Ubuntu
pcmanfm package

Can't drag and drop a file in lubuntu

Asked by LEGOManiac

I've come across a rather odd problem on 2 Pentium 3 PC's (The P4's are not affected) that are running lubuntu. A pair of classes that I'm teaching works on some source code that they have on the desktop. At the end of the class, I move the files into that class' folder. What I found today was that, while the file could be dragged, if I dropped it on the folder, it wouldn't be moved. The same was true when I took a file out of the folder to drop it on the desktop.

Thinking this was an ownership problem (no write permission on the destination), I checked it and the user account does indeed have read/write permissions.

I then used File Manager and I was able to drag and drop the file from the class folder to the Desktop and vice-versa successfully.

Any ideas about why this is happening and how to fix it? It's not that important as the student's work is not affected and I have a work-around, but it is weird and annoying.

Question information

Language:
English Edit question
Status:
Answered
For:
Ubuntu pcmanfm Edit question
Assignee:
No assignee Edit question
Last query:
Last reply:
Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#1

Is the destination a USB / Firewire storage or is it some network store?

Revision history for this message
LEGOManiac (bzflaglegomaniac) said : 		#2

Everything is on an internal hard drive. It's the default lubuntu installation - nothing added but NQC and "kate" and it's dependencies.

BTW. I had a chance to think about it last night and realized that the other two P4 computers are running Ubuntu, not lubuntu. I tried it on this machine I'm on now at home, running lubuntu on a P4 and it does exactly the same thing:
I can't drag-and-drop a file on the desktop into a folder on the desktop, but I can do it via file manager.

Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#3

I suggest you log a bug.

Did you add the lubuntu ppa and upgrade?

Revision history for this message
Eliah Kagan (degeneracypressure) said : 		#4

This is interesting. When testing to see if I can reproduce this problem (on a Maverick amd64 system with pcmanfm 0.1.12-1ubuntu2 and libfm0/libfm-gtk0 0.1.12-1ubuntu2), I find that I cannot, but that I have the reverse problem: I cannot drag files from a folder window for a folder on the desktop, to the desktop, with pcmanfm.

When you say file manager, do you mean nautilus?

I agree with actionparsnip; you should file a bug. First read https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs carefully, if you haven't done so already. Then you can report the bug by invoking ubuntu-bug with the PID of the running pcmanfm process. You should make sure that the bug report contains your release and the versions of the packages pcmanfm and libfm0/libfm-gtk0. Your bug report should be self-contained; it shouldn't be necessary for the Ubuntu developers to come to this question page, in order to fully understand and appreciate it. However, it's still a very good idea to link this question and the bug to each other, by using the "Link existing bug" link near the top of this question page after reporting the bug.

Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#5

Try:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:lubuntu-desktop/ppa; sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get -y upgrade

Revision history for this message
LEGOManiac (bzflaglegomaniac) said : 		#6

Thanks to both of you for responding.

With respect to the lubuntu ppa, I installed lubuntu from the lubuntu installation disk. I did not add any ppa's myself, but I would presume that would have been done (If it was relevant) during the installation. I can't test it now as the system is now refusing to boot ("general error mounting filesystem"), but that's the subject for another question and I'll have to research it first.

The problem works in reverse too, on all three lubuntu systems: I can't drag a file out of a folder and drop it on the desktop as well as drag from the desktop and drop in a folder.

In the bottom-left corner of lubuntu's desktop is the icon to click for the file manager. If I hover over it, it calls it "file manager". I don't know if that's a general label or if that's the actual name for the file manager itself. I seem to recall that it isn't but I can't recall exactly right now. Two of the affected machines are at the school and the third is refusing to mount it's file system, so I can't check it right now.

I'll try the add-apt-repository, etc. and file a bug report after I've got the system running again.

Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#7

No the PPA must be added extra. It gives later versions of apps especially pcmanfm which is the default file browser in Lubuntu. Ubuntu uses nautilus by default

Can you help with this problem?

Provide an answer of your own, or ask LEGOManiac for more information if necessary.

To post a message you must log in.