How do I start a second instance of a program from Unity's launcher?

Question

It's all in the title.

Eg. if I have a gnome-terminal opened and I click on the gnome-terminal launcher icon, the running terminal will focus and no new instance will pop-up. Also, there is no item in the launcher icon's quicklist that would allow me to start a second instance of the program.

It would be simpler and more usable to keep the gnome bottom panel for opened program and the launcher just to run programs. — deonis, Feb 25 '12 at 17:31
Terminal was just an example. What we need is a way to config to start another instance of any app from Unity Launcher. — , Apr 18 '14 at 12:01

score 41 · Accepted Answer · edited Mar 04 '12 at 05:15

41

You now can start a new instance via a middle clicking on the launcher icon.

edited Mar 04 '12 at 05:15

Jorge Castro

71,754

answered Dec 03 '10 at 18:57

htorque

64,798

2

I was hoping that there would be an alternative for those who don't have a middle mouse button (such as on my laptop's trackpad), such as by holding some combination of ctrl, alt or shift while clicking.
It is a convention in web browsers to use CTRL+click to mean the same as a middle-click. I wish Unity did the same. For now I have to right-click then select "New ______" from the context menu which is annoying.
– thomasrutter Jun 14 '12 at 13:57
If you have a trackpad is likely that you can obtain a middle-click by pressing the two mouse buttons at the same time. – Michele Sep 23 '12 at 14:52

score 11 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 16 '11 at 12:12

11

Click the launcher with the middle mousebutton.

answered Mar 16 '11 at 12:12

Bazon

2,700

If the program in question is gedit, then additionally you must right-click on the tab in gedit and "move to new window" – OJW Oct 27 '12 at 14:28

score 7 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 04 '10 at 16:55

7

At the moment, the only possibility to start a second instance, is using the Applications view, in the sidebar or the Ubuntulogo at the top.

answered Nov 04 '10 at 16:55

david

2,430

score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Nov 04 '10 at 15:30

2

If you want a second Instance of the terminal you must select "New Terminal" in the File Menu from gnome-terminal. It's similar with Nautilus. But (currently) it's not possible to start more than one instance from the Launcher

answered Nov 04 '10 at 15:30

burli

2,557

I recently sent a suggestion to the Ayatana mailing list with a possible way to solve this situation: please check it at https://lists.launchpad.net/ayatana/msg04030.html or see the mockup here: http://imgur.com/1cP0B.png – Bou Nov 04 '10 at 19:12

score 2 · Answer 5 · answered May 01 '11 at 13:20

2

cntrl shift N opens a 2nd terminal where I have a terminal focused and cntrl D closes a termimal

answered May 01 '11 at 13:20

Rinzwind

299,756

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 04 '12 at 05:13

0

Right-click on it's running launcher icon and choose New Window.

answered Mar 04 '12 at 05:13

Andy Castille

2,616

Not all applications offer a possibility to launch a second instance via their quicklists. – htorque Mar 04 '12 at 08:33

How do I start a second instance of a program from Unity's launcher?

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