[PLUG] VLC won't launch

[wes]

On Wed, Nov 18, 2020 at 7:45 PM John Jason Jordan <johnxj at gmx.com> wrote:

>
> The .desktop file for VLC in /usr/share/applications has not been
> changed. But I cannot launch VLC from the applications menu.
>
>
What is the path to vlc in the .desktop file? Usually (but not always)
found ona  line beginning with Exec=

>From the command line sudo apt install vlc says it is already installed
> and the latest version. A reinstall from the command line also
> accomplished nothing.
>

I assume by "reinstall" you mean the literal reinstall command to apt. You
may also want to try a remove, then a purge, then an install. This will
blow out config files and such.


> From the command line 'vlc' launches the player, even if I can't launch
> it from the applications menu, and then I can use File > Open to play
> the file. Or I can just launch VLC from the command line and drag a
> video file from a file manager and drop it on the VLC window.
>

That's good; that means the problem is with the OS rather than the
application.


> I need to figure out what is the difference between launching from the
> command line and launching from the applications menu.


The difference is that the menu icon uses the .desktop file to determine
how to launch vlc.


> what the heck happened that caused the breakage?
>
>
I could not even begin to guess.

-wes