help with synaptic
Forum: Apps
Topic: help with synaptic
started by: bob58
Posted by bob58 on Nov. 16 2004,19:04
Hello...I have DSL installed to HDD. Computer is IBM Aptiva w/64MB ram and 233Mhz Proc. I have Ethernet connection. I ran SYNAPTIC and downloaded a few programs I wanted. I am not sure if I did it right, but I got a HUGE list of programs....and selected one at a time....clicked "INSTALL" then "PROCEED" and it looked like it wasd downloading and installing them...But when I finished, I cant find the programs!!! There are no new menu entries or Icons. I am new to DSL and also new to Linux. How do I go about finding the programs thsat I downloaded that I thought would be installed so i can use them? I find it difficult to find installed programsd cause there seems to be references to them all over the place in Linux. I dont know what the executable file is to look for to start, say MOZILLA. Please help!!! bob
Posted by cbagger01 on Nov. 16 2004,23:32
I'm sure that there are better ways to solve this problem, but here is one way:Open up an xterminal and type:
sudo su
cd /var/cache/apt/archives
then you can type "ls" (lowercase "L" and lowercase "S") to list the directory contents. Find the Debian package that has the same name as your main program. You can then list the contents of the package this way:
dpkg -c filaname_of_your_package.deb | more
where the "|" is the SHIFT-"\" key.
Look for any programs that appear in a "bin" directory. Or better yet, try this:
dpkg -c filaname_of_your_package.deb | grep bin
and it will only list the files that appear in these directories.
Then type "exit" to leave superuser mode.
Finally, test out your program names in one of two ways. First, try typing in just the program name that you found, IE:
mozilla
If that doesn't work, try typing in the full path of the file name that you found:
/usr/X11R6/bin/mozilla
(this is just an example and the specific names and locations are probably wrong).
Hopefully you get the idea.
Posted by install woes on Nov. 17 2004,12:02
Ok, cbagger01....i did look and find some of the programs. I did start Mozilla, but it runs too slowly on this computer cause its a 233 mhz with 64MB ram! So I guess I am stuck with DILLO. In that archives directory, is that just where the compressed files are stored and then uncompressed in put in another place? I did find alot of things in ARCHIVE folder. Or do I have to uncompress them myself? I am not sure about how to unzip a .deb file. Or where to put it before I unzip it. I was able to test out a few by typing the name in the terminal window. Airsnort wont work for some reason. It says "cannot start promiscuous mode" whatever the heck that is! I am able to get streaming audio to work well using xmms. Well OK for now. If you have any suggestions it will be appreciated...bob 
Posted by Delboy on Nov. 17 2004,13:10
bob58. All Synaptic gui loaded or xterm "apt-get install xxxxx" loaded programmes should load fine with command line either in xterm, Emelfm or 'Run programme' in fluxbox menu. I make my own desktop icons for these installations: turn on 'hidden files' button in emelfm, find .xtdesktop folder in home directory, you'll see one xxxxx.ink file and one xxxxx.png (or other format) icon file for each application. Download a few new .png icons from the web and copy to .xtdesktop and rename xxxxx.png as you wish to suit apps. Copy .ink file from an existing icon, say ROX, rename as xxxxx.ink. Using Scite open up this new ink and edit command line simply to 'Command: xxxxx", change icon filename line to 'xxxxx.ink' and change the desktop 'label' line from Rox to 'xxxxx'. save and close. Reboot - New xxxxx Icon should appear on desktop where you can drag to desired position and click to open app. I've changed a few default DSL icons this way. When new DSL version installation time comes around, first copy your .xtdesktop folder to a mounted hda1 DOS partition from where you can copy back your own .ink and .png files after new DSL installation. Hope this helps.
Posted by cbagger01 on Nov. 17 2004,17:51
FYI,The *.debs are already installed automatically by the synaptic program. These archives are just the "leftover" files and you do not need to install them manually unless your original install failed for some reason.
For your computer, my advice is to go to the myDSL repository and download/install the Opera dsl extension.
This version of Opera will run quickly on your computer. The Firefox extension should also work fine.