Mint Linux Distribution Reference

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Mint Linux is based on Debian and some consider a fork of Ubuntu- the Long Term Support (LTS) Ubuntu distributions. Therefore, many of the customizations mentioned in Kubuntu and Ubuntu Linux Distribution Reference are applicable to Mint. A distribution based on and compatible with Ubuntu, which is shipped with integrated proprietary or patented media codecs.

Mint is more user friendly, stable, and supports 3D acceleration better than Ubuntu. For frustrated Ubuntu users, Mint just might be the answer.

You can obtain Linux Mint from their official web site. Downloading using the torrent option is recommended. Verify your download via checksum and create a Mint Linux Bootable Installation Media.

Reference New Linux Workstation Post Installation Tips for other post installation suggestions that apply to Mint.

To determine what version of Mint that you currently have installed, 

cat /etc/apt/sources.list

The default windows manager / desktop environment is called Cinnamon. The Cinnamon Desktop is an independent desktop environment that retains many features that users appreciated in GNOME. The toolbar is called the Cinnamon Panel.

The majority of suggestions here are applicable to Linux Mint with Cinnamon relatively recent versions: tested on Mint distributions 18.1, 18.3, 19.2 and testing on ... 

18.3 	Sylvia 	 Ubuntu Xenial 16.04                19 	   Tara 	Ubuntu Bionic 18.04
19.1 	Tessa 	 Ubuntu Bionic 18.04                19.2   Tina 	Ubuntu Bionic 18.04
20.1   Ulyssa    Ubuntu Focal Fossa 20.04           21.1   Vera         Ubuntu Jammy 22.04 LTS 
21.3   Virginia  Ubuntu Jammy                       22     Wilma        Ubuntu Noble

See: Determining Your Linux Version and Ubuntu Debian version Cross Reference

Contents

first things first

Info from this section is covered in more detail here: Mint Linux Bootable Installation Media

An example of how to verify your ISO download: 

$ sha256sum -b linuxmint-19.2-cinnamon-64bit.iso
a05a06b79ff12a747a187aa9a87c5ba1f7e0c1814cda714556603901e2001512 *linuxmint-19.2-cinnamon-64bit.iso

compare to: https://ftp.heanet.ie/mirrors/linuxmint.com/stable/19.2/sha256sum.txt

Create a bootable USB flash media from the ISO. The easiest way to install Linux Mint is with a USB flash drive.

  1. Insert the flash drive, allow it to mount automatically if there is a mountable system otherwise no worries.
  2. Menu -> Accessories -> USB Image Writer
  3. Select the ISO file and the destination USB flash drive.

Secure Shell Support for Remote Login

I don't know why they do not include SSH by default. Allows remote secure terminal shell connection. 

sudo apt install openssh-server openssh-client 
sudo service ssh start

Mint comes with a lame vim

Get full vim 

sudo apt install vim

If the system has already made nano (for n00bs from windowz) your default editor, you may have to 

sudo update-alternatives --config editor

and select vim.

Recommended web browsers

Before you Uninstall Firefox install the replacement as a browser must be present for some of the help system of mint.

Here are some recommended web browsers. The most recommended two are Pale Moon and Epiphany/Gnome Web.

Small and Lightweight backup browser: Epiphany

The Epiphany Browser aka Gnome Web is small, fast, efficient, and capable! It even renders Google Apps (almost) correctly like Voice and Gmail. 

sudo apt install epiphany-browser

Install Pale Moon Web Browser

Imagine the classic Firefox before they destroyed it (current Firefox developers are more political than skilled.)

It is recommended that you install Pale Moon and forget Firefox altogether. It works like the classic Firefox and it is efficient, fast, and more stable.

Additional web browsers

The Firefox web browser is not what it used to be. At one time, it was the top recommended web browser. Lets be honest, today Firefox is total rubbish. However, the ESR version is less rubbish as compared to the standard version.

Mint, like most distributions package the Chromium web browser rather than the full version of Google Chrome. At one time it was recommended to go ahead and replace Chromium with the full version of Google Chrome. This is no longer the case, as of this time you should consider retaining Chromium unless there is something that specifically requires Chrome.

Firefox ESR Version

The Firefox Extended Support Release so that you don't get forcefully upgraded to the dreaded Quantum 57.

  1. Open Software Manager
  2. In the search box type "Firefox" and click "remove"
  3. Close Software Manager
  4. Launch Software Sources (Menu button - Administration - Software Sources)
  5. Choose PPAs and +Add a new PPA
  6. enter: ppa:mozillateam/ppa
  7. Click "update the cache" and close Software Sources
  8. Open Software Manager
  9. In the search box type "Firefox-esr" and when located "install"

See also: Firefox , Favorite Firefox Extensions

Chromium

It seems like 19.2 doesn't default to preloading Chromium. Chromium is a free and open-source software project that Google uses the code to make its Chrome browser, which has more features than Chromium. Many other browsers are also based on Chromium code, most notably Microsoft Edge and Opera. Read the Differences Between Google Chromium and Chrome Web Browsers.

If you want it, here is how to install it: 

sudo apt install chromium-browser

If you can get by with Chromium it is recommended over Chrome.

Chrome rather than Chromium

The guide Chrome rather than Chromium covers the installation procedure with notes on procedure changes for newer Mint Distributions. Chromium is in the Mint / Ubuntu repository whereas Official Google Chrome is not. Therefore you have various options for installation, including deb package, direct download, or adding a repository so you can use APT tool. It is recommended you add the repository so you can use APT, this makes regular updates simple. Initially the adding the new repository to sources has become increasingly more complicated by convoluted security measures that are inconsistent from one Mint/Ubuntu distribution release to the next. For Mint 22 and later be sure to reference the section labeled "dearmor."

UI Preferences and Features

launch Welcome Screen

At the console prompt type: 

/usr/bin/python3 /usr/bin/mintwelcome-launcher &

Application Grouping

Right click on the panel, go to "+ Add applets to the panel". The applet, "Grouped window list" should be modified, it is the one that adds the grouping and turn off "Group Windows by Application". Verified 19.2

Cinnamon Task Bar Thumbnail Previews

When the mouse cursor is over a running program label and icon in the task bar a preview window opens up to show a mini view of the running program application. Sometimes this is an annoyance when the user inadvertently parks the mouse cursor at the bottom of the screen out of the way while working, causing the preview window to pop up and cover part of the workspace. The preview feature can be disabled, the setting is a little bit buried. To disable (or enable):

Instructions for older versions of mint before 19

  1. click the Menu and Hover the mouse cursor over the Preferences icon under "All Applications"
  2. In the next column over a list selection will appear, scroll up and click on "Applets"
  3. In the Applets dialog under the Installed Applets list scroll down and locate "Window List"
  4. There are two icon symbols on the right side of "Window List," click on the gears (configure)
  5. Under "Display" toggle "Show window thumbnails on hover" on or off

Note: if the Configure gear icon is grayed out then you have to click the plus [+] button on the bottom of the Applets dialog window. For some reason "Window List" although present is not fully installed? or apparently something to that effect. Clicking the plus button causes the configure gear icon to become available.  

Instructions for newer versions of mint including and after 19

  1. click menu -> Preferences -> Applets
  2. Locate "Grouped window list" and if the gear is available click it (settings)
  3. In the "Grouped window list" applet click the "Thumbnails" tab/button
  4. Disable slider for "show thumbnails"

Note: Verified on Linux Mint 19.2 Cinnamon 4.2.3

Disable Annoying Sound Menu Integration

Audio/video players like Banshee and VLC integrate themselves into the otherwise small and efficient volume control sound menu making it big and obnoxious, covering up other software interfaces. This is a problem when in a VoIP call and the volume needs adjusted, just as one example. Integration removal instructions.

  • Mint Extension SoundMenu deprecated - because Mint no longer uses -extension-soundmenu for integration, try changing the applet settings as an alternative (see below).
  • Mint 18.3 Cinnamon 3.6.6 (verified) - To disable sound applet integration do the following:
  1. Right click the speaker applet icon on the panel.
  2. Choose "Configure"
  3. Under the "Menu" heading disable "Control Players"
  4. Under the "Panel" heading disable "Hide system tray icons for compatible players"
  • Note: Offending software such as Rhythmbox and Clementine still do not appear as a listed app in the panel if you click the X to close it, it will remain open and doc in the task area of the panel.

Enable Output to Both Headphones and Sound Card System Speakers

When you connect headphones you lose sound out the external speakers. In fact, in the audio settings you lose access to the external speaker control. How annoying!

Disable Annoying Window Snapping

Linux Mint Desktop Snap Mode in Cinnamon behavior is controlled here:

  • Preferences -> System Settings -> Window Tiling

The option is to disable "Enable Window Tiling and Snapping"

When it is enabled it does terrible things while you try to click and drag a software window.

Resource: [Window snaps to full screen], Legacy: cinnamon settings > windows and there untick Enable Edge Tiling ("Aero Snap") or System Settings > Workspace Behavior > Screen Edge, or System Settings > Shortcuts and Gestures > Global Keyboard Shortcuts select KWin in the KDE component selection box and set keyboard shortcuts for the quick tile actions that you do want.

Active Numlock w Notification

As of Linux Mint Sylvia without regards to the numlock state at boot the numlock will be inactive when the desktop is loaded. The numlock default state can be modified only after installing a package. 

sudo apt install numlockx

then adding a line to the file 90-slick-greeter.conf by using the text editor of your choice. In this example we use vim. 

sudo vi /usr/share/lightdm/lightdm.conf.d/90-slick-greeter.conf

then adding the following line of code at the end: 

greeter-setup-script=/usr/bin/numlockx on

save and reboot.

It is also nice to have an indicator on the numlock state as to show status and status change. The following is helpful but not necessary.

  1. Menu -> Settings -> Accessibility -> Keyboard
  2. under "Keyboard Indicators" enable "Use visual indicator on Caps and Num Lock"
  3. also under "Keyboard Indicators" enable "Use audio indicator on Caps and Num Lock"

NOTE: You can make the numpad always produce numbers without regards to the numlock state. The Mint Linux Numeric Keypad Always Active uses a trick that emulates the behavior of a Macintosh keyboard in which the numeric keypad always produces numbers as if the numlock option did not exist.

Monitor going black and power saver

For Linux Mint 18.3 (and probably versions close to this):

  • Menu -> Preferences -> Power Management -> Power Options
  • Menu -> Preferences -> Screensaver -> Settings

Menu Application Editing

Some changes in the menu include: longer, more annoying software names. For example, GIMP version 2.8 uses the name "GNU Image Manipulation Program" which is far too long, when in the past it was simply "Gimp." This and any other software in the Menu can be edited.

  • Right-Click Menu -> choose "Configure" -> then click "Menu" as opposed to "Panel" -> click "Open the menu editor"

Fatten up those skinny scrollbars

For (mint 19.x) go to:

  1. System Settings -> Themes -> Settings ... there you can change the width of the bars
  2. Menu -> Preferences -> Themes -> Settings (Top tab)
  3. Turn off the overlay scrollbar and turn on the override scrollbar width. Ctrl+Alt+Esc will restart Cinnamon with the updated settings.

For (mint 18x3) go to:

  • NOTE: None of these methods have been successful in our testing with Mint 18.3
  • Disable Overlay scroll bars. Menu -> Preferences -> Effects
  • The default theme is called Mint-X. There is a standard GUI panel to control this. either dconf editor or manually edit theme css from console. (unresolved) 
sudo vi /usr/share/themes/Mint-X/gtk-3.0/gtk-widgets.css

Look for 

.scrollbar {
    background-clip: padding-box;
    -GtkRange-trough-border: 2;
    -GtkScrollbar-has-backward-stepper: 0;
    -GtkScrollbar-has-forward-stepper: 0;
    -GtkRange-slider-width: 10;
    -GtkScrollbar-min-slider-length: 30;
    -GtkRange-stepper-spacing: 0;
    -GtkRange-trough-under-steppers: 1;
}

Change -GtkRange-slider-width: 10; to something bigger.

Read: Scrollbar Width in Firefox Issue

Dual Monitors with Cinnamon

If you choose NOT to mirror then you will notice that your second monitor is an empty desktop without icons and without a panel. Cinnamon version 2.6 and later support applets and panels on the second display. You can add a panel to your second monitor by doing the following: Right-click the panel on your primary monitor and select "Modify panel" and "Add panel." The top and bottom edges of all monitors should get highlighted and a new panel will be set up where you click.

The menu and applications will align right on the second panel on the second display. You are supposed to be able to change this by choosing to enable panel edit mode and drag and drop the Window list to the left side of the panel (red colored). However, like many things in Linux this is broken. Maybe it will be fixed on the version of Cinnamon that you are using.

Issues like the annoying application thumbnails and the alignment of the Window List applet can be customized:

Useful system tools and software

vncserver as a boot service

A VNC server is a program that shares a desktop with other computers over a network. Vino is the default VNC server in Mint Linux. x11vnc is another VNC server that uses tcl/tk based GUI and is not dependent on any one particular graphical environment.

The default VNC Server only lets you connect remotely once the user has logged into Cinnamon. This is not useful for a remote headless system. To configure the VNC Server to start with the system and listen before a user is logged in locally the vncserver must be configured to start with the system services. For this it is the most simple to install x11vnc. In this guide we will configure vncserver as a boot service.

If you reboot the system you can still get in as this will allow vnc server to share the login screen. Screen resolution adjustment after login may cause the connection to reset, however, you can reconnect and you're in like Flynn.

Vino is crap, we'll remove it, install x11vnc and set a default password, which is the password client will use to connect. 

sudo apt-get -y remove vino
sudo apt install x11vnc
sudo mkdir /etc/x11vnc
sudo x11vnc --storepasswd /etc/x11vnc/vncpwd

Now to make x11vnc server start as a system service 

sudo vi /lib/systemd/system/x11vnc.service

Now you're in the text editor and you need to add the following lines: 

[Unit]
Description=Start x11vnc at startup.
After=multi-user.target

[Service]
Type=simple
ExecStart=/usr/bin/x11vnc -auth guess -forever -noxdamage -repeat -rfbauth /etc/x11vnc/vncpwd -rfbport 5900 -shared

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save and exit vi, go back to command prompt and type: 

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable x11vnc.service
sudo systemctl start x11vnc.service
  • verified: Mint 18.3 Sylvia 2/15/2018, Mint 19.2 Tina 8/30/2019, Mint 21.3, Mint 22.0 10/2024

Troubleshooting:

Check to see if x11vnc.service is running 

sudo systemctl status x11vnc.service

View log when no default path is specified in ExecStart 

cat /var/log/syslog|grep x11vnc

VNC Remote Desktop Viewer

REMMINA - **** 4 star

The Remmina VNC client is a good alternative to vinagre and works well with remote linux systems utilizing x11nvc server. It supports screen scaling, compression, and dynamic resolution. There are times where Remmina will not connect to certain other VNC servers (poorly written ones) and I have to go back to using vinagre or xtightvncviewer.

Recently Remmina has removed the VNC client part of the software and made it a "plugin" that has to be manually added. It still works the same but there is a couple extra steps in the installation.

VINAGRE - *** 3 star

The vinagre software allows you to remote connect to another computer via protocols such as vnc and rdp. 

apt install vinagre

I used to recommend Vinagre however Vinagre is neglected by its developers and has some problems. Lately I have found Vinagre to become very sluggish while I am trying to operate a remote linux system that uses x11vnc server. It will start off fine and become more sluggish to the point where control is impossible. There is no condition race on the remote end.

XTIGHTVNCVIEWER - *** 3 star

Using xtightvncviewer has never failed in connected to a remote VNC server of various types in my experience. However, xtightvncviewer does lack some desired features such as screen scaling. It is VERY FAST. If the remote system utilizes a screen resolution at the same as your desktop or greater xtightvncviewer becomes awkward to use.

PCManFM: Fast Light File Manager

UPDATE: pcmanfm version 1.3.2 on updated Mint Linux Mint 21.1 Vera kernel 5.15.0-102 - do not use pcmanfm instead use the Qt port of the LXDE file manager PCManFM ie: pcmanfm-qt

PCMan File Manager (PCManFM) is meant to be a replacement for Nautilus, Konqueror and Thunar. PCManFM is the standard file manager in LXDE. 

apt install pcmanfm

or for newer mint versions: 

apt install pcmanfm-qt

Linux Mint with the Cinnamon desktop includes Nemo File Manager by default. Nemo is fine. Pcmanfm is another good file manager.

pcmanfm does some useful things nemo does not do. For example, to backup a file in the directory with pcmanfm simply click the filename, choose "copy" and then choose "paste" from the menubar. pcmanfm will prompt you because the copy has the same filename as the original, and give you the option to rename, in which I simply change the extension to .bak or something like that. This simple task that you can do in Microsoft Windows and in Linux using pcmanfm cannot be done with nemo!

Set the default environment file manager by: System Settings -> Preferred Applications -> (File Manager)

See also Mint Linux Preferred Applications and Mimetype Management and as a resolution to the slow or broken SMB browsing see the PCManFM page troubleshooting.

Clipboard Manager

  • Parcellite is a lightweight GTK+ based clipboard manager for Linux with a small memory footprint. It is a good choice for Mint since Cinnamon is GTK+. Note that another clipboard manager called ClipIt is forked from Parcellite and may be worth trying. 
sudo apt install parcellite

GUI Search Tool

PCManFM does not have a built in file search tool, although Nautilus does. If you do not wish to drop to console, you can do a search with gnome-search-tool. GNOME Search Tool is a utility for finding files on your system. GNOME Search Tool uses the find, grep, and locate UNIX commands. 

sudo apt install gnome-search-tool
  • note: may require additional repository ...

Clock, Timer, Alarm

Debian Alarm Clock is a fully-featured alarm clock which resides in the notification area. It is easy to use yet powerful with support for multiple and repeatable alarms, as well as snoozing and a flexible notification system. Two types of alarms are supported: Alarm Clocks and Timers. Notification is done by either playing a sound or launching an application. 

sudo apt install alarm-clock-applet

If you want a clock that is like a desklet but not really a desklet, that can stay on top of all other windows, try cairo-clock. It can even show the date. Configure to any size. 

sudo apt install cairo-clock

Game Controller

Tested with Sony PS3 Sixaxis 

sudo joystick
apt install jstest-gtk

See also: Game Controller Support in Linux

Wordpad / Writer Equivalent

UPDATE: DO NOT INSTALL ABIWORD. For example, Abiword 3.0.1 many users report freezing constantly, and lag behavior. This once useful document writer is now complete rubbish. Abiword Freezes Abiword Hangs Why is Abiword so useless

  • alternative currently being sought

remove rhythmbox

I clicked on an ogg file because I wanted to hear the audio and determine what the audio was. An obnoxious POS bloatware opened called Rhythmbox launched, did not appear in the application bar and it immediately started sending and retrieving information to an online database. This is not an efficient way to listen to an audio file. WTF Mint devs? Very Micro$oft Media of you. 

sudo apt remove rhythmbox

We used to install xmms, however, it has been removed from the respositories since the Gutsy Gibbon release. Another alternative which is easy to install and has been included in newer releases of Mint/Ubuntu is qmmp. See also Multimedia Audio and Video in Linux 

apt install qmmp

network tools

traceroute - this stuff should be installed by default, but apparently are not. Lame! 

sudo apt install inetutils-traceroute

speedtest - why mess around with it in a web browser when you can do it from the command line? 

sudo apt install speedtest-cli

unclutter and xbanish

One, or the other!

Hide the mouse cursor when not in use, for example, when typing this prevents the mouse cursor from getting in the way. Unclutter-xfixes is a rewrite of the popular tool unclutter, but using the x11-xfixes extension. xbanish is an alternative to unclutter, untested here. Xbanish hides the mouse cursor when you start typing, and shows it again when the mouse cursor moves or a mouse button is pressed. 

sudo apt install unclutter-xfixes

or 

sudo apt install xbanish

Software Applications

Edit Text

medit is a GTK-based editor that offers all the basics and some extra features for specif tasks like programming code. Medit has a tabbed interface, a side panel for quick filesystem browsing, and the ability to bookmark places in a file. For editing normal text medit will use the color scheme of your desktop manager. medit is written in C, C++, Lua, and Python. 

sudo apt install medit

Kate is a better text editor although there is a file open glitch on mint
sudo apt install kate

I think as of late 2021 I would recommend having the two basic text editors 1) medit and 2) X File Write which for each have their merit and best suited purpose.

2024: Kate Version 21.12.3 is working well. See Kate Advanced Text Editor

Terminal multiplexer

sudo apt install tmux

Virtual KVM

x2x aka X Windows to X Windows is a keyboard and mouse sharing application allowing you to control two computers with one keyboard and mouse. x2x allows the console (keyboard and mouse) on one X server to be used to control another X server. It is a type of remote desktop software.

Image Viewer: gThumb

Xviewer is the default image viewer installed in Mint 18. You may find that Xviewer is lacking some useful features in an image viewer. Gimp is also included in Mint however Gimp is quite a bit more than an image viewer, and most people are looking for something lightweight in an image viewer. The current best alternative to Xviewer in cinnamon 3.6.6 is gThumb version 3.4.3 and some other alternatives include Geeqie and viewnoir. I don't like how gThumb devs switched to the stupid hamburger menu style interface, however gThumb is the best of the choices at present.

gThumb is an image viewer with basic image editing tools, like cropping, image resizing, image enhancement and more. 

apt install gThumb

Some preferences to recommend:

  • anti-aliasing makes images look blurry. To disable it used to be Edit -> Preferences -> Image View and uncheck "smooth images" but since they switched to the awful hamburger menu system and stopped calling things by logical naming look for it under "Eyeball Icon thing on the upper left" -> Preferences -> Viewer -> change Zoom Quality to "Low" which doesn't really lower the quality, it just disables anti aliasing. How dumb is that option label?

Shell Environment Path

Simply...

Adding to the PATH for ALL USERS can be done like this:

  • edit /etc/profile, put the modified PATH in there. 
PATH=$PATH:/your/path; export PATH

Add that line to the bottom of /etc/profile

See also: Linux Shell Environment Path for more ways to edit the PATH such as on a per-user basis.

Put important LAN addresses in /etc/hosts

This is primarily for the LAN file server or any machine you wish to access shares on, and only machines that have a static IP address. 

vi /etc/hosts

You'll need this if you put any shares in /etc/fstab ref: New_Linux_Workstation_Post_Installation_Tips#CIFS_Windows_file_share_connectivity

Enable Accessing CIFS Shares without static mounts in fstab

sudo apt install cifs-utils
sudo apt-get install gigolo
sudo apt-get install gvfs-fuse

Java

OpenJDK Java Runtime 

sudo apt install openjdk-8-jre

Refer to Default Java on Mint Linux for options with Java

Wine

The Windows emulator, I mean, Wine Is Not an Emulator...

To use a current version of wine we do not want to go though the Software Manager in Mint. A current version of wine is available from the wine repository.

  1. open the "Software Sources" control panel and click "Authentication Keys"
  2. At the bottom click "Download a key" and enter: https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/Release.key (** If this fails, see "add key via console below") JUST USE CONSOLE
  3. Click "Additional repositories" choose "+Add a new repository" and enter: deb https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/ xenial main SEE NOTE BELOW FOR VERSIONS
  4. Click the "Update cache" button
  5. From console type: sudo apt install --install-recommends winehq-stable -y
  6. Configure: winecfg

note 1 ***: Add key via console, goto terminal and enter (instructions for step 2) 

sudo wget https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/Release.key
sudo apt-key add Release.key

or try the legacy method 

apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv 76F1A20FF987672F


WINE REPOSITORY VERSIONS

  • Mint 18.3 deb https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/ xenial main
  • Mint 19.x deb https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/ bionic main
  • Mint 21.x deb https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/ jammy main

see also: Wine as a resource to using wine and installing windows software.

Mint changes computer clock on reboot

This is only noticed on a dual boot machine when the other OS is Microsoft Windows. On a dual boot system, or comparing bios time to the time in Mint- Windows tries to keep HW clock at the local time. Linux tries to keep them at the UTC.

The fix for Mint 18 or newer is to execute this: 

sudo timedatectl set-local-rtc 1

Related Issue on Ubuntu (for reference): Ubuntu_Troubleshooting#Ubuntu_changes_computer_clock_on_reboot

The folks over at Mint don't want you to use local time. Here's the warning: 

Warning: The system is configured to read the RTC time in the local time zone.
         This mode can not be fully supported. It will create various problems
         with time zone changes and daylight saving time adjustments. The RTC
         time is never updated, it relies on external facilities to maintain it.
         If at all possible, use RTC in UTC by calling
         'timedatectl set-local-rtc 0'.

Troubleshooting and Annoyances

Debian Nerds Remove ALL RTSP Support

(rtsp stream playing does not work in Ubuntu 21.04 and Debian 11)
Mint 21.1 Vera Ubuntu 22.04 LTS has limited support for viewing rtsp protocol. It seems ffplay still supports rtsp, however vlc does not. Debian builds remove rtsp. Bug report claims, " We had to disable those plugins as liblivemedia constains non-free code. "

  • ffplay on mint supports rtsp
  • no packages for livemedia-utils in default repositories
  • vlc will not play rtsp unless you use the snap or build from source. - never - use the snap!
  • mvp player works, apt install mpv

Reset / Restart Cinnamon w/o closing all other programs

Enter ALT + F2 to go into "run command" then type the letter "r" and press enter - this will restart cinnamon, however, your cinnamon preferences will also be reset.

From console 

pkill -HUP -f "cinnamon --replace"

Edit the "Open with" right click menu

Edit the mimeinfo.cache file 

vi /usr/share/applications/mimeinfo.cache

Furthermore, the file -> click "Properties" -> click "Open with" is based on a list of .desktop files in /usr/share/applications

And there is also a tool called "alacarte" and using it to move or create an application a new .desktop file gets placed inside ~/.local/share/applications

If you want to delete applications from this list you have to edit the following file from command line

  • /usr/share/applications/mimeinfo.cache

If you added item by yourself, or you want to add new item you need to edit the following file from command line

  • ~/.local/share/applications/mimeinfo.cache

deafault actions you need to edit the following file from command line

  • ~/.local/share/applications/defaults.list

Canonical assumes everyone uses public wifi

A new feature in Ubuntu and Mint as part of the Network Manager is a connectivity checker that creates unnecessary and potentially suspicious looking network activity on your computer. It is an ugly hack developers came up with to address certain shortcomings with Ubuntu and Mint's ability to stay connected to public Internet wifi hotspots.

  • You can disable connectivity checking inside the menu: Preferences -> System settings -> Privacy -> Connectivity.

In the System Settings dialog under "Internet connectivity" is an ON/OFF toggle with the description: "Check that network connections can reach the Internet. This makes it possible to detect captive portals, but also generates periodic network traffic."

You DO NOT NEED nor benefit from connectivity checks if you are on your home computer connected to your own LAN or on an office computer connected to an office LAN, especially if connected via an Ethernet cable as opposed to wireless. It is best to disable it unless you are using a laptop and plan on visiting an Internet Cafe (or public wifi)!

Font anti-aliasing

This one is not for everybody. Desktop fonts, text fonts in the web browser, and in many areas of the mint desktop environment are made to look soft and smooth, this is purely an aesthetics quality that offers no functionality. It looks pretty. It also gives some people a headache trying to read text on a web page or on the desktop that is fuzzy. If you disable what is called HINTING and ANTIALIASING then, with a good LCD monitor, your fonts will be sharp and crisp, but will also take you back in time to the 1990's in that they will appear jagged. So, therefore, this modification is a personal preference. I will trade the clean refinement of soft text in an effort to relieve my headache and eye strain.

To enable old fashioned jagged nasty looking (but sharp and easy on eye strain) fonts I have found this 1 - 2 punch combination to work.

1. drop to terminal shell and execute the following commands: 

sudo mv /etc/fonts/conf.d/10-antialias.conf /etc/fonts/conf.d/.disable.10-antialias.conf
sudo mv /etc/fonts/conf.avail/10-antialias.conf /etc/fonts/conf.avail/.disable.10-antialias.conf

2. In Mint Cinnamon desktop goto MENU -> Preferences -> Fonts and in the "Font Settings" area change HINTING to "slight" and Antialiasing to "None"

In the case of Firefox I did not notice a difference right away. It seems like the system had to flush some visual cache but once that happened I got those good old fashioned jagged sharp text back. This impacts desktop icons, menu text, browser text, but some things are not impacted such as Konsole (the KDE terminal uses different font properties) and similar software.

The changes are easy to undo. Simply reverse the process above.

THERE ARE PROBABLY BETTER WAYS TO IMPROVE FONTS to find a happy middle ground between modern anti-aliasing and not having fuzzy headache inducing text. Some examples are making use of resources such as installing "Typecatcher Fonts" 

sudo apt-get install typecatcher

Another option people recommend is installing something called "Droid and Noto fonts" 

sudo apt-get install fonts-droid fonts-noto

And finally, going back to MENU -> Preferences -> Fonts you can configure the environment to use one of the new fonts you just installed.

Stop Automatically mounting partitions I don't want automatically mounted

These are partitions not even listed in /etc/fstab and Mint mounts them all even if I don't want them to be mounted. For example, I don't want sda3 to auto mounted, because I don't want userlevel access to that partition unless I manually choose to mount and access it.

Solution: Even though it isn't listed in fstab, and here is the logic... You have to add it to fstab and tell it not to auto mount. ?!?!?!?! yeah that's right! -or- you can do it the GUI way by the following steps:

  1. Mint Menu -> Accessories -> Disks -> select the partition on the left.
  2. click the "gear" icon below the partition table image (settings) and choose "Edit mount options"
  3. turn off "use session defaults" and uncheck "mount at startup"

Command not found, did you mean

An annoying little waste of programming code feature added to recent distributions: 

$ baby
Command 'baby' not found, did you mean:
 command 'laby' from deb laby
Try: sudo apt install <deb name>

Can be disabled for the current user shell by doing this: 

unset command_not_found_handle

Or always for the current user: 

vi /etc/bash.bashrc

and add "unset command_not_found_handle" Or globally disabled for all users on the system: 

sudo apt-get remove command-not-found command-not-found-data

Cannot run a Bash shells script from a Launcher in Mint 19.2

A cinnamon launcher on the desktop is like the shortcut used in MS Windows. Since the update it is been difficult to get a launcher to start a shell script from the desktop. Here is the solution.

If you have a shell script called nicolescript.sh and you wish to launch it from the desktop using a launcher shortcut so that the script launches in a terminal window with an active shell available use the following in the Launcher Properties for "Command" 

gnome-terminal -e "bash -c /chooser/nicolescript.sh; bash"

Just checking "run in terminal" when you initially create the launcher shortcut does not work since 19.2. See this discussion on linuxquestions.org for details.

Gaming Annoyance: Control Shift + Arrow key switches workspace

Don't you love it in the middle of FPS combat you hit a key combination that not only takes focus away from the game you're playing, but moves you to another virtual workspace? The assholes that made Mint didn't give us an option to disable this. However, we can remap the default to a different key combination. Here is the recommendation:

  1. System Settings -> (Hardware) Keyboard -> Shortcuts
  2. Categories (General) -> remap Show the Window Selection Screen to Shift-Control-Alt-Down
  3. Categories (General) -> remap Show the Workspace Selection Screen to Shift-Control-Alt-Up
  4. Categories (Workspaces) -> remap Switch to left workspace to Shift-Control-Alt-Left
  5. Categories (Workspaces) -> remap Switch to right workspace to Shift-Control-Alt-Right

We basically just added an additional key combination requirement that is less likely to interfere with gaming.

Software Manager Annoyance: flatpak listings in software manager

Remove flatpak from Mint Software Center; flatpaks completely absent from Software Center. See Flathub for details on the following command: 

sudo apt-get remove --purge libflatpak0

Window List Popup Thumbnails and Open Applications Alighment

Issues like the annoying application thumbnails and the alignment of the Window List applet can be customized:

Troubleshooting Linux Mint

Additional problems and known resolutions are documented in Mint Linux Troubleshooting.

Related

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