How to stop file type changing automatically

Roshan Mansinghani rosh1182 at gmail.com
Tue Aug 15 00:03:00 UTC 2006


Well, this doesn't seem to be a kubuntu specific thing, perhaps it would be
best to take up this issue with the file manager devs directly, whichever
filemanager you use.

On 8/14/06, marc <gmane at auxbuss.com> wrote:
>
> Roshan Mansinghani said...
> > On 8/14/06, marc <gmane at auxbuss.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > Roshan Mansinghani said...
> > > > On 8/13/06, marc <gmane at auxbuss.com> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > Heyho,
> > > > >
> > > > > My config file for gvim has been given the .html file type. This
> > > results
> > > > > in it being opened by Firefox, when opened via a file manager. Not
> > > what
> > > > > I want.
> > > > >
> > > > > Taking a closer look, this behaviour occurs when the file contain
> a
> > > > > <script> entry. In other words, the file happily lives life as a
> text
> > > > > file type until an edit is saved containing the text "<script>",
> when
> > > > > it, immediately and without notification, automatically changes
> its
> > > file
> > > > > type to .html
> > > > >
> > > > > How do I stop this from happening?
> > > > >
> > > > > It reminds me of Microsoft's Clippy - but rather worse - because
> it
> > > > > doesn't tell me it's doing it, and it and doesn't give me the
> option
> > > top
> > > > > stop it.
> > > > >
> > > > > For now, I've added a filename patterns to text/plain of .*, which
> > > might
> > > > > well be sufficient.
> > > > >
> > > > > It also begs the question of when and where this changing is done.
> > > > > Frankly, I can't conceive of a time when I'd want this behaviour.
> > >
> > > > Does this happen only in gvim or if you use another editor (say,
> Kate)
> > > do
> > > > you have the same problem?
> > >
> > > Oh, it's not the editor. I can copy my (now protected) .gvimrc to
> > > another directory and, as soon as I rename it to gvimrc it "becomes"
> an
> > > HTML mime type. If I then rename it to gvimrc.txt, then it becomes a
> > > text/plain type again.
> > >
> > > Try it. Create an empty text file called fred. Add some text and it
> will
> > > behave as a regular text file. Now, add the lines:
> > >
> > > <script>
> > > <script>
> > >
> > > save it, and it's changed to an HTML file type. You can use any editor
> > > to do this. (If you only use one line containing <script>, then the
> type
> > > doesn't change. It knows what it's looking for :-) )
> > >
> > > I thought that it might be associated with Desktop/Behaviour/File
> > > icons/Show icon previews, but I switched them off for text and HTML
> > > files and it still happens.
> > >
> > > What is parsing files to cause this? I want it to stop!
> > >
> >
> > I have reproduced what you are talking about.
>
> Yup, it's pretty obvious, isn't it.
>
> > First, the file is not actually being changed or renamed to a .html
> > extension.
>
> I didn't say it was. I said its mime/file type was being changed, and
> that it is. Oh yes.
>
> > The only thing that is happening is that Konqueror is guessing that
> > this is an html file and giving you options corresponding with its
> guess.
>
> Who said I was using Konqueror? Not me.
>
> > So, the question is, do we have a way to tweak konqueror so that it
> > doesn't "guess" the filetype by parsing the file and instead only
> > assigns MIME types based on extensions.
>
> Well, if was only Konqueror, that may be. But it isn't.
>
> Frankly, I don't want the files being parsed at all, and certainly not
> so that a piece of software can randomly change its mime type.
>
> > One option you have is to use file extensions when you name things, then
> set
> > up konqueror to some default behavior when it encounters files with that
> > extension.
>
> That's not a viable option, though. The case in point disproves it.
>
> > But, if this file is a config file for gvim, perhaps you don't
> > have the option of renaming it in anyway.
>
> There ya go.
>
> > Again, some research needs to be done that clarifies if this feature
> > of konqueror can be turned off.
>
> As I mentioned, it's not just Konqueror.
>
> Seems to me that a dev dreamed up what he thought was something
> clever/neat and it's really, well, it's pretty darn stupid if you ask
> me. How it made production is rather worrying.
>
> The worst part of it all is that KDE has a configuration panel for
> precisely this action - something the user can control. In this case, it
> can't be overridden. That's very bad.
>
> In the absence of understanding what is happening here, I consider this
> a security risk.
>
> Say that I have a file of confidential information that is processed in
> some way based on its mime type - it could just be launching an editor.
> I click the file and Johnny Mimechange's code leaps in to action,
> changes the mime type and activates a function that emails the file to,
> say, everyone in my address book. Why not? I've associated a mime type
> to do that on a file.
>
> Yes I understand that this is very unlikely, but the potential is there
> for it to happen and that is sufficient.
>
> I hope we can get to the bottom of this quickly.
>
> --
> Best,
> Marc
>
>
> --
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> kubuntu-users at lists.ubuntu.com
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>
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