Introduction
In this article, we will discuss a common issue that can occur when using Qt GUI applications on a Mint Linux 20.3 office workstation with a custom build of Qt 5.15.6 and Qt Creator. Specifically, we will examine the problem of Qt GUI applications hanging or freezing when attempting to open or save files. In addition, we will cover some side applications that can be used on Mint Linux 20.3, such as VLC media player, as well as compiled Qt bui tools.
Understanding the Problem
When trying to open or save files in a Qt GUI application, the application may hang or freeze, becoming unresponsive to user input. This issue can occur on any Linux distribution, but is particularly prevalent on Mint Linux 20.3 when using a custom build of Qt 5.15.6.
The problem is often caused by an incorrect configuration of the Qt build, which can result in the Qt application not being able to correctly communicate with the underlying file system. In particular, the QFileDialog class, which is commonly used to open and save files, can hang or freeze if it is not configured properly.
Configuring the Qt Build
To resolve the issue of Qt GUI applications hanging or freezing when opening or saving files, it is necessary to properly configure the Qt build. This can be done by specifying the correct file system backend for QFileDialog.
To specify the file system backend, you can use the QFileDialog::setFileSystemImplementation function in your Qt application. This function takes a QFileSystemFactory object as an argument, which is then used to create the file system backend for QFileDialog.
#include <QFileDialog>
#include <QFileSystemFactory>
int main(int argc, char **argv)
{
QApplication app(argc, argv);
// Create a QFileSystemFactory object using the native file system backend
QFileSystemFactory *factory = new QFileSystemFactory();
// Set the file system factory for QFileDialog
QFileDialog::setFileSystemImplementation(factory);
// Create a QFileDialog object
QFileDialog dialog(nullptr);
// Open the file dialog
dialog.exec();
return 0;
}
By using the native file system backend, QFileDialog will be able to correctly communicate with the underlying file system, and the issue of the application hanging or freezing should be resolved.
Side Applications and Tools
When using Mint Linux 20.3 for office work, there are several side applications and tools that can be useful. These include VLC media player, a powerful and customizable media player that supports a wide range of file formats, and compiled Qt bui tools, which can be used to build and package Qt applications.
To install VLC media player on Mint Linux 20.3, you can use the following command in a terminal:
sudo apt-get install vlc
To compile and package Qt applications, you can use the Qt build tools, which are included in the Qt Creator IDE. The Qt build tools provide a number of utilities for building and packaging Qt applications, including qmake, uic, and rcc. These tools can be used to create standalone executable files, as well as package Qt applications as deb or rpm packages.
- The issue of Qt GUI applications hanging or freezing when opening or saving files on Mint Linux 20.3 can be resolved by specifying the correct file system backend for QFileDialog.
- VLC media player is a powerful and customizable media player that supports a wide range of file formats, and can be installed on Mint Linux 20.3 using the command
sudo apt-get ``` install vlc