[SOLVED] Prevent wifi network applet listing unused networks

Debian Testing/Bullseye with Cinnamon.

When I'm connected to a wifi network, I have no need or interest in seeing other wireless networks.

Does anyone know a way to hide them from the Wireless section of the Cinnamon network applet?

Failing that, is there some way to filter them out at a lower level?

Since the machine in question only ever connects to a single wifi network, I would be happy with a solution that involves whitelisting on name and/or ssid to only ever detect the network the machine cares about.

In a word, "no". There is no way for the applet to read minds and know what networks are of interest, and no setting (in my version) that allows you to HIDE networks.

That said, you do not NEED to run the applet. Once networking is set up and NetworkManager will connect you to the proper WIFI you can choose to disable that applet and simply not use or display network information at all.

There is also another option: which is to set up the networking manually. I do not recommend this, as it is not only quite advanced and subject to error but also more difficult to fix if things break or change.

With that out of the way, I have a question for you: why does it matter? What is there about being able to see other WIFI networks in that applet that is problematic? Normally I would consider it a GOOD thing.

Originally Posted by wpeckham There is no way for the applet to read minds and know what networks are of interest

It's not a question of reading minds - if I'm currently connected to network A, I'm not interested in network B.

It could also determine that networks below a certain strength threshold are not listed - I wouldn't be surprised if it did that already, but has a relatively low value.

Or, as I stated, I would be quite content with any method to specifically tell the desktop environment or the kernel which networks I am interested in.

That said, you do not NEED to run the applet. Once networking is set up and NetworkManager will connect you to the proper WIFI you can choose to disable that applet and simply not use or display network information at all.

Oh! I didn't realise I was asking for something I didn't need! :|



Anyway, I've just tracked down the code to "/usr/share/cinnamon/applets/network@cinnamon.org/applet.js" (not the "/usr/bin/nm-applet" suggested by previous searches).

Making a test edit and reloading the applet the changes take effect, so it shouldn't take much to make it behave as I want, and then I'll go workout whether to fork the applet or if it's easier to re-apply the changes after each upgrade.

Originally Posted by boughtonp It's not a question of reading minds - if I'm currently connected to network A, I'm not interested in network B. It could also determine that networks below a certain strength threshold are not listed - I wouldn't be surprised if it did that already, but has a relatively low value. Or, as I stated, I would be quite content with any method to specifically tell the desktop environment or the kernel which networks I am interested in.

The point is that what you are asking of the applet is not what it was intended to do. Your choices are either change the behavior to something that it was not intended to do, or simply not display the applet so you do not have to SEE those other networks.

Oh! I didn't realise I was asking for something I didn't need! :|

1: I did not say you were asking for something you did not need. I said you do not NEED the applet. You were not asking for the applet, you already have it and that was what bothered you. You can eliminate the applet from your display and not have to see that wifi list. I do not understand why you seem to be manufacturing a reason to take needless offense.

2: actually you ARE asking for something you do not need. Unless you answer the question I asked (which you have not done so far) the assumption is that everything is working correctly (according to the design), you just WANT to not see it work quite as intended. What I WANT is to help get you there.

Anyway, I've just tracked down the code to "/usr/share/cinnamon/applets/network@cinnamon.org/applet.js" (not the "/usr/bin/nm-applet" suggested by previous searches). Making a test edit and reloading the applet the changes take effect, so it shouldn't take much to make it behave as I want, and then I'll go workout whether to fork the applet or if it's easier to re-apply the changes after each upgrade.

Oh good. Let us know how that works out.

If you don't need Network Manager and only ever connect to one network, just disable it and set up a manual configuration.

https://wiki.debian.org/WiFi/HowToUse#Using_ifupdown