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I want Thunderbird to use a different date/time format. A few minor mods in the .bashrc file and we're good to go.

export LC_TIME=en_DK.utf8 # yyyy-mm-dd 24:mm

But this only works when Thunderbird is launched from the command line. When launched from a desktop menu it remains unchanged.

I've used localectl to modify my login env (which I sorta regret), and I've tried other things as suggested here and here, but I haven't found the magic incantation yet.

So now I'm thinking: if I knew more about how LXDE/Openbox (I get them confused) creates the environment when launching applications, maybe I'd be in a better place to manipulate it. Anyone got any insights they can pass my way?

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jwvh
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  • LXDE is the desktop environment. Openbox is the window manager. If you want to launch Tbird from a .desktop, you'll need to modify the `Exec=` line of the relevant .desktop file. First, you may want to copy over the Tbird .desktop file to `~/.local/share/applications` and test your changes in that file. It's possible you may need an Exec= line such as `bash -c 'whatever_you_want_here'`. – DK Bose Feb 16 '16 at 06:34
  • If you learn more about ~/.config/openbox/lubuntu-rc.xml, assuming you're using Lubuntu, you'll be able to assign keyboard shortcuts to even scripts that otherwise are launched via a terminal. And you won't need to modify `.bashrc` in order to use `export LC_TIME=en_DK.utf8`. For example, see the second example here: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/openbox#Launch_a_complex_command_with_hotkey – DK Bose Feb 16 '16 at 07:07

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To make the change of LC_TIME effective also when launching programs from the graphical environment, put that line in ~/.profile instead of ~/.bashrc.

Gunnar Hjalmarsson
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  • So simple, yet so profound. Creating and editing the `~/.local/share/applications/thunderbird.desktop` file also works but only when Thunderbird is launched from the taskbar panel menu. It was still unchanged when launched from the "Shortcuts" menu I get when I right-click the desktop. (I think that menu is under openbox control.) – jwvh Feb 16 '16 at 19:48