Cannot select .wav files to setup email alert sounds in Thunderbird.

Ubuntu does not play ".wav" files by default but can be made to by installing the restricted extras

You can check if they are installed by opening a terminal CTRL+ALT+T and entering

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dpkg -l | grep 'restricted'
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If they are you should see something similar to this

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$ dpkg -l | grep 'restricted'
ii ubuntu-restricted-addons 12 Commonly used restricted packages for Ubuntu
ii ubuntu-restricted-extras 57 Commonly used restricted packages for Ubuntu
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if not see here

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats

Hello - thanks for taking the time to respond. The restricted extras are installed. I typed the code into the terminal, and the text you suggested did appear, exactly as follows:

$ dpkg -l | grep 'restricted'
ii ubuntu-restricted-addons 12 Commonly used restricted packages for Ubuntu
ii ubuntu-restricted-extras 57 Commonly used restricted packages for Ubuntu

From what you say, if the restricted extras are installed, then I should be able to play .wav files. Are you aware of any other reason why I can't browse my computer for .wav files, in view of this? Thanks again for taking the time to send your information.

Are there any bugs reported? What is the output of:

lsb_release -a; uname -a; apt-cache policy thunderbird

Thanks

Hello - thanks for your response. Not sure what to do. Do I copy: lsb_release -a; uname -a; apt-cache policy thunderbird
into the Terminal? Sorry but I'm a newbie to Ubuntu/Thunderbird. Thanks.

Yes, copy the command and press CTRL+ALT+T. Paste the command into the terminal and hit ENTER. Copy the output and paste here as an update.

Thanks

Here it is:

No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 12.04.1 LTS
Release: 12.04
Codename: precise
Linux Ubuntu-12 3.2.0-34-generic-pae #53-Ubuntu SMP Thu Nov 15 11:11:12 UTC 2012 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux
thunderbird:
  Installed: 17.0+build2-0ubuntu0.12.04.1
  Candidate: 17.0+build2-0ubuntu0.12.04.1
  Version table:
 *** 17.0+build2-0ubuntu0.12.04.1 0
        500 http://fr.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates/main i386 Packages
        500 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-security/main i386 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     11.0.1+build1-0ubuntu2 0
        500 http://fr.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise/main i386 Packages
tony@Ubuntu-12:~$

http://www.metakola.com/w/guides/workaround-for-thunderbird-alert-sound-problem-in-ubuntu/

I solved by installing the packages libaudiofile1 and libesd0 without installing "restricted packages".

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sudo apt-get install libaudiofile1 libesd0
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