Broken xfce4 applications menu entry - I know where the executable is but I don't know how to fix it

Question

I downloaded to a new computer the pcloud application (a cloud backup service). I've used it for a while and it works great. However, when I launched it I ran it straight from my "Downloads" directory instead of moving it to a better place first.

The application installs itself in the Applications menu on the xfce4 toolbar. When I re-launch it from the command line in its new location, it does not automatically fix the menu entry. The failure of course is that the binary it expects to be there in my Downloads folder is missing.

(Oddly, the "Applications" menu launched from the right-mouse popup on the desktop does not include the pcloud link at all.)

What can I do to repair the Applications menu entry?

Answer 1

Application menu (or launcher or dash or however your desktop environment calls it) entries are usually defined by .desktop files, which are just regular text files that contain the needed information like name, command, icon, etc. in a specific format.

There are two places where these files are stored, either globally for all users in /usr/share/applications or locally for your own user account only in ~/.local/share/applications. If the system created such an entry for you and you were not required to enter your sudo password, it should be in the user location.

You can search for a .desktop file in that folder which corresponds to your application in question and either manually edit it with your favourite text editor to fix the command/executable path (some line starting with Exec=), or just delete the file and let your application recreate it.