how to integrate app in antix

[Member stephenbbb]

I have a download of masterpdf editor and it sits in a folder with a .desktop file.
how can I make antix be aware of it and include it in applications/graphics menu?
now I go to the folder and double click the binary to start. also, it would be nice to have it included in the list of apps that can open a pdf.
thanks
S.

[Member PPC]

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antiX dev team thought about almost everything:
run “add-desktop”

On the first field, enter the name you want the menu entry to have, ex: masterpdf editor
If you want it to have an icon, select one, on the second field.
On the 3rd field select in which category you want the app to appear, in the menu (ex: Office)
On the 4th field enter the full path that you use to run your executable file.
Then select where you want the program to be (the default is in antiX’s menu, no need to change it, unless you want to)
Enter a name for the file that will save all that info (you’ll generate a .desktop file with the selected name- for example “masterpdf”)

Click “ok”

And you’r done.
If the app does not come up in the menu, then click the Menu entry that updates the menu, and it should pop up in the right category.

This procedure can also be used to add any binary, script, .appimage, flatpak, etc, to the menu (in fact, after generating the .desktop file, using this window, you can then place the app in the toolbar or the desktop…

To include the app in the list of apps that can open .pdf files- this depends on your file manager- in zzzfm or spacefm :
right click any .pdf file > Open > Open With > and in the Command field, enter the full path to the executable. There a checkbox that you can check if you want pdf’s to always be opened using that application.

You should be able to follow a similar procedure in almost any decent File Manager.

P.

• This reply was modified 5 months, 4 weeks ago by PPC.
• This reply was modified 5 months, 4 weeks ago by PPC.

[Member stephenbbb]

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I did that and get nothing. it created a desktop file in /home/stephen/.local/share/applications/custom
which is almost the same as the file provided by the app. I even pasted the provided file over the file created by antix and still nothing. the menu does not pick up the new entry. here is the developer provided file. I put the app in /opt where it is expected to be.

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Master PDF Editor 5
Comment=Edit PDF files
Exec=/opt/master-pdf-editor-5/masterpdfeditor5 %f
Path=/opt/master-pdf-editor-5
Terminal=false
Icon=/opt/master-pdf-editor-5/masterpdfeditor5.png
Type=Application
Categories=Office;Graphics;
MimeType=application/pdf;application/x-bzpdf;application/x-gzpdf;

it will be nice if antix can import such a file directly and create the menu entry. also, “refresh menu” does not read the new desktop file.

[Moderator caprea]

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What if you copy the above desktop file from the opt/master-pdf-editor5 folder to /usr/share/applications.
Afterwards you could use the menu management
control-centre > Maintenance > menu management
Should work.

[Member stephenbbb]

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that helped. I saw all desktop files were in that folder. it did not create a menu item and I had to enter a line by editing
~/.icewm/menu-applications

however, antix is now aware of the app and I was able to add it to list of apps that can open a pdf in caja. previously it was not showing at all as an installed app.

[Member marcelocripe]

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After copying the .desktop file to the /usr/share/applications folder, apply the command in the Terminal:

sudo desktop-menu –write-out-global

[Member stephenbbb]

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@marcelocripe
what will that do? create the menu item or do more? I already added the menu item.

[Member ModdIt]

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Why the hard way, master pdf editor is available as a deb file.
Download it, enter sudo apt install in the terminal, drag and drop
the deb filename in to the terminal, press enter to start installation.

The application will be added to the menu automagicaly, done many times.
The last really free version 4.3.89 is still to be found and runs fine on antiX.

[Member blur13]

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I’ve pointed this out before. In my experience “Refresh menu” does nothing because it runs desktop-menu –write-out-global without sudo. It needs sudo to work. The script is run every time you install a deb from the repository, and so the menu is updated. In my experience, it is not run after installing a deb manually with sudo apt install ./local.deb. If you install a local deb that generates a desktop file, you need to run sudo desktop-menu –write-out-global to update the menu. Another thing I’ve noticed is that the script does not look in the .local/share/applications/ folder, only usr/(local)/share/applications.

Editing icewm/menu-applications is pointless because it will get overwritten next time desktop-menu –write-out-global is run, which will happen every time the system is updated.

[Member ModdIt]

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Hi blur 13,

If you install a local deb that generates a desktop file, you need to run
sudo desktop-menu –write-out-global to update the menu

Thanks will look at that, my experience has been that localy installed debs often remain hidden until
set to show using the control center menu tool. That also updates the menu.

the tool can also be used to easily add entrys to user menu, for example good with appimage or portable applications.

[Member PPC]

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blur13 wrote:

I’ve pointed this out before. In my experience “Refresh menu” does nothing because it runs desktop-menu –write-out-global without sudo.

Still? This was reported so long ago that I thought it was fixed. to solve that in IceWM:
Menu > Control Centre > Icewm… > “Menu” Tab
Find the line that says “Refresh menu” (or the equivalent of that in your locale.
Were it says:

desktop-menu --write-out-global

change it to:

gksudo "desktop-menu --write-out-global"

NOTE: Here you see double quotes, on the above command, use single quotes only!

save the change- and now that option to refresh the menu should always work (I hope the forum does not mangle the code).

Edit: @Moddit – I’m spolied by jgmenu, but I do think that you don’t have to update the menu once you manually install an off line .deb package – “apt install” should trigger the menu update process, you should see the lines saying the icewm, jwm and fluxbox menus are being updated, in the end of the install process…

P.

• This reply was modified 5 months, 4 weeks ago by PPC.
• This reply was modified 5 months, 4 weeks ago by PPC.
• This reply was modified 5 months, 4 weeks ago by PPC.

[Member blur13]

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I can confirm that sudo apt install ./local.deb does not update the menu. Before I knew about the desktop-menu script I used to resort to installing and removing some random small package from the repos to get the menu to update.

[Member ModdIt]

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Hi PPC, regarding deb installs, issues I have had were menu entry not shown,
once I had set to show using the control center tool the menu updated and
showed applications correctly.
Hit the problem several times with Libreoffice from LO Org as well as Master
PDF Editor.

[Member PPC]

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blur13 wrote:

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I can confirm that sudo apt install ./local.deb does not update the menu.

I just tested, in my antix 19, full, 64bits desktop – I installed xnconvert’s deb package from the terminal- it instantly came up in my “Graphics” menu category – as I recalled happening when I installed packages that way – maybe there’s a problem with antiX 21/22? I’ll try to check later, in my 32bits laptop…

• This reply was modified 5 months, 4 weeks ago by PPC.

[Member blur13]

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Which WM are you using? I’m using plain ice.

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