarrassing when Ubuntu can't do such basic operations without
using the console! This is one step in bringing the OS in bar with other
modern systems.

Michael is right about the need for options. I am keen with the
simplicity of Gnome when it doesn't ask too many questions but just does
the job, but there are _many_ places where I would like to see Other
Options... -button. And this is definately such occasion.

Happy hacking,
Mikko

Michael B. Trausch: Thanks , \o/ good to know i wont accidentally format my drives.

But i would still feel more comfortable if these options are better of placed in the Properties as a separate "Format" tab.

On Sun, 2009-09-06 at 09:03 +0000, mac_v wrote:
>
> But i would still feel more comfortable if these options are better of
> placed in the Properties as a separate "Format" tab.

Having come from another system, I am sure that is what makes sense.
TBH, that was something I hated.

My opinion is that functionality should be there for users to get to
without digging terribly far. Context menus are great places for things
like that. But "Properties→Format" isn't really intuitive. Formatting
a drive isn't a property of it. The filesystem that it currently
contains is a property.

What *would* be an interesting thing, though, having to do with
properties as you mention it, would be to have a "Change..." button next
to the filesystem type in the properties dialog, so that you can change
the filesystem of media. (Certain filesystems would have to have the
Change... button deactivated, such as currently-mounted filesystems like
the root filesystem, or be able to play with the system boot-up process
and be able to do things like reboot, change the root filesystem to a
different one, and then start up normally.)

While that would be an interesting option, that would have to be a
different bug report, though.

This should already be fixed in both Karmic and Lucid. Therefore I'm marking it as Fix Released.
Thanks!

maybe some backport for Jaunty might be usefull

I like Jaunty
I hate Karmic
I wait for Lucid

Unfortunately this depends on large changes to underlying hardware management system and it would be impossible to forward this to Jaunty without changing it into a half Karmic.

There is a major security flaw with this new functionality, why should non-admin users be permitted to format storage?

Formatting using existing tools such as gparted require a sudo password, but now Linux bypasses this obvious security requirement for some nebulous user convenience, what is this OS becoming, Windows?

Fine that users with Administration rights have this sort of functionality, but non-admin users should not have this capability either through Nautilus or the Disk Utility.

I'm putting in a security bug now over this.

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/nautilus/+bug/595825

On Fri, 2010-06-18 at 07:14 +0000, David Clayton wrote:
> There is a major security flaw with this new functionality, why should
> non-admin users be permitted to format storage?

A normally privileged desktop user should be able to format media. Are
you saying that there is no way to disable this functionality, or no way
to say that users must be in a certain group to do so? I know that at
least in my case, my standard user has membership in the "admin" group,
and therefore ought to be able to format media.

Now, I just created an unprivileged desktop user and attempted to format
both an internal HDD and a USB mass storage device, and in both events I
was requested to authenticate as my privileged system user so that my
request would be carried out. I think that might even be overkill;
block devices that are already available when the user logs in are
obviously to be protected. However, if I sit down at someone else's
computer, and I put in a new USB drive that I just purchased, I
*certainly* should be able to format it. That is, unless I am also not
allowed to use external media on the system, but then it's a moot point,
isn't it?

> Formatting using existing tools such as gparted require a sudo
> password,
> but now Linux bypasses this obvious security requirement for some
> nebulous user convenience, what is this OS becoming, Windows?

No, it's using PolicyKit to determine whether or not the user is
privileged according to system policy. If you don't like the system
policy, change it!

> Fine that users with Administration rights have this sort of
> functionality, but non-admin users should not have this capability
> either through Nautilus or the Disk Utility.
>
> I'm putting in a security bug now over this.

Where is the security bug? Authorization to perform the task must still
be granted to the user, and you can easily create accounts that lack the
privileges required to format both internal and external media. It
sounds to me like you are filing a security bug without even attempting
to understand the system and how it works, or having tested out the idea
of using a nonprivileged user account to see if you can still format
things.

My word, where did critical thinking and evaluation skills go? Have
they disappeared altogether or something? I am really sick of seeing
uninformed posts claiming faults in a system that isn't even understood
by the people screaming that a fault exists. What a shame.

I created a new user with the standard "Desktop User" privileges, checked that it did not have System Admin rights and then logged in as that user. I put in a USB drive and I can right-click format that drive *without* any further restriction or Authorisation request, so yes I do think that is a security problem.

If formatting media is suddenly allowed BY DEFAULT for normal "Desktop Users" (I do not believe that it was available before this Ubuntu release like this, all formatting functions required sudo access) without requiring Authorisation then I'd like to know where the line of Admin versus Desktop Users privileges actually is now?

could you avoid commenting on closed bugs? the default desktop profile is made for standalone desktop users and allows you to do things like changing time or formating removable devices, doesn't seem a security issues, you can uninstall policykit-desktop-privileges or tweak the policykit configuration for your need if you disagree with those choices

Hi David!

I'm one of those who requested this behavior.

I was stunned by the fact that, as a normal user, I couldn't do such
simple tasks as formatting my usb memory stick which had stopped
working.

In a modern system, you should be able to right click and select
Format... and just do it.

If you don't like this behaviour, that's a shame, as it is just what
Ubuntu represents to me - an easy to use system, where things just work
=)

Mikko Saarinen

P.S. I know other people would claim that OSX is for that, but why not
do our best to give people a real choice with Linux too.

pe, 2010-06-18 kello 08:23 +0000, David Clayton kirjoitti:
> I created a new user with the standard "Desktop User" privileges,
> checked that it did not have System Admin rights and then logged in as
> that user. I put in a USB drive and I can right-click format that drive
> *without* any further restriction or Authorisation request, so yes I do
> think that is a security problem.
>
> If formatting media is suddenly allowed BY DEFAULT for normal "Desktop
> Users" (I do not believe that it was available before this Ubuntu
> release like this, all formatting functions required sudo access)
> without requiring Authorisation then I'd like to know where the line of
> Admin versus Desktop Users privileges actually is now?
>