Gfilui

While attempting to edit the MATE menu via mozo, I tried to drag a folder to a different position, and the next thing I knew was that the entire menu was empty. When I now open the Applications menu, I get a completely empty menu. When I try to edit it, mozo crashes instantly.

I have the classic layout (with Applications, Places and System menus—the latter two are OK, just Application is empty.)

How can I restore my menus (preferably to what I had last, or default if all else fails)?

Menu settings are stored in ~/.config/menus, the Applications menu residing in mate-applications.menu.

The file is an XML file. I my case, it seems to have gotten corrupted by inserting a tree of nested <Menu> items, with (among others) a <Move> item at its bottom.

Removing that tree and saving fixed this. The change was reflected in the menu instantly.

If the corruption is less obvious, alternatives are:

• Replace the file from backup (if available)


• Move it away and see if it gets recreated (or create a fresh user account and copy it over from there), then copy in salvaged snippets from the backup one-by-one, verifying after each step that everything still works.

PS: I’ve filed a bug for the underlying data corruption issue.

Just for your information - MATE has well-built own menu editor.

It is called Mozo and maybe installed with:

sudo apt-get install mozo

It looks like:

quote from its help:

Customizing the Panel Menubar

You can modify the contents of the following menus:

• 
  Applications menu


• 
  System ▸ Preferences submenu


• 
  System ▸ Administration submenu

To edit the items in these menus, right-click on the panel menubar, and choose Edit Menus. The Menu Layout window opens.

The Menu Layout window lists the menus in the left pane. Click on the expander arrows to show or hide submenus. Choose a menu in the left pane to see its items listed in the right pane.

To remove an item from a menu, deselect it in the list. The item can be added back to the menu by selecting it once again.