Desktop Entry Files
A desktop entry file is a data file that
provides information about an item in a menu. The desktop entry file
specifies the details for the item such as a name, a command to run, an
icon, and so on. It also contains keywords which determine the location of
the item in the menu hierarchy.
Desktop entry files must reside in the
$XDG_DATA_DIRS/applications directory and must have a
.desktop file extension. If
$XDG_DATA_DIRS[2] is not set, then the default path is
/usr/share is used. This also implies that user
specific desktop entries may be located at
$XDG_DATA_HOME/applications which is
searched first. If $XDG_DATA_HOME is not set, then the
default path ~/.local/share is used. Desktop entries
are collected from all directories in the $XDG_DATA_DIRS
environment variable. Directories which appear first in
$XDG_CONFIG_DIRS are given precedence when there are
several .desktop files with the same name.
The following is a sample desktop entry file:
[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=Calculator
Name[fr]=Calculatrice
...
Comment=Perform calculations
Comment[fr]=Effectue des calculs compliqués
...
Exec=gcalctool
Icon=gnome-calculator
Terminal=false
Type=Application
StartupNotify=true
Categories=GTK;GNOME;Application;Utility;
Table 2.2, “Desktop Entry Keys” describes the most important
keys in desktop entry files. To get more information about desktop entry
files, see the XDG Desktop
Entry Specification.
Table 2.2. Desktop Entry Keys
Desktop Entry Key |
Description |
|
Categories
|
Specifies the
keywords that describe the item. The keywords are separated with
semicolons (;). To see a list of the standard category keywords,
see the desktop menu specification at
https://www.freedesktop.org/Standards/menu-spec
Menu
Definition Files map desktop entries to menus by using
matching rules against the Categories key.
|
Comment
|
Specifies a short description of the
item. The comment is displayed as a tooltip when you point to the
item in the menu. |
Encoding
|
Specifies the encoding of the desktop
entry file. |
Exec |
Specifies a command to execute when you
choose the item from the menu. |
Icon |
Specifies the
filename of an icon that represents the item. Does not specify the
path to the filename, or the file extension. |
| MimeType |
Specifies the MIME types that the application can handle. |
Name |
Specifies the name of the item. This
name is displayed on the item in the menu. |
NoDisplay |
This options means “This application
exists, but don't display it in the menus”. |
Terminal |
Specifies whether the
command in the Exec key runs in a terminal
window. If the value is true the command runs
in a terminal window.
If the command does not create
a window in which to run, the value of this key must be
true.
|
Type |
Specifies the type of
item. This value is one of the following:
Application: An item that starts an
application. Link: An item that links to a file,
folder, or a remote resource (such as a FTP site, a web
page, a Windows share...). FSDevice: An item that is a file
system device. Directory: An item that is a
Directory. |
For more information on the keys in desktop entry files, see the
desktop entry specification at the following URL:
 | Note |
|---|
Panel launchers and desktop objects also use desktop entry files.
The desktop entry files for launchers and desktop objects provide the
same information as for items in a menu. For example, the desktop entry
files provide the command to run when a user chooses the launcher or
object. |
