Nautilus does not show a folder/directory

srikanth_dhondi · 04-02-2010, 12:34 AM

Yesterday after downloading a file I tried to find it on the desktop where downloaded files are saved. It does not appear in nautilus but when I look for it from command line it appears to be there. I simply do 'ls' for this and that means its not hidden.

Googled it for an hour to find a suitable answer but most of the posts focus on removing the . in front of file name which is not the case here. Any suggestions/help will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Tuttle · 04-02-2010, 12:47 AM

try:

Code:

ls -al ~/Desktop/

and post the result.

Also, try opening nautilus in a terminal:

Code:

nautilus --no-desktop

See if any errors appear in the terminal while changing to your 'Desktop' directory...

Tuttle · 04-02-2010, 12:50 AM

also, examine the X session errors file:

Code:

less ~/.xsession-errors

grail · 04-02-2010, 01:43 AM

May also depend on what sort of desktop you have too. If you choose the 'wallpaper' option in compiz it
covers the whole desktop and does not show anything added to it

knudfl · 04-02-2010, 04:11 AM

The " ls " command will show if present, but not where.

find ./* -name *file*
.. will tell, where it is.
I guess, you have the folder /home/<user>/Desktop/
May be have a look there too.
.....

cusri2004 · 04-04-2010, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuttle

try:

Code:

ls -al ~/Desktop/

and post the result.

Also, try opening nautilus in a terminal:

Code:

nautilus --no-desktop

See if any errors appear in the terminal while changing to your 'Desktop' directory...

Tuttle, Thanks for your reply. As I described in my question that I can view them through command line and 'ls' shows the folder to be present where as nautilus fails to show it up. Anyways I am posting what you have suggested me to do.

$ls -al ~/Desktop
-rw-r--r-- 1 srikanth srikanth 524423 2010-04-01 00:35 001_Aankhon_Dekhi_Sanch.pdf
-rw-r--r-- 1 srikanth srikanth 852381 2010-04-01 00:38 006_The_Art_of_Dying.pdf
-rw-r--r-- 1 srikanth srikanth 245843 2010-02-10 12:15 0674624610.pdf
drwxr-xr-x 2 srikanth srikanth 4096 2010-04-05 07:47 12 Angry Men
-rw------- 1 srikanth srikanth 1534533 2010-02-10 18:01 463.full.pdf
drwxr-xr-x 2 srikanth srikanth 4096 2010-04-05 07:45 [Desibbrg.com]Paanch.2003.XviD.MP3.700MB(PreviewCopy)[MTB]
-rw------- 1 srikanth srikanth 382352 2010-01-29 10:52 Effect of Chain Stiffness on the Morphology of Diblock.pdf
-rwxr-xr-x 1 srikanth srikanth 1510352 2009-07-31 12:47 English 2 Telugu Dictionary.pdf
drwxr-xr-x 2 srikanth srikanth 4096 2010-03-26 12:10 entropy_in_entangled_polymers
drwx------ 4 srikanth srikanth 4096 2009-10-01 15:54 fujixerox
-rw------- 1 srikanth srikanth 382352 2010-01-29 10:49 fulltext.pdf
lrwxrwxrwx 1 srikanth srikanth 14 2009-04-07 13:36 home -> /home/srikanth
-rw------- 1 srikanth srikanth 245843 2010-02-10 12:24 INVESTIGATIONS ON THE THEORY OF THE BROWNIAN MOVEMENT.pdf
-rw------- 1 srikanth srikanth 927765 2010-02-05 16:58 Kinetic Theory and Rheology of Dilute Suspensions.pdf
-rw------- 1 srikanth srikanth 541855 2010-02-10 12:24 Linear and Nonlinear Viscoelasticity of a Model Unentangled Polymer Melt MD and Rouse Modes Analysis.pdf
drwxr-xr-x 2 srikanth srikanth 4096 2010-03-11 11:25 lit
drwxr-xr-x 3 srikanth srikanth 4096 2010-04-03 22:52 LSD Love, Sex Aur Dhokha - DVDRip - XviD - 1CDRip - [DDR]
-rw------- 1 srikanth srikanth 568556 2010-01-28 17:46 manuscript.pdf
drwxr-xr-x 2 srikanth srikanth 4096 2010-01-31 15:51 new
drwxr-xr-x 3 srikanth srikanth 4096 2010-03-31 12:10 No.Smoking.2007.1CD.DVDRiP.x264.6Ch.NhaNc3
-rw------- 1 srikanth srikanth 727045 2010-02-05 17:17 p3628_1.pdf
drwx------ 2 srikanth srikanth 4096 2009-11-04 19:25 paper
drwxr-xr-x 2 srikanth srikanth 4096 2010-03-31 12:10 Pinjar (2003) DVDRip XviD AC3 Subs DrG
drwxr-xr-x 2 srikanth srikanth 4096 2010-03-31 12:10 Raakh 1989 Mp4 ACC
-rw------- 1 srikanth srikanth 1263394 2010-02-08 15:40 Self-diffusion in solutions and melts of flexible-chain polymers.pdf
drwxr-xr-x 6 srikanth srikanth 4096 2010-04-02 01:02 songs
-rw-r--r-- 1 srikanth srikanth 19777202 2009-11-12 04:09 Statistical physics of macromolecules - Grosberg_ Khokhlov - 1994.pdf
drwxr-xr-x 2 srikanth srikanth 4096 2010-02-28 15:11 The Apu Trilogy. Satyajit Ray. Eng Subs
drwxr-xr-x 2 srikanth srikanth 4096 2010-04-03 22:53 The Blue Umbrella 2007 1CD DVDRip AC3 ~Team BMB~
-rw------- 1 srikanth srikanth 1441335 2010-02-10 12:22 The fluctuation-dissipation theorem.pdf
drwxr-xr-x 2 srikanth srikanth 4096 2010-04-03 22:53 The.Good.The.Bad.And.The.Ugly.Extended.1966.512.24fps.489kbps.V5.WunSeeDee
-rw------- 1 srikanth srikanth 1184686 2010-02-26 13:41 thesiswriting.pdf
drwx------ 4 srikanth srikanth 4096 2009-11-04 19:25 vorticity
drwx------ 2 srikanth srikanth 4096 2010-02-26 14:20 vuwthesis-all

No errors appear at the prompt while changing to Desktop.

cusri2004 · 04-04-2010, 06:33 PM

Opening the Desktop with Nautilus and then asking it to show hidden files makes the folder appear. How do I un-hide this directory permanently without having to do Ctrl+H every time?

Thanks

Tuttle · 04-04-2010, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cusri2004

Opening the Desktop with Nautilus and then asking it to show hidden files makes the folder appear. How do I un-hide this directory permanently without having to do Ctrl+H every time?

Thanks

That's a lot of stuff you have on your desktop...
This is mine:

Code:

tuttle@shangrila:~$ ls -al ~/Desktop/
total 707531
drwx------   2 tuttle users       144 2010-04-04 20:41 ./
drwx--x--x 115 tuttle users      4688 2010-04-05 11:41 ../
-rw-r--r--   1 tuttle users        71 2010-02-15 20:29 .~lock.Tagalog.ods#
-rw-r--r--   1 tuttle users 723795968 2010-04-02 13:31 elive_2.0_Topaz_new-kernel_up002.iso

There's a stale lock file that I forgot about!

Anyway, if you tell us which file has been made 'hidden' then we might know what to do about it!

cusri2004 · 04-05-2010, 12:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuttle

That's a lot of stuff you have on your desktop...
This is mine:

Code:

tuttle@shangrila:~$ ls -al ~/Desktop/
total 707531
drwx------   2 tuttle users       144 2010-04-04 20:41 ./
drwx--x--x 115 tuttle users      4688 2010-04-05 11:41 ../
-rw-r--r--   1 tuttle users        71 2010-02-15 20:29 .~lock.Tagalog.ods#
-rw-r--r--   1 tuttle users 723795968 2010-04-02 13:31 elive_2.0_Topaz_new-kernel_up002.iso

There's a stale lock file that I forgot about!

Anyway, if you tell us which file has been made 'hidden' then we might know what to do about it!

The folder/directory which is hidden is
drwxr-xr-x 2 srikanth srikanth 4096 2010-04-03 22:53 The Blue Umbrella 2007 1CD DVDRip AC3 ~Team BMB~

Tuttle · 04-05-2010, 05:06 AM

The only character in the folder name which may make a difference is:

Code:

Try removing them and see what happens... if that doesn't work then rename the folder "1234" or something!

cusri2004 · 04-05-2010, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuttle

The only character in the folder name which may make a difference is:

Code:

Try removing them and see what happens... if that doesn't work then rename the folder "1234" or something!

That did the trick!

Can you explain what could have been the issue? Thanks a lot for your help.

Sayan Acharjee · 04-05-2010, 07:24 AM

I tried creating an empty file named new.txt~ and found its not there, though ls command showing its present, removing ~ made it visible once again, so I guess it means ~ can also be used to hide files. Its something new for me.....

brianL · 04-05-2010, 07:33 AM

The ~ is usually put on automatically created backup files by text editors.

Tuttle · 04-06-2010, 06:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brianL

The ~ is usually put on automatically created backup files by text editors.

Like vi, of course! Best to avoid the squiggles :P