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I downloaded Scid from the software center, as far as I know, everything we download from the center should be an apt package, thus it should be detectable by the system.

However, scid is not listed in the menu of installed apps, the default application finder does not find it, nor Synapse, they find everything but Scid. Why?

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  • The downloaded packaged can not be detected by the system. It can be detected only when you install it or once you referred it or any kind of shortcut has been created. Have you installed Scid in your system yet? Feb 7, 2014 at 12:40
  • @SauravKumar of course i did install it and I use it everyday, to run it, you have to open a terminal and type scid. The question however is why some software are not detectable
    – Lynob
    Feb 7, 2014 at 12:45
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    It is unbelievable that scid can not be listed even in synapse ;) Apart from scid what other software are not detectable? Did you try to search scid with the name something like Shane's Chess Information Database? Feb 7, 2014 at 12:57
  • @SauravKumar So far scid is the only one that is not detectable, and yes i did search Shane's Chess Information Database and Chess database with play and training functionality which is its name in the software center, found nothing, unbelievable? install it, see if you can find it :) I'll buy you beer :P it's not only on ubuntu, I used to be on Crunchbang last year, so I think, this issue is on all debian/ubuntu based distros. I haven't tried it on other distros
    – Lynob
    Feb 7, 2014 at 13:19
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    You seem so confident, you'd be correct then. :) I didn't install it in my system. I just want you to try it in these application finder Feb 7, 2014 at 13:28

2 Answers 2

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The scid package doesn't have a .desktop file according to this. The applications which present you with a menu of installed apps generate that menu from the .desktop files present on your system in the /usr/share/applications/ or in the ~/.local/share/applications/ directory. If a program doesn't have a .desktop file in one of those directories it won't show up in the menu.

This is by design. There are a lot of programs (mostly terminal based ones) which shouldn't show up in the graphical menu. If you want this program to show up in the application menu you can make a .desktop file for it.

Also if you feel that this program is that kind of program which should automatically install a .desktop file for itself you may file a bug report.

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  • +1 for you definitive answer. Exactly the answer OP wants to know. :) Feb 7, 2014 at 13:37
  • thank you, I'll write a .desktop file and I'll file a bug report, because it should automatically install a .desktop file for itself, Scid is not a terminal based software
    – Lynob
    Feb 7, 2014 at 13:49
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First off, the Ubuntu Software Centre and the Package Manager are two separate things - there are some programs that belong to both, but not everything does. (For the most part, for instance, if something can be paid for in USC, it's not going to be available in one of the repositories)

In the specific case of scid, it is indeed an apt package, but just because that is the case, doesn't mean that it will necessarily install a shortcut to the Dash when you download it. You do, however, have a couple of alternatives for running it:

  • Run from a terminal, as you already have, by opening up a terminal and typing scid;
  • Open the run prompt by pressing Alt + F2, and type scid there;
  • Create your own shortcut to put in the Dash.

This last one can be done quite easily using the alacarte program. Type sudo apt-get install alacarte into a terminal. Once it has installed, type alacarte to open.

Once it has opened, click the "New Item" button on the right. As a command you should type scid, for the name you type whatever you want to call the shortcut (most likely Scid.) In addition, you can choose a custom icon by clicking the small box in the top-left of the properties prompt. As a suggestion, you can use for example one of the images in /usr/share/scid/html/bitmaps - if you browse there you will see a series of icons representing each chess piece (more generally speaking, you should be able to choose pretty much any image to go here, but you will want it to be something small for an icon). Click OK, close Alacarte and your new shortcut should be in the Dash now.

If you want to edit the entry you have created later on, open alacarte again. Your shortcut will be in the "Other" section to the left of the window.

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  • +1 for your constructive thought and idea. :) Feb 7, 2014 at 13:35

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