Help me understand Alt-F2 or the LXDE Run Command

.
I would expect to be able to put an executable command like
mc, ifconfig, vrms, or even less /var/log/syslog into the
little applet that appears either with Alt-F2 or the LXDE
menu choice 'Run'. But neither of these work for me.

Can anyone help me with this?

The starter from LXDE can only run GUI tools, not CLI tools because it doesn't offer the ability to run an application in a terminal. It's another thing with the starters from Gnome, KDE or XFCE4.

Greetings Werner

Hi, Werner

I don't see how Alt-F2 or the 'Run' choice are even useful in LXDE.

With 'Run' from LXDE you can only start GUI-tools (which are in the users path)!

With 'Run' from Gnome you can start GUI-tools and CLI-tools.

Greetings Werner * http://www.wp-schulz.de/knoppix/summary.html
Own Rescue-CD (Knoppix V6.7.1 remaster)

I understand that, but the GUI tools are already menu choices.
Moreover, the LXDE MENUs allow cli entries as well as gui entries.

And, confusingly, the Run/Alt-F2 gui OFFERS a lot of cli choices that don't work,
and even one, alsamixer, that causes a cpu problem;
at least it does on my dual-cpu laptop.

The forum has identified (and corrected) several small flaws in 6.7.1 this year.
I think Run/Alt-F2 may be another area worth a critique.

It is not a flaw from Knoppix!

LXDE

Code:

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lxpanelctl run

---

don't offer this feature to start CLI tools in a terminal. Please ask in the LXDE forum why not.

Hi again, Werner

I greatly respect and appreciate your comments.

I'm not suggesting that irregularities in Run/Alt-F2 are KK's fault,
except, possibly, in the choice of LXDE as the desktop.

I was hoping when I started this thread to discover a better way of
handling several LXDE Run/Alt-F2 idiosyncracies which I've identified.
Just tolerating these imperfections is not what I had in mind.

I get the feeling that change comes very slowly in LXDE, at least in this
Debian adaptation. I would wonder if Knoppix might do as well or better
with XFCE, which seems to me to be a more actively developed product.

Staying with LXDE, I am inclined to edit my LXDE menu to delete the
Run alternative, and to add a new separate submenu of my own
populated with a dozen or so of my favorite cli choices.
Being lazy as I am, I was hoping there might be an easier way.

Hi, utu!

If you must run a program in a terminal like mc you can press Alt-F2 and issue

Code:

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lxterminal -e mc

---

Greetings

Why this detour over "Alt F2"? I start a terminal immediatly with the panel-button.

The terminal closes automatically when the program ends. :)

@ Klaus2008

Greetings, Klaus; thanks for your comments.

I've also noted that lxterminal -e (in either Run or Alt-F2)
works for mc, alsamixer and less /var/log/syslog
but does not work for vrms, ifconfig, dmesg


@ Werner & Klaus

I just ran across an interesting gui editor for the LXDE menu,
or at least the apps part of the menu. Looks neat. Installs
very painlessly. Find this at

http://lxmed.sourceforge.net/

Doing away with 'Run' isn't a capability of this editor, unfortunately.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by utu

I've also noted that lxterminal -e (in either Run or Alt-F2)
works for mc, alsamixer and less /var/log/syslog
but does not work for vrms, ifconfig, dmesg

---

You need to emulate "keep the window open" behaviour by doing something like this :-

Code:

---

          lxterminal -l -e "dmesg | less"
          lxterminal -l -e "ifconfig ; read INP "

---

It's quite painful to need to issue such commands. Maybe the GUI should be the one which encapsulate all this, with an option to run program in a terminal window and "keep the window open". Should probably be suggested to the author of lxpanelctl, perhaps.

Cheers.

@ kl522

Thanks for your comments.

I suppose one could, with your help, tailor each command this way, but it's
still much easier to just to call up a 'real' lxterminal and enter the cli command.

My point here is the action of LXDE's Alt-F2/Run is just weird in the absolute,
let alone compared to several other well-established alternative standards.


@ To all concerned

I've spent a few minutes only with lxmed, but I already see a caveat to my
initial enthusiasm. lxmed does not seem to be an editor, but a composer.

The initial configuration which one edits is one based on one of four basic
linuxes: Debian, Red Hat, and (two others, but I forget which). This Debian
configuration does not exactly match Knoppix 6.7.1, notably missing out on
Knoppix's Universal Access submenu altogether.

lxmed may serve the purpose, but I'd make a copy of all relevant files before
applying any changes made by lxmed to a working Knoppix install.
We'd all probably do that anyway, I know.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by utu

@ kl522

Thanks for your comments.

I suppose one could, with your help, tailor each command this way, but it's
still much easier to just to call up a 'real' lxterminal and enter the cli command.

My point here is the action of LXDE's Alt-F2/Run is just weird in the absolute,
let alone compared to several other well-established alternative standards.

---

This is not something I put emphasis on and I have no experience using other desktops in this 'run' dialog. So I can't compare the "other well-establish alternative standards".

But for the minimum, I noticed that you get the same thing in Windows XP. Try to enter 'ipconfig', 'route' etc into Windows Start->run. It will not work properly !

On the other hand, I think it's a trivial source code change to add two checkboxes, one checkbox for 'run program in terminal emulator' and another checkbox for 'keep terminal emulator window open'. It's a matter of whether the author feels like wanting to add this into the 'run' dialog.