Questions tagged [.desktop]
A .desktop file is a launcher. When run, it executes a command, which usually launches an application. Use this tag if you are asking a question about using a .desktop file or about the .desktop file format in general.
1,052
questions
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Can't find a .desktop shortcut for VLC in '/usr/share/applications' to copy to my desktop
I'm using Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. I want to create a shortcut on my desktop for a program I've just installed (VLC media player). I've already done it for Google Chrome, so I do the same and I go to /usr/...
0
votes
0
answers
176
views
launching python program with *.desktop shortcut
I want to be able to launch a python program simply by clicking an icon on the desktop. The program uses pycuda and the NVCC compiler from NVIDIA.
I have created the following desktop file
[Desktop ...
6
votes
2
answers
161
views
Where does the unix-socket go to?
My destkop file: /usr/share/applications/write-to-stdout-sterr.desktop
[Desktop Entry]
# created by autocreate-desktop-files-for-pycharm.py
Name=write-to-stdout-sterr
Icon=/usr/share/pixmaps/python2....
4
votes
1
answer
4k
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Invalid .desktop file
I have a simple script I want to be able to run from a Desktop entry on Ubuntu 19.10. I followed these directions and created a .desktop file but I'm getting an error saying it is invalid. Here is the ...
0
votes
0
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154
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Selecting eclipse.desktop icon doesn't do anything (visible to me), "Exec format error" from shell
Trying to execute via desktop icon:
/usr/bin/eclipse $ ls -l eclipse
-rwxrwxrwx 1 geri geri 61176 Sep 16 19:12 eclipse
Right-click on desktop → Create launcher... creates:
~/Desktop# ls -l eclipse....
2
votes
1
answer
172
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Firefox Beta instances are shown under Firefox Stable in the dock. How do we associate the Beta instance with the Beta launcher?
The directory ~/.local/share/applications/ includes three files associating with different versions of Firefox, namely
Firefox - firefox.desktop
[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Version=1.0
Type=...
3
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Ubuntu live world clock app as desktop wallpaper or widget possible?
While I work in Germany, some of my colleagues work in India, some in Canada.
Is there a software to run in Ubuntu* and compatible environments so that the background screen displays sort of widget ...
3
votes
0
answers
68
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How to create a .desktop entry for .run file [duplicate]
I tried to add a new Desktop Entry but it failed...
I think the reason is the run file type.
Is it possible to make a .desktop entry for a run file?
[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.1
Type=Application
...
6
votes
1
answer
22k
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Login as root on ubuntu desktop [duplicate]
How do we turn on root desktop login?
I set the root password then modified /etc/gdm3/custom.conf
[Security]
AllowRoot=true
This is not giving me the option of the root at login screen, neither it ...
1
vote
0
answers
22
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Prevent double icons with custom .desktop file in dock [duplicate]
I have created a custom .desktop file to launch Chrome in dark mode.
Here is what the file looks like:
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Dark Chrome
Exec=google-chrome-stable --enable-features=WebUIDarkMode --...
1
vote
1
answer
453
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Where can I find the file format specification for MATE .desktop files?
The title pretty much says it all. I have searched the net; I have munged about in /usr/share/man/; I could probably go find the source and take a half day to find what I need but that does not seem ...
3
votes
1
answer
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How to Open the Profile Management Window Every Time You Open Chrome?
Chrome allows multiple people to use Chrome on the same computer, with each profile having its own custom bookmarks, settings, and themes. By default, Chrome opens to the profile used the last time ...
5
votes
1
answer
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Running desktop shortcut just opens it in text editor
I've looked at some other StackExchange questions pertaining to this topic, but for whatever reason I still cannot get to a resolution.
This is the simple test.desktop file I have on my desktop:
[...
0
votes
0
answers
1k
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Access USB drive on Ubuntu Server VM
I've had a look at this, but it doesn't solve the problem.
I have the following configuration:
Host: Ubuntu 18.04 Desktop
Guest: Ubuntu 18.04 Server
VM Software: VirtualBox
USB Drive: 500GB
I have ...
21
votes
1
answer
20k
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Cannot launch .desktop files (opens with Text Editor instead)
For some reason, I cannot launch .desktop files. When I double-click the file, it opens the Text Editor. The desktop file has "Allow executing file as program" turned on (-rwx). In the tab "Open with",...
4
votes
1
answer
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Escaping spaces in .desktop file Exec line with "bash -c"
I have a desktop file for a GTK application that I have created which has the following structure:
[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Name=My GTK Application
Comment=Desktop File
Exec=bash -c 'sudo taskset -...
3
votes
1
answer
816
views
Custom keystroke button on Ubuntu dock or panel
With a touchy laptop in mind, and also a physical keyboard with some missing buttons (like, delete, caps lock, etc.),
is it possible to create custom launchers, or panel indicators that can perform ...
2
votes
1
answer
2k
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Invoking .desktop file from launcher opens it in editor rather than opening the program it describes
I am running with vanilla-gnome-desktop, using GNOME Classic on Ubuntu 18.04.
When pressing Super and entering KeePass plus Enter, the ~/Desktop/KeePass.desktop file is opened in an editor (gedit in ...
2
votes
1
answer
277
views
Running application associated with wrong .desktop entry
I've got firefox (from apt) and firefox-nightly (from zip) installed at the same time, with two separate desktop entries.
However, when I launch firefox nightly, it's associated with the wrong ...
20
votes
1
answer
29k
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gnome-desktop-item-edit: command not found on Ubuntu 19.10 and later even with the 'gnome-panel' package installed
I installed Ubuntu 19.10 and have issues trying to create a desktop icon with gnome-desktop-item-edit.
$ sudo gnome-desktop-item-edit ~/Desktop/ --create-new
sudo: gnome-desktop-item-edit: command ...
1
vote
1
answer
167
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Which desktop file is my application using?
When I click on Applications from Gnome Shell (Ubuntu 18.04), I only see one "Desktop Icon" for the application Emacs.
I want to change the arguments that this desktop icon launches with.
However, I ...
1
vote
1
answer
829
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On Ubuntu 18 Terminator windows are not grouped under same icon in Dock in a Wayland session
I recently bumped into a very itchy problem on Ubuntu 18.04.
That is for each started terminator windows a dedicated icon is created on Dock. Additionally, these icons are shown as "not identified" ...
0
votes
1
answer
387
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xdotool Desktop issue
I am very new to this, so I hope not to offend.
I am trying to create Desktop.desktop icons for my HTPC (Home theatre PC). Each icon, once pressed should open the URL and maximise the screen. My code ...
2
votes
1
answer
463
views
Opening .jar files with `pkexec` and using Desktop Entries to run commands
I am writing a bash script that automates installation of TLauncher (Minecraft launcher) and basic dependency management on USBs running Lubuntu 18.04.
Part of the bash script creates a desktop ...
1
vote
1
answer
194
views
Change GTK 3 themes to spesific apps causing %f not detected
i change my .desktop option for wps, in the exec
from
Exec=/usr/bin/wps %f
to
Exec=sh -c 'GTK_DATA_PREFIX=/usr/share/themes/Ant/gtk-3.0/gtk.css wps %f'
but the themes not change to Ant, i think ...
1
vote
0
answers
118
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How can I boot from a Xubuntu LiveUSB? My Desktop is broken
Whenever I turn on my computer it opens to a terminal and I have to log in there and run startx to get to my Xubuntu 18.04.3 LTS Desktop. I have no idea how to get back the normal login screen, when I ...
2
votes
1
answer
2k
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KDE task bar not recognizing the .desktop file
I have Ubuntu 18.04 with Plasma 5 desktop. I'm a programmer, and I have a question about a rare situation.
I have a desktop file in ~/.local/share/applications/xapp.desktop with a content like this:...
2
votes
1
answer
400
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How to undo things in Gnome desktop. CTRL+z not working in Ubuntu 19.04?
I've installed Ubuntu 19.04 from scratch after an issue with my old Ubuntu installation.
I've found that now it uses Gnome instead of Unity. I like Gnome, but I have a couple of important usability ...
1
vote
1
answer
3k
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How Can I Make A .desktop Launcher For A Sudo command To Execute GfxTablet Program?
I am new here been trying to find a way to make a .desktop icon for the sudo command to open the program called GfxTablet but cannot get any info that actually works.
All the plethera of commands I ...
1
vote
1
answer
230
views
Launch terminal with initial position as split right?
I know that it is possible to edit the desktop entry for gnome-terminal and set geometry arguments, but I am wondering if it is possible to have gnome terminal by default launch with the positioning ...
4
votes
2
answers
4k
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Teams for Linux snap application will not start
I recently installed Ubuntu 19.04 on my work laptop, and installed Teams for Linux snap for work purposes. Everything seemed to work perfectly at first, but at some point it stopped working. I can ...
0
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0
answers
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.desktop file not running application
[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Encoding=UTF-8
Type=Application
Terminal=false
Name=FilterApp
Exec=python /home/ankit/Downloads/Filter_app-linux/run.py
Icon= /home/ankit/Downloads/Filter_app-linux/...
1
vote
0
answers
626
views
What to do when desktop is frozen, but sound and mouse still work
Sometimes when I double click on a mkv video file, instead of opening vlc the system freezes. Audio continues to run, i can move the mouse, but the rest of the desktop (including the clock) is frozen. ...
0
votes
1
answer
690
views
How to reinstall all applications with desktop-files in simple way?
I have Ubuntu system with a lot packages and applications installed.
Let's name this system as a source. The applications here were installed only as deb-packages.
I need to install application with ...
0
votes
1
answer
842
views
Problem with gnome-desktop-item-edit on Ubuntu 18.04
I build the launch application with
gnome-desktop-item-edit ~/.local/share/applications/.desktop --create-new
How to show it
#!/usr/bin/env xdg-open
[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Type=Application
...
3
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Panel: run application in terminal, set terminal application
With a MATE Panel item set to 'application in terminal'
I see xterm:
I want to change that to gnome-terminal (or mate-terminal in MATE)
13
votes
4
answers
7k
views
Ubuntu 18.04: "Add to Favorites" missing for certain qt-based applications?
OS: Ubuntu 18.04 (minimal installation option):
dkb@dkb-ubu1804:~$ cat /etc/X11/default-display-manager
/usr/sbin/gdm3
dkb@dkb-ubu1804:~$ echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE
x11
dkb@dkb-ubu1804:~$
I installed ...
0
votes
1
answer
117
views
Java application (Minecraft) can't be launched from desktop
I'm okay with the terminal, but I'm trying to learn how to use the gnome gui.
The following command works no problem in the terminal:
/usr/bin/java -Xms2048M -Xmx4096M -jar /home/luke/.minecraft/...
4
votes
1
answer
156
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.desktop launcher - keep different chromium apps separate
I've got the following .desktop files placed in ~/.local/share/applications for custom launchers for a full screen experience of Chromium:
[Desktop Entry]
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Name=...
2
votes
0
answers
34
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Pass environment variables to .desktop file Exec entry [duplicate]
I want to create a shortcut that executes a program with an environment variable set, for example:
[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Name=Chromium test UTC
Exec=TZ=UTC chromium-browser
The syntax above ...
1
vote
1
answer
300
views
Drag & Drop files & folders on GNOME Window manager Launcher Icons
I'm a new Ubuntu 18.04 user, but have been a Ubuntu user for years and used multiple desktop managers (GNOME, Unity, XFCE, etc.).
One feature that I loved about XFCE is that I could drop a file or a ...
17
votes
3
answers
18k
views
How to find `.desktop` file location for a particular application
EDIT: This is not a duplicate as this question is the reverse of what the other question is asking. Here we know what is the application and we want to find its .desktop file that can be located in ...
2
votes
1
answer
1k
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Using a .desktop file to launch a node.js app
In Ubuntu 16.04, I (eventually) want to drop a text file onto a desktop icon and get a Node.js app to run, treating the dropped file and outputting a new file.
I have discovered .desktop files, and ...
0
votes
0
answers
45
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New installation 18.04 - startup broken
I successfully installed the LTS version.
I cannot login to my desktop, it just shows my desktop background but no sign of unity / gnome.
The only way I can use my desktop is to press Ctrl+Alt+F6 ...
0
votes
2
answers
2k
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Creating desktop launcher for jupyter-notebook, but it is inside a python virtual environment
Like many other developers, I always follow this routine when I want to launch the jupyter notebooks that run in my repository (with a pipenv virtual environment):
cd /path/to/your/repository
pipenv ...
2
votes
2
answers
4k
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.desktop files not executing via double click, only from terminal
When I try to doubleclick-execute a .desktop file it opens up the GNOME Games launcher and does nothing else. Even if i try to reset the opening application by right clicking and editing the ...
0
votes
2
answers
800
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How do I remove duplicate entries from Dash on 18.04?
I'm running Ubuntu 18.04.
I've installed Krita and VLC via the Ubuntu Software store (among other apps). I have enabled multiple repositories as sources for the store.
Krita and VLC are both listed ...
3
votes
3
answers
6k
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Created .desktop launcher is not working in Ubuntu 19.04
I wanted to create a shortcut to run a command which will move to a directory and run a command. The problem is that when double-click the launcher, it doesn't do anything. I set check "Allow execute ...
0
votes
3
answers
4k
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Ubuntu 19.04 .desktop files not working correctly
I used to be able to copy and paste the .desktop files from use/share/applications to my desktop for shortcuts. When I first upgraded to 19.04, I selected the allow launching option on the right click ...
0
votes
0
answers
106
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Script allowed to launch without sudo password works in console, but not in .desktop file, and pkexec issues
I have set in /etc/sudoers.d/qgis_2_18 a script to be launched without sudo password:
marco ALL=NOPASSWD: /home/marco/Dropbox/bin/qgis_2_18
Content of /home/marco/Dropbox/bin/qgis_2_18:
xhost local:...