The StitchMastery app no longer launches since upgrade from F40

I have an application launcher for a program I use that works fine under Plasma/KDE but has disappeared from Gnome/Xorg11. It was there under F40 but disappeared during a subsequent update/upgrade.

If I drill down through the files I can click the executable file and open the program. If I use Alt+F2 and type in the path, Gnome opens Files but doesn’t launch the executable.

A .desktop file is in both ~/.local/share/applications and /usr/share/applications.

Has the ability to create custom launchers been shut down?

No, the user .desktop files still are supported, though custom alterations may break them.

You noted that it worked on f40 but not after upgrading.
What app is this related to?
What fedora version are you now using?
Is there a difference between the .desktop files under ~/.local and under /usr?
If so then try removing the one under ~/.local so the system is instead using the default under /usr to test and verify the default launcher works. Then try fixing the problem in the .local launcher file.

Also note that upgrades to apps may change the .desktop file in /usr/share/applications, but never change the .desktop files under ~/.local/share/applications. Those files are user managed only.

2 Likes

I’m currently running F42, I prefer KDE but Wayland isn’t playing nice with my Wacom tablet.

The app I’d like to see in the list under Gnome is StitchMastery. Under KDE the .desktop file is in under Home/Desktop.

The 2 .desktop files I have for StitchMastery are the same except for one line. The file in /usr/share/applications includes

X-Desktop-File-Install-Version=0.28

I moved the .desktop file out of ~/.local and rebooted - the launcher is still not showing.

Are you using Wayland or X11?
That line tends to make me think it may be an X11 app that might not work on Wayland (but that is just a guess)

The stichmastery app does not appear to be a fedora app (or at least is does not appear on f43) but does appear here.

I suspect you may need to contact the developers for that proprietary app to get assistance with newer versions of fedora.

I changed the title for you to reflect the actual issue.

The program half-works on Wayland. It’s definitely happier with X11. The Wacom tablet half-works on Wayland but is happier on X11. I contacted the developers - all 2 of them - they really don’t have the resources to chase a problem for the handful of clients using Linux.

I’m running Gnome with Xorg because Wayland doesn’t like my Wacom tablet. Response from the stylus - under any application - is erratic. The machine has been through a lot of upgrades (since f24) so there may be more “garbage files” than on the average system.

It also seems the gdk-pixbuf2-module-extra was already installed.

I don’t know as there’s anything in my desktop file that shouldn’t be there, but it is longer than yours.

[Desktop Entry]
Comment[en_US]=
Comment=
Exec=/home/username/Stitchmastery322/Stitchmastery
GenericName[en_US]=
GenericName=
Icon=/home/username/Stitchmastery322/icon.xpm
MimeType=
Name[en_US]=StitchMastery
Name=StitchMastery
Path=/home/username/Documents/Knitting/StitchMastery
StartupNotify=true
Terminal=true
TerminalOptions=
Type=Application
X-DBUS-ServiceName=
X-DBUS-StartupType=none
X-KDE-SubstituteUID=false
X-KDE-Username=

X-Desktop-File-Install-Version=0.28

The Terminal=true line was added to get the .desktop file to work under KDE.

I just tried to log into Gnome on Wayland, Gnome Classic on Wayland, and Gnome (Wayland) - all options on my logon - and all failed. The logon screen cleared, then came right back and asked for my password. Gnome on Xorg and Plasma seem to be my only options right now.

Since you need to use X11 it would seem more practical to use a fedora spin that still uses X11. Fedora Workstation and KDE have both completely dropped X11 with the release of f43, and it seems they will not be supporting X11 going forward, though it seems a couple of the available spins will continue using X11.

I looked at the list of Spins but the descriptions don’t seem to provide much information. Do you know which ones plan to continue with X11?

I’m assuming I would have to install the Spin, I can’t “upgrade” to it.

I believe Cinnamon and possibly LXDE or XFCE still use X11. I have no first hand experience, but you could download the iso and install it on a VM using qemu/kvm/libvirt to test.

Are you stuck on X11 purely due to the wacom tablet? or is there more that demands X11.
The future is going away from X11 rapidly.

I have not seen many complaints about wacom and wayland recently though there are a lot of entries with a search for ‘wacom’ on this forum. You may find a solution for your problem with wacom and wayland by researching some of those fairly recent threads.

A machine that has seen that many upgrades would certainly have a lot of leftover cruft. It may be better to do a new install and eliminate the potential unwanted side effects of that cruft.

The tablet “mostly” works under Wayland. There have been some “buffer overflows” or times when it stops working, then starts up again - usually the next update fixes it. Much of the problem has been the combination of the tablet and Stitchmastery on Wayland - some features don’t work properly. Trying to draw with the stylus in Stitchmastery on Wayland doesn’t work - it’s as if the stylus doesn’t exist. The same features work fine on Gnome with X11.

I admit to being terrified of doing a fresh install - my last experience was far more exciting than expected.