Troubleshooting

Compiling from source

See the Help Installing document for general instructions. Some common problems are listed below.

I have library 'X' installed, but it says it can't find it!

Libraries come in two parts: the binaries, which are needed when running a
program that uses the library; and the header files, which are needed to
compile a program.
If you're compiling from source, you probably need to get some of the -devel packages (eg,
gtk-devel).

I want ROX to be compiled in an automated process with other Packages, is there something like "make install"?

$ ROX-Filer/AppRun --compile

It still doesn't compile

You can report a bug. Please include the exact errors displayed when compiling ("It doesn't compile" is not helpful). You can select the errors displayed in the terminal window that appears, and paste them into your email by clicking the middle mouse button.

Errors while running

"Failed to create symlink" and no icons

I get an error message "Failed to create symlink" and my file icons are all question marks

ROX-Filer is having trouble with the icon theme. Try choosing another one.

If you have not set a theme then it cannot locate the default theme. Try removing the link ~/.icons/ROX, e.g.

$ mv ~/.icons/ROX ~/.icons/ROX.broken
$ rox -n

Errors when copying to Windows partitions

What are these errors I get when copying to Windows partitions?

The filer tries to preserve file permissions when copying files, but some filesystems don't support them and you may get an error from the 'cp' command (although not all systems are affected). The 'quiet' mount option can be used in /etc/fstab to stop the message being displayed.

Green error messages keep appearing!

See Stop the green error messages from appearing.

Panels appear with window decorations or don't stay visible

The panel appears with window decorations or doesn't stay visible

Some older window managers don't support features needed by the panel. However, you can turn on the 'Override window manager' option in the Compatibility section of the Options box.

ROX-Filer shows red Xs for the toolbar icons

When I log out and log back in again, the filer shows red Xs for the toolbar icons and other things don't work well

The filer needs to be run using the 'rox' shell script, not by running the ROX-Filer binary directly. Some systems try to implement a primitive form of session management (without using XSMP, which the filer supports) and fail to restart it correctly.

gnome-terminal starts in the wrong directory

I use gnome-terminal, but ROX-Filer won't start it in the right directory

This is a gnome-terminal bug. You need to run gnome-terminal with the --disable-factory option, otherwise it starts in the same directory which the existing gnome-terminal process started in.

Pinboard and panels

How do I reorder items on the panel?

Use the middle mouse button to drag the icon to a new location within the panel. If you do not have a middle mouse button, try and enable "Emulate3Buttons" in your XF86Config; doing so, you can press the left and right buttons on your mouse simultaneously to emulate the middle mouse button.

How do I set the background image?

Right click on the desktop background. Choose Backdrop... from the bottom of the menu. Drag an image in.
If no background image is set, the colour set in the Options box is used (choose ROX-Filer/Options... from the menu).
You can use Wallpaper to select a random backdrop image at regular intervals, and for other interesting effects.

The pinboard only appears on one of my workspaces, or jumps in front of other windows!

Some older window managers don't fully support the
Extended Window Manager Hints specification. In this case, you'll need to turn on the Override option in the Compatibility section of the Options box.

I use blackbox/fluxbox and the root menus don't work properly anymore

These window managers don't support the
Extended Window Manager Hints specification yet, although they hope to in future releases. In the meantime, turn on the 'Pass all backdrop mouse clicks to window manager' and 'Blackbox root menus hack' options in the Options box (Compatibility section).

The XFce root menu doesnt work with the pinboard, and 'Pass all backdrop mouse clicks to window manager' doesn't fix it

XFce's root menu is part of the xfdesktop module, which creates a single large root window to set background image and create the root menu. ROX's pinboard also creates a large root window for desktop icons. These two compete.
However you can kill the xfdesktop and enable the Rox pinboard. When you do so the Xfce root menu will no longer work, but you will have desktop icons and the Rox-Filer menu by right clicking.
The Oroborus project has a Gtk+ 1.x application (on which xfdesktop is based) which doesn't create a large root window. It's called deskmenu, and provides a nice root menu without conflicting with the ROX pinboard.