Some apps don't open in Ubuntu 19.04

Question

Is it just me, or some apps don't open in Ubuntu 19.04? Apps like mysql workbench, wps-office, or even plank. Is it because Ubuntu 19.04 is not LTS?

EDIT:

For plank, I got an error like this:

plank
[CRITICAL 18:44:09.088007] [AbstractMain:257] Only X11 environments 
are supported.

It is quite hard to say what's going wrong from such a little info. But just because 19.04 is non-LTS, it doesn't mean apps should fail. Try running some problematic apps from a Terminal, then [edit] your question and add the error messages. — pomsky, Jul 10 '19 at 01:20
LTS stands for Long-Term-Support which effects only the length of time support is offered for official packages. Plank for example is in the repos (https://packages.ubuntu.com/disco/plank) , however some 3rd party sources only offer LTS support to reduce workload on themselves. — guiverc, Jul 10 '19 at 01:21
If the behavior is reproducible on stock 19.04 (try a LiveUSB), then please file a bug report with sufficient detail for a bug triager to consistently reproduce the issue on their test system. Unreported bugs don't get fixed. — user535733, Jul 10 '19 at 02:24
In addition to @user535733's comment I'd add that if the app is a snap package (e.g.wps-office) there may be a way to fix it so that it opens correctly. Unfortunately the way to fix it is not general, it is specific to each app. For example you may need to track down the location of the desktop launcher for that app and edit it and then it will launch correctly. — karel, Jul 10 '19 at 05:40

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 10 '19 at 13:18

3

Check with

loginctl show-session -p Type

or

echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE

or

inxi -Fxz

what environment you have running. Any of them should show Wayland or X11.

If Wayland you need to switch to an evironment that is X11.
If it is not set you can set XDG_SESSION_TYPE to X11 and it will all work again.

answered Jul 10 '19 at 13:18

Rinzwind

299,756

I thought 19.04 didn't have wayland by default? – Thomas Ward Jul 10 '19 at 13:37
Correct but it can be installed. It is more likely XDG_SESSION_TYPE is not set to X11. – Rinzwind Jul 10 '19 at 13:42
@Rinzwind it did show me wayland when I ran "echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE". How do I set it to X11? – user8865657 Jul 11 '19 at 03:05
Log out and pick the option at the login screen. Ubuntu with xorg it is probably called. – Rinzwind Jul 11 '19 at 04:32
@Rinzwind it worked thank you! – user8865657 Jul 11 '19 at 05:43

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered May 25 '21 at 16:32

If your environment is X11 and still some applications aren't running, check if gedit is there cause there can be some issues with gnome. So run this command sudo apt install gnome.

I got this answer here https://forum.level1techs.com/t/ubuntu-18-10-some-apps-not-launching/136058

Some apps don't open in Ubuntu 19.04

2 Answers2