How do I add links to launcher

Question

I am new to Ubuntu; I've been using it for a couple hours now, and I encountered one little problem that I was hoping to solve. I got a program on my computer without actually using the software center or packages, it's just a folder with a executable file in it. So I figured that it's not a problem and just put the folder in a safe place and created a link to the executable file which I put on the desktop.

So here's the question: how do I get the link into the launcher?

Answer 1

Either of these would solve your issue:

How can I add a bash script to the Unity launcher?

How can I edit/create new launcher items in Unity by hand?

Basically, you need an icon (.desktop) file than be docked to the Unity bar (left of screen).