7

I have a .desktop file:

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Terminal=true
Name=RunMe
Exec=run.sh

When I double click the .desktop file, I get There was an error launching the application.

my run.sh is:

#!/bin/sh
xulrunner-sdk/bin/xulrunner-stub --app xulrunner-sdk/bin/application.ini 2>~log.log

Double clicking on run.sh and clicking run runs the application fine. Both run.sh and my .desktop are executable.

What do I need to change in my desktop file to make this work?

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2
  • 3
    Use a full pathname on the Exec line.
    – Jos
    Jul 11, 2014 at 9:58
  • I tried that, same issue, but ideally I want this to be portable anyway.
    – Kiksy
    Jul 11, 2014 at 10:21

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
7

To figure out what exactly is the error as you asked

What do I need to change in my desktop file to make this work?

After a lot of research, I found that you can indeed validate your desktop file with this command

desktop-file-validate your-file-here.desktop

This was the hidden command I was trying to find since hours. This, Saved my day :-)

This command will show you warning and errors wherever you have gone wrong. Credits : ubuntuforums

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1
  • Great find, but it doesn't actually execute the Exec command.
    – AAAfarmclub
    Oct 5, 2018 at 4:47
2

%k is the desktop file path, use it with sh to relative .desktop:

  • Change current working directory (pwd), Then run.sh & commands inside all will run from there:

    [Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Terminal=true
Name=Run Me
Exec=sh -c "cd `dirname %k`; run.sh"

  • Otherwise, passing it as parameter to run.sh and use it explicitly when you need inside run.sh:

    run.desktop

        [Desktop Entry]
    Type=Application
    Terminal=true
    Name=Run Me
    Exec=sh -c "`dirname %k`/run.sh `dirname %k`"

    run.sh

        #!/bin/sh
    $1/xulrunner-sdk/bin/xulrunner-stub --app $1/xulrunner-sdk/bin/application.ini 2>$1/~log.log

Reference: How can I set the 'Path' variable in a .desktop file to be relative to the location where the desktop file is located?

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2
  • 1
    Tried 'Exec=bash -c "export PATH=$PATH:dirname %k; sh run.sh;"' but still nothing happens on the double click.
    – Kiksy
    Jul 14, 2014 at 8:12
  • @Kiksy, I didn't notice that you are using other relative path inside run.sh. Change current working directory (pwd) should work, or passing it as parameter. Updated answer
    – user.dz
    Jul 14, 2014 at 12:00
1
  • Goto /usr/share/app-install/desktop
  • right click on your specific application
  • go to properties
  • copy the command section
  • execute same from terminal
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-1
  1. Put your script, (the orig. one) in a bin directory in your PATH if not already.
  2. Rename the script & lose the extension, eg, run1
  3. edit your .desktop to reflect new name, eg. Exec=run1
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