Questions tagged [.desktop]
A .desktop file is a launcher. When run, it executes a command, which usually launches an application. Use this tag if you are asking a question about using a .desktop file or about the .desktop file format in general.
1,063
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How can I edit/create new launcher items in Unity by hand?
Will Unity allow making custom launcher icons from .desktop files or via menu editing system? (Right now the launcher doesn't give the option to "keep in launcher" on all programs.
For some programs ...
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293
votes
22
answers
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How can I create launchers on my desktop?
In older versions it was easy to create a launcher on my desktop. All I had to do is right click on my desktop and select the "create launcher" option.
How can I create such launchers now?
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20
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Running a .desktop file in the terminal
From what I can gather, .desktop files are shortcuts that allow application's settings to be customized. For instance, I have lots of them in my /usr/share/applications/ folder.
If I open that ...
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156
votes
10
answers
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How can I find *.desktop files?
To the best of my knowledge, all shortcuts in the Unity Launcher have a corresponding *.desktop file. I have one shortcut (for skrooge) that doesn't have an icon. How can I find the *.desktop file ...
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votes
3
answers
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What does the StartupWMClass field of a .desktop file represent?
I am working on this pre-existent .desktop file and I have a doubt:
The file content is:
[Desktop Entry]
#Icon=connect-data-space
Icon=XCloud
Categories=Utility;
Type=Application
#Exec=/usr/share/...
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106
votes
2
answers
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Creating a .desktop file for a new application
I just installed the lastest version of UGENE. I works fine but in order to use it, I have to enter the following in the terminal: cd ugene-1.11.5/ then execute ./ugene -ui to launch UGENE GUI.
This ...
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84
votes
6
answers
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How do you create a custom application launcher in Gnome Shell?
How do you create a custom application launcher in Gnome Shell?
I have a local Eclipse installation that I'd like to be to quickly launch. So I created a symlink to the eclipse binary and placed it ...
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81
votes
5
answers
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Adding custom applications to GNOME 3 launcher
Looking for a utility that allows me insert an item into the list of applications that GNOME knows about.
For example:
I have downloaded Eclipse EE (I have some very special plugins that I need to ...
- 913
69
votes
4
answers
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Duplicate icons for manually created GNOME launcher items
I have downloaded Aptana Studio 3 and created the following launcher item for using Alacarte:
file: alacarte-made.desktop
[Desktop Entry]
Comment=
Terminal=false
Name=Aptana Studio 3
Exec=...
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60
votes
3
answers
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How can I add custom '.desktop' application launchers to Ubuntu Dock?
I have made .desktop files for Ubuntu 16.04 to access my Google Chrome profiles, but once I upgraded to Ubuntu 17.10 (it worked up to Ubuntu 17.04) they got removed from the dock and I can't pin them ...
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60
votes
5
answers
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Create a .desktop file that opens and execute a command in a terminal
I would like to know how to write the Exec command of a .desktop file to open a new terminal and execute a shell script in it. The shell script is working and accessible by all users. When launching ...
- 4,361
56
votes
1
answer
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Where are the .desktop icon files stored?
What system folder on Ubuntu 12.10 are the main menu .desktop icons stored at???
I am having trouble locating....
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52
votes
6
answers
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Are there any GUI apps that can create .desktop files?
My question is simple. Is there any fast and easy way of creating .desktop files for shortcuts?
For example, I think you can right click and create .desktop shortcuts in Linux Mint.
I already know ...
user257962
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votes
5
answers
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Cannot add custom launcher to Ubuntu Dock ('Add to Favorites' option does not show up)
I have a custom .desktop file:
[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Terminal=false
Icon[en_US]=/home/alex/bin/idea-IC-173.4127.27/bin/idea.png
Name[en_US]=IntelliJ
Exec=/home/alex/bin/idea-IC-173.4127.27/...
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36
votes
14
answers
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.desktop files not launching from desktop in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
I have just created a .desktop shortcut on my desktop to launch a shell scrip. The script itself works fine, but its shortcut that doesn't display the icon and double-clicking on it just displays its ...
- 363
32
votes
7
answers
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Desktop shortcut for terminal command
I was wondering how to make a clickable terminal shortcut for my desktop using the command easytether connect.
I don't want to have to open/close the terminal every time I wish to connect to the ...
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31
votes
7
answers
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How do I diagnose "There was an error launching the application"?
I created a my-app.desktop file for a program I wrote. When I double-click it, I get the error message "There was an error launching the application". How can I get more detailed information about ...
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votes
3
answers
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.desktop files: how to specify the icon path [duplicate]
I had a look at the .desktop files on my 12.04 Ubuntu system, and many of them do not have a full path specification for their icon file. It is rather something like:
Icon=anjuta
or
Icon=vlc
or
...
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28
votes
6
answers
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How can I create a desktop entry for an AppImage?
I want to create desktop entry for Inkscape AppImage. I'm having some issues because I don't have all MIME types or a clear idea about running that kind of app on desktop entry.
Does anyone know how I ...
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26
votes
2
answers
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Can ~/.local/share/applications override /usr/share/applications?
I need to launch some applications on KDE with some added config changes. The best way to do that without messing up with / is by copying .desktop file of individual applications, that I need to ...
25
votes
8
answers
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How do I mark a .desktop file as trusted in Ubuntu 18.04?
In Ubuntu 18.04, when the user clicks on a custom desktop file, the program displays the message that the application launches is not trusted and launching it may be unsafe. The desktop also does not ...
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7
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Can't create anaconda shortcut to launch from desktop on ubuntu 17.10?
I have used the guide from similar question (How can I create launchers on my desktop?)
but nothing works when it comes to Ananconda3 shortcut.
Here is my desktop file for anaconda:
[Desktop Entry]
...
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24
votes
9
answers
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How can I use two Firefox profiles?
I run Ubuntu 14.04 and want to use one installation of Firefox with two different profiles for the same logged in Ubuntu user.
How can I set this up, so that I may easily launch both profiles from ...
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24
votes
2
answers
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Where is the $HOME folder located?
I read recently that .desktop files that are used as desktop shortcuts are placed in the $HOME/Desktop directory. Where is this directory?
Also, what does the $ part mean / do?
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22
votes
4
answers
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How do I create a .desktop file for a .jar file?
My problem is, that I do want to create a .desktop file for Technic Launcher, which is an alternative launcher for Minecraft. It comes in the form of a .jar file and I want to create a menu entry for ...
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22
votes
5
answers
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How do I make a Matlab launcher for Unity?
I'm trying to install a Matlab R2011a launcher for Unity in Ubuntu 12.04. I've tried this guide (although I know it's for 11.10 and mentions that even 11.10 is an unsupported OS for Matlab R2011a) but ...
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22
votes
1
answer
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Cannot launch .desktop files (opens with Text Editor instead)
For some reason, I cannot launch .desktop files. When I double-click the file, it opens the Text Editor. The desktop file has "Allow executing file as program" turned on (-rwx). In the tab "Open with",...
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votes
2
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Set Multiple values for StartupWMClass (to group under same launcher in Unity)
This a specific example of a generic problem I haven't been able to find a solution for yet.
I have a program (Android Virtual Device Manager) that launches 'sub-programs' (namely emulators or ...
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votes
2
answers
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How to make a shell file execute by double click [duplicate]
I have tried right clicking on the file selecting properties and then the permissions tab and setting it to execute. However, when I double click the file it opens in gedit. What do I do?
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votes
1
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gnome-desktop-item-edit: command not found on Ubuntu 19.10 and later even with the 'gnome-panel' package installed
I installed Ubuntu 19.10 and have issues trying to create a desktop icon with gnome-desktop-item-edit.
$ sudo gnome-desktop-item-edit ~/Desktop/ --create-new
sudo: gnome-desktop-item-edit: command ...
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20
votes
1
answer
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Add menu option to favoured app launcher in Ubuntu dock
I can't find the way to add a custom menu entry to a .desktop launcher.
In Unity I was able to add custom menu entries to launcher like "Open customfile.txt" or "Open somespreadsheet.ods". Is that ...
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19
votes
3
answers
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My .bashrc alias not run in .desktop file
I've added the following line to the .bashrc file:
alias midos="sh /home/erkanmdr/Belgeler/midos/midos.sh"
This command works fine in the terminal and tty.
But not working in my .desktop shortcut ...
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18
votes
7
answers
20k
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Custom .desktop file -- name doesn't show up in Unity dash on Ubuntu 13.04
I have several .desktop files that I migrated over from 12.10 ubuntu. The applications they point to launch just fine, and the image displays in the dash when I search for them...but there isn't any ...
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votes
7
answers
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How to change working directory when open a file with double clicking on ubuntu desktop?
Wanted to open a file (.pdb file: protein structure format, never mind) by a double-click.
The "open with" is manually directed to execute "pymol" (a program that open the .pdb format) with Ubuntu ...
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18
votes
2
answers
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How do I associate a file type with an appimage?
I'm using ubuntu 16.04 LTS.
I've downloaded the latest krita appimage
(http://files.kde.org/krita/3/linux/krita-3.0-x86_64.appimage)
I want to be able to open Krita files (with the extension ".kra", ...
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votes
1
answer
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where should I put my .desktop files in kde plasma?
In the Gnome desktop environment I can create a shortcut to an application by placing the .desktop file in ~/.local/share/applications/, like this:
cat > ~/.local/share/applications/vscode.desktop &...
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votes
3
answers
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How can I keep the gnome-terminal open after a program closes?
I have the following shortcut which opens an SSH instance. How can I modify it so that when SSH closes, the terminal stays open?
[Desktop Entry]
Terminal=true
Type=Application
Name[en_US]=ssh
Icon=/...
17
votes
3
answers
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How to find `.desktop` file location for a particular application
EDIT: This is not a duplicate as this question is the reverse of what the other question is asking. Here we know what is the application and we want to find its .desktop file that can be located in ...
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How can I create a shortcut for the start menu to launch an application?
Some apps I've installed, like Eclipse IDE, can be launched from an icon on the desktop, but I would like to have it available in the start menu.
I should be able to go to the start menu and click on ...
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2
answers
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How to set up desktop shortcuts in KDE to run terminal commands?
I am trying to make a desktop shortcut to launch Spyder, which can be launched by typing spyder in terminal.
I made a spy.sh script with spyder in it. It works with bash spy.sh and ./spy.sh. But when ...
16
votes
1
answer
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How can I add folder shortcuts to the Launcher?
I want to add some folder to the launcher so that I can access them at ease. How do I add shortcut to launcher?
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Ηow to rename applications displayed in "Show applications" in Ubuntu 20.04?
How does one rename applications in Show applications? For example, how can I rename "GNU Image Manipulation Program" to "GIMP" in Ubuntu 20.04.2?
I have searched the internet and ...
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3
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lubuntu how to execute 2 commands in .desktop file?
I have created a .desktop file in /etc/xdg/autostart which runs the command
Exec= disper -d LVDS,VGA-0 -r auto -e -t right
Now I want to add a second command to run after the first command. How do I ...
- 611
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votes
3
answers
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.desktop file with .bashrc environment
I am using IntelliJ IDEA, and it uses some of the environment variables defined in the .bashrc script.
If I run its shell script from the terminal everything works fine but if I create a .desktop ...
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votes
2
answers
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Icon path in .desktop file
On my desktop I have a .desktop file. If I type:
Icon=/home/ianbell/Pictures/myLogo.png
the icon of the .desktop file changes (the expected result).
But, if I type:
Icon=~/Pictures/myLogo.png
it ...
user492815
15
votes
2
answers
3k
views
How do I determine an application's process name?
This is the situation:
Working on (the next version of) a Unity Quick List editor, I would like to add a reliable way of "restarting" launcher icons. To do so, I need to remove the icon (editing ...
- 84.2k
14
votes
4
answers
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Execute sh script from *.desktop file?
What I want to do at all, is that:
Create script that has icon on it. So I know only one way - file.desktop file with icon. Settings icon on it was successful, but I have no luck setting EXEC value :/
...
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votes
2
answers
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Running a .sh to execute multiple commands
I was curious how I would go about running multiple commands via shell script.
For example, just to try it out, I'd like to be able to connect a .desktop to a .sh that will run all the update codes ...
- 155
14
votes
2
answers
3k
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Custom right-click action in Unity Launcher keeps cursor busy for 20 seconds
To have a "minimize window" option through right click on an icon in the Unity launcher (Ubuntu 14.04), I followed the detailed instructions here about changing a .desktop file and made a custom ...
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4
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pkexec command in a .desktop file
I made a .desktop file for Androxyde's Flashtool (utility for Sony Xperia devices that I have to open with an executable file in its folder) that requires root privileges to use fastboot utilities.
I ...
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