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tumultous_rooster
Asked: 2013-12-16 22:33:02 +0800 CST

How can I set up PyCharm to launch from the Launcher?

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I have installed PyCharm on my brand new Ubuntu 13.10 laptop.

To launch PyCharm, I find I must navigate to the directory that pycharm lives in, and execute it from there as such:

cd home/matt/software/pycharm/bin sh pycharm.sh

I hope this isn't asking too much, but I would like to be able to click on an icon in the Launcher to launch this application.

I tried right-clicking on the PyCharm icon in the Launcher when the app is running and selecting "Lock To Launcher" but this doesn't work (after pinning, when I try to run the software this way, the icon throbs in a very awkward manner a few times and does nothing).

A small app called Alacart was rumoured to be useful, but I have no idea how it works, and it appears useless. I'm not sure why the authors teased us with a "Help" button if there are no help files written for us to view.

Further attempt has included reading page after page of technical documentation on how to write scripts that will somehow help me customize my experience.

How can I set up PyCharm to launch from the Launcher???

launcher

5 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    PyCharm can create it's own launcher icon (but it's not created by default).

    All you have to do is:

    1. Start PyCharm.
    2. From the Tools menu, select "Create Desktop Entry..."
    3. Tick the corresponding box if you want the launcher for all users.
    4. If you selected "Create entry for all users", you will be asked for your password.
    5. A green message bubble should appear informing you that it was successful.
    6. You should then be able to find PyCharm in the Unity Dash or pin it to the launcher.

    Note: You may need a system restart before it appears.

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  2. The "purest" method, in my opinion, is to simply create a launcher in a text editor that looks about like this:

    [Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Type=Application
Name=PyCharm
Icon=/opt/pycharm-2017.1.1/bin/pycharm.png
Exec="/opt/pycharm-2017.1.1/bin/pycharm.sh" %f
Comment=The Drive to Develop
Categories=Development;IDE;
Terminal=false
StartupWMClass=jetbrains-pycharm

    I believe this one was created by JetBrains, but you can type your own. Then save it to /home/yourname/.local/share/applications/appname.desktop for a launcher tied to your own login, or to /usr/share/applications/appname.desktop if you want it to apply to other users of your system.

    Obviously, once editing, you can modify the icon, etc. And you can transfer this skill to other apps or tasks.

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  3. I had the same problem after "Create Desktop Entry...". This is what solved my problem: Go to the bin folder of the PyCharm and add following line to the beginning of pycharm.sh script:

    export JDK_HOME='your java home folder'

    and save the file. Now, run the launcher entry from Unity.

    • 4

  4. There is a program called "main menu" available from the software centre. It allows you to make launchers for any command.

    Also you need to run the cd and the launch as one command like this:

    sh -c "cd /folder/to/go/to  && launch-command -options"

    Click new item Click new item

    Enter a name for the launcher and the command, and maybe a picture Enter a name for the launcher and the command, and maybe a picture

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  5. Assuming default Gnome WM, with the PyCharm Application open, right click on the dock icon. Choose "Add to Favorites" option.

    enter image description here

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