Notices

Hi, sorry my reply is so late - yesterday when I first saw this, I was first busy and then sleepy, and today I was sleepy from the lack of sleep from yesterday. That said, I slept for like 2 hours earlier today, and I'm back to general awakeness.

I looked at your attached files, and looked at my own, and I think I see what went wrong. Have you, by any chance, installed any other programs that have modified those files? Anything that would install Status Menu applets? Note that the following entry exists already in the original file, in the same spot at which your new file got cut off at (lines 93-98 in both files):

I think I figured out the problem - the uninstall script and postinstall scripts assume that the Advanced Clock Plugin's entry in that file is the last entry. So it simply cuts everything at that point. When you update, as I understand it, apt-get/dpkg uninstall the current version, and install the new one. Even if this isn't what's done at the package level entirely, it seems to be what is getting done for the above file - this means the uninstall script is run on the existing status-menu.plugins file, where it finds the location of advanced-clock-plugin.desktop, deletes everything from that point. Then the new version being installed/updated re-adds the entry normally - but has no way of knowing there was previous stuff beforehand.

There really needs to be a more standardized way of writing to the status-menu.plugins file.

Wonko, here's my suggestion: Use whatever method you use to seek out the respective lines of code - delete them, but ONLY them - I'm sure there must be some way to delete just from-current-line-to-five-lines-down? Then you can just delete however many lines were initially added. As a safety feature, DO make it actually FIND the right string in the status-menu.plugins file, instead of simply, say, remembering that it was on lines x - y. That way, if people manually modify that file, it's less likely to get further messed up. Yes it might make the uninstall script slightly slower (maybe not noticeably so, or maybe I'm wrong and it'll be the same speed, IDK), but that's easier than people having chunks of Status-Menu plugin configuration deleted. ALSO, to be clear, you don't HAVE to specify entries for some of these things. Meaning, your current Advanced Clock doesn't have a button in the status menu. So you don't have to specify a status menu position - just the special status area clock position. (i.e. Unless you intend on eventually adding a button, this doesn't have to be added: "X-Status-Menu-Position=22")

Actually, things like Flashlight Applet and cpumem applet don't even ADD themselves to the status-menu.plugins file. It's not even necessary normally - IT IS necessary in the case of what you're doing though, because you have to override the stock clock applet (but for the button, if you're okay with it being auto-positioned in alphabetical order with the other 'unassigned' buttons, under all the assigned ones, you still won't need the X-Status-Menu-Position=22 line).

Wouldn't it be relatively easy to clone the Clock and Alarms status menu button? You don't have to replace the entire thing like I suggested earlier, you can just make your clone button display the same info (Day/Night clock icon, which is the only slightly annoying one to clone, because of the custom icons people bring in sometimes, "Clock and Alarms" in primary text, and the date in secondary smaller text), which launches the default clock program, just like the Clock and Alarms status applet does? This lets you go back to the 'safer' install method you tried out, with only marginal extra button coding, and avoids the need of coding your own complete replacement - but makes that an option for when there's either time, or someone like me gets off their *** and figures out how to do it.

If not that option though, we return to the former - just having the uninstall/update script seek for a unique part of the string, like the first two lines:

[advanced-clock-plugin.desktop]
X-Desktop-File=/usr/share/applications/hildon-status-menu/advanced-clock-plugin.desktop

...and then delete those +however-many-other-lines-were-added-by-the-installed-version, instead of everything afterward, would prevent a lot more errors. the only other errors would be if people manually edit that particular part of the file and just add extra lines, or delete one - which, well, you shouldn't do unless you're willing to figure out what went wrong at least partially on your own. Either way, that's a corner case, while having other programs get installed that include extra entries after yours isn't really.

On the other hand, iscio, I think all of your applets should still be showing up correctly, right? I don't think any of that stuff replaces another applet. The only thing you might notice is their position might be different, because they'd get auto-sorted.

ok thank you very much for this complete answer.
I confirm that I manually add these stings
because I'd like to change the original position of app in status-menu button. Now I rewrite these string and everything is ok. I did a copy for further update of advanced clock plugin :-) but I prefer you solve this problem :-)

thank you again Mentalist Traceur

(have you an idea also for my last post?)

Ah, yes, if you're changing app positions, that can be an issue. As a way to future-proof it, you can manually add those entries above the Advanced-Clock-Plugin entry. It doesn't fix the problem per se, but should prevent you from getting affected by it.

And no, sorry, I don't know what the solution to your other problem would be. I haven't had the chance to look into it (fiddling with my own clock style primarily, as of late), nor do I have any experience with this using-pictures-to-display-numbers approach, as I never wanted to use it and haven't even integrated it into my clock-style yet.

yes I add my strings above the Advanced-Clock-Plugin entry. But after an update I lost these strings. Now I have a backup, but I hope in a solution by the autor.
thank you

Hmmm... Interesting. That means, I THINK, that it's not even searching for the relevant string, but just reverting to an earlier state of status menu, or going by line numbers - "I added the entry at line x, so delete everything starting from line x".

Wonko, I'll do my best to find the time to look at the install-related stuff over the next week or so, and see if I can submit a patch to you to fix this, assuming you don't get around to it yourself, and no one else more competent does it.

Well, the prerm script was supposed to do exactly that.
Apparently, the sed one-liner was not working as it should.
This issue should be fixed in 0.15.3 which I just uploaded to extras-devel.

I would just like to say " Thanks for all your hard work " This is a wonderful plugin. IMO this is a must have on the N900!

This is what I have done with it...

Thanks again..

Kind regards Qosmio

is this clock the same of previos flipclock or is different?

wonko have you any idea for my question about alarm icon? thank you..I'll test your new release

forgive me if this has been discussed, but have been searching for about an hour now with no luck.

I have just uninstalled the plugin and the stock clock is gone. Can anyone tell me how I go about reinstalling the default clock?

Thanks in advance

[edit] never mind - figured it out.

hey will you share your alarm icon?

thx