Template Menu shows every Application

User Support
1

Hello,
I have 1 Template, where I when I use the Q->App Menus ; the template shows every installed App, some with associated Icons, most without.

I have tried in dom0 qvm-sync-menus & also in Qube settings for the Template the ‘Refresh Applications’ ; qvm-shutdown the template ; no change.

Went back to dom0 re-did the qvm-sync-menus ; no change.

Per someone’s suggestions I moved 1 application over from the left choices in Qubes SEttings-> applications to the right box ; re-did Refresh Applications no change.

During qvm-sync-menus in dom0 I see a few errors eg
Warning: not creating/updating ‘/home/kwan/.local/share/qubes-appmenus/TEMPLATEname/apps.templates/.desktop.desktop’ because of missing ‘Name’ key

when I go to ls -al in /apps.templates/ I see no such file .desktop.desktop

Guess it would help if I knew the difference, between refreshing inside the template qube settings, vs. dom0

anyway any idea what else to try?

2

What are you trying to do?
What is the problem?

Is it the fact that you see all the applications, or that you dont see
associated icons?

3

I guess he means that instead of 1 or a few selected applications in a template (or AppVM) all available applications are shown making the pull-out window very large and confusing.

I did encounter this in the past when restoring apps and templates from a backup in a fresh install. My choice of selected apps was either not included in the backup or there was some error during restore.

For me, the solution was pretty simple albeit a little cumbersome. In Qubes Settings I did remove all applications from “selected” / right column and chose the few apps I needed in the menu.

Refreshing looked like it was failing as well but after a reboot only the selected apps were displayed.

4

yes all applications are showing, but only in the template not the appvm/qubes based on the template.

rebooting doesn’t change anything, only ‘chosen’ ATM is ‘terminal’ on the Right side, reboot, re-do qvm-sync-menus, re-do in Template ‘refresh applications’ no change.

i’m guessing the issue may have started when I had installed a non-package application in Template, thinking it would then show up in AppVM (now I know anything not in the repo, must be installed in the AppVM)

I also created a shortcut in Template’s /usr/…/applications menu ; which I now use to open the non-repo application installed in the AppVM, if that makes sense?

no idea if it is pertinent, but though every app appears , there are 4 with a closed lock icon, MyShortcutApp, Texdoctk, Terminal, and Start ; then Qube Settings has its own Icon, all the others have no icon

5

This issue reminds me of an usability problem. As users are (mostly) not supposed to run applications except terminal in templates for almost any use case scenerios, why not Qubes makes it default setting to show only Qube settings ONLY and/or with XTerm in side menus of templates. This can obviously remove errors by new user of running applications like firefox in templates. Also this will improve the usability. I know that Templates are offline.

Besides this default templates have many applications which users might even never run so there should be a protocol by Qubes-devel that which applications should be included in templates. This might even reduce iso size.

1 Like
6

This has happened to me before but only when I have zero applications selected (all of them are on the left side and zero on the right side).

7

I get the same situation after the last Dom0 update,
only by Fedora 36, I can see only the applications description, like: web browser or file manager, mail ; but not firefox , or iridium, chromium nor Nautlius or dolphin, thunderbird.
In Deb11, firefox, thunderbird name is not showing other application names are showed.