Ubuntu
gnome-panel package

Network Manager too easily lost

Asked by tokyoCalBear

I inadvertently deleted Network Manager from the Panel. Then for the newbie it is practically impossible to figure out how to get it back. There is no UNDO button on the desktop/panel. (That would be a GREAT new feature!) Even the Application Launcher fails to pull up Network Manager to have it put back on the panel. (That to would be a good new feature). One then goes to Ubuntu Software Center and tries to re-install it, but finds it is installed. BUT how do I find it to get it back on the Panel?

These are some of the issues Newbies are dealing with. After signing on to Launchpad, and starting this, I noticed a user SK lyer had a similar problem. Someone suggested just reinstall Ubuntu. Have done that in the past. But if one has spent hours installing packages and has a nicely configured system, the last thing they want to do is Reinstall! Another suggestion was to go to System/Admin/Synaptic Package Manager and re-install the Network Manager packages. This is where I am at now. All the various Network Manager packages have been reinstalled. Still no ICON on the panel, but I haven't tired rebooting yet. Hopefully that will do the trick. Just wanted to get this posted before walking out the door.

I think a good way to prevent some of these problems is to have a "are you sure you want to delete/remove this?" dialog box pop up when key features like this are being removed (similar to the are you sure you want to partition your hard disk, when doing the Ubuntu install. It asks you like 3 times if your sure. One for removing key tools/features might be a good idea.

Thanks! Really enjoying the latest version! Oh, and one last comment, I now always carry a USB installed with Ubuntu. It's a great way to evangelize for Ubuntu. I've already installed Ubuntu on a number of friends and acquaintances who had their laptops in hand, but had no idea about Ubuntu. Once they see it on their system, they are "Yes! Install it please!"

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Ubuntu gnome-panel Edit question
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Eliah Kagan
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Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#1

Suggestions should be posted on:

http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com

The network manager can be re-added by pressing ALT+F2 and running:

nm-applet

Revision history for this message
Sam_ (and-sam) said : 		#2

> inadvertently deleted Network Manager from the Panel

It's impossible to remove the applet itself (it's just an applet not network manager itself) via right or left click. It may disappear when removing 'notification area', which can be readded by right click on empty space of panel -> add to panel -> search the list for 'notification area'.

nm-applet contents can also be found in
system preferences -> network connections

Applets are listed in gconf-editor.
http://library.gnome.org/users/gconf-editor/2.32/gconf-editor.html
e.g. path
/apps/panel/applets/ ## customized
/apps/panel/default_setup/applets/notification_area ## default

To restore one can unset the values via gconftool
e.g. CLI:
gconftool --recursive-unset /apps/panel
pkill gnome-panel

## Keeping in mind 'notification area' will be deprecated sooner or later anyway since there're major design changes on the way.
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DesktopExperienceTeam/ApplicationIndicators#Notification%20area%20usage%20analysis
http://live.gnome.org/GnomeShell/Design/FAQ#Why_aren.27t_there_applets.2C_widgets_or_gadgets.3F

Other scenario.
If the applet disappears while notification area still exists it might be a network manager bug.
To exclude user misconfiguration first, create a test-user and verify if the behaviour remains, if yes, report a bug.

> "are you sure you want to delete/remove this?"

Personally I'd get annoyed and miss the learning curve regarding think_before_action. Same annoyance with 'evangelization'. At least democratic processes as 'brainstorm' suggests, give an idea of 'freedom of choice'.

Revision history for this message
Best Eliah Kagan (degeneracypressure) said : 		#3

@tokyoCalBear

First of all, is your problem fixed? If not, please say so--this is actually a very easy problem to fix. Right-click on your panel where you want the Network Manager applet icon to be, click "Add to Panel...", find "Notification Area" and click on it, then click Add.

In addition to (or instead of) posting on Brainstorm, if you so choose you could file a bug report to request the feature you're advocating for. If you want to do this, first read https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs carefully, then search for an already-existing feature request for this, then (assuming there isn't one) report the feature request / bug against the package network-manager-applet.

If you choose to file a bug, then after doing so, you can link your bug and this question to each other by using the "Link existing bug" link near the top of this question. It is a good idea to do that. Even so, your bug report should be self contained--Ubuntu developers and other interested persons should not need to visit this question in order to fully understand and appreciate your feature request.

If this issue is discussed both in a bug report and on http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com, then the bug should link to the idea page on Brainstorm, and vice versa. (You can edit your bug report after creating it, or just post a comment on it.)

@Samantha
> Personally I'd get annoyed and miss the learning curve
> regarding think_before_action. Same annoyance with
> 'evangelization'. At least democratic processes as
> 'brainstorm' suggests, give an idea of 'freedom of choice'.

Like you, I am also not convinced that this idea is a good one. After all, adding items back to the panel is not very hard, and help with doing so is widely available, by (1) searching the web, (2) reading the official documentation, or (3) posting at an Ubuntu forum such as this one (or in the IRC channel).

With that said, I think I may not fully understand your argument. Such a feature wouldn't have to be annoying, because the "are you sure you want to delete/remove this?" message box could provide a "never ask again" checkbox (or a "Yes, and never ask again" button). Furthermore, forcing less experienced users to experience pain in the name of learning to satisfy some abstract "look before your leap" principle hardly seems democratic; additionally, the goal of any user-friendly operating system is *not* to require deep thought before most actions. Users should think hard before deciding to format a partition. An operating system that motivates its users to think hard before modifying their interface is an operating system that is deliberately and unnecessarily hard to use, and which sends a bad and false message to users about the relative importances of different configuration changes.

Revision history for this message
tokyoCalBear (tokyocalbear) said : 		#4

Eliah,

Thanks for your reply! Really simple fix! I just didn't know Network Manager was in the Notifications Area.

It's great to see all the wonderful people sharing their knowledge and helping each other out.

BTW, the following didn't work for me.
>actionparsnip proposed the following answer:

>The network manager can be re-added by pressing ALT+F2 and running:

>nm-applet

Thanks again Eliah!

Revision history for this message
Eliah Kagan (degeneracypressure) said : 		#5

"Thanks for your reply! Really simple fix! I just didn't know Network Manager was in the Notifications Area."

You should thank Samantha--she said it first. I just figured it was worth reiterating. (It seems that I was right. ;-) )

"BTW, the following didn't work for me. ... ALT+F2 ... nm-applet"

Those instructions, posted by actionparsnip, are for if the NetworkManager applet has actually be terminated, rather than simply being hidden (as in your case) by accidentally removing the Notification Area from the top panel.

Revision history for this message
Sam_ (and-sam) said : 		#6

> satisfy some abstract "look before your leap" principle hardly seems democratic

Eliah,
thanks for your input.
Democratic process regarding the 'brainstorm' project meant, if I had in mind to vote I'd vote it down, no more no less.

> "never ask again" checkbox

Good compromise.
## Although, again regarding personal preferences, one click (more) is too much interruption of my workflow.
## Same annoyance with 'do you really want to move file to trash' or something like that.
## But there I have the choice to use shortcut or shred via terminal since I never use trash.

> the goal of any user-friendly operating system is *not* to require deep thought before most actions
> operating system that motivates its users to think hard before modifying their interface

Does removing an applet require deep thoughts?
It needs one right click on the applet to view the context menu, move the cursor to the line which says delete from panel. Surprise it really does what was read.
But that's not the point, since the user inadvertently deleted it, the system (like any complex system) needs to be fault-tolerant, which doesn't necessarily mean to add more complexity such as an additional checkbox but rather work on the root cause.
Case study:
Context menu of notification area has five entries.
## in short terms
Help
About
Delete
Move
Lock

Suggestions:
#1
Move the line 'delete' at the end that it doesn't get mixed with 'about' or more often with 'move'. For what i'ts worth, make it bold or draw two separator lines.
#2
Move it to the end and give it a checkbox to mark it 'deactivate', since it is important enough to keep it while it may contain lots of other apps which have 'systray' functions.
#3
User even doesn't see that it is the 'notification area', (thought it had deleted network manager).
Write an entry such as 'about notification area'.

## Keeping in mind case study might be obsolete since 'notification area' will be deprecated sooner or later.

Case study for common starter:
Starter has five entries in context menu.
Run
Properties
Delete
Move
Lock

Why is there a run entry in *context* menu, when a left click can run the app already?
Who runs an app through context menu?
Remove 'run' entry or replace it with 'about name_of_app'.
Move 'delete' to the end, make it bold or draw two separator lines.
'Deactivate' entry maybe not necessary because app starter can be simply added back via applications menu or add to panel options. It only affects one application and it obviously can be reached through other menus.

'User-friendly' draws a fine line between philosophy to keep it [system] simple and assumption of incapable user. Under-over estimating yourself, under-over estimating others.
Of course one can relativate infinitely, e.g. user maybe not paying too much attention (no deep thought, click, click, click), shit happens, humans aren't perfect.
Fortunately there're some toolkits.
http://www.edge.org/q2011/q11_2.html

What if the path is the goal, is it expected to include a learning curve, how extended or flat should it be? Who's deciding about the learning curve of an individual?

Lets see if users learn that uncheck 'keep in launcher' will remove the app from unity panel.
http://wiki.ubuntuusers.de/_image?target=Baustelle%2FUnity%2Feinrichten2.png

Another example could be inconsistancy which may confuse the learning curve.
There Bug #662194 the user had to uncheck in order not_to_remember opening a certain app, which was often overlooked.
So one time checkbox has to be marked to invoke something, the other time it has to be unmarked to uninvoke something which was already implemented.

Revision history for this message
dustin andrew (dustinandrew412) said (last edit ): 		#7

I'm sorry to hear that you accidentally deleted the Network Manager from your panel. It can be frustrating to try to figure out how to restore a feature that you mistakenly removed, especially for new users. Reinstalling Ubuntu or the Network Manager packages can be time-consuming and may result in losing your previous configurations.

It's a great suggestion to have a warning message pop up when you're about to remove a key feature like Network Manager. It could help prevent accidental deletions and save users time and frustration.

As for restoring the Network Manager icon to your panel, rebooting your system after reinstalling the Network Manager packages might do the trick. If the icon still doesn't appear, you could try manually adding it to your panel through the "Add to Panel" option.

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