How to add "Refresh" on right click menu on desktop

[electrifyings]

How to add "Refresh" on right click menu on desktop?

OS - Linux Mint 21.2 x86_64
Kernel - 5.15.0-78-generic kernel
DE - Cinnamon 5.8.4
WM - Mutter (Muffin)

Thank you in advance.

[Midnight True]

Hi and Welcome to the forum

To my knowledge there is no need for "Refresh" in linux, please see this https://unix.stackexchange.com/question ... here-is-so

[electrifyings]

Hi and Welcome to the forum

To my knowledge there is no need for "Refresh" in linux, please see this https://unix.stackexchange.com/question ... here-is-so

I know, it is just one of those things that I miss from the past. I keep right clicking on desktop and miss having a button that does not nothing, like a harmless "refresh".

[terry_dwyer]

I've just upgraded to 21.2 and there is no inotify package, no inotfy service running and grepping for it in ps does not produce a result.

In nemo, what you say is correct, a download will show changes in the files being downloaded, but in the event you are editing a text file in the current directory, there is no change in the filelist until a manual refresh is done.
I too would like to have a right-click menu item if only to save the major movement there and back from the icon in the tool bar.
From a brief look at the manpage I don't think inotify is there to refresh the display if the file's size changes and that wold be one of the most useful things it could do for me.
In addition, I suspect it is nemo seeing the file changes (which don't extend to a file size changing) that is doing the directory updating.
If a user wants inotify to run I imagine it would need to be started as a service, which in my new install it is not doing.

[jackkileen]

Not exactly what you are looking for but you can right click on an empty space on a panel...Troubleshoot/Restart Cinnamon.
Ctrl + Alt + Esc should work also.

[duracell80]

I think because storing files on the desktop is discouraged maybe that would have been a reason to withdraw a menu item. I know in Windows I use refresh / reload a lot.

I like that in Mint, external drives mounts and network folders popup automatically.

Let me dig out one of my scripts that I used in Nemo to add desktop menu items. I have things like, restore previous wallpapers, easy access to theme settings, display settings and an item to lock the screen would also be good too (stopping radio++ on screen lock would be an excellent shortcut).

https://github.com/duracell80/Cinnamon-PowerToys

Open theme settings from right click, desktop. In a Nemo actions use Conditions=desktop.

Code: Select all

[Nemo Action]
# Opens the Theme Settings to Change Themes
Name=_Theme Settings
Comment=Make Changes to Overall Theme Settings
Exec=cinnamon-settings themes
Icon-Name=video-joined-displays-symbolic
Selection=none
Extensions=any
Conditions=desktop

[mmcmonster]

I actually could use this as well.

In my case, I occasionally save an image to the desktop while I am working on it. Sometimes the icon is a thumbnail of the image. Other times it's a generic icon for the image type. When this happens in Nemo I would just reload the folder in Nemo and it would generate the proper thumbnail.

Would like similar functionality for the desktop.

[AZgl1800]

I happen to keep a LOT of stuff on my Desktop, as it lets me navigate to Frequently Used Folders,
and it lets me keep Current in Progress Documents up where I can get to them.

those things would disappear forever, if dropped into a folder
F5 will do a Refresh, but I never use it in NEMO, only in a Browser to force the webpage to Redraw.

the top row is for Extremely short-lived stuff, usually pix or things to sort and push into the appropriate folders. the top row of Folders is the only thing that stays permanent ( more or less )

[taltamir]

Hi and Welcome to the forum

To my knowledge there is no need for "Refresh" in linux, please see this https://unix.stackexchange.com/question ... here-is-so

Your link actually says the opposite of "no need to refresh"

I have read in forums and googled results , that 'Refresh' is not needed in Linux (Ubuntu /Linux Mint , etc ) like systems.

I never found the reasons or concept behind refreshing in linux

Refreshing/reloading is still needed in a number of cases:

* If for some reason, you're running neither a modern kernel nor famd (e.g. old installation, embedded machine).
* If your files/entities are accessible over a medium inotify and famd don't support because it's not a locally accessible ‘directory’, e.g. the GNOME VFS using sftp or the KDE sftp:// IOSlave.
* If they're not files at all. For instance, web pages or documents being viewed. But: many viewers will watch their open files for changes and will automatically reload them. This is handy in development where you have a lot of edit-save-‘compile’-view cycles — the venerable xdvi did this for LaTeX typesetting. The KDE document reader okular does it too.

I can also confirm that linux mint needs folder refresh in nemo when multiple people are accessing the same NAS shared folder via SMB.

For example:
My mother's computer is where the home scanner is located.
I scan it on her computer and drop it on /mnt/NAS-shared/form-1040.pdf

/NAS-shared/ being an smb share which every member of the household has permission to use and access.
which has been set to auto mount on boot
Every household member has their own private dataset too, but for the purpose of passing files around there is a collective shared dataset all can access.

I go to my own PC, connect to NAS-shared and cut and paste the document into my own PC at /my documents/actual documents/taxes/

Now on her PC there is an incongruity. It displays form-1040.pdf as still being there. but it is not.
This incongruity might seem trivial, but if something distracts you. Like the doorbell, then when you get back you might not remember what is where.
And you cannot trust what the folder is displaying. it is displaying non existent files as if they exist.

It is possible to refresh, you simply need to leave that folder then come back to it.

===
Another example is when I am sending a document.
Father asked me to send him a file. let us say "chicken soup recipe.odt"
I sent it over.
Dad: "I am still not seeing it"
Me: You need to refresh
Dad: How do I refresh?
Me: You exit the folder and enter again because mint does not have a refresh button.

===

There are various other scenarios that could arise from NAS shares that could result in outdated and wrong information being displayed and wanting to perform a refresh.