linked below is a page for the gnome encfs manager. on that page there is a note about not working with anything after ubuntu 19.04 (mint 20 is based on ubuntu 20.04):
Ubuntu 19.10 and later are currently not supported due to the removal of the old gnome keyring API
on that page, however, the program’s creator says they would suggest trying a different version called Molch Encfs Manager:
The feature set is slightly different, but I highly recommend to switch to the Molch Encfs Manager because it’s more stable, integrates with the KWallet on KDE in addition to the Gnome keyring and also has some other advantages
the page for that is linked below as well.
it looks like there are a couple of different versions to choose from:
Download
MEncfsM doesn’t need to be installed. You can simply grab the executable below, mark it as executable (“chmod +x” or use your tool of choice) and run it. It’s statically linked against Qt with minimal dependencies and should run on all modern distributions. Please install encfs through your package manager. On Ubuntu 20.04, you might have to manually install the package libxkbcommon-x11.
you might have to install an additional package to make it work.
note: i have not used this program. i am just passing along the information 
please make appropriate backups of your system if that is your usual habit before trying an untested program.
thank you for taking time to help with this problem. Guess I’ll have to try opening the files in my old laptop and then work from there. Will look for an alternative to Gnome encfs.
bruno
i was happy to try and help. i hope you are able to find what works best for you.
in case it might be helpful, there is a list of commands for working with encfs at the link below. there is one example of how to mount the directory that looks like this, but since i have never used it i don’t know if that is correct at all:
mount encfs#/home/me-crypt /home/me
Have a great day. And thanks again
i hope you have a great day as well.
i was able to mount an encfs encrypted directory on a mint 20 virtual machine with this command:
encfs ~/.crypt/ ~/crypt/
where /home/user/.crypt was the hidden (because of the . before the directory name) location of my encrypted folder and /home/user/crypt was where i wanted it mounted so i could add files. if the directory /home/user/crypt didn’t already exist, i was asked if i wanted to create it:
The directory "/home/user/crypt/" does not exist. Should it be created? (y,N)
after i pressed y and enter, i was prompted for my “EncFS Password:” which i entered and the directory was mounted and available for use.
i was able to right-click on the directory in the file manager and choose “unmount” to unmount it or click on the eject symbol to the right of the directory name in the left pane.
since that worked relatively easily, i decided to try installing “The Molch Encfs Manager (or short MEncfsM)”. if you want to try, you can download it from here: Molch Encfs Manager - moritzmolch.com
the two newer versions (19.06 and 19.06) did not work so i checked to see that i had libxkbcommon-x11 installed with this command:
apt list libxkbcommon* | grep installed
libxkbcommon-x11-0/focal,now 0.10.0-1 amd64 [installed]
libxkbcommon0/focal,now 0.10.0-1 amd64 [installed]
since it was already installed, i decided to try the 18.04 version. after i downloaded it, i went to my Downloads folder, right-clicked on the program icon and chose Properties from the menu. at the top of the properties window i went the the Permissions tab and checked the box in front of “Allow executing file as program”.
after that i was able to double-click the icon and the program opened. i clicked the plus (+) sign to import my already existing /home/user/.crypt directory and have it mounted at /home/user/crypt.
after that it was mounted and ready to use. there is an icon in the bottom right of the screen in the system tray which you can right-click to see options. i wasn’t able to add a quick-launch icon at the bottom left, but you can always go into your Downloads (or wherever you want to put the program) and double-click the icon to launch it.
