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everyone. I use zotero for my studies and downloaded a tar.gz-file from their website. When I extract it, it has an executable shell script that launches the programme. I wanted to be able to start Zotero from slingshot instead of having to browse to the folder every time I want to open it. So I created my own .desktop file which is called zotero.desktop and I created it while running scratch as root and placed it in /usr/share/applications/ This is the file: 

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=Zotero
Comment=Bibliografisch programma
Exec=/home/lieven/ICT/Configuratie en Setup/Zotero_linux-x86_64/zotero
Icon=/home/lieven/ICT/Configuratie en Setup/Zotero_linux-x86_64/chrome/icons/default/default48.png
Categories=Utility
Terminal=false

But when I open slingshot and type in Zotero, it isn't listed as an entry. This is also the case after logging out and restarting the computer. What can I do to be able to open Zotero from within slingshot?

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3 Answers 3

Reset to default
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Correct content of zotero.desktop as follows:

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=Zotero
Comment=Bibliografisch programma
Exec=/home/lieven/ICT/Configuratie\ en\ Setup/Zotero_linux-x86_64/zotero
Icon=/home/lieven/ICT/Configuratie\ en\ Setup/Zotero_linux-x86_64/chrome/icons/default/default48.png
Categories=Utility
Terminal=false

Path with space should contain a backslash.

Also make zotero.desktop executable through Terminal:

sudo chmod +x /usr/share/applications/zotero.desktop

PS: No need to get into system files, *.desktop with same success can be placed in ~/.local/share/applications. In this case, command to change permissions of an executable file will look like this:

chmod +x ~/.local/share/applications/zotero.desktop
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  • 1
    Thanks a lot, this worked flawlessly. Thanks for the tip to put it in the user's configuration folder, but there are other users on the machine that use the programme, that's why I put it in /usr/share/applications/.
    – user72805
    Oct 15, 2015 at 18:10
  • @user72805, I'm glad that my answer helped you. Offtop: my English is very bad?
    – png2378
    Oct 15, 2015 at 18:36
  • 1
    You can see that you're not a native speaker, but it's good enough for getting the message across. It's fine, but I'm not a native speaker either :-).
    – user72805
    Oct 16, 2015 at 10:42
  • I'm trying to setup my desktop file but for some reason it doesn't work. My exec is Exec=/home/jena/miniconda3/bin/jupyter-qtconsole --kernel=ir (note the space before the parameter). Clicking the icon in launcher will show icon on the dock for a moment, but then it disappears. If I put backslash there (i.e. jupyter-qtconsole\ --kernel=ir) then it disappears from the launcher. Same if I put it in either single- or double-quotes. If I remove the parameter, it launches fine, but with default python kernel, while I need R kernel. So clearly the space before parameter is the problem. Any idea?
    – jena
    Dec 16, 2020 at 9:01
  • aha so apparently the = is the problem - does anybody know how to resolve it?
    – jena
    Jan 6, 2021 at 15:28
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this is for raspberry pi where you run your program in a terminal

create a desktop file (runthis.desktop) in /home/pi/.config/autostart

copy these lines to the file (runthis.desktop)

[Desktop Entry] 

Encoding=UTF-8

Type=Application

Name=RootCam

Comment=

Exec=x-terminal-emulator --working-directory=/home/pi/projects/RootCam/main -e /home/pi/projects/RootCam/main &

StartupNotify=true

Terminal=true
Hidden=false

change working directory and executed program to your desire

reboot pi

tell your parents you love them

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There is a convenient way of managing .desktop files via GUI interface too: AppEditor

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