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Accepted
James Newton
Asked: 2021-12-02 11:53:22 +0800 CST

Creating a file that will open another file in VS Code when it is double-clicked

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I want to write a command in ~/.bashrcthat will create a trigger file that will open a different target file in a different folder when I double-click on the trigger file. I want the target file to open in VS Code.

The files might appear in a directory structure like this:

parentDir/
  archiveDir/
  yesterdaysDateDir/
  todaysDateDir/
    fileIWantToOpen.js

  index/
    fileIWantToDoubleClick

I understand that I can create an executable .desktop file to do this. I have found the specifications for .desktop files, but I have got lost in all the possible details.

I think that what I want might look something like this...

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Terminal=true
Name=fileIWantToDoubleClick
Icon=utilities-terminal
Exec="code '../todaysDate/fileIWantToOpen.js'"
Categories=Application;

... but I am out of my depth. Any help in understanding what to do would be appreciated.

Creating a simple symbolic link does not work for me: I want to click on a file in my index directory and have it open a specific file in a specific folder, rather than launch a clone with a different name from the index directory.

bash

1 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    create bash file

    #!/bin/bash
code '../todaysDate/fileIWantToOpen.js'

    make it executable by running this command in the terminal chmod +x fileIWantToDoubleClick

    double-click on it to open the file

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