How to add or remove apps from the system's menu...

[Matthias]

Add an applicatation to the menu:
You have to create a .desktop file (usually in /usr/share/applications/) for the app you want to add.

In the following example, we create a entry in the menu with the name "foo" in the submenu "Multimedia":

Code:

[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=foo
GenericName=bar
Comment=Senseless programm ever
Exec=foobar
Icon=/usr/share/pixmaps/foobar.xpm
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=Multimedia;

Remove an application to the menu:
You can do this in to ways.
First way, and the easier one is to simply remove the .desktop file in the /usr/share/applications/-folder.
The second way is, to add this line to the .desktop file:

Code:

NoDisplay=true

[TomE]

Thanks Matthias , I was meaning to do this but never got round to doing it.

I'll add that any .desktop file you make can go in ~/.local/share/applications/ but will not work for other users,
and the easy way the find out Categories is to look at a .desktop file in the category you make an entry in.

Remove an application to the menu:
You can do this in to ways.
First way, and the easier one is to simply remove the .desktop file in the /usr/share/applications/-folder.
The second way is, to add this line to the .desktop file:

Code:

NoDisplay=true

You should do "NoDisplay=true" as if you remove the file you will lose any mime filetype associations.

[tuppe666]

Is there a way for the path= option to work? without using a workaround like a bash script?

[stefe]

how do you make an application default for a particular type, eg doc opening in Openoffice not Abiword in Xubuntu?

Thanks

Stephen

[SimonJ]

Go to the file in Thunar, right click and choose properties. About halfway down you'll see Open with: and a drop-down choice, make your choice there or choose 'other application' and browse to your preferred program.

hth