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This is probably a simple question and I'm just wording it wrong but I can't figure out how to set this program as a favorite.

I just installed IBM SPSS stats program on Ubuntu GNOME 16.04. Unfortunately, the installation neglected to place a shortcut on my programs list. The only way to open it is to go to where I installed it and open it manually. Then, I have to left click the "stats" file and click execute, which opens a blank terminal with the title "stats" and then it opens the actual program. When I click the activities button in the upper left corner, it shows the program as open but does not allow me to add it to favorites. The only thing that can be added to favorites is the blank terminal which is only known as "unknown". I tried adding that to favorites and opening that but it only opens a blank terminal, no different than any other terminal.

MY question is, how do I set this up so I can open IBM SPSS without having to navigate through the file manager every time? I tried making a custom script that runs cd /opt/IBM/SPSS/Statistics/23/bin && ./stats which works but can't be placed as a favorite and is not searchable on the activities menu.

Guinevere Ellen Mayberry
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  • that one didn't answer my question because it's a different desktop environment. They are talking about Unity which has a very different type of launcher than GNOME does. – Guinevere Ellen Mayberry Feb 24 '17 at 15:48
  • Nope, both use launchers as defined by the Freedesktop specification (like most modern desktop environments). Just skip the part about placing the launcher in Unity's side bar of favourite launchers (that part is different indeed). – David Foerster Feb 24 '17 at 15:54
  • I just found the answer so I'll just post it below. – Guinevere Ellen Mayberry Feb 24 '17 at 15:57
  • Sorry, I just saw the part about adding the launcher to Gnome's side bar with favourite launchers. Since that's a somewhat separate issue I suggest you open a new question on how to add an existing launcher to the favourite list. Send me a comment with a notification if you want me to have a look at it. – David Foerster Feb 24 '17 at 16:07
  • it's all good, i also discovered how to make the icons on the desktop show up so I can just launch from there. – Guinevere Ellen Mayberry Feb 24 '17 at 20:07

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So the easiest answer was Arronax, a program specifically for the GNOME desktop environment that creates a .desktop file for you and places it on your desktop. This still wasn't exactly what I wanted (I wanted it to be on the favorites bar when I clicked Activities) but it's close enough. The Arronax page explains how to install Arronax, then you can open the standalone app fill in the "Title" with the name of the program and the "File or URL" with a link to the program on your pc and the program does the rest.

Guinevere Ellen Mayberry
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