Running desktop shortcut just opens it in text editor

Question

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:

[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Name=Test        
Comment=Test the terminal running a command inside it
Exec=gnome-terminal -e "~/test.rb"
Icon=utilities-terminal
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=Application;

I am simply trying to make a shortcut that runs a Ruby script when double clicked. I'm trying to make this extremely easy for an end-user to open up, but it just keeps opening up in a text editor when I double click the file.

I have also verified that it has write permissions as well, but still nothing. If I replace ~/test.rb with ifconfig, it still doesn't work.

What am I doing wrong here?

Answer 1

To do this correctly in the Gnome Shell desktop environment (i.e., the desktop environment of standard Ubuntu), place your .desktop file in either .local/share/applications or in /usr/share/applications. That way, the laucher will appear in the Applications Overview, and can, if desired, be pinned to the Dock/Dash for easy access.

.desktop files in the first mentionned directory will be available for the current user only. Place them in /usr/share/applications (of course, only a user with root permissions can do that) for system wide access.

Alternatively, to run the launcher from the desktop, you need to make it executable and mark it as trusted. I am not sure whether that still works in Ubuntu 19.10, where a Gnome-shell extension is used to provide desktop icons instead of the file manager providing these.