KDEInit could not launch /usr/bin/kate

Question

I'm running Kubuntu 12.04 with KDE 4.11.1 and the rootactions service menu in Dolphin.

I opened Dolphin as root then clicked on a text file. I got a "Sorry" dialog with the message:

KDEInit could not launch /usr/bin/kate

So I opened a terminal and issued this command as root:

# /usr/bin/kate

That worked and Kate opened as expected.

Why is Dolphin giving this error and how can I fix it? Thanks.

Solution 1

This issue is resolved by the latest update to Root Actions Servicemenu (version 2.8).

KDE Service Menu - Root Actions Servicemenu
http://kde-look.org/content/show.php?content=48411

Solution 2

I have the same option after upgrading to Kubuntu 15.04.

Fixed by opening the file

.local/share/applications/kde4-kate.desktop

And changing the line: X-DBUS-StartupType=Multi to X-DBUS-StartupType=none

Which fixed the error for me. Got the idea from this post and it seems to be working

Solution 3

I have encountered this issue with newly released Kubuntu 15.04 (Vivid). I resolved it by replacing the command in the link kate -u %U with kate -b %U.

According to kate's docs, the option -u, --use tells kate to

Use an already running Kate instance; default, only for compatibility.

Kate in this release says the option is unknown. Option -b, --block tells kate to

If using an already running Kate instance, block until it exits, if URLs given to open.

Comments

[user26687]

If you have the rootactions service menu then you could launch the text editor with the root rights from the normal Dolphin window. An older Kubuntu forums topic: kubuntuforums.net/…

[MountainX]

I cannot access the directory containing the file from the normal Dolphin window due to directory permissions, so that won't work. Thanks

[Auspex]

This seems to be a bit of a red herring to me, as the problem is not strictly related to root actions. It can happen also with when opening kate as a user.