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I'm really unknown to in this topic so I don't even know if the way I'm phrasing it makes sense but try to follow me: Sometimes when I download an app it comes compressed, when you extract the files there is no simple executable, I have to go to the Terminal and type ./app_name so it runs. A friend of mine once saw I was doing this to use this app called piskel and tried to make an executable that did that for me (open terminal and run) but failed. So my question is why that happens? And can I make an executable that would do the job for me (like my friend tried)?

Yasmin Líbano
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  • Look for "how to create a desktop shortcut in linux". I will add a basic answer below. – muyustan Mar 16 '20 at 05:47
  • It happens because you are downloading random software off the wild, dirty, unsafe internet instead of the Ubuntu Software or Snapcraft app stores. Random software is unlikely to be well-integrated into Ubuntu. Consider telling the developers of that downloaded software to distribute it via Debion and Ubuntu. Then it will have the launcher icon that you seek. – user535733 Mar 16 '20 at 06:00

1 Answers1

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This is probably not the best way, however it might save the day.

  1. Open your terminal and locate to desktop,

    cd ~/Desktop

  2. Create a file and give it the name you want

    touch appShortcutName.sh

  3. Write the path of your application(replace . with the real path in ./app_name) into this file.

    echo /path/to/your/app_name > appShortcutName.sh

  4. The file is not executable right now, so you cannot run it via double clicking. Change file permissions.

    chmod u+x appShortcutName.sh

After all these, you should be able to run it by double clicking.

For better solutions, check : How can I create launchers on my desktop?

muyustan
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