Desktop icons rearrange on reboot

lazork · 2012-11-13 12:50:21

I've already looked a round on this forum for a solution, but the only thread I found doesn't have one.
Basically my desktop icons rearrange themeselves every time I login.
I've already tried to backup the icons on shutdown/logout by replacing the launcher on the panel with the script:

#!/bin/sh
mkdir -p ~/.config/xfce4/desktop.bak
cp - f ~/.config/xfce4/desktop/* ~/.config/xfce4/desktop.bak
xfce4-session-logout

and this is working, but I haven't managed to automatically restore them when the session starts.
I tried adding this script to the list of programs executed on login:

#!/bin/sh
sleep 20
cp - f ~/.config/xfce4/desktop.bak/* ~/.config/xfce4/desktop
xfdesktop --reload

I know the script is being executed because I can see the desktop reloading after 20 seconds, and I know that if I launch the script manually it does its job.
Still, it doen't properly restore the icons positions if it's automatically executed (I really can't understand why!).

Am I the only one whose icons keep moving?
Is there a way to fix this issue (either by preventing them to move, by fixing my scripts or by some other means)?
Thanks in advance to anyone who can share some ideas

ToZ · 2012-11-13 14:13:13

Here is another suggestion. Once you have the icons in the location that you want, execute the following command to make the icon config file read-only:

sudo chattr +i ~/.config/xfce4/desktop/icons*

This way, none of the changes will be saved/reverted and on every login, the icons should revert to their saved locations. If they are shuffled during operations, a simple "xfdesktop --reload" should reset them.

Note that if you want to permanently move icon locations, you will have to run:

sudo chattr -i ~/.config/xfce4/desktop/icons*

...to make the files writeable again.

Last edited by ToZ (2012-11-13 14:13:47)

lazork · 2012-11-13 14:42:46

The problem is that making the files immutable won't allow me to add or move files on the desktop in the future.
Since I'm not the one who will be using this computer, I need it to behave properly without needing the user to take any particular action.

golinux · 2012-11-13 16:40:31

Because of xfce's inability to allow for custom arrangement of 'permanent' desktop icons, I have removed all of them to a hidden panel with custom launchers. Now I only use my desktop as a transitional area for downloads and currently working files that will eventually be shuttled off elsewhere. I'm really liking a pristine desktop uncluttered with icons (most of the time).

ToZ · 2012-11-13 19:28:09

lazork wrote:

The problem is that making the files immutable won't allow me to add or move files on the desktop in the future.
Since I'm not the one who will be using this computer, I need it to behave properly without needing the user to take any particular action.

Ahhhh, I see. I just tried out your scripts in a 4.10 VM and they worked fine - in that the icon locations restored after the 20 second delay. I did notice an error in your script (space between "-" and "f" in the copy command), but it still worked regardless.

What version of Xfce are you using?

lazork · 2012-11-14 12:09:04

ToZ wrote:

Ahhhh, I see. I just tried out your scripts in a 4.10 VM and they worked fine - in that the icon locations restored after the 20 second delay. I did notice an error in your script (space between "-" and "f" in the copy command), but it still worked regardless.
What version of Xfce are you using?

I'm using 4.10 from the archlinux repo.

The space between "-" and "f" is just a typo I made while rewriting the script in my first post, it's not there in the real script.
It kind of works for me too, but it only restores about 80% of the icons (lots of icons on the desktop).
I'll try to further increase the delay to something like 30 seconds (it's an old laptop, it takes it a lot of time to draw all the icons on the desktop, maybe after 20 seconds it's not really finished yet)
Btw, is the desktop drawing speed (or slowness) an issue for anybody else? Not only does it take a lot of time to load the icons in the first place, but the re-drawing, when moving windows over it, it's slow as well...

golinux · 2012-11-14 16:11:27

lazork wrote:

Btw, is the desktop drawing speed (or slowness) an issue for anybody else?

Yes. But since I no longer have many desktop icons, it's not much of a problem.

Geoffrey · 2012-12-29 09:01:15

lazork wrote:

I've already looked a round on this forum for a solution, but the only thread I found doesn't have one.
Basically my desktop icons rearrange themeselves every time I login.
I've already tried to backup the icons on shutdown/logout by replacing the launcher on the panel with the script:
#!/bin/sh
mkdir -p ~/.config/xfce4/desktop.bak
cp - f ~/.config/xfce4/desktop/* ~/.config/xfce4/desktop.bak
xfce4-session-logout
and this is working, but I haven't managed to automatically restore them when the session starts.
I tried adding this script to the list of programs executed on login:
#!/bin/sh
sleep 20
cp - f ~/.config/xfce4/desktop.bak/* ~/.config/xfce4/desktop
xfdesktop --reload
I know the script is being executed because I can see the desktop reloading after 20 seconds, and I know that if I launch the script manually it does its job.
Still, it doen't properly restore the icons positions if it's automatically executed (I really can't understand why!).
Am I the only one whose icons keep moving?
Is there a way to fix this issue (either by preventing them to move, by fixing my scripts or by some other means)?
Thanks in advance to anyone who can share some ideas

I had the same problem, I found this works for me, a slight change to your script.

I added this to my logout/shutdown script

mkdir -p ~/.config/xfce4/desktop.bak
xfdesktop --reload; sleep .5; cp -f ~/.config/xfce4/desktop/* ~/.config/xfce4/desktop.bak/

This script to my Startup directory, I know it looks weird, but if I don't call on xfdesktop --reload to begin with, I need to run the script twice to refresh the desktop
and the sleep statements are needed also for it to function correctly.

#!/bin/sh
xfdesktop --reload; sleep .5; cp -f ~/.config/xfce4/desktop.bak/* ~/.config/xfce4/desktop/; sleep .5; xfdesktop --reload

Hope it's of some help.

Sideburns · 2013-01-01 01:43:40

Try this: set up your desktop exactly the way you want to see it when you boot. (Remember, though, that all programs will open on your first workspace, not the one they were on before.) Log out, making sure that Save Session for future logins is checked, then log back in. Unless there's something messing with your settings, this should do it.

Jussl · 2013-06-14 12:54:43

Everyone who are bothered by this issue, please go and mark yourself affected by this bug. Then maybe someone will really fixed it.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+sour … ug/1190990

lazork · 2013-06-14 13:49:19

I don't think the ubuntu bug-tracker is the right place to report this and get it fixed.
This seems like a more appropriate bug report:
https://bugzilla.xfce.org/show_bug.cgi?id=9192

Jussl · 2013-06-14 15:03:53

lazork wrote:

I don't think the ubuntu bug-tracker is the right place to report this and get it fixed.
This seems like a more appropriate bug report:
https://bugzilla.xfce.org/show_bug.cgi?id=9192

Xubuntu is official derivation from Ubuntu, and Xubuntu bugs are also tracked in Launchpad.
So, it surely is right place to report Xubuntu bugs.

But do it get fixed... I assume developers will get the report as well from launchpad (why not?).
But who has time and will to really fix it, I don't know.

lazork · 2013-06-14 18:08:28

Jussl wrote:

Xubuntu is official derivation from Ubuntu, and Xubuntu bugs are also tracked in Launchpad.
So, it surely is right place to report Xubuntu bugs.

I know, but what I meant to say was that, since this isn't a distribution specific bug, it's better to report it on the xfce bug-tracker rather than on the ubuntu/Xubuntu one.
I don't think the xfce developers are affiliated with Xubuntu (though I might be wrong), and even if the bug got fixed in Xubuntu, it wouldn't necessarily get fixed upstream in xfce.
I, for one, am not using xubuntu; I'm running xfce in archlinux, so a fix in Xubuntu wouldn't fix my problem.

Anyway, there's no arm in reporting it in launchpad as well, so I've subscribed that one too.

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#1 2012-11-13 12:50:21

Desktop icons rearrange on reboot

#2 2012-11-13 14:13:13

Re: Desktop icons rearrange on reboot

#3 2012-11-13 14:42:46

Re: Desktop icons rearrange on reboot

#4 2012-11-13 16:40:31

Re: Desktop icons rearrange on reboot

#5 2012-11-13 19:28:09

Re: Desktop icons rearrange on reboot

#6 2012-11-14 12:09:04

Re: Desktop icons rearrange on reboot

#7 2012-11-14 16:11:27

Re: Desktop icons rearrange on reboot

#8 2012-12-29 09:01:15

Re: Desktop icons rearrange on reboot

#9 2013-01-01 01:43:40

Re: Desktop icons rearrange on reboot

#10 2013-06-14 12:54:43

Re: Desktop icons rearrange on reboot

#11 2013-06-14 13:49:19

Re: Desktop icons rearrange on reboot

#12 2013-06-14 15:03:53

Re: Desktop icons rearrange on reboot

#13 2013-06-14 18:08:28

Re: Desktop icons rearrange on reboot

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