[orca-list] Ubuntu and Ubuntu-mateRe: which Debian Distro

["B. Henry" <burt1iband gmail com>]

Although there is no direct semi automatic way to put program launcher shortcuts on the desktop in recent 
releases of gnome or unity one can easily 
create them using sym-links. 
You could also just put a copy of a .desktop file on your desktop.
If you go to /usr/share/applications you will find many files that have the .desktop extension. There is one 
or more files of this type for almost all 
GUI apps. These files contain data that tells how a program will be started, what icon will be used to 
represent them, and what program category they 
belong to, e.g. TextEditor Utility, etc. among other things.
So, just put a link to one of these in your ~/Desktop directory, or alternatively copy the .desktop file for 
the file you want to use in to thhis 
directory.
If you are using unikty however it is often a bewtter tactic to add a program to your launcher. This may give 
extra functionality to the launcher once 
the program is running. At the least you will be able to close a runnning program from the launcher.
I use my desktop in Unity, and usually in Mate or gnome as well for a few files that I will want to access 
very quickly. 
In my case this includes a folder with .m3u, .pls and other "playlist" files that start audio streams for the 
radio stations I listen to most. I also 
put files that I may only use once or a few times, but will want to get at quickly such as account 
information or phone numbers that I will need to read 
to someone on the phone. 
I make keyboard shortcuts to launch all of the programs I use frequently, e.g. firefox, chrome, pcmanfm, 
mangler, mumble and teamtalk, among others. I 
probably have around 15, maybe more. AI bind shortcuts to some custom scripts as well including ones that 
turn my monitor on or off, show core 
temperature, and display weather info to name a few.  
     The great thing about Linux is that we are not limited to a single way to do things, and even if 
developers do not choose to give us a direct 
simple method to do something it is often trivial to add it ourselves. 
It seems that Desktop program launcher icons are very much out of style, so although it would hardly be 
problematic to reinclude an "add-launcher" item 
to menus GUI designers choose not to do so. 
  
-- 
     B.H.
   Registerd Linux User 521886
> > On 3/26/2015 9:41 PM, Glenn / Lenny wrote:
> > > Hi,
> > > It seems that there are a few differences in opinion on this, but I just
> > > installed Ubuntu 14 X ( the latest and greatest) on someone's computer,
> > > and
> > > I was disappointed in that there is no start-up sounds, I hope it is not
> > > difficult to set them to be on.
> > > I have gone into settings and sounds, but there is no regular type of
> > > sound
> > > scheme to install that I could find.
> > > Also, Orca does not start automatically, is there an easy fix for that?
> > > Unity is not too bad, as he can type in what he wants and find it.
> > > I wish there was a way to put shortcuts onto the desktop, it is otherwise
> > > a
> > > waste of real estate.
> > > But I thought I might either uninstall it, or install another distro, if
> > > there is a better one for these things.
> > > And, if I just install another, will it become the first item in GRUB, and
> > > will the old one be the next?
> > > Or, will I be given the option to remove the previous Ubuntu, and install
> > > the new, even though he still has Windows on /dev/sda1?
> > > Thanks.
> > >
> > > Glenn
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > orca-list mailing list
> > > orca-list gnome org
> > > https://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/orca-list
> > > Visit http://live.gnome.org/Orca for more information on Orca.
> > > The manual is at
> > > http://library.gnome.org/users/gnome-access-guide/nightly/ats-2.html
> > > The FAQ is at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/FrequentlyAskedQuestions
> > > Log bugs and feature requests at http://bugzilla.gnome.org
> > > Find out how to help at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/HowCanIHelp
>
> _______________________________________________
> orca-list mailing list
> orca-list gnome org
> https://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/orca-list
> Visit http://live.gnome.org/Orca for more information on Orca.
> The manual is at http://library.gnome.org/users/gnome-access-guide/nightly/ats-2.html
> The FAQ is at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/FrequentlyAskedQuestions
> Log bugs and feature requests at http://bugzilla.gnome.org
> Find out how to help at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/HowCanIHelp