Ubuntu just started renaming files while exporting (sending over mail, KDE Connect, Whatsapp web). The folder is my google drive, connected to my google drive. Sometimes it looses its file ending/type as well. The file is called something like: “1Kfhgsji2rjfIS-fi3oo598nf8ajlfoi.pdf”
I guess its a weird bug, it persist even after a restart. Thanks, maybe you have a solution
It sounds like your sync process can create files, but not rename them afterwards.
That long filename you’ve got now is likely the temporary name you get while the file is being transferred, once it’s fully there it usually gets renamed to what you want it to be.
Go up one level and check the permissions for the directory the files are in. The permissions should be read-write, otherwise it’d not be able to create files in there at all, but check if the “sticky bit” is set. That stops processes from renaming files once they are made.
Unfortunately I’m travelling at the moment, but hopefully your file manager will have a way of showing if the “sticky bit” is set for that directory.
I should have sudo rights. I’m the only user on the pc and I can execute commands as sudo. The sticky bit seems not to be set. According to the quick Google search it is a “t” behind the rwx permissions when doing ls -l
You might be the only user, but there are processes running on your machine that are not you. Most system processes try to run with the least permissions possible to mitigate security risks.
It feels like it’s this kind of problem, but it could also be something to do with file locking. Eg the transfer process wants to rename the file but it can’t because another process has it open.
Can I check what processes are using a file?
Is the original file name like that, or is that the exported name?
The exported one. The original was normal text
Not gonna lie, that’s straight up bizarre. I’m almost wondering if it has to do with the programs not having proper permissions to access those files, but then I’d think that they wouldn’t upload at all.
Have you tried chmod 777 on any of those files to see if it makes a difference? That is usually my first stop when a Linux program has trouble interacting with a file.
I just opened the Google drive folder in the terminal and listed the files. They all have the similar 33 letter name. When I “ls -ld” on the files, it shows -rw-------
Do you know how to accomplish a chmod in Linux?
Here’s a breakdown if you need to learn: https://www.howtogeek.com/437958/how-to-use-the-chmod-command-on-linux/
From your description, it looks like there is read write permission for the user, but no group or general permissions. Again, I don’t know if this will work, but it is where I would start.
Open your terminal and type:
sudo chmod 777 /path/to/file.txt
That will allow all users, groups, and guests to read, write, and/or execute the file. Then, if your programs are set to run under their own user or group, this will open the door for them to be able to access the full file.
Other than that, I’m wondering if the original file names have a structure that one of the systems can’t handle (such as slash marks) and so it changes the name to accommodate.
This is going to take some trial and error in troubleshooting. If you aren’t familiar with your terminal yet, this is going to be a great learning opportunity. Just make a backup of your files and system so you can undo any mistakes.
Thanks dor the link. I ran the command with sudo and the fill path to the file, permission still denied. User group and user is me, still only rw permission for the user… It confuses me, that I don’t have executive permission on my own folder. Should I try to disconnect and reconnect to Google drive?
Couldn’t hurt, but I’d be surprised if that fixed it.
Has your account been added to the sudo group before? If not, run the following command in the terminal with your own username:
sudo usermod -aG sudo
That should give your account sudo privileges and let you run the command with sudo properly.
I really wish I could take a look at your system in person. There are several things happening here that are unusual for Ubuntu.
Still permission denied :&
And chmod 777 returns “operation not supported”
Did you run it as sudo? And you’re on Ubuntu?
Yes to both. Ubuntu should be up to date
