Setting program logo in Unity launcher - missing icons folder
Solution 1
Regarding the icons
folder
The only program that has icons in ~/.local/share/icons
is Wine, so no, a default install shouldn't create the folder.
Most installed programs place their icons in /usr/share/icons
, where all users can access them.
Regarding the .desktop
file
I went ahead and created it, and the rest of the folders mentioned in the answer,
~/.local/share/icons/hicolor/16x16/
etc.
The icon has to be placed in a folder called ~/.local/share/icons/hicolor/16x16/apps/
.
Solution 2
I just created this wiki page :) https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UnityLaunchersAndDesktopFiles
Solution 3
I personally prefer adding icons to launcher by first adding applications to unity dash:
- Install Main Menu via Ubuntu Software Center.
- Open dash and type "Main Menu".
- Open menu editor and add your application to proper category (set name, icon, command etc).
- Save and exit.
- Open dash again type application name and run it.
- Right-click on icon of your application in launcher and check that you want hold it in launcher.
Now you have application in launcher and also in dash :)
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rodrigobdz
Platform Engineering Manager at Anaplan. @shanethehatgooglelinkedin
Updated on September 18, 2022Comments
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rodrigobdz over 1 year
My goal is to create a working launcher for PHPStorm which will work in both the desktop and the Unity launcher, using the proper logo, in 12.04. I followed the instructions here - How can I create launchers on my desktop? - to create a launcher on the desktop using the Gnome dialog box. That worked a treat as far as the desktop was concerned, but dragging the icon to the Unity launcher gave it a weird icon:
The PHPStorm.desktop file looks like this:
#!/usr/bin/env xdg-open [Desktop Entry] Version=1.0 Type=Application Terminal=false Icon[en_GB]=gnome-panel-launcher Name[en_GB]=PHPStorm Exec=/home/shane/Software/PhpStorm-4.0.1/bin/phpstorm.sh Comment[en_GB]=PHStorm Name=PHPStorm Comment=PHStorm Icon=/home/shane/Software/PhpStorm-4.0.1/bin/webide.png
Next I tried to follow the accepted answer from here: How can I change the icon of an application in the Unity launcher?, but I found that there was no icons folder in ~/.local/share/. I went ahead and created it, and the rest of the folders mentioned in the answer, ~/.local/share/icons/hicolor/16x16/ etc. I then created a phpstorm.png in each folder, at the required sizes.
Next, I edited my PHPStorm.desktop file to the following and copied it to ~/.local/share/applications/
#!/usr/bin/env xdg-open [Desktop Entry] Version=1.0 Type=Application Terminal=false Icon[en_GB]=phpstorm Name[en_GB]=PHPStorm Exec=/home/shane/Software/PhpStorm-4.0.1/bin/phpstorm.sh Comment[en_GB]=PHPStorm Name=PHPStorm Comment=PHPStorm Icon=phpstorm #Icon=/home/shane/Software/PhpStorm-4.0.1/bin/webide.png
After logging back in, my unity launcher icon had disappeared completely, and the icon on my desktop had turned white.
What have I done wrong here? Why aren't the icons being picked up from the icons folder, and is the initial lack of icons folder something I should be concerned about?
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rodrigobdz about 12 yearsSadly I can't even vote up this effort, but thank you!
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hytromo about 12 yearsHey, you are welcome :) I don't need your upvote, I like helping out.
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Pablo Bianchi almost 7 yearsTake a look to
desktop-file-validate
command (at least on 16.04+): Validate desktop entry files according to the Desktop Entry specification 1.1.