Gnome's Places menu starts Konqueror instead of Nautilus

Happens to me :|

And its really annoying! :(

Happens with xubuntu-desktop too, file bookmarks open in thunar. And if you got all 3(ubuntu, kubuntu, xubuntu) bookmarks open in konqueror.

I can confirm this bug.

Thanks for your bug. I've forwarded the issue upstream: http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=336541

This upload fixes the issue:

 desktop-file-utils (0.10-1ubuntu9) dapper; urgency=low
 .
   * debian/defaults.list:
     - assign application/x-debian-package to gdebi.desktop
     - make nautilus the default to open a directory (Ubuntu: #35997)

The deskbar still opens thunar though! I've installed all three desktop environments as well .. ubuntu, kubuntu and xubuntu as last. Interestingly if i right click a folder in nautilus and go to properties i can see the default application to be thunar but i can't change it: it seems locked! Whats going on?

That's because Thunar-folder-handler.desktop declares handling "x-directory/gnome-default-handler", which is not a mimetype but a something special using by GNOME probably ... could some xubuntu guy change that before dapper?

If thunar can handle that, and the user installed thunar, is it surprising that is does that? From what I know, apps can say what they handle and that's it. Policy is decided by the user, or the sysadmin who modifies the system wide settings of these associsations. So I still don't think thunar is at fault here if it handles something it can handle. If it does not integrate well with Places or does something badly, I agree.
Similar things can be said about many apps in a mixed desktop environment. For example installing nautilus on an xfce system and running it, takes over the desktop (default behaviour) and file manager roles. People complain repeatedly on the xfce ML but that's how it is supposed to be: policy is not up to the app. Can we ask make nautilus not take over the desktop and have a --with-desktop as an opt-in option? I don't think so :)
I'll notify thunar upstream, maybe there is a solution, or indeed this is not intended behaviour. If it annoys people we could override this I guess. It's just that I am not sure it is 'correct'.

"x-directory/gnome-default-handler" is not a mimetype, grep to /usr/share/mime by example for it, it's not listed, is there any reason to use it for the MimeType line?

The default assignations are set this way with GNOME:
$ grep directory /etc/gnome/defaults.list
inode/directory=nautilus-folder-handler.desktop
x-directory/normal=nautilus-folder-handler.desktop

We could list "x-directory/gnome-default-handler" from it too, but since that's not a public mimetype that would not be optimal neither

nautilus has a "--no-desktop" and a gconf key to not take over the desktop too ...

"If thunar can handle that, and the user installed thunar, is it surprising that is does that?"

Yes and no. Its ok that it is set as default. But I'm not allowed to change it anyway. I can see that thunar is associated in nautilus (file-properties, open-with tab), but i'm not allowed to change it.

And it would suprise me if uninstalling xubuntu-desktop and then thunar (manually) would 'fix' this.

Eventhough, nautilus (which is also a bug) ignores the default and opens a folder in nautilus instead. Konqueror does the same. Confusingly konquer isn't even listed.

The location menu on the other hand still opens nautilus. Whereas firefox's right click -open folder on a download also opens thunar. Amarok opens konqueror though.

It seems the file associations between xfce and gnome are linked, but the kde-world is seperate. Which is perhaps this is the best plan for xfce/gnome as well. Esspecially if you want to be able to use both. But to fix this more thoroughly might be too late for dapper.

For all its worth: we need a more general hack than just hardcode the locations menu to use nautilus.

your comment is not really clear but what is required is for thunar to stop declaring it opens "x-directory/gnome-default-handler" type

i'm sorry. I was just trying to list which programs open which file-browser to show that its seems a bit arbituary.

Your suggested fix seems the right fix for now. Then again it might break some things in Xubuntu: like the open-map option in firefox which also depends on same configuration. As well as the desktop-search that is using the same configuration. Otherwise you'll have these programs open nautilus on Xubuntu rather than thunar.

Is it possible to have these settings load depending on which desktop I login to? So when i login to Xfce, it does use this configuration, but when i login to Gnome it does not?

why would xfce require "x-directory/gnome-default-handler" which is as indicated by the name something for GNOME? a folder is "x-directory/normal" and associating to that mimetype should be enough. For a list by desktop I'll let the xfce maintainers reply, we use /etc/gnome/defaults.list, they could probably use a different list easily

I wasn't trying to debate. You problely know whats best anyway. Just pointing out that firefox, deskbar, desktop-search and the like use the same setting, so i figured (with all my lack of technical insights to how all this is setup) that changing this would break xubuntu.

However if i understand you correctly, they can and should use seperate configuration files. Well, that sounds perfect to me :-).

To reply to the upstream comment, directory is not a special type. Setting a default mimetype doesn't require playing with a different type, that's basically how apps for a mimetype work:
- the .desktop lists the mimetype to MimeType=
- update-desktop-database makes a list "Mimetype:<list of apps opening it>" to /usr/share/applications/mimeinfo.cache
- when trying to open <mimetype> one handler from that list is picked, if no default is set nautilus picks the first using the reversed alphabetical order
- you can set a default to /usr/share/applications/defaults.list for GNOME by example
- user can set a custom default with an user defaults.list

That works for any mimetype. A directory is from "x-directory/normal" type, setting a default is only usin "x-directory/normal=app.desktop" to the defaults.list, no need to play with a non-mimetype for that

it does not answer the two points raised there though
-firefox and possibly other apps relying on gnome-default-handler
-the default handler being overridable, not hardcoded so in theory expecting something other than nautilus to be the default gnome handler?

Do you have any situation to point of firefox using "gnome-default-handler"? That would be a firefox bug anyway

What is your point about the default handler? The default handler is for a mimetype, ie: x-directory/normal, consider x-directory/gnome-default-handler as a GNOME private namespace if you want, that's a trick they are using to assure directories have an handler when the mimebase has no x-directory handler listed

I don't know about the default handler, but if it's a firefox bug it's too late to fix it now (if at all) for dapper, and it may be used by other apps too.

if it's a GNOME private thing it should not be used by non-gnome apps. If they use it and rely on it there may be no other way for apps other than nautilus to play nice with them.

And if x-directory/gnome-default-handle is a fallback for when no x-directory is listed why it is used? AFAIk there are two such handlers listed in our case one for nautilus one for thunar?

could you describe a situation where an app rely on that association? there is no reason to not fix a bug because some app somewhere "might" be bugged

The situation described from a user-perspective:

1. Installing Xubuntu
2. Booting into Gnome
3. Download a file with firefox
4. Right click after it has finished and choose 'open containing folder'
5. You're seeing thunar now.
6. Add the deskbar to your panel. Right click, choose options and make sure 'search file and folders' had been selected.
7. Type /home in de bar and hit [enter].
8. You're looking at thunar now.
9. Choose 'search' from the locations menu
10. Type the name of any folder in your home directory
11. Double click the folder as it is listed as the result
12. You're looking at thunar gain.

- I can understand they want to change the firefox-association (since its not a gnome-app)
- But deskbar and desktop-search should stick to nautilus: they belong to gnome.

Interestingly, when I do a:
$ grep directory /etc/gnome/defaults.list

I get this as well: (no thunar listed here!)
inode/directory=nautilus-folder-handler.desktop
x-directory/normal=nautilus-folder-handler.desktop

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

 unsubscribe xubuntu-team
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Hasn't this been fixed now? Why is the bug still open upstream?

You can probably comment upstream to know why they didn't close the bug yet

I have the same problem even on 8.04 its been over a year and no one has even attempted a fix I think is kinda odd! any who From the problem I have pcman took over the menu bar/places/bookmarkname as default file manager from looking at mimeinfo.cache it looks like ubuntu/gnome is putting the mime at the front and not the end. so why cant some one just make it go to the end?

Appending "OnlyShowIn=KDE;" to kfmclient_dir.desktop dolphin.desktop and cervisia.desktop , helped. After that , "Main Menu Bar" opens Favorites in Nautilus.
I wonder if removing "OnlyShowIn=GNOME;" from nautilus will do the same thing.

My bookmarks under places opens with totem not nautilus.

It still exits in ubuntu 8.1

Is there a fix?
Its really anoying to have konqueror start up instead of nautlius. Moreover konqueror starts fullscreen in my case and i have to press F11 to reset it.

Happened to me as well. Other reports in UbuntuForums:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=970280
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=963967

My workaround was I simply delete (backup first) this file:

~/.local/share/applications/mimeapps.list

Manual fix done.

Problem--
I could not open my documents bookmark with nautilus instead of "smplayer".
1. Click on a directory (interestingly except home folder) in bookmarks menu.
2. Opens a smplayer (totem/mplayer for some users) and plays the first media file inside the directory (such as My Documents or Musics)

History--
I had upgraded dist to 9.04 and had installed "smplayer". I recall answering "would like to open video files automatically within smplayer?" alike question, as yes. Anyway, I have checked, my system mimeinfo.cache

~$ grep direc /usr/share/applications/mimeinfo.cache
x-directory/normal=nautilus-folder-handler.desktop
inode/directory=nautilus-folder-handler.desktop
x-directory/gnome-default-handler=nautilus-folder-handler.desktop

But I have found the issue inside the local mime file
~$ grep dire /home/dincer/.local/share/applications/mimeapps.list
inode/directory=smplayer.desktop;

Fix--
Anyway, I have removed "inode/directory=smplayer.desktop" from the ~/.local/share/applications/mimeapps.list file and now I am happy to open the bookmarks folders within nautilus.

Oops, wrong package name

I have version 2.28.0-0ubuntu5 of gnome-session in Karmic and I'm experiencing the same bug.
For me, however, what opens up instead of Nautilus is the Synaptic Package Manager :)

Hendy and Dinçer's fix worked for me; but because it was happening for me with Nautilus, with him with SMplayer, and with another person with Konqueror, I don't think it's can be strictly related to SMplayer. Dinçer, like you I found a similar line (referencing Synaptic naturally instead of SMplayer) inside my mimeapps.list file.

This was a really odd and annoying bug for the longest time.
Does anyone know where something like this would pop up? I'm a Linux noob and am not a developer at all.

Anyway, thanks Hendy and others for the easy fix!

Try this. Go to the places menu and click "Computer" or run Nautilus in any way you can. Then, right click "Filesystem" and go to "Properties" and select the "Open With" tab. Select the desired file manager. I selected "Open Folder" which, in GNOME just uses Nautilus. This may possibly change the file manager back to normal. Strangely, this also applies to your Home Folder, Desktop, and Bookmarks all in the places menu. Very odd indeed, since there are no "Open With" options for the home folder, desktop folder, Documents, etc. (I had this problem after installing and uninstalling PCMan, and now I just selected "Open Folder" which uses Nautilus). Try this and tell me if it has any results.

Mike: that worked for me. thanks, you're a lifesaver.

Still have no idea how Qgit was being launched instead of Nautilus though... it started happening after updating some packages (related to the window manager), but on the other hand, that may just be a coincidence.

This same thing happened to me with 10.10

I solved it by opening nautilus (Alt+F2 -> type nautilus), then right clicking on a folder, went 'Open with other application' -> Selected 'File Browser', made sure the 'Remember this application for "folder" files' was checked, and then went 'Open'.