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Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Ask the New Guy! If you’re new to Ubuntu, thinking about switching to Linux, or need something explained to you like you’re five, look no further. I am here to answer your very basic questions from the perspective of someone who knows he should care about the epic battle between vi and Emacs, but has a soufflé in the oven, so, yeah, no. This month, I heard from a brave gentleman named John Hughes. Presumably not the iconic director of The Breakfast Club because not only is Director John Hughes dead, I have it on good authority he was a BSD freak all the way.
Salut à tous ! Bon retour dans cette rubrique, Le petit nouveau. Si Ubuntu est une nouveauté pour vous, si vous songez à changer pour Linux ou si vous voulez qu'on vous explique un truc comme si vous aviez cinq ans, ne cherchez plus. Je suis ici pour répondre à vos questions simples et basiques du point de vue de quelqu'un qui sait que la lutte épique entre vi et Emacs devrait le passionner, mais il y a un soufflé au four, alors, ouais, non.
Ce mois-ci, un gentilhomme courageux m'a écrit. Il s'appelle John Hughes ; toutefois, il ne s'agit vraisemblablement pas du directeur emblématique du film « The Breakfast Club », puisque, non seulement John Hughes, le directeur, est mort, mais, et je tiens ceci de source sûre, il était obsédé par le BSD (Berkeley Unix) tout au long de sa vie.
Ubuntu John asks: I'm a 71 year old wannabe geek, with a question. I'm running Ubuntu 12.04, and have downloaded and installed Rainlender2 calendar. Program is great. Does just what I want. However I don't know how to make it autostart at login and show up on my desktop. Can you help? In a word, John, no. But ignorance has never kept me from flailing about like I lit myself on fire – so here goes. First of all, John was kind enough to include the version of Ubuntu he’s working with. This is very helpful to savvy Linux users. But since I’m not one of those, that information is completely wasted on me. He might as well have asked his question and then told me he slurps canned sardines from the tin. The information would be just as useful as knowing his operating system, but would have the added advantage of letting me know what kind of person asks for computing advice from a complete moron like me. Seriously, John, it’s like getting arrested for B.A.S.E. jumping, and then asking the guy who did your caricature portrait at the county fair to represent you in court.
Ubuntu John demande :
J'ai 71 ans et je me prends pour un geek, avec une question. Mon ordinateur est sous Ubuntu 12.04 et j'ai téléchargé et installé le calendrier Rainlender2. Le programme est génial et fait tout ce que je souhaitais. Cela dit, je ne sais pas comment faire en sorte qu'il démarre dès ma connexion et s'affiche sur le bureau. Pouvez-vous m'aider ?
En un mot, John, non. Mais l'ignorance ne m'a jamais empêché de m'agiter comme si j'étais poursuivi par des abeilles agressives - alors, allons-y.
Tout d'abord, John a bien voulu fournir la référence de sa version d'Ubuntu. C'est très utile pour les utilisateurs hyper calés de Linux. Mais, puisque je n'en suis pas un, c'était un gâchis d'effort de me donner ce renseignement. Il aurait pu aussi bien poser sa question, puis me dire qu'il aime engloutir les sardines directement de la boîte. Cette information me serait aussi utile que celle sur son système d'exploitation, mais aurait l'avantage supplémentaire de m'aider à cerner le genre de personne qui demande des conseils en informatique à un débile complet comme moi. Sérieusement, John c'est un peu comme si vous avez été arrêté pour avoir fait du Base Jumping (saut extrême), puis demandais au mec qui avait fait votre portrait-caricature à Montmartre de vous représenter devant les tribunaux.
You see, John, I’m running Lubuntu – which is based on Ubuntu but runs a bit better on an old IBM Thinkpad I inherited from my wife. And by “inherited” I mean “wiped the hard drive and installed a new operating system while she slept.” You would think that if I figured out your problem in Lubuntu, you could simply apply the solution to Ubuntu and be on your merry way, checking your calendar with reckless abandon. But I cannot count the number of times I’ve found a solution on a forum and then copy/pasted strings of unintelligible characters into a terminal (because no one who knows the answer to your question has ever heard of a mouse, much less graphical menus) – only to find they were meant for a different Linux flavor than mine resulting in unintended computing behaviors. Like whenever I go to shutdown my machine now, I automatically post a webcam picture of myself to Facebook.
Vous voyez, John, j'utilise Lubuntu, qui est basé sur Ubuntu, mais tourne un peu mieux sur le vieux IBM Thinkpad, hérité de mon épouse. Pour « hérité » il faut comprendre « effacé le disque dur et installé un nouveau système d'exploitation pendant son sommeil ». Vous pourriez penser que si je résous votre problème sous Lubuntu, vous pourriez tout simplement utiliser la solution sous Ubuntu et continuer tranquillement votre chemin, vérifiant le calendrier continuellement en toute insouciance.
The best I can do is explain how I got Rainlendar to autoload on Lubuntu. Maybe the process on your machine will be similar. But then again, maybe it’ll be like eating a porcupine. Dunno. Think of my guidance as a mere outline of what your eventual solution will be, a ghost image of the correct solution, which I killed with a candlestick in the conservatory. Right. So the first thing I did was type the following into Google:
Lubuntu autostart program
Here’s the top result: http://askubuntu.com/questions/81383/how-can-i-add-new-autostart-programs-in-lubuntu
Now, I know this magazine’s readers are going to give a collective gasp, but I use menus quite a bit. The cool thing (cool as in “neato!” – not cool as in, you know, actually cool) about Linux is that you can do most things by clicking on menus or by typing stuff into a terminal (which just sounds so final and scary, like a serial killer with a grudge). I have no doubt my solution can be converted to a string of characters that would make this whole thing a simple cut-and-paste job. And someday, I hope to be more proficient and knowledgeable at the command line because when you understand the command line, you understand Linux. But I don’t understand either just yet. Seriously, I barely understand toothpaste. So we’re learning together here, John. Do what works for you, I’m just telling you what worked for me. And, since this is Ask the New Guy and not Ask a Smart Guy or even Ask a Marginally Literate Guy, I’m gonna use the mouse.
So the first thing I do is click on the File Manager and type /usr/share/applications.
I find exactly what I was told I would, a folder with icons for all the programs installed on my system. Maybe it’s more accurate to say I’ve found a bunch of shortcuts to the programs on my system. Dunno, I’m New Guy, remember? Anyway, the point is, I have a place where I can find all the programs on my system in a way that’s easy to copy from. Also, I haven’t borked my system so I’m putting this one in the win column.
Next, I scroll through the icons and find Rainlendar2, right click on it and select Copy. I’ve got a copy of the program (or a copy of a link to a program or a symbolic representation of a file or whatever–look I have what I need, let’s break out the glow sticks and keep this rave going!). Now I need a place to put it.
So I type ~/.config/autostart
Wait a sec. I typed ~/.config/autostart but it takes me to /home/copil/.config/autostart? WTH?! I want my money back!
I suspect it has something to do with that pesky tilde (~) symbol. I’ve only understood it in the context of my own name (where, Lord knows, it’s given me enough grief). I have no clue what it’s doing here. Well, turns out the tilde is the Linux word for /home/username (where “username” is whatever you call your home folder). So, when I type ~/.config/autostart, it takes me to /home/copil/.config/autostart. Huh, neat trick, Linux. You can stay. . . FOR NOW. . .
As promised, the autostart folder is where I find. . . wait for it. . . A LIST OF ALL THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO AUTOSTART!
John, I am so excited at this point, I shave my legs! Hey, we all deal with success in different ways. Don’t judge me, John.
Now that I’m in the autostart folder, I simply right-click and select Paste. I’m done! Time to crack open a freshie and celebrate another milestone! Then, after a two-day celebratory bender, I double-check that the solution works. I restart my Lubuntu laptop and, sure enough, Rainlendar2 starts up without my having to find it in a menu, run it from the command line, or ask Swithins, my butler, to do it. Swithins has other things to do with his valuable time, like heat up a tubful of Evian for my daily bath.
John, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “Where do I find a decent Linux butler?” Well, I found Swithins on Craigslist in the M4P (Male for Penguin) sub-category. But you’re probably also wondering how this can help YOU since you’re not running Lubuntu. Well, you’ve been such a good sport until now, I’m going to see what I can do for you under Ubuntu 12.04.
I visit Google.com and type:
Ubuntu autostart programs
Here’s the first search result: http://www.liberiangeek.net/2012/05/windows-7-vs-ubuntu-12-04-how-to-automatically-start-programs/
Holy baloney, John! It’s even easier in Ubuntu! I could have saved myself 1,500 words (and you’d have five minutes of your life back).
Fasten your jockstrap, John, here we go!
1. Click on the gear icon in the upper right corner of your desktop 2. Select startup applications 3. In the new window, click Add 4. In the new window, click Browse 5. In the new window, click File System along the left and then double-click the usr folder 6. Now double-click the bin folder 7. Scroll down until you find Rainlendar2 (or just start typing it and it will find YOU) 8. Click Open at the bottom right of the window 9. In the new window, click Add 10. Now click “I just made Ubuntu my bey-otch” because you’re DONE!
Yes, I know I buried the lead. I could have just started with the Ubuntu solution. But we’ve both learned a little something about tildes, filepaths and autostart folders. Sometimes the search is more revealing than the solution (got that from a fortune cookie). The biggest benefit, of course, is that you and I got to spend quality time together, John.
Pardon? Oh, you don’t agree. Well then, I’ll just be on my way.
On other pages in this magazine, you’ll find command line solutions to your problems. But the command line is the deep end of the pool. I’m here to hand out floaties and water wings until we’re all ready to use the diving board. If you can use Ubuntu, then you’ll continue to use Ubuntu (also got that in a fortune cookie - the cook was a sys admin).
Hopefully I’ve shown you that stuff like this is totally doable. If I can do it then a bag of hammers can do it. Not that I’m calling you a bag of hammers, John. My answers here are designed to instill trust and confidence in users like you and me who may not think we’re capable of doing this stuff, but, turns out, we totally are!
In all seriousness, John, we appreciate your question and hopefully you’ve been able to play along at home and get your Rainlendar calendar to autostart. If not, let me know (I’ll have Swithins give you a call).
Best of luck, John!
Am I alone? Anyone else out there know how to summon the command line but fear its voodoo? Or maybe you get tired of answering the same questions over and over for new users. If so, contact me at copil.yanez@gmail.com. I’ll try to answer simple questions, or point out helpful beginner advice from the perspective of someone who loves Linux and Ubuntu but doesn’t speak source code.