Hello All,

Running Ubuntu 20.04.3 LTS:

Background to current problem (which may or may not relate):
Desktop objects sometimes disappear; re-appear on re-boot.

My question is: Is there a solution other than OS re-install?

Details of problem:

All folder/file permissions in properties are read/write.
(1) IF I create a Test folder:
(2) I CAN cp that folder to desktop.
(3) I CANNOT cut/copy any file/folder to any location because "paste" is greyed out.
(4) I CAN drag/drop a file/folder to another folder but I CANNOT drag/drop that object out of the folder, nor paste. That object remains "in jail" in that folder.
(5) Dropbox fails because I CANNOT cut/copy/drag and drop any object into it. To check that this was not a Dropbox issue, I purged Dropbox from terminal, re-installed and, ditto, same problem. Needless to say, when I ran Ubuntu MATE from a virtual machine, none of the above problems occurred, including with Dropbox.

So it seems I have a corrupted OS. The question is, What is corrupted and can it be repaired?

I'd be grateful for any solution other than wiping and starting over. I have a Brother monolaser multi-function printer which is very difficult to install, a driver for every function via CLI, so I'm really trying to avoid a re-install.

Many thanks for any suggestions.

P.S. I am NOT querying about a Dropbox problem but an OS problem which happens to be fatal to Dropbox functionality.

You have either a laptop? or Desktop? computer running Ubuntu 20.04, as a 'live' system? or as a fully installed system? on some unknown hardware? What objects sometimes disappear and then reappear on reboot? Desktop icons? How do these objects appear initially? Doe the user create them or do they just 'appear'?

An ordinary user should be able to copy a file or directory to that particular users /home/user directory. You're are using a multiuser system whether you see yourself as the only user or not. You should be able to copy/write to any sub-directory of the /home user but not write outside that area.

Familiarize yourself with Linux owner:group and permissions.

What are desktop objects? Icons? But vanilla Ubuntu 20.04 doesn't show any icons on the desktop by default.
So, is it Ubuntu or Ubuntu MATE? MATE allows you to have icons on the desktop by default, for vanilla Ubuntu you'll have to install gnome-shell-extension-desktop-icons first. For folder shortcuts, see How to create desktop shortcuts for folders in Ubuntu 20.04 (the link is for vanilla Ubuntu with GNOME).

For more than a year I have run 20.04 as a fully installed system on a desktop I assembled. I am the only user. A new problem that never existed before, to me, suggests that something is broken rather than that I have made an error, for there have been no changes in my daily computer work. When I say "objects," I mean any items that you can place on the desktop: a .wav file, a .png file, a .doc file, an mp4 file, etc. Of course, I am using virtual desktops by default. Sometimes one or more items "disappears." They re-appear upon re-boot. This has been going on for about a year, less than once per day. I run the computer 24/7 (BOINC). Like I said, I don't know if this problem is related to the paste greyed out function.

Please see reply to yancek for explanation of what I mean by "objects" which are essentially files with various extensions depending on the file type. I understand that Ubuntu vanilla does not permit app shortcuts, except for Dropbox, but that MATE does. But I'm not referencing apps, only files.

Dropbox is the center of my workflow as it is for many. If I cannot paste any of the numerous objects I need to paste to it, Dropbox ceases to function. But neither can I paste anything to my desktop independently of Dropbox. Please read again my list of what I can and cannot do. Ubuntu 20/04.3 is my installed OS and MATE I was running in a virtual machine.

I just googled "linux paste greyed out" and found about 25 instances, all on Debian based distros, going back several years, usually reported as bugs, and no solutions.

It doesn't look good . . .

I don't use dropbox so I don't know if that has anything to do with your problem.
I don't generally use Desktop icons or link and currently the only Desktop icon I have on the standard Ubuntu Desktop is shown below. When I double lick the Desktop icon, it runs the simple bash mount script to mount Slackware on another partition on the drive which performs as expected.

I can copy a .pdf, .png or any other type file from the /home/user directory to the Desktop and paste it on the Desktop and view/access it.

Prior to doing this I installed: sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-desktop-icons

It is generally suggested to have these desktop files in /home/user/.local/share/applications or in /usr/share/applications. With the gnome-shell-extension-desktop-icons software installed, nether is necessary.

Have you reviewed the link below.

https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2018/01/...s-removed-3-28

I have confirmed that the Dropbox issue is unrelated although involved. It is an OS failure. Do you have any idea for a solution. I only need to bring "paste" back.

Other than the info in the links posted, no.

I don't believe anything was "corrupted", but rather it was a deliberate choice by the "Gnome" developers. Many articles in recent years explaining the disdain Gnome developers have for "Desktop icons" and their reasons for it. I saw an article last year in which the Gnome developers actually suggested using Nemo rather than Nautilus as a File Manager if they wanted desktop icons!

I found the link below after reading your previous post yesterday which explains the changes

https://fostips.com/app-icons-to-desktop-ubuntu-21-04/

I would suggest that if this is important to you, desktop icons with Gnome, that you keep detailed notes in a safe place because who knows when someone will decide to change back?

I ran across this last year for the reason I mentioned in my initial post. I've been using KDE since I started with Linux 2 decades ago and am comfortable with it so have never changed. It may be that the developers listed to users as I have seen numerous complaints about this 'problem'. Hopefully, that being the case, they can work on the Ubiquity EFI installer (been complaints about that for 7+ years).

Anyhow, congratulations on your accomplishment!

The link in this post explains how to create a desktop link in Ubuntu 21.04 and Ubuntu 21.10.

The link below explains how to do the same on Ubuntu 20.04. Near the bottom of the page, it also explains how to do this manually. It basically requires creating a proper Desktop Entry as shown in post # 7 above, with the correct Exec and Icon paths. It is necessary to right click the desktop icon and select Permissions tab and click the check box to the left of Allow executing as a program.

https://linuxconfig.org/how-to-creat...al-fossa-linux

In this same properties window, click the Open With tab and have Default Application show Run Software and click Set as Default tab in lower right. Close the window and Right click desktop icon again and you should see an option to Allow Launching, click that The icon you set should show and clicking the desktop icon should run the application/program you want.

I would suggest that if this is important to you, you either use 21.04 or 21.10 as suggested by the OP or explained in the link above. You may also try testing the whole set up in Virtual Box or similar software or on a secondary installation on another drive or usb installation.

Everything I had previously read in regard to creating these desktop links seemed to indicate that it would be necessary to have files in either /home/user/.local/share/applications for local user links or in /usr/share/applications for system wide application desktop files. I don't have either and am not sure why this works, perhaps the installation of: sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-desktop-icons OR, if there is some other reason.