[GRLUG] odd GNOME app behavior for one user but not another

[john-thomas richards]

On Sun, Dec 02, 2007 at 05:50:58PM -0500, john-thomas richards wrote:
> On Sat, Dec 01, 2007 at 09:15:34PM -0500, Raymond McLaughlin wrote:
> > Don Wood wrote:
> > > On Sat, 2007-12-01 at 15:00 -0500, john-thomas richards wrote:
> > >> My wife has a problem with a GNOME app (gnomesword) that I do not have
> > >> on the same machine.  When I am logged in the app runs just fine.  When
> > >> she tries to run it, she gets an error message that states, "The
> > >> Application 'gnomesword' has quit unexpectedly."  Nothing else.  When
> > >> she starts the app from a commandline, the only output from the app is
> > >> "Initiating GNOME session handler" and then another prompt (after the
> > >> GNOME dialog box is closed).  I deleted the subdirectory containing all
> > >> the gnomesword settings.  This is regenerated when gnomesword is run
> > >> for the "first" time (in that there are no prior settings).  The app
> > >> will not start.  Whenever I run it, it works just fine.  What really
> > >> puzzles me is that this is on the same machine.  Any ideas?
> > >
> > > any files for this app in her home dir in .gnome2 or .gnome_private?
> > I was going to suggest this too. I'm mostly a KDE guy, but I have used
> > some gnome apps (evolution for one) and been frustrated that some but
> > not all the settings were kept in it's own dot folder. Definitely grep
> > around in .gnome or .gnome2, or what ever, for any references to the
> > app. It could be something as simple as an impossible window size
> > (like
> > with a negative number) in a recent programs description.
> >
> > If this yields no joy, and you want to fight with it you can create a
> > new user, log in as this new user and make sure gnomesword works for
> > this user. Backup  this new user's config (~/.gnome*) then start
> > copying
> > config files from you wife's folder to the new user's. When the app
> > breaks you've found your.
> >
> > A root shell would be handy here. Start with the most likely sounding
> > filenames first, and don't forget to chown them so the new user has
> > full
> > access to them.
> 
> Here is the content of the ~/.gnome2/gnomesword config file:
> 
> djr at bird:~/.gnome2$ cat gnomesword 
> 
> [Placement]
> Dock=toolbarNav\\0,1,0,0\\Menubar\\0,0,0,0
> 
> 
> I am not sure what this means.  (Buehler?)
> 
> I have not found any other files that appear related to this app.  I will
> keep searching, though.

I copied over my .gnomesword2 directory, changed the owner to my wife's
account, and all is well.  The app runs as it should.  This is *very*
strange as it (like all apps) creates a config file/directory if there
is not one when it is run.  Must be a bug in gnomesword, methinks.

Thanks for the suggestions.  It got me on the right path!
-- 
john-thomas
------
Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish.
Euripides