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Accepted
Nirmik
Asked: 2012-05-24 07:16:25 +0800 CST

How to add a shell script to launcher as shortcut [duplicate]

  • 772

Possible Duplicate:
How can I edit/create new launcher items in Unity by hand?
How can I create launchers on my desktop?

I want to add some shell scripts in my launcher as shortcuts..

They are located deep inside and i have to navigate to it every time to execute them...

I tried this link where the 2nd answers seems to solvee it but as said in comments neither can i find any option to add a launcher..

I guess it existed in 11.04 with a "+" button on launcher but i use 12.04.

So how do i get this working?? And i need those commands everytime for sure..!

launcher

2 Answers

  1. Best Answer
    1. Create *.desktop file, location depends on if it is for personal use or all users. If these directories do not exist, create them.

    For personal use , ~/.local/share/applications

    gedit ~/.local/share/applications/name.desktop

    For all users, /usr/local/share/applications/ (or /usr/share/applications/ depending upon your system).

    sudo -i gedit /usr/share/applications/name.desktop

    1. Paste below text

      [Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Terminal=true
Name=unmount-mount
Icon=/path/to/icon/icon.svg
Exec=/path/to/file/mount-unmount.sh

      edit Icon= and Exec= and Name=

      Also Terminal=True/false determines whether the terminal opens a window and displays output or runs in the background

    2. put this in unity panel by dragging it from files manager

    logic is very simple that unity panel allows *.desktop files as launcher though I haven't tried it because I use Natty.

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  2. What @vipara said is mostly correct, except that I also found /usr/local/share didn't work for me. Also, you will need to run sudo update-desktop-database after adding this file in order to refresh the launcher apps. Also, there is a much easier way to create the .desktop files. First, make sure you have the gnome-panel installed (it was pre-installed on my 12.04 Ubuntu):

    sudo apt-get install --no-install-recommends gnome-panel

    Once you have this command, then you can run:

    gnome-desktop-item-edit ~/Desktop/ --create-new

    This will bring up a nice GUI window where you can select the application, icon, etc. It will dump the .desktop file on your desktop (or wherever you direct it), so you'll still need to sudo mv it to the applications folder and update the desktop database afterwards

    Launchers are saved in /home/myusername/.local/share/applications

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