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nik90
Asked: 2011-04-17 08:08:01 +0800 CST

What Custom Launchers and Unity Quicklists are available?

  • 772

Please note that right now, most of the information contained below is outdated and cannot be updated. Be careful, most of this won't work on Ubuntu 12.04 and newer.

Creating a custom launcher for Unity is simple. Quicklists provide an easy and efficient way to quickly access commonly used tasks for a specific application.

NOTE: Starting with Ubuntu 11.10, this popup option has vanished. Launchers can now only be created by editing text files in your home folder.

Creating a custom launcher is easy.

  1. Right-click on your desktop and click create a launcher.
  2. Edit the .desktop file using a text editor. (More information can be found here and here.)

So, which custom launchers do you use on Unity?

Note: Please limit yourself to one custom launcher per answer. Also, please provide a screenshot of it in action.

unity

30 Answers

  1. Home Icon Quicklist

    Home Icon Quicklist

    1. Copy 'Home Folder' launcher file to your home directory:

      mkdir ~/.local/share/applications
cp /usr/share/applications/nautilus-home.desktop ~/.local/share/applications

    2. Open the file for editing in gedit:

      gedit ~/.local/share/applications/nautilus-home.desktop

    3. Delete the following line from the file:

      OnlyShowIn=GNOME;

    4. Add this text to the bottom of the file, then close and save:

      X-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts=Videos;Documents;Music;Pictures;Downloads
[Videos Shortcut Group]
Name=Videos
Exec=nautilus Videos
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Documents Shortcut Group]
Name=Documents
Exec=nautilus Documents
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Music Shortcut Group]
Name=Music
Exec=nautilus Music
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Pictures Shortcut Group]
Name=Pictures
Exec=nautilus Pictures
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Downloads Shortcut Group]
Name=Downloads
Exec=nautilus Downloads
TargetEnvironment=Unity

    5. Log out and log in again to see the changes.

    Source

    • 68

  2. SSH Launcher

    Access of list of your favorite SSH servers quickly.

    ssh quicklist

    1. Create a new file with gedit, in the Terminal type:

      gedit ~/.local/share/applications/ssh-launcher.desktop

    2. Copy & Paste this text into the above file:

      [Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Name=Remote Servers
Comment=Login to my servers
Exec=gnome-terminal --disable-factory --sm-client-disable --class=remoteserver -x ssh -t minibox.local 
Terminal=false
X-MultipleArgs=false
Type=Application
Icon=utilities-terminal
StartupNotify=true
StartupWMClass=RemoteServers
X-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts=Server1;

[Server1 Shortcut Group]
Name=SSH into minibox.local
Exec=gnome-terminal --disable-factory --sm-client-disable  --class=remoteserver -x ssh -t minibox.local
TargetEnvironment=Unity

Comment=You can create more of these. Just add to X-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts a "Server2", "Server3" etc, then change the domain name (in this case, "minibox.local") to the name of your server. You'll also notice that the default action (When you just click the icon in the launcher) is to SSH into minibox.local - you'll need to change that to your most used server.

    3. Drag and Drop onto the launcher by navigating to ~/.local/share/applications/ in Nautilus.

    Source 1, Source 2

    • 49

  3. Ubuntu Software Center Quicklist

    Quickly add PPAs through the software-properties UI and update sources as well.

    Software manager quicklist

    1. Copy the original .desktop file to your home folder using Terminal:

      cp /usr/share/applications/ubuntu-software-center.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/

    2. Open the file for editing with gedit:

      gedit ~/.local/share/applications/ubuntu-software-center.desktop

    3. Add the following at the bottom of the file. This should be entered after the line X-Ubuntu-Gettext-Domain=software-center

    .

    X-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts=SoftwareUpdates;SoftwareProperties;Synaptic;

[SoftwareUpdates Shortcut Group]  
Name=Update Manager  
Exec=update-manager -c  
OnlyShowIn=Unity

[SoftwareProperties Shortcut Group]  
Name=Add/Edit PPAs  
Exec=gksu software-properties-gtk %u  
OnlyShowIn=Unity

[Synaptic Shortcut Group]  
Name=Synaptic Software Manager  
Exec=gksu synaptic %u  
OnlyShowIn=Unity
    • 47

  4. Home Icon Quicklist (auto-update from bookmarks)

    Here is a small shell script that updates your Home-Quicklist with all your bookmarks. No manual manipulation. It reads your bookmark file and creates the menu items from it. It also adds the "Root Filemanager" menu entry.

    Screenshot of the quicklist in action

    1. Copy the script listed below into an empty file and put it in your scripts-folder (we will assume that is ~/bin/ and the script name you choose is unityhome.bash).

    2. Run the script once to add the entries:

      bash ~/bin/unityhome.bash

    3. Optionally you may have cron run the script for you every once in a while. To add it to cron, type the follwing command into a shell:

      crontab -e

      An editor will open. There add a line like:

      @reboot /bin/bash/ $HOME/bin/unityhome.bash > /dev/null 2>&1

      If you don't do this step, you'll have to run the script by hand every time you change your nautilus bookmarks if you want the quicklist updated.

    4. Changes only take effect on your next login or after you Alt+F2 

      unity --replace

      So do that. Note: Don't run unity --replace in a terminal. If you close that terminal, it will kill unity with it.

    5. Enjoy and have a look at the similar script for gnome-terminal that parses your ssh bookmarks (in ~/.ssh/config).

    Script:

    Here is the script:

    #!/bin/bash
# tabsize: 4, encoding: utf8
#
# © 2011 [email protected]. Use permitted under MIT license:
#     http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php
# 
# CONTRIBUTORS: Chris Druif <[email protected]>
#               Scott Severance <http://www.scottseverance.us/>
#               jacopoL <[email protected]>
# 
# This script updates the unity quicklist menu for nautilus to contain the user
# bookmarks. The updates will have efect after unity is restarted (either on
# the next login or by invoking 'unity --replace').

# location of template and unity bar launchers
nautempl="/usr/share/applications/nautilus-home.desktop"
target="$HOME/.local/share/applications/nautilus-home.desktop"
bookmarks="$HOME/.gtk-bookmarks"

# backup if file already exists
if [ -e "$target" ]; then
    echo "Creating backup of: $target."
    mv -n "$target" "$target.bak"
fi

# copy template
cp "$nautempl" "$target"

if ! grep -q 'OnlyShowIn=.*Unity' "$target"; then # add only if not already present
    sed -i "s/\(OnlyShowIn=.*\)/\1Unity;/" "$target"
fi

# due to a bug in Unity (Ubuntu 11.10+) we will have to completely remove the OnlyShowIn line:
# https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/unity/+bug/842257/comments/6
sed -i '/^OnlyShowIn=/d' "$target"

if ! grep -q 'X-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts=' "$target"; then # add only if not already present
    echo -e "\nX-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts=\n" >> "$target"
else
    echo >> "$target"
fi
bmcount=0
while read bmline; do
    bmcount=$(($bmcount+1))     # number of current bookmark
    bmname=${bmline#*\ }        # name of the bookmark
    bmpath=${bmline%%\ *}       # path the bookmark leads to
    # deal with bookmarks that have no name
    if [ "$bmname" = "$bmpath" ]; then
        bmname=${bmpath##*/}
    fi
    # fix spaces in names and paths
    bmname="$(echo "$bmname" | sed 's/%20/ /g')"
    bmpath="$(echo "$bmpath" | sed 's/%20/ /g')"
    # fix accents in names and paths (for french users)
    bmname="$(echo "$bmname" | python -c 'import sys,urllib;sys.stdout.write(urllib.unquote(sys.stdin.read()))')"
    bmpath="$(echo "$bmpath" | python -c 'import sys,urllib;sys.stdout.write(urllib.unquote(sys.stdin.read()))')"
    # extend shortcut list with current bookmark, prepending a ; if needed
    sed -i "s/\(X-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts=\(.*;$\|$\)\)/\1Scg${bmcount};/
            t
            s/\(X-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts=.*\)/\1;Scg${bmcount};/" "$target"
    # write bookmark information
    cat - >> "$target" <<EOF

[Scg$bmcount Shortcut Group]
Name=$bmname
Exec=nautilus "$bmpath"
TargetEnvironment=Unity
EOF
done < "$bookmarks"

# Add a root file manager entry
sed -i "s/\(X-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts=.*\)/\1RootFM;/" "$target"
cat - >> "$target" <<EOF

[RootFM Shortcut Group]
Name=Root
Exec=gksudo nautilus
TargetEnvironment=Unity
EOF

exit 0

    Improvement: Do not duplicate "Home folder" and "username"

    If you don't want to have two items targeting your Home folder ("Home Folder" at the bottom of the quicklist and the clickable username), you can replace the following code:

        # write bookmark information
    cat - >> "$target" <<EOF

[Scg$bmcount Shortcut Group]
Name=$bmname
Exec=nautilus "$bmpath"
TargetEnvironment=Unity
EOF
done < "$bookmarks"

    by the following code:

        # write bookmark information
    if [ "file://$HOME" != "$bmpath" ]; then
    cat - >> "$target" <<EOF

[Scg$bmcount Shortcut Group]
Name=$bmname
Exec=nautilus "$bmpath"
TargetEnvironment=Unity
EOF
    fi
done < "$bookmarks"
    • 42

  5. LibreOffice Quicklist

    This creates a quicklist for the LibreOffice Start Center launcher.

    LibreOffice Quicklist

    1. Copy your original .desktop file into your home directory for editing:

      cp /usr/share/applications/libreoffice-startcenter.desktop ~/.local/share/applications

    2. Open in gedit:

      gedit ~/.local/share/applications/libreoffice-startcenter.desktop

    3. Edit the MimeType line:

      Find the following line:

      MimeType=application/vnd.openofficeorg.extension;

      Replace with:

      MimeType=application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text;application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text-template;application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text-web;application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text-master;application/vnd.sun.xml.writer;application/vnd.sun.xml.writer.template;application/vnd.sun.xml.writer.global;application/vnd.stardivision.writer;application/msword;application/vnd.ms-word;application/x-doc;application/rtf;text/rtf;application/vnd.wordperfect;application/wordperfect;application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document;application/vnd.ms-word.document.macroenabled.12;application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.template;application/vnd.ms-word.template.macroenabled.12;application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet;application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet-template;application/vnd.sun.xml.calc;application/vnd.sun.xml.calc.template;application/vnd.stardivision.calc;application/vnd.stardivision.chart;application/msexcel;application/vnd.ms-excel;application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet;application/vnd.ms-excel.sheet.macroenabled.12;application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.template;application/vnd.ms-excel.template.macroenabled.12;application/vnd.ms-excel.sheet.binary.macroenabled.12;text/csv;application/x-dbf;application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.graphics;application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.graphics-template;application/vnd.sun.xml.draw;application/vnd.sun.xml.draw.template;application/vnd.stardivision.draw;application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.presentation;application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.presentation-template;application/vnd.sun.xml.impress;application/vnd.sun.xml.impress.template;application/vnd.stardivision.impress;application/mspowerpoint;application/vnd.ms-powerpoint;application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation;application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.presentation.macroenabled.12;application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.template;application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.template.macroenabled.12;application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.formula;application/vnd.sun.xml.math;application/vnd.stardivision.math;

    4. Highlight and copy the text below, then paste it at the bottom of the .desktop file:

      X-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts=Writer;Impress;Calc;Math;Draw

[Writer Shortcut Group]
Name=Writer
Exec=libreoffice -writer %U
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Impress Shortcut Group]
Name=Impress
Exec=libreoffice -impress %U
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Calc Shortcut Group]
Name=Calc
Exec=libreoffice -calc %U
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Math Shortcut Group]
Name=Math
Exec=libreoffice -math %U
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Draw Shortcut Group]
Name=Draw
Exec=libreoffice -draw %U
TargetEnvironment=Unity

      Note: For LibreOffice 3.4 and 3.4.1: in Exec; libreoffice must be replaced with `libreoffice3.4', but it seems in Oneiric we don't need to add the version number. I'm testing it from Oneiric and leaving default just run well, adding the verison number make the quicklist unusable

    5. Navigate to ~/.local/share/applications and drag'n'drop the LibreOffice Start Center desktop file onto the launcher.

    A similar modification can be made to the LibreOffice Writer launcher.

    Source

    • 38

  6. Terminal Quicklist

    terminal img (updated)

    1. Copy original Terminal launcher into your home directory using Terminal:

      cp /usr/share/applications/gnome-terminal.desktop ~/.local/share/applications

    2. Open the file with gedit still using Terminal:

      gedit ~/.local/share/applications/gnome-terminal.desktop

    3. Find the following line from the file:

      OnlyShowIn=GNOME;

      Replace the above line with:

      OnlyShowIn=GNOME;Unity;

    4. Add this text to the bottom of the file then Save & Close it:

      X-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts=NewWindow;NewTab;Top;Root;

[NewWindow Shortcut Group]
Name=New Window
Exec=gnome-terminal --window
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[NewTab Shortcut Group]
Name=New Tab
Exec=xdotool windowfocus gnome-terminal key ctrl+shift+t
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Root Shortcut Group]
Name=Root Terminal
Exec=gksudo gnome-terminal
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Top Shortcut Group]
Name=Top
Exec=gnome-terminal --command top
TargetEnvironment=Unity

    5. To enable the 'New Tab' option you need to install xdotool Install xdotool from Ubuntu Software Centre

    6. Close all Terminal windows, right-click on its launcher icon and untick 'Keep In Launcher'

    7. Open Dash, run Terminal and the new launcher with quicklist will appear.

    • 32

  7. Firefox Quicklist

    Add handy Firefox options to the launcher.

    enter image description here

    1. Copy your original .desktop file into your home directory for editing:

      cp /usr/share/applications/firefox.desktop ~/.local/share/applications

    2. Open in gedit:

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

    3. Find and edit the following line:

      X-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts=NewWindow;

      to match this line:

      X-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts=NewWindow;SafeMode;ProfileManager;

    4. Add this text to the bottom of the .desktop, then save the file:

      [SafeMode Shortcut Group]
Name=Open Firefox in safe mode
Exec=firefox -safe-mode
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[ProfileManager Shortcut Group]
Name=Firefox Profile Manager
Exec=firefox -ProfileManager
TargetEnvironment=Unity
    • 32

  8. Google Services Launcher

    A custom launcher for common services like gmail, calendar, composing a new message.

    enter image description here

    1. Create a new file by opening Text Editor and paste the following text into it:

      [Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Name=Google Services
Exec=xdg-open https://accounts.google.com/
Terminal=false
X-MultipleArgs=false
Type=Application
Icon=chrome-https___docs.google.com_
Categories=Network;WebBrowser;
StartupNotify=true
StartupWMClass=docs.google.com

X-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts=Plus;Inbox;Compose;Voice;Contacts;Calendar;Documents;Photos;Maps;Sites;Reader;Bookmarks
Name[en_US]=Google Services (Gmail)
[Plus Shortcut Group]
Name=Plus
Exec=xdg-open 'https://plus.google.com/u/0/'
TargetEnvironment=Unity
[Inbox Shortcut Group]
Name=InBox
Exec=xdg-open 'https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox'
TargetEnvironment=Unity
[Compose Shortcut Group]
Name=Compose
Exec=xdg-open 'https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#compose'
TargetEnvironment=Unity
[Voice Shortcut Group]
Name=Voice
Exec=xdg-open 'https://www.google.com/voice/b/0?pli=1#inbox'
TargetEnvironment=Unity
[Contacts Shortcut Group]
Name=Contacts
Exec=xdg-open 'https://www.google.com/contacts'
TargetEnvironment=Unity
[Calendar Shortcut Group]
Name=Calendar
Exec=xdg-open 'https://calendar.google.com'
TargetEnvironment=Unity
[Documents Shortcut Group]
Name=Documents
Exec=xdg-open https://docs.google.com/
TargetEnvironment=Unity
[Photos Shortcut Group]
Name=Photos
Exec=xdg-open 'https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos'
TargetEnvironment=Unity
[Maps Shortcut Group]
Name=Maps
Exec=xdg-open 'http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=ml'
TargetEnvironment=Unity
[Sites Shortcut Group]
Name=Sites
Exec=xdg-open 'https://sites.google.com/?tab=m3&pli=1'
TargetEnvironment=Unity
[Reader Shortcut Group]
Name=Reader
Exec=xdg-open 'https://www.google.com/reader/view/?hl=en&tab=my'
TargetEnvironment=Unity
[Bookmarks Shortcut Group]
Name=Bookmarks
Exec=xdg-open 'https://www.google.com/bookmarks/l'
TargetEnvironment=Unity

    2. Save the file with this folder location and name:

       ~/.local/share/applications/google-services-launcher.desktop

    3. Drag and Drop this file onto the launcher by navigating to ~/.local/share/applications/ in File Manager.

    You can download the icon here.

    Source

    • 31

  9. Banshee Quicklist

    banshee quicklist

    1. Copy the Banshee launcher to your home directory, in Terminal paste the following:

      cp /usr/share/applications/banshee.desktop ~/.local/share/applications

    2. Open this new file for editing:

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

    3. Highlight and copy the text below, then paste this at the bottom of the file.

      X-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts=Play;Pause;Stop;Previous;Next;Preferences

[Play Shortcut Group]
Name=Play
Exec=banshee --play
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Pause Shortcut Group]
Name=Pause
Exec=banshee --pause
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Stop Shortcut Group]
Name=Stop
Exec=banshee --stop
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Previous Shortcut Group]
Name=Previous
Exec=banshee --previous
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Next Shortcut Group]
Name=Next
Exec=banshee --next
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Preferences Shortcut Group]
Name=Preferences
Exec=banshee --show-preferences
TargetEnviroment=Unity

    Sources: 1, 2

    • 25

  10. Google Docs Quicklist

    enter image description here

    1. Create a new file with this command:

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

    2. Paste in the text below:

      [Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Name=Google Docs
Exec=xdg-open https://docs.google.com/
Terminal=false
X-MultipleArgs=false
Type=Application
Icon=chrome-https___docs.google.com_
Categories=Network;WebBrowser;
StartupNotify=true
StartupWMClass=docs.google.com

X-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts=Doc;Spreadsheet;Presentation;Drawing

[Doc Shortcut Group]
Name=New Document
Exec=xdg-open https://docs.google.com/?action=newdoc
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Spreadsheet Shortcut Group]
Name=New Spreadsheet
Exec=xdg-open https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?new
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Presentation Shortcut Group]
Name=New Presentation
Exec=xdg-open https://docs.google.com/?action=new_presentation
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Drawing Shortcut Group]
Name=New Drawing
Exec=xdg-open https://docs.google.com/drawings/create?hl=en
TargetEnvironment=Unity

      Note that this opens in your default browser. For chrome/ium fullscreen apps, find and replace xdg-open with chromium-browser and https: with --app=https:.

    3. Drag the gdocs.desktop into the launcher from ~/.local/share/applications/

    • 24