Bookmark Apps

Lubuntu 11.04, 11.10. Will probably work for almost all flavors of Ubuntu.

Because I use the gmail web interface as my email client, I was looking for a way to create a "gmail.com" application/icon on my desktop. There are certainly "easier" ways to do this, but most beginers don't like using the terminal. Here's a GUI approach.

First, you need root access of your applications file. Direct your file manager to:

/usr/share/applications

Now open the location as root.

Now, secondary-click -> create blank file.

Save as gmail.desktop.

Find your newly created file, secondary-click, and open with leafpad.

Paste the following code into the document and click save.

#!/usr/bin/env xdg-open

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Gmail
Exec=chromium-browser http://gmail.com
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Icon=gmail
Categories=Network;WebBrowser;

If you use Firefox, simply replace "chromium-browser" with "firefox". Also the icon option can be set to any icon. You can view acceptable icons by looking through

/usr/share/icons

Did you find this post helpful? Subscribe to our RSS feed and stay connected with Lubuntu Tips!