Downloaded files not found

I am a newcomer to Linux, since I have now since 14 days an aspireone with Linux.
I succeeded with the help of this and other fora to make it my personal PC by rearranging the applications on the desktop: I did modifications to the config file .....group-app.xml and now those applications appear which I use most.
I replaced firefox 2 by firefox 3 and the e-mail client by thunderbird. The latter has a problem when I try to introduce a new contact:
the window which opens is not big enough and by reasons which I do not understand the slider at the right side of the window is missing so that I can not reach the ok button. Seems to be a skaling problem.
However, I have another problem which bothers me more: I downloaded some files and they appear in the directory download, when I list them through the file browser on the desktop.
However, when I try to install the programmes I downloaded through line commands I got the message file not found.
I then entered the directory download through the relevant cd command and entered "ls"; now files where listed. It looked like as if the directory was empty. ?????
Any explantion or better any advice please

Winfried

 

In Linux, you can move any window around by holding the ALT-button while left clicking on the window, then drag it to where you want it. Some software (whether in Windows or Linux) is written on the basis that it will have a full size screen to work in, and the One's 600 pixel high screen isn't enough for it.

The directory is called Downloads, not download; Linux is case sensitive.

However this raises another question: what are you downloading and how are you installing it? Many people carry over Windows habits into Linux: download and install is not usually the way to install Linux software. See http://www.aspireoneuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=5105&start=0 for information on how Linux deals with installation.

 

Thanks but I know. To move the full window around is not a problem it is to have the bottom of the content of window displayed. It is cut away by the frame of the window. At the bottom are the buttons by which the content is entered into the book as new contact. These I can't reach.
I don't know how to insert here a screenshot I try with but I don't see how to insert the picture.

I know I was a bit floppy.

Thanks for this advice; however, the programme foxitreader is not in a package. You can download it from their website http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/desklinux/ made as a single file for Linux. I did so and it appears in the my file directory Downloads as "FoxitReaderPre1_Linux_enu.tar.gz"
When in terminal I do
[user@localhost ~]$ ls
aa1blinux Documents Music Videos yBook
Desktop Downloads Pictures winetricks
[user@localhost ~]$ cd Downloads
[user@localhost ~]$ ls
aa1blinux Documents Music Videos yBook
Desktop Downloads Pictures winetricks
[user@localhost ~]$ cd Downloads
[user@localhost Downloads]$ ls
[user@localhost Downloads]$
[user@localhost Downloads]$ ls
So it seems there is now file as I mentioned above.
I knwo that the file is a tar file and has to be unpacked. There is a nice instruction listed under http://www.tuxfiles.org/linuxhelp/softinstall.html how to deal with these files. So I with cd I went into "Downloads" and did the follwoing

[user@localhost Downloads]$ tar xvzf FoxitReaderPre1_Linux_enu_tar_gz
tar: FoxitReaderPre1_Linux_enu_tar_gz: Cannot open: No such file or directory
tar: Error is not recoverable: exiting now
tar: Child returned status 2
tar: Error exit delayed from previous errors
[user@localhost Downloads]$

So the system states that the file does not exist.????

Any advice

[user@localhost Downloads]$

 

Let's start by seeing if that file has ended up in the wrong place. Two things to do:

1. I assume you downloaded the file using Firefox. Check in the preferences where it is set to store downloaded content: it's possible that in the course of a change to FF3 one of Acer's setting has been lost. If the location there is not /mnt/home/Downloads, or /home/user/Downloads, then (a) change it to be /mnt/home/Downloads for the future and (b) look wherever it was previously set to find your file.

2. If that doesn't sort things out, use the desktop search facility. Put "Foxit" into the search bar on teh standard desktop, change the 'Yahoo' to 'Desktop', and hit the search button. This will bring up another dialog: click 'Find' there and the system will find any files with Foxit in the name.


The oversized window: I've just found what you mean in Thunderbird; I'd imported all my contacts and not used the manual add yet. You can still make it work: use the ALT-click trick to move the window up the screen, then click on the bottom border of the window and drag it down: the window will resize as you do so, giving you access to the rest of the dialog. Once you know what fields are there, you can probably tab through them and hit enter at the right point to save going through this every time you need to add a contact: I haven't checked since I've no need to add a contact at the moment, but I would expect the fields to respond to tab / enter even if they are not visible on the window.

I'd also suggest filing a bug against Thunderbird on this: it's clearly not right to assume a screen geometry rather than ascertaining it at runtime.

 

Actually it is /home/user/Downloads; however the commands
[user@localhost chrome]$ cd /home/user/Downloads
[user@localhost Downloads]$ ls
result in an empty listing
So plan B

I did the find: it did not find it under "file systems", but when I chose to search the disk system ,in the path disk-1/downloads: I have extended my aspireone by a 16GB SD card. It seemes to be on that card.

I tried this command, after I found out that the file is on another drive:
[user@localhost Downloads]$ cd /disk-1/Downloads
bash: cd: /disk-1/Downloads: No such file or directory
[user@localhost Downloads]$
It did not work. Any suggestion how to change the drive or to reach the exended memory? Any suggestion how I can use it.

I got an advice through mozilla to fiddle around with the profiles of Thunderbird.
I had to enter a subdirectory Chrome and to create a file userChrome.css in the Thunderbird profile files and to enter there some skript: I did as follows

[user@localhost ~]$ cd ~/.thunderbird/

[user@localhost .thunderbird]$ ls
o5938w8e.default profiles.ini

The default library contains all profiles
[user@localhost .thunderbird]$ cd o5938w8e.default
Here I had to create the subdirectory chrome since it did not yet exist:

[user@localhost o5938w8e.default]$ mkdir chrome and it shows up in ls

[user@localhost o5938w8e.default]$ ls
abook-1.mab extensions.cache key3.db urlclassifier2.sqlite
abook.mab extensions.ini localstore.rdf US
blocklist.xml extensions.rdf lock virtualFolders.dat
cert8.db history.mab Mail XPC.mfasl
chrome impab-1.mab mimeTypes.rdf xpti.dat
compatibility.ini impab-2.mab panacea.dat XUL.mfasl
compreg.dat impab-3.mab prefs.js
downloads.rdf impab.mab secmod.db
extensions install.log signons.txt

Than I changed to chrome
[user@localhost o5938w8e.default]$ cd chrome
I did create with the command "cat" the file userChrome.css --- a textfile

[user@localhost chrome]$ cat userchrome.css
and ls shows
[user@localhost chrome]$ ls
userChrome.css

Then I called the editor mousepad and copied the skript below into the file. The skript I got from the moderator of the mozilla thunderbird forum:

[user@localhost chrome]$ mousepad userChrome.css

Code:

/* Adjust size of Add Address window */
    #abcardDialog {
    max-height: 550px;
    width: 425px; }

    #abcardDialog vbox {
    max-height: 500px; }

    #editcard {
    height: 450px !important;
    overflow: auto; }

I closed the file and restarted thunderbird and now the content of the new contact window is movable as required.

I agree and did so. I suggested in my reply to the thunderbird forum moderator that in the next version they repair this. But maybe as you suggested I should take a more formal step and file a bug.

 

Thunderbird: thanks for finding out how to mend it! It should be easier than that, though, so I do think this merits bug filing.

Missing file: try

Code:

cd /mnt/home/Downloads

and see if that is any better. I'm rushing now, but somewhere on the forums I think there is a thread about slightly odd behaviour of the extension slot and where it mounts in different applications.

 

OK David

With cd /mnt/home/Downloads I found the file. Tomorrow I will find out if I can use it or have to copy it on the other SD card.
I thank you very much for your help that was great support.

Winfried

 

Another worthwhile tip here is that the shell (command line) has auto-complete functionality, so if you expect you should have a file named unzipme.tar.gz in your current (working) directory, you could type in:
tar zxvf unz
and then press [tab], and assuming that there is no other file that begins with the letters 'unz', it will auto-complete to:
tar zxvf unzipme.tar.gz

If there is NO file beginning with those letters in your present location, then you get a soft error beep. If there is more than one file, then you may get partial auto-completion, or else a list of possible completions, depending on the circumstances.

This is great for long file names (that could otherwise be easily misspelled), and also for clue-ing you into the fact that you are in the wrong place!!!