Permission issues

[destinyblade]

This might not be an issue. It could just be that I cannot understand how perms on linux work.

1. I want to take a .desktop file I have made and put it in /usr/share/applications. I cannot do so because every time I go to paste it says ‘permissions do not allow pasting in this directory’

2. I am trying to install a theme on libre office which isn’t available on LIbre’s extensions or themes(I guess for copyright issues since it’s designed to resemble word) and I’m getting permission issues there too. When I install it as an extension it shows to be installed but I can’t see it in icons. I tried the other method of copy pasting it to the directory for extensions and I get the same message - ‘permissions do not allow pasting in this directory’. When I went to remove the extension itself from Libre it displayed an error

The theme I was trying to install.

The error message I got when trying to remove it. Posting a screenshot because I can’t copy paste it -

A user here linked me two pages on permission commands and I couldn’t understand them. All I could understand was -

-users don’t have root access(is this the same as sudo?) all the time and I can’t simply paste to a folder which is set to root access.
-Applications also can’t access these folders which I guess is why the extension wasn’t installed properly?
-permissions are handled through different values? like read is 4, write is 2 and execute is 1 though I don’t know how to use this

[vgaetera (Vladislav Grigoryev)]

This is bad practice to modify anything in /usr/share.
Its integrity in controlled by the package manager and the contents are owned by packages.
The proper locations to add customizations for all users are /usr/local, /opt, /etc.

Also note that files available to all users are typically read-only for security reasons.
You need administrative privileges, e.g. with sudo to modify/edit such files.

In your case it should look like this:

sudo tee /usr/local/share/applications/test.desktop << EOF > /dev/null
[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=test
Exec=test
EOF

In general case, you can gain administrative privileges like this:

# Edit/browse files
gedit admin:///path/to/file
nautilus admin:

# Edit file
sudo -e /path/to/file

# Root shell
sudo -i

See also: File permissions and attributes - ArchWiki

Better split the LibreOffice-related issue to a separate thread.

[destinyblade]

putting it in local/share/applications worked.

I eventually just went with some other theme

Thanks for the help

[itwrx (John Doe)]

@destinyblade Besides the great advice to check the Arch wiki, if you need to understand permissions of a file or dir i found Midnight Commander(“mc” to run in terminal and package name to install) to be very helpful. It is a terminal based file browser/manager. You may find it a little nerdy to use at first, but i would suggest learning how to use it, as it really comes in handy and will end up being one of your favorite programs after you do/over time. It shows (and lets you edit, if started with the necessary perms for a given file/dir) the perms and ownership in one of the easiest to understand formats i have seen using it’s UI for chmod and chown, Just something for you to know for the next time, or if you get curious.