I use KeepNote for taking notes in Backtrack. It is important to document progress on projects or simple notes about file locations, specific command switches, or other information that could get lost in the shuffle during a work session. KeepNote provides the functionality necessary to organize notes and search note content as necessary. On Backtrack it is beneficial to configure KeepNote’s Spell Check as well as KeepNote Helper Applications so you can benefit from the full potential of KeepNote. Below we describe some errors you may see when attempting to use certain KeepNote functionality and how to resolve them.
There are numerous choices for each of the KeepNote Helper Applications that can be configured but the list below are the ones I personally use.
KeepNote Helper Applications:
- File Launcher: xdg-open
- Web Browser: firefox
- File Explorer: nautilus
- Text Editor: leafpad
- Image Editor: gimp
- Image Viewer: display
- Screen Shot: import
A couple of the above KeepNote Helper Applications are configured by default including File Launcher, Image Viewer, and Screen Shot but the others are blank. The Helper Applications for KeepNote are configured via the KeepNote Preferences window which can be launched by clicking on Edit in the KeepNote top navigation menu and by selecting Preferences from the drop down. Next click on Helper Applications in the KeepNote Preferences window left navigation menu to display the KeepNote Helper Applications configuration window as shown in the example below.
KeepNote Helper Applications Configuration Windows:
The above example image shows what Helper Applications are configured by default in KeepNote on Backtrack 5 R3. Below we describe the error that may be triggered when attempting to use a Helper Application that is not configured and how to resolve that error.
Must Specify File Explorer In Helper Applications:
Error Text: Must specify ‘File Explorer’ program in Helper Applications
As you can see in the Helper Applications configuration window shown above the File Explorer field is blank. You can add nautilus in that field to resolve this error as nautilus is installed by default on Backtrack.
Must Specify File Explorer In Helper Applications:
Error Text: Must specify ‘Text Editor’ program in Helper Applications
As you can see in the Helper Applications configuration window shown above the Text Editor field is blank. I prefer leafpad however this application is not installed by default on Backtrack so you will need to install it using the command displayed in the below example output.
Install leafpad On Backtrack Linux:
- root@bt:~/notes# apt-get install leafpad
- Reading package lists... Done
- Building dependency tree
- Reading state information... Done
- Suggested packages:
- evince-gtk
- The following NEW packages will be installed:
- leafpad
- 0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 5 not upgraded.
- Need to get 105kB of archives.
- ****** CLIPPED ******
Once leafpad is installed you can now type leafpad into the Text Editor field in the KeepNote Helper Applications configuration window.
Must Specify Web Browser In Helper Applications:
Error Text: Must specify ‘Web Browser’ program in Helper Applications
As you can see in the Helper Applications configuration window shown above the Web Browser field is blank by default. You can add firefox in that field to resolve this error as Firefox is installed by default on Backtrack.
KeepNote Image Edit: No Error
When attempting to edit an image that has been inserted into a KeepNote not you won’t receive an error but you also won’t be editing the image as nothing happens at all. I prefer gimp as an image editor though you could select any image editor that you prefer. To install Gimp and use it as the Image Editor Helper Application issue the gimp installation command noted below.
Install Gimp On Backtrack Linux:
- root@bt:~/notes# apt-get install gimp
- Reading package lists... Done
- Building dependency tree
- Reading state information... Done
- The following extra packages will be installed:
- gimp-data libbabl-0.0-0 libgegl-0.0-0 libgimp2.0 libpoppler-glib4 libwebkit-1.0-2 libwebkit-1.0-common
- Suggested packages:
- gimp-help-en gimp-help libgimp-perl gimp-data-extras
- The following NEW packages will be installed:
- gimp gimp-data libbabl-0.0-0 libgegl-0.0-0 libgimp2.0 libpoppler-glib4 libwebkit-1.0-2 libwebkit-1.0-common
- 0 upgraded, 8 newly installed, 0 to remove and 5 not upgraded.
- Need to get 13.3MB of archives.
- After this operation, 71.7MB of additional disk space will be used.
- Do you want to continue [Y/n]? Y
- ****** CLIPPED ******
Once Gimp is installed enter it into the Image Editor field on the KeepNote Helper Applications configuration screen and click Apply followed by OK to save all of the new settings. Once you have added each of the applications you prefer your KeepNote Helper Applications configuration window should look similar to the below example image.
KeepNote: All Helper Applications Configured
You can now use a lot more of the KeepNote functionality without issue.
The Artist’s Guide to GIMP, 2nd Edition: Creative Techniques for Photographers, Artists, and Designers (Paperback)
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BackTrack 4: Assuring Security by Penetration Testing (Paperback)
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I found a program called shutter that looked promising as a better replacement to ‘import’ for keepnote. It took me a little bit to get it to work but here’s what I did.
# apt-get install shutter
# vi /usr/bin/shutter.sh
#!/bin/bash
/usr/bin/shutter -s -n -e -o $1
in keepnote–>Edit–>preferences–>Helper Applications–>Screen Shot: /usr/bin/shutter.sh
you might get an error message the first time, I think for some reason there has to be an existing tmp file from keep note the time before then it works fine.
Cheers!
Hello JC,
Awesome. I will definitely be checking this out. Thanks for passing along!
Thanks.
alex
Make sure to set the file permissions on the script appropriately:
#chmod 775 /usr/bin/shutter.sh