Bug#810502: transmission-qt: magnet: links from a browser don't work

[Adam Borowski]

Package: transmission-qt
Version: 2.84-3
Severity: normal


When only transmission-qt is installed, clicking on a magnet: link in a
browser results in:

File not found
Iceweasel can't find the file at magnet:?xt=urn:btih:......

Checking Preferences|Applications|magnet says "Use Qtransmission Bittorent
Client", suggesting some handler tried to be installed.

On the other hand, transmission-gtk does handle such links correctly.
Too bad, the user interface of -gtk regressed so badly that it's useless
other than for a gnome3 lover. Thus, I'd prefer to use the -qt version
which handles systray and so on as expected, just like -gtk used to in
the past.

The .desktop files for both -qt and -gtk both contain the same entry,
MimeType=application/x-bittorrent;x-scheme-handler/magnet;
yet for some reason it doesn't work for -qt.


-- System Information:
Debian Release: stretch/sid
APT prefers unstable
APT policy: (500, 'unstable'), (500, 'testing'), (500, 'stable'), (150, 'experimental')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)
Foreign Architectures: i386

Kernel: Linux 4.3.3-x32 (SMP w/6 CPU cores)
Locale: LANG=C.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=C.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash
Init: sysvinit (via /sbin/init)

Versions of packages transmission-qt depends on:
ii libc6 2.21-6
ii libcurl3-gnutls 7.46.0-1
ii libevent-2.0-5 2.0.21-stable-2+b1
ii libgcc1 1:5.3.1-5
ii libminiupnpc10 1.9.20140610-2.1
ii libnatpmp1 20110808-3
ii libqt5core5a 5.5.1+dfsg-12
ii libqt5dbus5 5.5.1+dfsg-12
ii libqt5gui5 5.5.1+dfsg-12
ii libqt5network5 5.5.1+dfsg-12
ii libqt5widgets5 5.5.1+dfsg-12
ii libssl1.0.2 1.0.2e-1
ii libstdc++6 5.3.1-5
ii transmission-common 2.84-3
ii zlib1g 1:1.2.8.dfsg-2+b1

Versions of packages transmission-qt recommends:
ii xdg-utils 1.1.1-1

transmission-qt suggests no packages.

-- no debconf information

[Sandro Tosi]

control: tags -1 +moreinfo +unreproducible

On Sat, Jan 9, 2016 at 7:10 AM, Adam Borowski <kilo...@angband.pl> wrote:
>
> When only transmission-qt is installed, clicking on a magnet: link in a
> browser results in:
>
> File not found
> Iceweasel can't find the file at magnet:?xt=urn:btih:......

I can use it just fine, but I'm on chrome when I click the magnet.

> Checking Preferences|Applications|magnet says "Use Qtransmission Bittorent
> Client", suggesting some handler tried to be installed.

Does it happen only if transmission-qt is not already running, or even
if it is? can you open it (and the browser) in a terminal and click on
the magnet link and see if some error written there?

> On the other hand, transmission-gtk does handle such links correctly.
> Too bad, the user interface of -gtk regressed so badly that it's useless
> other than for a gnome3 lover. Thus, I'd prefer to use the -qt version
> which handles systray and so on as expected, just like -gtk used to in
> the past.

well.. if you have a problem with -gtk, open a bug report explaining
exactly what it is that's not working for you. A lots of people (me
included) uses it without any issues, so just stating that it's
useless without providing any info is not helping anyone.....

--
Sandro "morph" Tosi
My website: http://matrixhasu.altervista.org/
Me at Debian: http://wiki.debian.org/SandroTosi
G+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+SandroTosi

[Adam Borowski]

On Sun, Jan 10, 2016 at 07:06:01PM +0000, Sandro Tosi wrote:
> On Sat, Jan 9, 2016 at 7:10 AM, Adam Borowski <kilo...@angband.pl> wrote:
> >
> > When only transmission-qt is installed, clicking on a magnet: link in a
> > browser results in:
> >
> > File not found
> > Iceweasel can't find the file at magnet:?xt=urn:btih:......
>
> I can use it just fine, but I'm on chrome when I click the magnet.

I tried chromium, works. Not on iceweasel.

However, it turns out manually setting the handler in
Preferences|Applications|magnet to "Always ask", clicking on a magnet URL
then, in the dialog box, choosing QTTransmission (and marking it permanent)
solved the issue.

I tried to reproduce in a freshly installed stretch VM (today's d-i
release), XFCE -- works.

On the other hand I managed to reproduce the bug by installing a wheezy VM,
doing a lot of random changes then upgrading. Too bad, I have no clue which
step could be the culprit and the whole install/upgrade process took way too
long for me to have an urge to repeat it unless really needed.

So it's some obscure upgrade issue...

> > Checking Preferences|Applications|magnet says "Use Qtransmission Bittorent
> > Client", suggesting some handler tried to be installed.
>
> Does it happen only if transmission-qt is not already running, or even
> if it is?

Even if it is (I autostart transmission).

> can you open it (and the browser) in a terminal and click on
> the magnet link and see if some error written there?

Whoops, I already unthinkingly deleted the test VM, and to test on my real
box I'd have to reboot to an older btrfs snapshot. I'll report once I can
reboot...

> > On the other hand, transmission-gtk does handle such links correctly.
> > Too bad, the user interface of -gtk regressed so badly that it's useless
> > other than for a gnome3 lover. Thus, I'd prefer to use the -qt version
> > which handles systray and so on as expected, just like -gtk used to in
> > the past.
>
> well.. if you have a problem with -gtk, open a bug report explaining
> exactly what it is that's not working for you. A lots of people (me
> included) uses it without any issues, so just stating that it's
> useless without providing any info is not helping anyone.....

I just re-tried transmission-gtk, it looks like the problems disappeared
since I last looked at it (according to "zgrep transmission-qt
/var/log/dpkg*", somewhere since June 2015. This is also when I first ran
into the magnet: handler issue, but I don't torrent enough to bother
investigating at that time). Looking at the changelog, I see nothing that
could possibly fixed it, thus I guess it was an issue on the gtk3 side.
I do vaguely recall them retracting some controversal changes related to
handling of window managers other than gnome3.

So all that remains is that the new interface is butt-ugly and clumsy, but
the user choice here is exactly why you ship both -gtk and -qt. Gnome3
users can run something that integrates into their system, everyone else
can run -qt which works sanely elsewhere.

So thanks to you and transmission's upstream, both sides can be happy.
I'll keep harassing you about issues in -qt :p

--
A tit a day keeps the vet away.

[Adam Borowski]

On Sun, Jan 10, 2016 at 07:06:01PM +0000, Sandro Tosi wrote:

> On Sat, Jan 9, 2016 at 7:10 AM, Adam Borowski <kilo...@angband.pl> wrote:
> >
> > When only transmission-qt is installed, clicking on a magnet: link in a
> > browser results in:
> >
> > File not found
> > Iceweasel can't find the file at magnet:?xt=urn:btih:......
>

> can you open it (and the browser) in a terminal and click on
> the magnet link and see if some error written there?

Clicking the link doesn't cause any stdout/stderr output at all, neither in
the iceweasel's controlling terminal nor in transmission's.