I'd like to know which folder the Unity Launcher .desktop files are stored in, as they're not anymore in /.gconf/desktop and I need to add a custom application to the launcher bar (adding it in /usr/share/applications doesn't seem to be enough).
Where are the Unity Launcher .desktop files?
Globally in
/usr/share/applications
Locally in
~/.local/share/applications
If you want to add a custom launcher, create it in ~/.local/share/applications, make it executable, drag and drop it on the launcher*, and finally pin it (right-click on the launcher item → Keep In Launcher).
* Opening it using Nautilus doesn't seem to do the trick.
Unity 2D looks for .desktop files in the /usr/share/applications directory. This can be found by using the following in the Terminal:
locate firefox.desktop
For me it worked by adding one of the launchers that was already there (eg. gimp.desktop) using the following in the Terminal
gconf-editor
to add an entry to the favorites list under desktop/unity-2d/launcher.
This question was posted almost 9 years ago, but it still appears on top of searches on this topic. For completeness, since Snaps are now a thing, there are at least 4 locations:
Globally:
/usr/share/applications
/usr/local/share/applications/ (less common)
Locally:
~/.local/share/applications
Snaps:
/var/lib/snapd/desktop/applications
cd ~/.local/share/applications is the 1st place that is look in.
Examples from my directory that I used to add quicklists:
~/.local/share/applications$ ls banshee.desktop gnome-terminal.desktop chromium-browser.desktop mimeapps.list firefox.desktop nautilus-home.desktop gedit.desktop ubuntu-software-center.desktop
Besides globally in /usr/share/applications, locally in ~/.local/share/applications, it also has in /usr/local/share/applications/. It has similar effects as globally. Some applications choose to put their desktop file in this folder.
I actually found a fix myself! It is necessary to create an entry in alacarte. To customise the icon you must manually edit the icon again from alacarte.
