Getting Treepad Lite for Linux to run

[Tom_ZeCat]

I'm attempting to get this application to run:

http://www.treepad.com/linux/treepadlite/

It's not available in the Muon or Synaptic repositories. Does Linux have other repositories which might have it? In any event, I've been attempting to install it via a download. According to the developer's site, “TreePad Lite for Linux is a freeware personal information manager designed specifically to run on Linux. It supports Unicode, is fully portable, and does not need to be installed.” I know the Widows version is just an exe file that you can put on a thumb drive, double click and run. I'm not having such an easy time with the Linux version. I downloaded and extracted it and got some html files and some hjt ones (which I recognize as Treepad files from years of working with the Windows version.) Then there's a file named “treepadlite” with no extension that Dolphin shows with the gear icon to indicate it's an executable. The readme.txt file verifies that this is indeed the program.

Running this thing is not as easy as the web site made it out to be. In the terminal in the same directory as the Treepad file, I typed treepadlite and got “command not found” in response. Then I tried “sudo treepadlite.” I was prompted for my password, then I got “command not found”. I definitely typed it right -- I even tried copy and pasting the name. So I figured maybe it has to be in an official program directory, so I copied it to: /etc/treepadllitelx/treepadlite
Then I added a launcher to the applications menu. When I tried to run it from there nothing happened. Then in the launcher configuration in advanced, I checked “run in terminal.” Then I get:

Warning: Could not find '/etc/treepadllitelx/treepadlite', starting '/bin/bash' instead. Please check your profile settings.

What gives? I know I'm in the right directory and am calling the right executable file. This thing is supposedly totally portable. Btw, the version I'm working with is version 4.3 beta. It's supposed to be programmed specifically for Linux. I think prior versions were really compiled from Windows code. I remember running Treepad Lite/Linux back in about 2010 under Hardy Heron and it looked awful. She screen shots of this ver 4.3 look way better.

I googled how to add a launcher. The page I found had some information on the “hard way” or how to use bash scripts. (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/HowToAddaLauncher) That was over my head to be honest. That must be like an old-fashioned DOS batch file? If so, I'll need to figure out how to put in the program's parameters. If bash is the answer to this problem and you know what I should read about it, please speak up. This thing clearly is not as portable as its author had intended.

Then there's yet another downloaded program that's giving me fits. It's a French verb conjugator that looks nicer than Verbiste, IMO, at least from its screen shots. I may be back to talk about it. We'll first see if any knowledge gained from Treepad helps me with it. For now here are the links to it (screen shot page and download page) in case you want a look:

Linux download page:
http://leconjugueur.lefigaro.fr/uktelechargelinux.php

screen shots
http://leconjugueur.lefigaro.fr/ukconjlinux.php

[whatthefunk]

I downloaded it from the website, doubled clicked on it to open Ark and extract it, and then it was ready to go. I double clicked on the executable and bam, there it was.

[Tom_ZeCat]

I downloaded it from the website, doubled clicked on it to open Ark and extract it, and then it was ready to go. I double clicked on the executable and bam, there it was.

That's weird. Why might I still be getting problems then? I tried re-downloading it, but got the same results. Are there some security settings that might be on that could be blocking the program's running?

What about the French verb conjugation software. Perhaps you're able to run that?

[SteveRiley]

Running this thing is not as easy as the web site made it out to be. In the terminal in the same directory as the Treepad file, I typed treepadlite and got “command not found” in response. Then I tried “sudo treepadlite.” I was prompted for my password, then I got “command not found”. I definitely typed it right -- I even tried copy and pasting the name. So I figured maybe it has to be in an official program directory, so I copied it to: /etc/treepadllitelx/treepadlite
Then I added a launcher to the applications menu. When I tried to run it from there nothing happened. Then in the launcher configuration in advanced, I checked “run in terminal.” Then I get...

You appear to misunderstand a few basics.

It's generally not a good idea to leap directly to using sudo to run a program for troubleshooting purposes. Furthermore, sudo is only for elevating console commands. To elevate GUI programs, use kdesudo.

Executable programs do not, under normal circumstances, reside in /etc, so copying the file there is not going to help.

Unlike Windows, Linux does not automatically search the current path when locating executables. It searches only the contents of the environment variable $PATH. Because treepadlite is not in $PATH, you can't run it simply by typing the name. You have to prefix it with a dot, the shortcut for "current directory." Therefore, the proper syntax is:

./treepadlite

This works only when you have switched into that subdirectory in a console window. If you're sitting in some other directory and you extracted the files to the subdirectory treepadlitelx underneath your home directory, you can run the program this way (the tilde means "home directory"):

~/treepadlitelx/treepadlite

[SteveRiley]

Oh, and this TreePad Lite program is 32-bit only. If your Kubuntu is 64-bit, you will need the package ia32-libs-multiarch installed.

[Tom_ZeCat]

Oh, and this TreePad Lite program is 32-bit only. If your Kubuntu is 64-bit, you will need the package ia32-libs-multiarch installed.

We're in business! I got both Treepad Lite and Le Conjugueur to run! I had forgotten to mention that these would not run before even when I used Krusader in root mode and double clicked on the executables. Turns out looks like Le Conjugueur must have also been 32-bit only. The guy hasn't developed it since Ubuntu 8.04, which is a shame because it's a terrific program.

It's late and I need to hit the hay, but tomorrow I'll work on setting up the launchers into the applications menu. Okay, so programs don't go into etc. I thought they did, but I was going by an old memory from using Ubuntu 8.04 some years back. Is there a standard place where K/ubuntu puts program files like the Windows Program Files (or Program Files (x86)) directory?

Thanks a ton for your help. I'm excited to get these things running. The French verb conjugating program is every bit as good as it looked in the screen shots.

[whatthefunk]

We're in business! I got both Treepad Lite and Le Conjugueur to run! I had forgotten to mention that these would not run before even when I used Krusader in root mode and double clicked on the executables. Turns out looks like Le Conjugueur must have also been 32-bit only. The guy hasn't developed it since Ubuntu 8.04, which is a shame because it's a terrific program.

It's late and I need to hit the hay, but tomorrow I'll work on setting up the launchers into the applications menu. Okay, so programs don't go into etc. I thought they did, but I was going by an old memory from using Ubuntu 8.04 some years back. Is there a standard place where K/ubuntu puts program files like the Windows Program Files (or Program Files (x86)) directory?

Thanks a ton for your help. I'm excited to get these things running. The French verb conjugating program is every bit as good as it looked in the screen shots.

Glad you got it working. Most executables are in /usr/bin so if you put your program there, it will be on your path and will be easy to make launchers for. Getting a launcher on your menu should take all of a minute. Right click on the menu button and open up the Menu Editor. From there, you can click New Item and search for the appropriate command. You can also assign an icon by clicking on the box to the right of the Name field.

[Tom_ZeCat]

Glad you got it working. Most executables are in /usr/bin so if you put your program there, it will be on your path and will be easy to make launchers for. Getting a launcher on your menu should take all of a minute. Right click on the menu button and open up the Menu Editor. From there, you can click New Item and search for the appropriate command. You can also assign an icon by clicking on the box to the right of the Name field.

Thanks for that info. Looks like Le Congugueur actually did install to /usr/bin. It just didn't make the launcher or icon. I found its executable in that directory. There are two download packages (http://leconjugueur.lefigaro.fr/uktelechargelinux.php) for this program, a Debian one and a tar.gz file. The Debian one ran like an installer in the terminal, but then I could not find it installed. That must be the one that put the executable there. The tar.gz one extracted and I was able to run it, but obviously I don't need it.

All the application files are simply together in that directory! They're not in their separate subdirectories. That's going to take some getting used to.

Edit: One more thing -- I imagine there must be some process for suggesting an application to a repository, right? This French conjugating program is a lot better than the one I got from the repository (Verbiste), IMO. Verbiste is okay, but LC does a lot more.

[SteveRiley]

We're in business!

Yay!

Okay, so programs don't go into etc. I thought they did, but I was going by an old memory from using Ubuntu 8.04 some years back. Is there a standard place where K/ubuntu puts program files like the Windows Program Files (or Program Files (x86)) directory?

Even in Ubuntu 8.04, programs didn't go in /etc. Linux (and Unix) directories are defined in the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard. (This is also documented in man hier.)

In Windows, the %ProgramFiles% directory (usually C:\Program Files) contains subdirectories for each application. A subdirectory contains all files for an application -- binaries, DLLs, system-wide configurations, templates, etc. In Linux FHS, files are not grouped by application but instead by type. All binaries are in one set of directores, all configurations are in another, all templates in another, and so on. This is one of the more major stumbling blocks that confound recent converts

Most executables are in /usr/bin

This is for programs that are part of the distribution or downloaded from a distribution's repositories. Technically, user-installed applications not from a repository should be placed within the /usr/local hierarchy.

------------
Quiz for everyone: what does usr mean?

[Tom_ZeCat]

Yay!


Even in Ubuntu 8.04, programs didn't go in /etc. Linux (and Unix) directories are defined in the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard. (This is also documented in man hier.)

In Windows, the %ProgramFiles% directory (usually C:\Program Files) contains subdirectories for each application. A subdirectory contains all files for an application -- binaries, DLLs, system-wide configurations, templates, etc. In Linux FHS, files are not grouped by application but instead by type. All binaries are in one set of directores, all configurations are in another, all templates in another, and so on. This is one of the more major stumbling blocks that confound recent converts


This is for programs that are part of the distribution or downloaded from a distribution's repositories. Technically, user-installed applications not from a repository should be placed within the /usr/local hierarchy.

I was just going by my own memory on the "etc" thing. Obviously it wasn't accurate. So, Le Congugueur installed to the /user/bin. Its Debian package put it there. It runs, so I'm just going to leave it. If I put Treepad Lite in /usr/local as you suggest, will that be on the path and hence easy to make a launcher for?

[SteveRiley]

I was just going by my own memory on the "etc" thing. Obviously it wasn't accurate.

If only memories could be perfect! I could certainly use one like that

So, Le Congugueur installed to the /user/bin. Its Debian package put it there. It runs, so I'm just going to leave it.

And this would be correct. Packaging systems are expected to write to /usr/bin, because packaging systems are integrated with an operating system's update mechanism.

If I put Treepad Lite in /usr/local as you suggest, will that be on the path and hence easy to make a launcher for?

Place it in /usr/local/bin. This is included in your path, which you can verify thusly:

env | grep -i ^path

[Tom_ZeCat]

Uh oh, there's trouble in paradise with Treepad Lite. When I double click on it from the Konquerer file manger, it runs flawlessly. First a screen comes up that explains that Treepad's autosave feature is not ready yet. You click okay and then a menu pops up offering to do different things such as load a recent file, load a file from disk, etc. If you choose one of those, it happens or if you choose “do nothing,” the Treepad program simply loads without anything. You can modify any of the files, create a new one, and save just fine.

Things are different if you've pulled up the program from the loader. I've created a loader using different locations, including /usr/local/bin suggested by SteveRiley and /usr/bin suggested by whatthefunk. The result is the same each time. The menu explaining about autosave does not come up, nor does the one offering to do different things such as loading a recent file. The main Treepad menu comes up. If you attempt to open a treepad file, you get the error “access violation.” If you make a new treepad and try to save it, you get the same error.

I went in with Konquerer in root mode and changed the file permissions of the treepadlite executable file so that everyone had read and write permissions to it. For ownership, I set it to “tommy” (my user name) for both “user” and “group.” No effect. The thing still doesn't run right if you run it from the launcher. It runs perfectly if you double click on it from Konquerer.

In the KDE Menu Editor I chose “run in terminal” to see if I could get a look at what was happening. Here was the result:

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

`menu_proxy_module_load': /usr/local/bin/treepadlite: undefined symbol: menu_proxy_module_load

(treepadlite:7726): Gtk-WARNING **: Failed to load type module: (null)

I'm not sure why it's not working. Anyone have a clue?

[SteveRiley]

First, make sure you have a clean installation. Remove all existing TreePad Lite files. Then, follow these steps.

1. Extract the download:

sudo tar -xvf ~/Download/treepadlitelx.tar.gz -C /usr/local/bin

You have to run elevated because you need to write to a system directory.

2. Change the owner of the files to root:

sudo chown root:root /usr/local/bin/*

3. Install the i386 version of the utility to export menus over DBus:

sudo apt-get install appmenu-gtk:i386

This will fix the error you mention above.

[whatthefunk]

This is for programs that are part of the distribution or downloaded from a distribution's repositories. Technically, user-installed applications not from a repository should be placed within the /usr/local hierarchy.

Learn something new everyday:grin:

[Tom_ZeCat]

First, make sure you have a clean installation. Remove all existing TreePad Lite files. Then, follow these steps.

1. Extract the download:

sudo tar -xvf ~/Download/treepadlitelx.tar.gz -C /usr/local/bin

You have to run elevated because you need to write to a system directory.

2. Change the owner of the files to root:

sudo chown root:root /usr/local/bin/*

3. Install the i386 version of the utility to export menus over DBus:

sudo apt-get install appmenu-gtk:i386

This will fix the error you mention above.

Okay! We're up and running. The application still doesn't show the menu explaining about autosave not working or the next one offering various options. That's no big deal. It loads straight to the main menu and then does not crash if you load or save a file. The person who makes Treepad is currently at work developing for Linux the other versions of Treepad. I've used various versions of the program for over a decade. I have numerous logins, notes on how to use programs, code repositories, workout journals, etc. in Treepad files. That's why it was critical for me to get Treepad running under Linux in some form. I'm eagerly anticipating Treepad Business Edition for Linux. TPBE has a lot of extra features like the ability to encrypt your sensitive data, spell check, highlight, etc. I can use Treepad Lite/Linux for my basic stufff and Treepad Business under WINE for the more sensitive data. It's usable under WINE, but not perfect. My review of it is here if anyone's interested: http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManage...sion&iId=28507 Treepad Business was barely usuable under WINE 1.4. Under WINE 1.6 it's dramatically improved.

The French conjugating program was also a big deal. I've been using Ultralingua under Windows for that, but there's no Linux version and it goes "BLYECH!" under WINE. This free Linux program actually does a better job than Ultralingua. It does more stuff that is of use to a novice French speaker like myself.

Thanks again for your help. Do you have a recommendation of material I should read to get more familiar with K/ubuntu/Linux, especially the command line? When I got my first MS-DOS computer, I bought a book about that OS and sat down and tried out all the commands page by page until I knew it well. People talked about how hard DOS supposedly was, but I never thought so. I knew how to use it. In fact, I resisted the move to Windows because I was getting done what I needed so well in DOS. Even today most of those commands I learned are relevant. Most people buy a Windows PC and use nothing but the GUI. They look at me as some kind of guru if I do something simple like use the command line to look at file attributes or to copy files.

In any event, if you have a recommendation of reading I could do, either online or as a book, I'll check it out.