Mint/Ubuntu browse external drive workaround fix

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sarin_lavage
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Nov 13, 2019 10:13 pm

Mint/Ubuntu browse external drive workaround fix

Post by sarin_lavage »

XnView MP Flatpack on Linux Mint 19.2:
I wanted to use XnView as the default viewer specifically because it was the only fast Linux supported viewer of several I tested that could be configureed to fit fullscreen view camera images by their width and remember this setting as you cycle through different images by key or mouse button, even when their dimensions change and with nothing else on the screen but the image.

I realized later I couldn't advance through files in a folder using viewer or find a directory in XnView MP if it was on a drive besides the one the OS boots from which is a small SSD. Symlinks or inserting paths to anywhere on these drives were also not doable. It could only view one file at a time by making it the default app for file type and using the file explorer to open another drive and clicking on a picture in a folder. Leaving fullscreen, it would only show the file I just opened listed. I searched keywords here and Googled it and didn't find an explanation for this situation, so I posting what worked for me.

Workaround:
I uninstalled the Flatpack version and installed the latest version from the .deb (Debian) file using Mint's default installer. As a bonus, it was also a newer version than the Flatpack. The Flatpack shown in Mint's Software Updater seems to be the same the one you get from the Flatpack link on the XnView webpage. (HAVE e a Timeshift Snapshot or backup beforehand).
Now I can access these other hard drives through XnView and open 1 picture in a folder with it by file association with XnView MP as the default and advance through all the pictures in that folder with the spacebar and mouse using the vviewer. I'm not a programmer, but I suspect the sandboxed nature of Flatpacks execution contributed to the problem.

Hope this helps.
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