GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 75214
Users should not be able to perform any file operations on these uris
Last modified: 2004-12-22 21:47:04 UTC
start-here:, preferences:, server-settings and system-settings: are specialized folders which form the basis for the gnome system control center. All users (including root) should not be able to perform file manager activities in these directories including creating new folders, copy and pasting, and making links etc. These folders should only be added too or removed from by installing or removing software. A possible exception to this might be adding right click options for adding programs contained in these folders or the folders themselves to the panel applications menu and possibly the desktop.
I have no idea if this is doable in the 2.0 timeframe but if it is we probably should- seems like this is a really big source of confusion for stuff that we are trying to integrate into the desktop here.
Havoc believes this is non-puntable but I'm borderline, personally; I'd have no objection to moving it away/down in priority if someone can argue persuasively in that direction :) It just isn't /that/ big a usability hole, IMHO.
Alex, Jacob, is this a gnome-vfs issue or what?
1) Why shouldn't root be able to modify these folders? 2) Users trying to modify them will result in error.
Imo opinion there not really folders, they're views. In windows you can't edit the control center. Personally i think this is one of the ui inconsistencies of integraing the control-center into nautilus. It doesn't make sense to be able to edit the control-center (preferences:// , system-settings://, server-settings://) as they are not meant to really be directories, they should be added to by installing or removing software, and these changes should be applied globally to all apps. Applications on the other hand is a directory that is meant to be edited by the user so obviously these comments don't apply to it.
Who told you that they weren't meant to be directories?
I'm not going to argue. But i find it really strange that you can edit the control center (preferences://, server-settings://, system-settings://). Even windows doesn't let you edit the contents of the control center or whatever they call it. And others seem to agree with me it seems.