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Linux Mint 19.1 Trivial Problem !

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shutter
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Linux Mint 19.1 Trivial Problem !

Running Linux Mint 19.1 (fully updated)  with WINE 5 installed, and several "windows type" programs that run with no problems...

This "trivial" problem is "how do I get rid of excess mentions, when I choose to "open with another application"..

here is some pics... Note... GOM player is having some problems, and has had several unistalls, deletions of leftover files before new installs.. but it shows up over 30 times on the "other application" listings..  and also shows up twice on the "main menu" listing.  winrar also shows up about 20 or 30 times.. ( but only one install of that) .. likewise with Irfanview 20 to 30 times in the listing.  How can I get rid of these "waste of space" entries in the listing  ? ? ?

518x600-OPEN WITH 04.jpg.jpg520x600-OPEN WITH 02.jpg.jpg549x600-OPEN WITH 03.jpg.jpg594x600-OPEN WITH 01.jpg.jpg

13 REPLIES 13
VileReynard
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Re: Linux Mint 19.1 Trivial Problem !

Have you tried the 'Open with' then -> 'Other Application'

There's an option to 'Reset to system defaults' - possibly a bit risky - but I would give it a try.

Linux uses mime-types when deciding which applications can open a file, whilst Windows seems to use 3 characters after a dot. Perhaps Wine is imitating Windows?

e.g. my Linux options for mp4 files are:

 

x.png

 

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

Baldrick1
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Re: Linux Mint 19.1 Trivial Problem !

Is there a reason not to update to Mint 20 at present?

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MisterW
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Re: Linux Mint 19.1 Trivial Problem !

@shutter  this might help https://askubuntu.com/questions/413778/how-to-remove-duplicate-entries-within-the-open-with-other-ap...

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

shutter
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Re: Linux Mint 19.1 Trivial Problem !

@MisterW  Thanks for that link... will have a go... seems a strange thing for the "app" to do this though... 

Yeah... I `kinda` understand it happening, IF you did multiple installs ( as I did with GOM player) from different downloads... But "Irfanview" was definitely only one install... and in previous Mint distros, it has always shown a lot of entries for Irfanview...

Thanks again...

shutter
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Re: Linux Mint 19.1 Trivial Problem !

Fix

@MisterW  OK... Found the location..

           go to "Home" directory/folder

             look for "Local"..expand that..

                         .find "Share" expand that....

                             .find "Applications"  expand that...

 

deleted all multiple entries for Irfanview.... ( over 300 ! ! !  apparently, .... Shocked )


on checking the "open with ......" listings after deleting...... all the other multiple entries, also seemed to have disappeared !

 

It seems that "Irfanview" may be responsible for the multiple entries, probably because each entry refers to a separate operation that Irfanview can carry out...

I re-installed "Irfanview"... and tried "open with"... and several entries were listed ... so I went back to the Home directory and deleted all but one...

Now, it`s all neat and tidy again..

Thanks....Wink

VileReynard
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Re: Linux Mint 19.1 Trivial Problem !

If you open one of those files - which specifies how to run a program, it is possible to have one file for many filetypes.

For example:-

The last line(s) of ~/.local/share/applications/evince.desktop reads

MimeType=application/pdf;application/x-bzpdf;application/x-gzpdf;application/x-xzpdf;application/x-ext-pdf;application/postscript;application/x-bzpostscript;application/x-gzpostscript;image/x-eps;image/x-bzeps;image/x-gzeps;application/x-ext-ps;application/x-ext-eps;application/x-dvi;application/x-bzdvi;application/x-gzdvi;application/x-ext-dvi;image/vnd.djvu;image/vnd.djvu+multipage;application/x-ext-djv;application/x-ext-djvu;image/tiff;application/x-cbr;application/x-cbz;application/x-cb7;application/x-ext-cbr;application/x-ext-cbz;application/vnd.comicbook+zip;application/x-ext-cb7;application/oxps;application/vnd.ms-xpsdocument;

 

Any application should really say what mimetypes it can cope with as Linux detects file types by mime-type, not solely by tacking an "extension" onto the filename.

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

shutter
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Re: Linux Mint 19.1 Trivial Problem !

@VileReynard  Whilst I appreciate your input.    it is about as understandable to me, as the formula for instant glue.  and just as useful.

You are well aware that I am not a "LINUX GEEK" as you are... therefore technical responses such as yours are totally above my head.

Sorry if that sounds like an insult, ... it`s not meant to be.  just that your level of understanding Linux, is far and away light years above mine. 

 

VileReynard
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Re: Linux Mint 19.1 Trivial Problem !

Some things you discover and other things you never find out. 😀

Just that the default program that gets run against a file is not 100% determined by its name - the content tends to be much more important.

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

shutter
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Re: Linux Mint 19.1 Trivial Problem !

@VileReynard  So... I`m guessing here... out of 20, 30, or more references on the "open with" selection list... how do I determine which is the one to keep . just to "open with" that particular reference, and then delete all those others that are non-essential to the question... "open with......... " 

 

 

PeeGee
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Re: Linux Mint 19.1 Trivial Problem !

@shutter  You don't need to delete anything, just select your preferred program and set it to "Default". However, I don't use Mint, so am stuck - on my system it is done via "System Settings > Applications > File Associations" and hunt for the preferred application in the myriad of categories listed (such as Audio, Image, Text) 🙁

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VileReynard
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Re: Linux Mint 19.1 Trivial Problem !

If all the references open the same program, then you can delete most of them. You can choose one as the default program to open and possibly keep several others - but if you've got a lot which do exactly the same thing, then it won't really matter if you just leave them.

Depends whether duplicates irritate you a lot.

 

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

shutter
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Re: Linux Mint 19.1 Trivial Problem !

@PeeGee  & @VileReynard   Yes... the main concern is the actual number of instances that show up... and if you want to "open with" a program that is at the bottom end of the alphabetical list... 40 mentions of eeeeee and another 40 mentions of  hhhhh and another 40 mentions of iiiiii and another 10 or so, mentions of every section of Open Office...  it`s rather annoying, scrolling down to get that program that starts with S ....

 

VileReynard
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Re: Linux Mint 19.1 Trivial Problem !

To remove those instances via the file manager, you can only do one instance at a time.

Select a problematical file, right-click -> properties -> 'Open with Tab', then

Right click on a bad entry and left-click on the 'forget' box (repeating the forget for each bad entry)

Alternatively, choose the "Reset to System defaults" - which might possibly remove more entries than you want.

All files of the same type will be affected.

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."