1

Just downloaded blender, and I see the .desktop file in the downloaded folder. When I try to allow launching the option just isn't there. I have allow executing file as program checked as well. My other programs did not have this issue and allowed launching without a problem. Not really sure what to do. OS is Ubuntu 20.04 Focal Fossa

I downloaded the files of off the official blender.org website. I can run the software by running the executable file that was downloaded with everything else. My problem is entirely with the .desktop file not being able to execute the file. I have updated the Exec= to /home/MY NAME/Documents/blender files/blender %f I changed the original name of the folder so that I could type it easier. I have the blender files folder in Documents so I don't know why it isn't seeing it.

List of files:drwx------ 2 name name 4096 Jul 7 20:35 .

drwxr-xr-x 30 name name 4096 Jul  7 21:07 ..
-rwxr-xr-x  1 name name 5661 Jul  7 20:35 blender.desktop
-rw-------  1 name name  320 Jun 20 17:00 chrome-fahmaaghhglfmonjliepjlchgpgfmobi-Default.desktop
-rw-rw-r--  1 name name    0 Jun 20 16:53 mimeapps.list
-rw-rw-r--  1 name name   13 Jul  2 02:19 mimeinfo.cache
drwx------  2 name name 4096 Jul  7 20:35 .
drwxr-xr-x 30 name name 4096 Jul  7 21:07 ..
-rwxr-xr-x  1 name name 5661 Jul  7 20:35 blender.desktop
-rw-------  1 name name  320 Jun 20 17:00 chrome-fahmaaghhglfmonjliepjlchgpgfmobi-Default.desktop
-rw-rw-r--  1 name name    0 Jun 20 16:53 mimeapps.list
-rw-rw-r--  1 name name   13 Jul  2 02:19 mimeinfo.cache

List of files: cat ~/.local/share/applications/blender.desktop

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Blender
GenericName=3D modeler
GenericName[ar]=3D المنمذج ثلاثي الأبعاد
GenericName[ca]=Modelador 3D
GenericName[cs]=3D modelování
GenericName[da]=3D-modellering
GenericName[de]=3D-Modellierer
GenericName[el]=Μοντελοποιητής 3D
GenericName[es]=Modelador 3D
GenericName[et]=3D modelleerija
GenericName[fi]=3D-mallintaja
GenericName[fr]=Modeleur 3D
GenericName[gl]=Modelador 3D
GenericName[hu]=3D modellező
GenericName[it]=Modellatore 3D
GenericName[ja]=3D モデラー
GenericName[lt]=3D modeliavimas
GenericName[nb]=3D-modellering
GenericName[nl]=3D-modeller
GenericName[pl]=Modelowanie 3D
GenericName[pt_BR]=Modelador 3D
GenericName[ro]=Arhitect 3D
GenericName[ru]=Редактор 3D-моделей
GenericName[tr]=3D modelleyici
GenericName[uk]=Редактор 3D-моделей
GenericName[wa]=Modeleu 3D
GenericName[zh_CN]=3D 建模
GenericName[zh_TW]=3D 模型
Comment=3D modeling, animation, rendering and post-production
Comment[ar]=3D النمذجة، الرسوم المتحركة، والتجسيد، وما بعد الإنتاج
Comment[ast]=Modeláu 3D, animación, renderizáu y postproducción
Comment[eu]=3D modelatzea, animazioa, errendatzea eta post-produkzioa
Comment[be]=Праграма прасторавага мадэлявання, анімацыі, апрацоўкі відэа і давядзення відэапрадукцыі
Comment[bn]=ত্রিমাত্রিক মডেল, অ্যানিমেশন, রেন্ডারিং এবং পোস্ট-উৎপাদন
Comment[bs]=3D modeliranje, animacija, obrada i postprodukcija
Comment[bg]=3D моделиране, анимиране, рендиране и пост-продукция
Comment[ca]=Modelat 3D, animació, renderització i post-producció
Comment[ca@valencia]=Modelat 3D, animació, renderització i post-producció
Comment[crh]=3B modelleme, animasyon, işleme ve son üretim
Comment[cs]=3D modelování, animace, rederování a postprodukce
Comment[da]=3D-modellering, animation, rendering og efterbehandling
Comment[de]=3D-Modellierung, Animation, Rendering und Nachbearbeitung
Comment[nl]=3d-modelleren, animeren, renderen en post-productie
Comment[el]=Μοντελοποίηση 3D, κινούμενα σχέδια, αποτύπωση και οργάνωση διαδικασίας μετά-την-παραγωγή
Comment[eo]=3D-modelado, animacio, renderado kaj postproduktado
Comment[es]=Modelado 3D, animación, renderizado y post-producción
Comment[et]=Kolmemõõtmeline modelleerimine, animeerimine, esitlemine ja järeltöötlemine
Comment[fi]=3D-mallinnus, -animaatiot, -renderöinti ja -tuotanto
Comment[fr]=Modélisation 3D, animation, rendu et post-production
Comment[fr_CA]=Modélisation 3D, animation, rendu et post-production
Comment[gl]=Modelado 3D, animación, renderizado e postprodución
Comment[hu]=3D modellek és animációk létrehozása és szerkesztése
Comment[is]=Þrívíddarmódel, hreyfimyndir, myndgerð og frágangur myndskeiða
Comment[it]=Modellazione 3D, animazione, rendering e post-produzione
Comment[ja]=3Dモデリング、アニメーション、レンダリング、ポストプロダクションのツール
Comment[ko]=3D There was just korean text here, it told me to remove
Comment[lt]=3D modeliavimas, animacijų kūrimas, atvaizdavimas ir tobulinimas
Comment[lv]=3D modelēšana, animācija, renderēšana un pēcapstrāde
Comment[ms]=Pemodelan, animasi, penerapan dan post-produksi 3D
Comment[nb]=3D-modellering, animasjon, rendering og postproduksjon
Comment[oc]=Modelizacion 3D, animacion, rendut e post-produccion
Comment[pl]=Modelowanie 3D, animacja, renderowanie i postprodukcja
Comment[pt]=Modelação 3D, animação, renderização e pós-produção
Comment[pt_BR]=Modelagem 3D, animação, renderização e pós-produção
Comment[ro]=Modelare, animare, afișare și post-producție 3D
Comment[ru]=3D-моделирование, анимация, рендеринг и компоновка
Comment[sl]=3D modeliranje, animacija, izrisovanje in nadaljnje obdelovanje
Comment[sq]=Animacion i modeleve 3D, rregullim dhe më pas prodhim
Comment[sr]=3Д моделовање, анимација, исцртавање и постпродукција
Comment[sv]=3d-modellering, animering, rendering och efterbehandling
Comment[ta]=முப்பரிமாண ஒப்புருவாக்கம், அசைவூட்டம், காட்சியாக்கம் மற்றும் உருவாக்கத்துக்கு பிந்தைய செயல்பாடுகள்
Comment[tg]=Моделсозии 3D, аниматсия, пешниҳод ва истеҳсоли баъдӣ
Comment[tr]=3B modelleme, animasyon, işleme ve son üretim
Comment[uk]=Програма просторового моделювання, анімації, обробки відео та доведення відеопродуктів
Comment[vi]=Tạo hình mẫu 3D, hoạt họa, dựng hình và các công việc hậu kỳ
Comment[wa]=Modelaedje 3D, animåcion, rindou eyet après-produccion
Comment[zh_HK]=3D 模型、動畫、算圖和後製
Comment[zh_CN]=3D 建模、动画、渲染和后期制作
Comment[zh_TW]=3D 模型、動畫、算圖和後製
Keywords=3d;cg;modeling;animation;painting;sculpting;texturing;video editing;video tracking;rendering;render engine;cycles;game engine;python;
Exec=Exec=/home/name/Documents/blender/blender %f
Icon=Icon=/home/name/Documents/blender/blender.svg
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=Graphics;3DGraphics;
MimeType=application/x-blender;

List of Files: ls -al ~/Documents/blender

total 199584
drwxrwxr-x  4 name name      4096 Jul  7 14:57 .
drwxr-xr-x 18 name name      4096 Jul  7 21:05 ..
drwxrwxr-x  5 name name      4096 Jul  7 14:43 2.83
-rwxr-xr-x  1 name name 204222728 Jun 25 06:34 blender
-rwxr-xr-x  1 name name       713 Jun 16 09:01 blender-softwaregl
-rw-r--r--  1 name name      1732 Jun 16 09:01 blender.svg
-rw-r--r--  1 name name      3874 Jun 16 09:01 blender-symbolic.svg
-rwxr-xr-x  1 name name      5340 Jun 16 09:01 blender-thumbnailer.py
-rw-r--r--  1 name name      4765 Jun 16 09:01 copyright.txt
-rw-r--r--  1 name name     35147 Jun 16 09:01 GPL3-license.txt
-rw-r--r--  1 name name     17997 Jun 16 09:01 GPL-license.txt
-rw-r--r--  1 name name      1591 Jun 16 09:01 jemalloc-license.txt
drwxrwxr-x  2 name name      4096 Jul  7 14:43 lib
-rw-r--r--  1 name name      4947 Jun 16 09:01 LICENSE-bfont.ttf.txt
-rw-r--r--  1 name name      3537 Jun 16 09:01 LICENSE-bmonofont-i18n.ttf.txt
-rw-r--r--  1 name name      4547 Jun 16 09:01 LICENSE-droidsans.ttf.txt
-rw-r--r--  1 name name      1520 Jun 16 09:01 ocio-license.txt
-rw-r--r--  1 name name      2396 Jun 16 09:01 Python-license.txt
-rw-r--r--  1 name name      5200 Jun 25 06:32 readme.html

Full content of .desktop file:

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Blender
GenericName=3D modeler
GenericName[ar]=3D المنمذج ثلاثي الأبعاد
GenericName[ca]=Modelador 3D
GenericName[cs]=3D modelování
GenericName[da]=3D-modellering
GenericName[de]=3D-Modellierer
GenericName[el]=Μοντελοποιητής 3D
GenericName[es]=Modelador 3D
GenericName[et]=3D modelleerija
GenericName[fi]=3D-mallintaja
GenericName[fr]=Modeleur 3D
GenericName[gl]=Modelador 3D
GenericName[hu]=3D modellező
GenericName[it]=Modellatore 3D
GenericName[ja]=3D モデラー
GenericName[lt]=3D modeliavimas
GenericName[nb]=3D-modellering
GenericName[nl]=3D-modeller
GenericName[pl]=Modelowanie 3D
GenericName[pt_BR]=Modelador 3D
GenericName[ro]=Arhitect 3D
GenericName[ru]=Редактор 3D-моделей
GenericName[tr]=3D modelleyici
GenericName[uk]=Редактор 3D-моделей
GenericName[wa]=Modeleu 3D
GenericName[zh_CN]=3D 建模
GenericName[zh_TW]=3D 模型
Comment=3D modeling, animation, rendering and post-production
Comment[ar]=3D النمذجة، الرسوم المتحركة، والتجسيد، وما بعد الإنتاج
Comment[ast]=Modeláu 3D, animación, renderizáu y postproducción
Comment[eu]=3D modelatzea, animazioa, errendatzea eta post-produkzioa
Comment[be]=Праграма прасторавага мадэлявання, анімацыі, апрацоўкі відэа і давядзення відэапрадукцыі
Comment[bn]=ত্রিমাত্রিক মডেল, অ্যানিমেশন, রেন্ডারিং এবং পোস্ট-উৎপাদন
Comment[bs]=3D modeliranje, animacija, obrada i postprodukcija
Comment[bg]=3D моделиране, анимиране, рендиране и пост-продукция
Comment[ca]=Modelat 3D, animació, renderització i post-producció
Comment[ca@valencia]=Modelat 3D, animació, renderització i post-producció
Comment[crh]=3B modelleme, animasyon, işleme ve son üretim
Comment[cs]=3D modelování, animace, rederování a postprodukce
Comment[da]=3D-modellering, animation, rendering og efterbehandling
Comment[de]=3D-Modellierung, Animation, Rendering und Nachbearbeitung
Comment[nl]=3d-modelleren, animeren, renderen en post-productie
Comment[el]=Μοντελοποίηση 3D, κινούμενα σχέδια, αποτύπωση και οργάνωση διαδικασίας μετά-την-παραγωγή
Comment[eo]=3D-modelado, animacio, renderado kaj postproduktado
Comment[es]=Modelado 3D, animación, renderizado y post-producción
Comment[et]=Kolmemõõtmeline modelleerimine, animeerimine, esitlemine ja järeltöötlemine
Comment[fi]=3D-mallinnus, -animaatiot, -renderöinti ja -tuotanto
Comment[fr]=Modélisation 3D, animation, rendu et post-production
Comment[fr_CA]=Modélisation 3D, animation, rendu et post-production
Comment[gl]=Modelado 3D, animación, renderizado e postprodución
Comment[hu]=3D modellek és animációk létrehozása és szerkesztése
Comment[is]=Þrívíddarmódel, hreyfimyndir, myndgerð og frágangur myndskeiða
Comment[it]=Modellazione 3D, animazione, rendering e post-produzione
Comment[ja]=3D japanese that i had to remove
Comment[ko]=3D korean that i had to remove
Comment[lt]=3D modeliavimas, animacijų kūrimas, atvaizdavimas ir tobulinimas
Comment[lv]=3D modelēšana, animācija, renderēšana un pēcapstrāde
Comment[ms]=Pemodelan, animasi, penerapan dan post-produksi 3D
Comment[nb]=3D-modellering, animasjon, rendering og postproduksjon
Comment[oc]=Modelizacion 3D, animacion, rendut e post-produccion
Comment[pl]=Modelowanie 3D, animacja, renderowanie i postprodukcja
Comment[pt]=Modelação 3D, animação, renderização e pós-produção
Comment[pt_BR]=Modelagem 3D, animação, renderização e pós-produção
Comment[ro]=Modelare, animare, afișare și post-producție 3D
Comment[ru]=3D-моделирование, анимация, рендеринг и компоновка
Comment[sl]=3D modeliranje, animacija, izrisovanje in nadaljnje obdelovanje
Comment[sq]=Animacion i modeleve 3D, rregullim dhe më pas prodhim
Comment[sr]=3Д моделовање, анимација, исцртавање и постпродукција
Comment[sv]=3d-modellering, animering, rendering och efterbehandling
Comment[ta]=முப்பரிமாண ஒப்புருவாக்கம், அசைவூட்டம், காட்சியாக்கம் மற்றும் உருவாக்கத்துக்கு பிந்தைய செயல்பாடுகள்
Comment[tg]=Моделсозии 3D, аниматсия, пешниҳод ва истеҳсоли баъдӣ
Comment[tr]=3B modelleme, animasyon, işleme ve son üretim
Comment[uk]=Програма просторового моделювання, анімації, обробки відео та доведення відеопродуктів
Comment[vi]=Tạo hình mẫu 3D, hoạt họa, dựng hình và các công việc hậu kỳ
Comment[wa]=Modelaedje 3D, animåcion, rindou eyet après-produccion
Comment[zh_HK]=3D asian language that i had to remove
Comment[zh_CN]=3D asian language that i had to remove
Comment[zh_TW]=3D asian language that i had to remove
Keywords=3d;cg;modeling;animation;painting;sculpting;texturing;video editing;video tracking;rendering;render engine;cycles;game engine;python;
Exec=/home/MY NAME/Documents/blender files/blender %f
Icon=/home/MY NAME/Documents/blender files/blender.svg
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=Graphics;3DGraphics;
MimeType=application/x-blender;
  • It's because you changed the name of the blender folder to blender files, and the space is throwing it off. Change the folder name to blender, re-edit the .desktop file, and it'll all work. Stick with me. – heynnema Jul 08 '20 at 00:17
  • Same with My Name. – heynnema Jul 08 '20 at 00:23
  • Should I still keep the .desktop file in ~/.local/share/applications ? MY NAME is just there to censor my real name – SmoothBrainedUbuntuUser Jul 08 '20 at 00:24
  • Yes. Keep it there. Just remove the spaces in the folder name in the Exec= line – heynnema Jul 08 '20 at 00:24
  • Also how exactly will I know when it works? – SmoothBrainedUbuntuUser Jul 08 '20 at 00:26
  • Follow the instructions in the 2nd paragraph of my answer. You must have made the two mods noted in my Notes. – heynnema Jul 08 '20 at 00:27
  • it does not show up in super – SmoothBrainedUbuntuUser Jul 08 '20 at 00:31
  • Then you didn't edit the Exec= line correctly. Show me the EXACT Exec= line that you have now. Did you rename the blender files folder to blender? – heynnema Jul 08 '20 at 00:32
  • Exec=/home/MY NAME/Documents/blender/blender %f – SmoothBrainedUbuntuUser Jul 08 '20 at 00:36
  • MY NAME really has no spaces in it, correct? Did you also change the Icon= line? Did you rename the .desktop file? And you made the two mods from my notes, yes? – heynnema Jul 08 '20 at 00:38
  • I did not rename the .desktop file. MY NAME is really my actual name in the code, don't want to doxx myself. I also changed the Icon= line to Icon=/home/MY NAME/Documents/blender/blender.svg – SmoothBrainedUbuntuUser Jul 08 '20 at 00:40
  • Does your REAL user name contain spaces? – heynnema Jul 08 '20 at 00:41
  • And you marked the .desktop file as "Allow executing file as program", yes? And when you renamed blender files to blender you removed the trailing space, yes? Retry the Super key launch. – heynnema Jul 08 '20 at 00:49
  • Yes, I marked that a while ago, I checked for any spaces after I renamed it to blender. I still am not seeing it in the Super Key though – SmoothBrainedUbuntuUser Jul 08 '20 at 00:53
  • Last ditch effort... log out... then log back in... retry Super key launch. – heynnema Jul 08 '20 at 00:54
  • Nope, just to make sure though. When I type blender in Super, should it pop up at the top like an application or do I need to click on one of the files? – SmoothBrainedUbuntuUser Jul 08 '20 at 00:58
  • Just like a normal application... after you type blender, it should pop up a blender icon, make sure it's selected, and then hit ENTER. I'm getting called to dinner, so I've got to go, but I'll check back in later. Please re-read my answer, and make sure you've done it exactly that way. Report back. – heynnema Jul 08 '20 at 01:00
  • Still not there. Don't know how this situation is proving to be so difficult and time consuming for something that seems like it should be pretty simple. My other applications installed didn't have the same issue... – SmoothBrainedUbuntuUser Jul 08 '20 at 01:11
  • Edit your question and show me ls -al ~/.local/share/applications and cat ~/.local/share/applications/blender.desktop (and DON'T REDACT ANYTHING), and ls -al ~/Documents/blender. It's more difficult because it didn't come with a nice .deb installer, and because we're doing something wrong. I installed blender on my system with the same instructions that's in my answer, and it works just fine. – heynnema Jul 08 '20 at 02:54
  • I found your problem. See Update #1 in my answer. If my answer was helpful in getting blender installed, please remember to accept my answer by clicking on the checkmark icon that appears just to the left of my answer. Thanks! – heynnema Jul 08 '20 at 12:51
  • That WORKED. Thank you! I don't know how I overlooked that. You were a ton of help, and I could have never figured this out without you. – SmoothBrainedUbuntuUser Jul 08 '20 at 14:30

1 Answers1

2

Move the Blender .desktop file into ~/.local/share/applications and you'll be able to launch Bender the standard way, with the Super key.

To start Blender, hit the Super key, type blender, hit ENTER. Then when the icon appears in the dock, right-click on the icon and select Add to favorites.


Note: You will have to edit the .desktop file Exec= line to properly show the full path to the Blender binary file. You can also edit the Icon= line to properly show the full path to the blender.svg icon file.

Example:

Exec=/home/adam/Documents/blender-2.83.1-linux64/blender %f
Icon=/home/adam/Documents/blender-2.83.1-linux64/blender.svg

Note: Mark the properties as such...

enter image description here

Update #1:

You didn't do the edits to the .desktop file correctly. First you had a path with a space "blender files". Now you have double command strings. That's why it doesn't work.

You have:

Exec=Exec=/home/adam/Documents/blender/blender %f
Icon=Icon=/home/adam/Documents/blender/blender.svg

It should be:

Exec=/home/adam/Documents/blender/blender %f
Icon=/home/adam/Documents/blender/blender.svg
heynnema
  • 70,711
  • Thanks for the answer, the Exec= line is already showing the correct executable file so I don't think the issue is there. I still don't know a lot of the commands and such, so how would I move the file via the terminal? or can I just drag and drop it? – SmoothBrainedUbuntuUser Jul 07 '20 at 21:34
  • If you open a Files window, hit control-h to view hidden files/folders, you can then drag the .desktop file into the location I specified. Report back. – heynnema Jul 07 '20 at 21:53
  • Okay, I dropped the files into the directory you told me. How should I put the Icon on my desktop, should I make a copy and drag the copy to my desktop directory? – SmoothBrainedUbuntuUser Jul 07 '20 at 22:22
  • @SmoothBrainedUbuntuUser I downloaded Blender, and you will have to edit the Exec= line to correctly show the full path to the blender binary file. Edit the Icon= line to show the full path to the blender.svg icon file. – heynnema Jul 07 '20 at 23:03
  • @SmoothBrainedUbuntuUser Then hit the SUPER key, type blender, hit ENTER. Then when the icon appears in the dock, right-click on the icon and select Add to favorites. – heynnema Jul 07 '20 at 23:24
  • Oh ok, I just figured that when it said Exec= blender then it was able to find the correct executable. I will try out your new solution and see if it works – SmoothBrainedUbuntuUser Jul 07 '20 at 23:31
  • Also for the code, do I need to change it in any way or do I just copy and paste? – SmoothBrainedUbuntuUser Jul 07 '20 at 23:38
  • @SmoothBrainedUbuntuUser If you mean the Exec= and Icon= lines, no, you won't be able to just copy my example, just edit the .desktop file to include the full path to wherever you have the blender folder, and change redacted to your username. – heynnema Jul 07 '20 at 23:40
  • For me, the 'Add to favorites' is missing. Any ideas? – TondaCZE Dec 01 '21 at 15:30
  • @TondaCZE Please start a new question. – heynnema Dec 01 '21 at 15:38
  • @heynnema There you go: https://askubuntu.com/questions/1378642/application-in-the-dock-cant-be-added-to-favourites – TondaCZE Dec 01 '21 at 17:13