Re: Debian menus I am lost

[Chris Flipse <flip@csh.rit.edu>]

  I do not understand the debian menu system. Based on what I read in  the
  manual  /usr/doc/menu/html/ch4.html  and other sources I took the
  following  steps as a user (not as root)
  	1. Created ~/.menu    directory
  	2. in ~/.menu  created the following file
  
  ?package(local.staroffice):   needs="x11" section=Apps/Misc 
  title="Staroffice" command=/home/tjm1/Office50/bin/soffice"

Your problem is in the first line: "?package(local.staroffice):"  ...
if you don't have the package in the ?package(...) section of the menu
declaration installed, then update-menus skips this entry.

the resoning behind this is fairly simple:  since debian allows you to
remove a program, but leave all of its configuration files intact, if
update-menus did not check for the package, you'd have the possiblity of
having a lot of "broken" menu items.

I would suggest, then, changing the (local.staroffice) dependancy to
something else, perhaps (for a quick hack) change it to (menu).

A better idea is to use the debian installer package for staroffice...

  If anyone can help me to understand  the debian menu system I will be
  very appreciative.  And once I understand the subject I will write
  something to be included in the manual.  Thank you
  
this is actually mentioned in the manpage for menufile(5)  

 - flip

------------------------------------- flip@csh.rit.edu/flip@octoraro.org --
I'm not a cynic.  I'm a realist.