0

I'm quite new in Linux and I come from MacOS. I miss the easy to use Applications folder and I would like to know if there is a way to create an applications directory like in MacOS.

Since I have Ubuntu (19.10), I created a directory /opt because I found online that the apps installed from Internet are supposed to go there, but I had to create it since that does not exist anymore in Ubuntu 19.10. I think this is not a good way to do it, and I was thinking if it would be possible to create an Applications directory like in MacOS without giving up any functionality.

Any kind of help would have been appreciated, since I'm searching for this for months. Thanks in advance

0xFR
  • 939
  • 1
    For a beginner? No, there is not. Some Linux distros have tried to do something similar in the past, but none are significant today, so I suppose it's not a make-or-break feature. Each OS has strengths and weaknesses, and it's not difficult to learn how to handle each one properly. I find Ubuntu's Desktop Search feature to be very convenient and applications easily discoverable. – user535733 Apr 08 '20 at 22:34

1 Answers1

0

When you add new apps using the Software Center, with a command in a terminal (such as sudo apt update && sudo apt install whatever) or the Synaptic Package Manager (my fave), a dependency check runs then all required files for the "package" (AKA app) are installed to your system. That's the easy part.

Depending on the nature of the package & the files it has, the app is placed in different directories. Welcome to Linux. (Actually, this is the same under the hood in MacOS X, you're just insulated from it by the MacOS interface.)

To see where the different files reside in your filesystem after installation, you can open Synaptic and right-click the package + details to see what files are in it.

Executable files in a package often live in directories with bin in their path, e.g. 

 /bin
 /usr/bin
 /usr/local/bin
 /usr/local/sbin
 /usr/sbin

where / means the root directory - the parent to all directories in your filesystem. They can also be installed underneath /opt .

Your environmental PATH variable shows which directories are searched for executables whenever you execute a program; in a terminal do echo $PATH to see that.

Once you've found the executables for the apps, you can make a directory to hold symlinks to the important apps, then make symlinks, following https://askubuntu.com/a/56340/197910

K7AAY
  • 17,202
  • So for example if I use this (https://appmaker.xyz/web2desk/, in particular this https://appmaker.xyz/web2desk/download/3de900f7-6b37-464a-8a34-031bc7f13387/) tool what do I have to do? Where do I have to place the app? How can I use it as a full application to have it in the dock? With a .desktop file? And the icon? Can I run it from the terminal from any path? Where do I have to put it? Can you explain the steps? – 0xFR Apr 08 '20 at 19:40
  • sorry if I bother you, but I'm going crazy about this and I would like to understand it once and for all – 0xFR Apr 08 '20 at 19:57
  • can you please show me the steps? – 0xFR Apr 10 '20 at 21:52
  • i think you are not going to show me anything, thanks... :'( – 0xFR Apr 14 '20 at 21:15