Working With Desktop Entry Files

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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 execute, an icon , and so on. The desktop entry file 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.

The order in which the default paths are searched to resolve the location of .desktop files is as follows:

Search in the $XDG_DATA_HOME/applications directory. If the $XDG_DATA_HOME environment variable is not set, search in the ~/.local/share/applications default directory.
Search the applications subdirectory of each directory in $XDG_DATA_DIRS. If the $XDG_DATA_DIRS environment variable is not set, search in the /usr/share/applications default directory.
If several .desktop files with the same name are found, the file that is found first takes precedence.

The following example shows a sample desktop entry fil e.

[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=Calculator
Name[fr]=Calculatrice
...
Comment=Perform calculations
Comment[fr]=Effectue des calculs compliq

ue
...
Exec=gcalctool
Icon=accessories-calculator
Terminal=false
Type=Application
StartupNotify=true
Categories=GNOME;GTK;Utility;Calculator

The following table describes some of the important keys in desktop entry files. For more information about desktop entry files, see the XDG Desktop Entry Specification.

Table 3-3 Desktop Entry Keys

Desktop Entry Key	Description
`Categories`	Specifies the keywords that describe the item. The keywords are separated with semicolons (`;`). For a list of the standard category keywords, see the desktop menu specification at http://www.freedesktop.org/Standards/menu-spec. To find out how to map desktop entries to menus by using matching rules with the Categories key, see Working With Menu Definition Files.
`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`	Specifies that an existing application should not be displayed in the menu.
`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 open a window to run, the value of this key must be set to `true`.
`Type`	Specifies the type of item. The value for the `Type` key is one of the following: `Application`: An item that starts an application. `Link`: An item that links to a file or folder, or a remote resource (such as a n FTP site, or a web page). `FSDevice`: An item that is a file system device. `Directory`: An item that is a directory.

For more information about the keys in desktop entry files, see the desktop entry specification.

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.