Kubuntu 9.04 amd64
KDE 4.3

In System Settings (Advanced tab) I found the Device Actions settings. But when I attempt to modify one of the existing actions or add a new one I'm not presented with these new options when I insert a dvd. For example, I don't currently have k3b installed so the default actions for cds and dvds are rather pointless to keep on my system. Instead I would prefer to open video dvds in kaffeine. After adding a new option to open a video dvd in kaffeine I inserted a dvd and then clicked on my Device Notifier Widget which for some reason is still showing the k3b option and not the newly added option. I'm also curious as to why users are not allowed to remove the k3b actions. Why is the remove button grayed out when you select the default k3b actions? Instead of preventing users from deleting those options why not simply provide a restore defaults button?

The default actions cannot be removed because they are in a system area, and are managed by distribution package managers. Due to issues with the Device Notifier, you may need to restart Plasma for your new actions to have any effect.

If they do not show after restarting Plasma, then your action does not match the inserted media.

The default actions cannot be removed because they are in a system area, and are managed by distribution package managers.

The default action can be removed. You have to go to this place /usr/share/kde4/apps/solid/actions . There you can find .desktop files for each of the action listed in your System Settings (Advanced tab) > Device Actions settings. If you want to remove the action completely you have to remove the file belonging to that particular action. I suggest you to move it to some other place, may be in your home directory for backup purpose. Or else you can backup and modify the file as per your need.

I found the solution while trying to remove very annoying "Open with digiKam" action. I just moved the file digikam-opencamera.desktop to my /home/Documents folder.

BTW, I'm also on Kubuntu 9.04 amd64 with KDE 4.3.2

cheers!!

Note that when upgrading KDE your package manager will likely either encounter issues due to the missing file or simply reinstall the file.

Kubuntu 9.04
amd64

Trying to make smplayer become the default DVD player.

First, I'm using the same distro as the original poster who refers to a "Device Actions" option in System Settings. I'll be darned if I can find it. I only have the "File Assocations" option which doesn't have any entries for devices. Is there a tool to manage Device Actions in System Settings that I simply don't have installed? I thought perhaps it would appear if I ran systemsettings as root. This is a bit tricky on Kubuntu since it disallows root logins by default. I tried "kdesudo systemsettings" but didn't see any new options appear. (I've also modified the password files to enable su to root from the prompt. If I become root this way, then run systemsettings, I get an error from KDEUniqueApplication saying it cannot find the D-Bus session server. I don't seem to recall getting a similar error when I ran apps after changing to root in KDE 3.5, though.)

So I took the second route of adding a file to /usr/share/kde4/apps/solid/actions. Creating an appropriate .desktop file here does work, but I'm left wondering why this isn't available to ordinary users. Is this a security decision, limiting access to devices to the root user? Is the absence of user-level device controls a Kubuntu packaging decision alone, or is this a KDE decision? In either case, it's going to befuddle many users who simply want to change the default player for DVDs.

Is there no way to create a .desktop file in ~/.kde that overrides or supplements the system-wide settings for devices on a per-user basis?

For others who might want to alter their DVD player, my /usr/share/kde4/apps/solid/actions/smplayer-opendvd.desktop file looks like this:

Code: Select all

[Desktop Entry]
X-KDE-Solid-Predicate=[[ StorageVolume.ignored == false AND OpticalDisc.availableContent ==
 'Data|VideoDvd' ] OR [ StorageVolume.ignored == false AND OpticalDisc.availableContent ==
'Data|VideoDvd' ]]
Type=Service
Actions=open;

[Desktop Action open]
Name=Open with SMPlayer
Exec=smplayer dvd://1
Icon=smplayer
X-Ubuntu-Gettext-Domain=desktop_kdemultimedia


I'm not sure what the last line does, but I kept it identical to the entry in the existing file for Dragon Player that I used as a basis for this one. I disabled Dragon Player by renaming its file in the same directory. Now I get the right set of options, but I'd like to change the order in which they appear. Any hints as to what controls that order when I click on the DVD in the Device Notifier widget?

I spent a good hour searching for a solution to this problem; this is the only discussion I could find. Perhaps I'm just unusual in wanting to change the default device actions, but I doubt it. There are too many players floating around out there that people might prefer to use instead of Dragon. I'm guessing I'm not the only person who has struggled with this problem; probably most have given up because the solution seems so arcane.

Update:

This solution has a serious drawback. Now when I try to open a folder from the task bar in Kubuntu, it doesn't launch dolphin as expected but starts smplayer instead!

Obviously something is awry, but I'm not sure what it might be. I can open dolphin from a command prompt, or from the icon in the KDE applications menu, but trying to open a folder from the folder icon next to the KDE logo launches smplayer.

If I discover the solution for this, I'll post it here.

I posted this problem at launchpad as well, but got the following response from the Kubuntu developers:

Thanks for reporting this feature request! Unfortunately, at this time
Kubuntu does not have the developer manpower needed to implement and
maintain many features at the Kubuntu level. This wish would best be
reported and tracked at https://bugs.kde.org, so that it can be
implemented by the KDE developers themselves. Once implemented in KDE,
it will be included in Kubuntu once the KDE version the feature is
implemented in reaches Kubuntu.

Which version of KDE are you using? You need 4.3 or later to have the Device Actions control module, which can be found at System Settings > Advanced.

I fixed the problem with SMPlayer opening folders by using System Settings > Default Applications > File Manager and resetting it to Dolphin. I don't know how this got set to use SMPlayer, but this method fixes it.

I now have a version of KDE with the Device Actions applet. Frankly, I doubt any ordinary user would have a clue how to use this. The items in the entries are written in an extremely arcane manner. Here's the entry I have for "Open with SMPlayer":

"Any of the contained conditions must match
All of the contained conditions must match
The devices property StorageVolume.ignored must equal false
The devices property OpticalDisc.availableContent must equal "Data|VideoDVD"
All of the contained conditions must match
The devices property StorageVolume.ignored must equal false
The devices property OpticalDisc.availableContent must equal "Data|VideoDVD"

You'll notice the "all" conditions appear twice. I don't why that is; perhaps it has to do with my making changes in the .../solid directory?

I've been using computers for decades, and I find these entries very obscure and daunting. I wouldn't know how to begin to change these. What would someone who simply wants to change the default DVD player make of them? I often defend Linux and Linux DE's against those who would claim they're too hard for the ordinary user, but honestly, it's hard to defend an interface like this one.

How about a "wizard?"

It appears that you have duplicated some parts of it, or there is a bug. The KDE 4.4 version is much more clearer with regards to this.

I agree that the interface in 4.3 was terrible, but the code underneath was much worse. The sections I rewrote in KDE 4.4 allowed it to be significantly clearer.

Ideally, changing the default DVD player would not involve this, as it would use a wrapper which would call the correct application.

I don't think a wizard like approach is possible, at least not without generating ghastly actions as a result.

I hope you have plans to create a simple ui that will take care of most tasks quick. For example I want to open a (video dvd) with (smplayer). Then tuck the current UI under and advanced option.

There's no way my mom would be able to run the current UI