This answer is also something of a tutorial for newbies.
Ugh. Just looked down. It reformatted my nice, readable
outline. #$!
IMHO space in File windows' "Places" sidebars is valuable. You
can use them to add quick jumps to where YOU need to go
frequently, so I wanted to ditch some of the defaults to
make more room. I decided I didn't need Music, Pictures,
and Videos. The folders are still there in my home folder
if I need to use them. I'm just not big on multimedia.
In Raring (13.04; with the default "Unity" desktop) I ran into
several challenges;
- User-added "Places items can be removed using the pop-up
menu you get by right-clicking the item, but that option
is grayed out for the system's default items.
- The real answer lies in Geekdom (this is still Linux, after
all, although wonderfully slick nowadays.) It involves
editing a couple of configuration files, but there seem
to be several levels of defaults that tend to restore the
status quo behind your back.
What I eventually had to do to accomplish my goal was:
- edit the file at
~/.config/user-dirs.dirs
- save a backup copy in the same folder under a recognizably
altered name
- edit our target file
- delete the unwanted lines
- save the modified file
- edit
/etc/xdg/user-dirs.defaults
cd /etc/xdg/
sudo cp user-dirs.defaults user-dirs.defaults.orig
# backup copy
sudo -H gedit user-dirs.defaults
- delete the offending lines
- save the modified file
- reboot
Notes: with added explanations for newbies...
it should work smoothly if you do both edits in one session,
but if you try to do it piecemeal starting with just
modifying ~/.config/user-dirs.dirs
it won't work
(it'll be automatically restored) and you'll have to
do it again after fixing /etc/xdg/user-dirs.defaults
.
I know this from personal experience. :o)
these actions are easily performed with normal GUI
applications like Files and Text Editor. ~/
is
shell (Terminal) shorthand for your home directory
(a folder in the file system: the absolute path is
something like /Home/YOURUSERNAME/
.)
- not absolutely necessary, but a good habit to cultivate
- it should be obvious which ones, depending on what you
want to eliminate. Also the first time I commented them
off with leading '#'s, which didn't seem to work initially
due to the auto-restores, but it actually probably will work.
this is a tip I got from Kubuntuforums.net It's basically
the same procedure as step 1, except that it's a different
file, and one that belongs to the system at that.
All of these commands are entered in a Terminal window
following the $
prompt. They have to be letter-perfect,
except that you can change the second parameter of the cp
command, the backup file name.
- the
sudo
's are necessary because users don't have
security "permission" to modify these resources, so you
give your password when asked (you are an administrator,
aren't you? Original users are by default) and proceed
to pretend you're "root" (the "superuser" but be careful
-- you could break something if you mess around.)
- this brings up a normal-looking instance of the Text Editor
but with the necessary permissions so the "Save" doesn't
fail. Also see note 1.2.
the changes don't take effect until you reboot, but it's OK
to do what else you need to immediately do in the meantime.
- if you ARE a newbie and you get this under your belt,
congratulations! You're well on your way to Geekhood.