Hi,
I like saving links to internet addresses (URLs) in folders so they are stored together with other files related to the same project. So, I drag and drop the URL from the URL box to the desktop and get a file of the type .desktop.
When I click the file icon, my browser (firefox.sh) opens and displays the internet site. Firefox is the standard browser of the system.
But when I open a folder with Dolpin, move the .desktop file to this folder, and then try to open the .desktop file from there, there is an error message "program firefox.desktop cannot be found", and the address line of Dolphin changes from the path of the folder to something like "http://www.wetteronline.de/wolken/". One computer behaves like this, the other properly displays the internet site in the browser. Weird ...
I'm using Kubuntu 12.04 with KDE 4.8.5.
Here an example:
The file name displayed in Dolpin is "http:⁄⁄www.wetteronline.de⁄wolken.desktop"
The file name in the file properties window is "http:⁄⁄www.wetteronline.de⁄wolken"
The content of the file is

Code: Select all

[Desktop Entry]
Icon=text-html
Name=http://www.wetteronline.de/wolken
Type=Link
URL[$e]=http://www.wetteronline.de/wolken


Can someone help me fix that?
Thanks in advance, katzinski

If you attempt to open a URL through KRunner, does that open Firefox on the system which doesn't work properly?
Also, if you edit the *.desktop file by hand, does removing the [$e] from the URL line have any effect?

katzinski wrote:One computer behaves like this, the other properly displays the internet site in the browser. Weird ...
I'm using Kubuntu 12.04 with KDE 4.8.5.

Is 4.8.5 also installed on the computer where it works? If not, then upgrading from this rather outdated version might be a good idea.

Thank you for your hints!

@ bcooksley:
Typing http://www.wetteronline.de/wolken to KRunner does open FIrefox and display that site.
Deleting [$e] from the .desktop file doesn't help, same misbehaviour.

@ freininghaus:
Is using later versions of KDE than 4.8.5 consistent with 12.4 LTS? I'm not sure because there must be some reason for distributing it with Precise Pangolin.

katzinski wrote:@ freininghaus:
Is using later versions of KDE than 4.8.5 consistent with 12.4 LTS? I'm not sure because there must be some reason for distributing it with Precise Pangolin.

I don't know if you can upgrade that Ubuntu version to anything more recent than 4.8.5. It's just that 4.8.5 is extremely outdated, and if somebody reports a bug for that version, I always wonder if the problem has been fixed already (especially since you mentioned that it works find on another machine, and you haven't said if that machine is running 4.8.5 as well, or something newer).

(FWIW, in any case this problem is not a bug in Dolphin itself, but probably in kdelibs).

Both machines run Kubuntu 12.04 LTS, KDE 4.8.5.
So, it might be neither Dolphin nor KDE itself but the worst enemy of smoothly running systems - the user .
Maybe it is caused by settings deeper which are somehow different on both machines but deeper than I have looked so far. Where should I start to check?

You can use the Kubuntu Backports ppa to update to the latest version of KDE (currently 4.12.2). I've been using it for some time on (k)ubuntu 12.04 and it is pretty stable.

On the computer which is affected by this issue, can you please try to reproduce the behaviour under a new user?

Behaves the same way as the standard user: Firefox does not open when URL.desktop is clicked in Dolphin.
BTW: Dolphin displays on the bottom line "Dolphin does not support websites; the web browser has been started" (retranslated from German).

I just observed:
Firefox closed, then ...
(a) click website.desktop file on the Desktop-> FIrefox opens and displays website;
(b) start dolphin, open folder with website.desktop file, click it -> Firefox does not open, Dolphin displays "Dolphin does not support websites; the web browser has been started" on the bottom.
Does that help locating the issue?

Hmm, unusual. And you still got the "Unable to find firefox.desktop" error in that case?
If so, please open System Settings > Default Applications > Web Browser. What settings are specified there?

Yes, the message is still there. There is the window saying "firefox.desktop cannot be found" and the bottom line of Dolphin saying "browser is started" but nothing starts.

Checking System settings > standard components* > web browser: is set to "the following web browser: firefox".
)* retranslated from German - that's where you can set file manager, email application an so on.

If you set it instead to the full path to Firefox (likely /usr/bin/firefox) then does that have any effect?

Then, it says "Konqueror cannot be found".
Browser doesn't open.

Was this at any time, or only with an instance of Firefox running?
It seems like there might be a bug somewhere, but it is hard to tell if it is with Firefox or KDE/Dolphin.