GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 653363
RFE: Provide a method to select the default terminal emulator
Last modified: 2017-07-28 15:34:08 UTC
In the past it was easy to switch the default terminal emulator in the preferred applications. In GNOME 3 this is only possible on the command line. The problem is not only that one needs to know the gsettings keys but also the value "exec-arg" which depends on the terminal. Upstream developers and package maintainers have no way to pre-configure a terminal fr easy use in GNOME. I agree we should not bring back the xml files in /usr/share/gnome-control-center/default-apps, so here is my proposal: 1. Provide a selection of the default terminal in gnome-control-center's info panel. It will list all applications that have the category "TerminalEmulator" in their *.desktop file. 2. Introduce an "X-GNOME-Exec-Arg" key for the *.desktop files. It can easily adopted by developers or package maintainers. 3. Let gnome-settings-daemon pick up the Exec and X-GNOME-Exec-Arg keys from the desktop file and write it to dconf.
(In reply to comment #0) > In the past it was easy to switch the default terminal emulator in the > preferred applications. In GNOME 3 this is only possible on the command line. > The problem is not only that one needs to know the gsettings keys but also the > value "exec-arg" which depends on the terminal. Upstream developers and package > maintainers have no way to pre-configure a terminal fr easy use in GNOME. Already said in: http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.linux.redhat.fedora.desktop/7305/focus=7308 that I wouldn't want to see it in gnome-control-center. It still stands, it being the day after and all.
Do you have any reasonable arguments except "I don't want this"?
The same I used earlier. Users who'd want to change the default terminal emulator know how to use the command-line, those who don't probably don't want to change it in the first place.
This is a self fulfilling prophecy and not even true because it is based on false assumptions. I know people who work with terminals all day and still use GNOME because they thing it's nice desktop. Still they don't have a clue about gsettings or dconf and as there is no documentation, they first have to search the net. Changing the terminal is unnecessary hard for users and impossible for package maintainers or developers. Try to see it from my POV, I maintain 6 terminals in Fedora. Anyway, let's not argue here, lets better discuss this on the f-d-l (where I meanwhile responded to your mail) and only talk about technical things here.
As I already mentioned, if you want to have a UI for it, feel free to propose that for gnome-tweak-tool. It won't be added to the default applications tab in the info panel.
Hi all, as a "humble" user, my vote here is to have the UI back in gnome proper. I am sticking to gnome-shell, but I see too many options for the hackers (and google-kiddies) and too little for normal users. Hy do not think an "advanced" switch on the control panel?
I was trying to find out how to change the default terminal in Gnome 3 and came across this bug report. It makes much more sense to me to allow changing the terminal application from the default applications than anyplace else. It seems to me that the gnome control center should be the place to change settings for gnome, yet there are not many settings that can be changed from there. This makes it practically useless. When using a graphical desktop environment, it is ludicrous to expect users to use the command line to configure it. You are building a GRAPHICAL environment, USE it.
I think it will be a good thing to easily change all default application in gnome 3
*** Bug 711199 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
I think that gnome-control-center is the right place to change the default terminal and that users need to change it here. Since gnome-terminal is hard-coded in glib/gio [2] and that dconf/GSettings key doesn't work any more[1] there is only one remaining ugly/dirty hack to get the terminal emulator you want: replace the gnome-terminal executable with a symlink to the terminal emulator you want to use. I don't think GNOME should force users to such ugly hacks just to change the terminal emulator. [1] see description for org.gnome.desktop.default-applications.terminal : https://git.gnome.org/browse/gsettings-desktop-schemas/tree/schemas/org.gnome.desktop.default-applications.gschema.xml.in.in#n49 [2] https://git.gnome.org/browse/glib/tree/gio/gdesktopappinfo.c
Don't write "GNOME" when you mean "glib". The configuration was removed because it was unused. There's a bug already opened against glib about this, with the exact details of what patch would be accepted (bug 627943). As for the UI, no, there's not going to be a UI for choosing your terminal emulator in gnome-control-center. It can go in gnome-tweak-tool with little effort once somebody has fixed the glib bug.
Provide good straightforward defaults, but allow people to easily choose alternatives. Otherwise innovation and competitiveness is destroyed by design, and a bunch of clueless designers are the ones dictating what people get into their computers. A group isn't democratic because their members were democratically chosen, but because they serve the interests of the group. The resistance you are finding isn't because you are doing a bad design, or because you aren't misunderstood. It's because you are taking away something more important: the freedom of making one's own choices.
(In reply to Alberto Salvia Novella from comment #12) > Provide good straightforward defaults, but allow people to easily choose > alternatives. > > Otherwise innovation and competitiveness is destroyed by design, and a bunch > of clueless designers are the ones dictating what people get into their > computers. > > A group isn't democratic because their members were democratically chosen, > but because they serve the interests of the group. > > The resistance you are finding isn't because you are doing a bad design, or > because you aren't misunderstood. It's because you are taking away something > more important: the freedom of making one's own choices. There's no configuration that exists for this in glib/gio, so there's nothing to configure. If and when glib has a configuration that can be changed, then the decision can be revisited. In the meanwhile, there's nothing that can be done to provide a UI to a non-existent setting.