8

In the File Manager (Xubuntu 12.04), I can see some default folders which I don't need (like Videos, Music, ...). Is it safe to remove them or might programs not work properly afterwards (like on Mac OS X where I tried that once)?

I found this thread on Ubuntu Forums How to permanently delete folders "Music, Videos, Documents,...." (through Nautilus) . Is this the way one should remove these folders?

Zanna
  • 69,223
  • 56
  • 216
  • 327
Marius Hofert
  • 1,619
  • 4
  • 21
  • 33

1 Answers1

12

Yes. See post #7 in your link.

Backup the config file (optional):

cp ~/.config/user-dirs.dirs ~/.config/user-dirs.dirs.bak

Edit the file by commenting out unnecessary entries:

vim ~/.config/user-dirs.dirs

Run update command:

xdg-user-dirs-update

DO NOT REMOVE XDG_DESKTOP_DIR

Paweł Prażak
  • 348
  • 3
  • 16
Richard
  • 8,462
  • 11
  • 46
  • 72
  • 1
    This does *not* do what OP asked. `xdg-user-dirs-update` will simply update `~/.config/user-dirs.dirs` (and might, in particular, override some of OP's modifications from before), not create/rename/remove any directories as the above instructions suggest. See `man xdg-user-dirs-update` for information on what it does exactly. The actual answer should be: Simply remove the folder. (Running `xdg-user-dirs-update` is not necessary as it will be run upon the next user login, anyway, see `~/.config/user-dirs.conf`.) – balu Jan 12 '18 at 00:48
  • Doesn't work -- even if you don't run the update command, it gets updated upon the next reboot. There must be a more fundamental file in which these directory names are kept. – Abhimanyu Pallavi Sudhir Jun 25 '18 at 05:32
  • See [here](https://askubuntu.com/questions/285313/how-to-customize-add-remove-folders-directories-the-places-menu-of-ubuntu-13) for a working solution. If you also want to remove the folders from the home directory, edit user-dirs.defaults, or make a copy of it in .config and edit there (for your local user). – Abhimanyu Pallavi Sudhir Jun 25 '18 at 06:08