GenericName should state what you would generally call an application that does what this specific application offers (i.e.The Name key should only contain the name, or maybe an abbreviation/acronym if available. This should be avoided, as it will only be confusing to users. Name, GenericName and Comment often contain redundant values in the form of combinations of them, like:.Version key does not stand for the version of the application, but for the version of the desktop entry specification to which this file complies.

Key definitionĪll recognized entries can be found on the freedesktop site.įor example, the Type key defines three types of desktop entries: Application (type 1), Link (type 2) and Directory (type 3).

# Describes the categories in which this entry should be shown # Describes whether this application needs to be run in a terminal or not # The name of the icon that will be used to display this entry # The executable of the application, possibly with arguments. # The path to the folder in which the executable is run # A comment which can/will be used as a tooltip # The version of the desktop entry specification to which this file complies The complete list of keys can be found in the freedesktop specification. The example is only meant to give a quick impression, and does not show how to utilize all possible entry keys. User entries take precedence over system entries.įollowing is an example of its structure with additional comments.

These files usually reside in /usr/share/applications/ or /usr/local/share/applications/ for applications installed system-wide, or ~/.local/share/applications/ for user-specific applications. desktop files, are generally a combination of meta information resources and a shortcut of an application. The following sections will roughly explain how these are created and validated.ĭesktop entries for applications, or. Directory Defines the appearance of a submenu in the application menu. With XDG Autostart Application entries can be started automatically by placing them in specific directories. The XDG Desktop Entry specification defines a standard for applications to integrate into application menus of desktop environments implementing the XDG Desktop Menu specification.Įach desktop entry must have a Type and a Name key and can optionally define its appearance in the application menu.Īpplication Defines how to launch an application and what MIME types it supports (used by XDG MIME Applications).

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