11

I'm not sure what commands are issued when trying to launch a program from the dash. How can I determine this and modify the commands of these short cuts?

For example, I would like to change the command to launch skype from:

skype

to

LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib32/libv4l/v4l1compat.so skype

I'm not sure which command is issued when I click on the icon in the dash and I'm not sure how I would change it. Changing it using gnome menu editor does not seem to have any effect.

Jorge Castro
  • 73,717
astjohn
  • 347

2 Answers2

16

While I couldn't find the shortcuts, we can use the .local/share/applications folder.

You can create a file this way: 

gedit ~/.local/share/applications/myskype.desktop

Then paste something like this into it: 

[Desktop Entry]  
Version=1.0
Name=My Skype
Exec=env LD_PRELOAD="/usr/lib32/libv4l/v4l1compat.so" skype
Terminal=false
X-MultipleArgs=false
Type=Application
Icon=skype
Categories=GNOME;GTK;Network;
StartupWMClass=Skype
StartupNotify=true
X-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts=NewWindow;

[NewWindow Shortcut Group]
Name=Open a New Window
Exec=env LD_PRELOAD="/usr/lib32/libv4l/v4l1compat.so" skype
TargetEnvironment=Unity

Save and exit.

astjohn
  • 347
desgua
  • 33,215
4

I suspect you can edit the file /usr/share/applications/skype.desktop Make a backup copy first. You probably need to edit the line that reads Exec=skype to include the changes you want.

[Edit] Just tried this for myself and the syntax for .desktop files doesn't allow the = sign in the Exec command so you may need to create a shell script with your command in and point the Exec line at that.

Here is some background about the .desktop files: http://standards.freedesktop.org/desktop-entry-spec/latest/ar01s06.html

Nigel
  • 176