Main Menu and Launcher broken

Support & Help Requests
1

My mom is running Ubuntu Mate Ubuntu 18.04.2 LTS. Not sure where to get the Mate versions if any.

Mom reported that she couldn't find any applications. Specifically looking for LibreOffice. She has Thunderbird and Chrome on the panel, so she really hasn't needed much until now.

I click on Menu, and find that the "ALL" section is almost an exact match for the Preferences Section. No applications are found.

Clicking on Main Menu doesn't launch anything, and generates an error in syslog:
Error loading menu layout from "/home/vivian/.config/menus/mate-applications.menu": Line 31 character 1: Element is required to contain text and was empty

Looking at mate-applications.menu shows a pretty odd xml file.

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<!DOCTYPE Menu
  PUBLIC '-//freedesktop//DTD Menu 1.0//EN'
  'http://standards.freedesktop.org/menu-spec/menu-1.0.dtd'>
<Menu>
	<Name>Applications</Name>
	<MergeFile type="parent">/etc/xdg/menus/mate-applications.menu</MergeFile>
	<Menu>
		<Name>D</Name>
		<Menu>
			<Name>e</Name>
			<Menu>
				<Name>v</Name>
				<Menu>
					<Name>e</Name>
					<Menu>
						<Name>l</Name>
						<Menu>
							<Name>o</Name>
							<Menu>
								<Name>p</Name>
								<Menu>
									<Name>m</Name>
									<Menu>
										<Name>e</Name>
										<Menu>
											<Name>n</Name>
											<Menu>
												<Move>
													<Old/>
													<New>Development</New>
												</Move>
												<Name>t</Name>
											</Menu>
										</Menu>
									</Menu>
								</Menu>
							</Menu>
						</Menu>
					</Menu>
				</Menu>
			</Menu>
		</Menu>
	</Menu>
	<Menu>
		<Name>Multimedia</Name>
		<Layout>
			<Merge type="menus"/>
			<Filename>brasero.desktop</Filename>
			<Filename>cheese.desktop</Filename>
			<Filename>org.gnome.Cheese.desktop</Filename>
			<Filename>rhythmbox.desktop</Filename>
			<Filename>rhythmbox-device.desktop</Filename>
			<Filename>mate-volume-control.desktop</Filename>
			<Filename>vlc.desktop</Filename>
			<Menuname>Development</Menuname>
			<Merge type="files"/>
		</Layout>
	</Menu>
</Menu>

Opening mozo shows a complete set of application menus that don't show up when clicking Menu. Everything I expected to see is indeed represented there and the boxes that should be checked are checked.

I also note that the Mate Tweak window has fewer sections than I think it should have. Only three... Desktop, Panel and Windows. Are there supposed to be more?

Anyway, I'd like to get her going again, but I'm pretty lost. This is a bit different than my Fedora-Mate or Centos-Mate, which is what I use, myself.

Any assistance will be welcome.

Ed Greenberg

2

My mom is running Ubuntu Mate Ubuntu 18.04.2 LTS

Congrats but I am running 19.04 so until you get a better reply...

Specifically looking for LibreOffice.

If not found, it is not installed here is a GUI way to install it

Click on menu button
click on Adminstration
click on Software Boutique
click on its magnify glass = search button top RH corner.
type libreoffice and press enter
-> LibreOffice full should appear as the second hit in her results
click the install
when prompted enter her password

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

Opening mozo

I recommend she does not edit this at this stage.
Instead....after LibreOffice is installed she can RH click it
and either add it to desktop and or pin it to here favourites.
I don't use it myself but it should appear in menu -> Office

Mate Tweak ..
Only three... Desktop, Panel and Windows. Are there supposed to be more?

Same for me so I assume not.

3

@aus9 Libre office was definitely installed, and I was able to create a panel icon for it. That's not the problem.

What I would like to see is a correct copy of /home/USERNAME/.config/menus/mate-applications.menu. Also, if there is an equivalent file shared by all users, I'd like to know about that.

Another thought is to create another user and see if the problem persists there, which I will do, when I can remote into her laptop. It's a 50 mile drive each way -- maybe I'll invite them over :slight_smile:

Anyway, if there are other thoughts, I'd be pleased to hear them.

Thanks,
Ed Greenberg

4

The traditional menu is, IMHO, still the best. Click on the top panel and add "Menu Bar."

That will give you the "Application Places System" menu. Easiest to navigate, I have always thought.

5

IMHO you have no access to a copy unless the copy have been created. Nevertheless there are some options to try:

  1. Add a new user to your system and log in as the new user. Hopefully, local configurations (for menu) are created from scratch and work. Probably, menu configuration for original user could be restored from the new user profile.
  2. Reinstall mate-menu package.
  3. Boot from Live CD and save (working) menu configuration for later usage.

Gene