How to change Gnome's mimetype handling

Hi,


Does anyone know how, exactly, one edits the mimetype
associations
Gnome makes?  I just installed Kino from freshrpms into my
FC6 system,
and it promptly broke Realplayer mimetype associations in a
strange
way: Nautilus says that .rm files are, according to their
content,
text/plain and simply refuses to acknowledge they can be
opened with
Realplayer.  Or rather, I can make Gnome open text/plain
-files with
Realplayer, but then the s*/&%d thing wants to open
_all_ text/plain
files with Realplayer.

It's not like this is the first time something like this
has
happened.  How do I fix it?  I've delved around the file
system and
looked all those wonderful .desktop, .application, .keys and
.mime
files, and I see there's a script called
update-mime-database, but
I can't find any documentation that would tell me how to
mess about
with this broken mimetype handling.  Does anyone know?

(As an aside, I think Gnome is lovely on most days, but this
mimetype
handling sucks big time, along with editing of themes (or
that you
can't unless you're willing to read your way through reams
of
documentation (then again, now there is at least _some_
documentation
besides GTK+ source code (and no, I don't want KDE.  If I
have a
really bad day with Gnome, I fire up twm and an xterm.)))


Eeva
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On 3/2/07, Eeva Järvinen <eevajwelho.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
>
> Does anyone know how, exactly, one edits the mimetype
associations
> Gnome makes?  I just installed Kino from freshrpms into
my FC6 system,
> and it promptly broke Realplayer mimetype associations
in a strange
> way: Nautilus says that .rm files are, according to
their content,
> text/plain and simply refuses to acknowledge they can
be opened with
> Realplayer.  Or rather, I can make Gnome open
text/plain -files with
> Realplayer, but then the s*/&%d thing wants to open
_all_ text/plain
> files with Realplayer.
>
> It's not like this is the first time something like
this has
> happened.  How do I fix it?  I've delved around the
file system and
> looked all those wonderful .desktop, .application,
.keys and .mime
> files, and I see there's a script called
update-mime-database, but
> I can't find any documentation that would tell me how
to mess about
> with this broken mimetype handling.  Does anyone know?

usually right click a doc of the right type, select
properties, then
one of the tabs has the handler applications, you can pick
the default
there.

>
> (As an aside, I think Gnome is lovely on most days, but
this mimetype
> handling sucks big time, along with editing of themes
(or that you
> can't unless you're willing to read your way through
reams of
> documentation (then again, now there is at least _some_
documentation
> besides GTK+ source code (and no, I don't want KDE.  If
I have a
> really bad day with Gnome, I fire up twm and an
xterm.)))

I agree, it's kind of windowslike.

greets,
Wim
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On Sat, Mar 03, 2007 at 04:48:04PM +0100, Wim De Smet
wrote:
> 
> usually right click a doc of the right type, select
properties, then
> one of the tabs has the handler applications, you can
pick the default
> there.

Yes, I can, but since Gnome thinks .rm files are text/plain,
it then
proceeds to try and open _all_ _text/plain_ _files_ with
Realplayer.
Which is kind of stupid.  I need a way to stop Gnome from
thinking .rm
files are text/plain.

I'd also benefit from the info how one changes Gnome's
behaviour with
mimetypes in general, because I'd like to add a system-wide
mimetype
for Zilog Z80 core images, too.


Eeva
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On 3/3/07, Eeva Järvinen <eevajwelho.com> wrote:
> On Sat, Mar 03, 2007 at 04:48:04PM +0100, Wim De Smet
wrote:
> >
> > usually right click a doc of the right type,
select properties, then
> > one of the tabs has the handler applications, you
can pick the default
> > there.
>
> Yes, I can, but since Gnome thinks .rm files are
text/plain, it then
> proceeds to try and open _all_ _text/plain_ _files_
with Realplayer.
> Which is kind of stupid.  I need a way to stop Gnome
from thinking .rm
> files are text/plain.

aha I spoke too soon then.
>
> I'd also benefit from the info how one changes Gnome's
behaviour with
> mimetypes in general, because I'd like to add a
system-wide mimetype
> for Zilog Z80 core images, too.

I *think* all this is handled by gconf and gnomevfs
somewhere. I'd
have to do some looking around to know just where it stores
stuff,
though the standard mime database might be a good starting
point.

greets,
Wim
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Wim De Smet writes:
> On 3/3/07, Eeva Järvinen <eevajwelho.com> wrote:
> >I'd also benefit from the info how one changes
Gnome's behaviour with
> >mimetypes in general, because I'd like to add a
system-wide mimetype
> >for Zilog Z80 core images, too.
> 
> I *think* all this is handled by gconf and gnomevfs
somewhere. I'd
> have to do some looking around to know just where it
stores stuff,
> though the standard mime database might be a good
starting point.

The standard system mime type database is in
/etc/mime.types,
with applications for each mime type specified in
/etc/mailcap.

Gnome may also have mime type files of its own, but even if
it does,
it may use the systemwide files for defaults. And these
files are
just simple text files so they're easy to modify.

You might have to restart your desktop before Gnome will
pick up
changes to the files.

-- 
    ...Akkana
    "Beginning GIMP: From Novice to Professional":
http://gimpbook.com
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On Sat, Mar 03, 2007 at 05:01:06PM -0800, Akkana Peck
wrote:
> The standard system mime type database is in
/etc/mime.types,
> with applications for each mime type specified in
/etc/mailcap.

Oddly enough, /etc/mime.types says:

audio/x-pn-realaudio	      ram rm

which is, AFAIK, completely correct.

/etc/mailcap is almost empty, just a lines for audio/mod,
image,
application/msword, application/pdf, application/postscript,
text/html
and application/x-java-jnlp-file, but that's all, so
apparently
mailcap is being phased out, and it is replaced by
something
Gnome-specific.  

It seems to me that the answer is lurking somewhere in
Gnome's
configuration, but there's so much of the stuff I can't make
neither
head nor tail out of it -- I'm not a Gnome developer, even
though I
consider myself computer-literate.  Heck, I admin, configure
and
specify content management systems fora living!  This can't
be that
hard once I find out where to start, but I wouldn't want to
start
reading C source or getting familiar with how Gnome's vfs
works
internally: it just seems so unnecessary.  I mean, I can
read and
write C and numerous other computer languages, but what's
the point?


Eeva
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On 3/4/07, Eeva Järvinen <eevajwelho.com> wrote:
> On Sat, Mar 03, 2007 at 05:01:06PM -0800, Akkana Peck
wrote:
> > The standard system mime type database is in
/etc/mime.types,
> > with applications for each mime type specified in
/etc/mailcap.
>
> Oddly enough, /etc/mime.types says:
>
> audio/x-pn-realaudio          ram rm
>
> which is, AFAIK, completely correct.
>
> /etc/mailcap is almost empty, just a lines for
audio/mod, image,
> application/msword, application/pdf,
application/postscript, text/html
> and application/x-java-jnlp-file, but that's all, so
apparently
> mailcap is being phased out, and it is replaced by
something
> Gnome-specific.
>
> It seems to me that the answer is lurking somewhere in
Gnome's
> configuration, but there's so much of the stuff I can't
make neither
> head nor tail out of it -- I'm not a Gnome developer,
even though I
> consider myself computer-literate.  Heck, I admin,
configure and
> specify content management systems fora living!  This
can't be that
> hard once I find out where to start, but I wouldn't
want to start
> reading C source or getting familiar with how Gnome's
vfs works
> internally: it just seems so unnecessary.  I mean, I
can read and
> write C and numerous other computer languages, but
what's the point?
>

http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=142927
Same problem abouts. Links somewhere around here:
http://www.gnome.org/learn/admin-guide/2.14/
mimetypes-modifying.html
which might be a good place to find a work-around. I'm
thinking
something is broken in one of the packages you installed
though, and
it broke the gnome mime database. Or rather, the mime
detection
database (bunch of globs to relate files to mimetypes).

greets,
Wim
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