How to get Show Desktop working for use by all users?
New install of Ubuntu desktop 22.04. I’m trying to get Show Desktop script working for use by all users, with icon in Left Panel of apps. I’ve put both a shell script show-desktop.sh permissions of 644) using wmctrl and a desktop file show-desktop.desktop with permissions of 744 in /usr/share/applications. However, I don’t get Show Desktop found in Activities or Apps. Here is show-desktop.desktop:
Type=Application Name=Show Desktop Exec=/usr/share/applications/show-desktop.sh Icon=desktop Here is show-desktop.sh:
status=»$(wmctrl -m | grep «showing the desktop» | sed -r ‘s/(.*)(ON|OFF)/\2/g’)» if [ $status == «ON» ]; then wmctrl -k off else wmctrl -k on fi What am I doing wrong?
3 Answers 3
.desktop launchers are only included in the overview if the minimum of required fields is valid. In this case, the exec= entry is not valid: the permission of the script are set to «read only» for others. Therefore, the script is not recognized as a valid executable for users that are not the owner. Thus, make the script executable by «others».
I changed permissions of desktop file in /usr/share/applications to 777, but app still not found in Activities or Apps.
I copied your files exactly, and «Show Desktop» for me appears in the application overview, with a generic icon though because I do not have a «desktop» icon.
Now working. Here is my ShowDesktop.desktop file (with permissions 644) in /usr/share/applications/: [Desktop Entry] Version=1.0 Type=Application Terminal=false Exec=/usr/bin/ShowDesktop.sh Name=Show Desktop Comment=Show Desktop Icon=/usr/share/pixmaps/ShowDesktop.jpeg
Here is my ShowDesktop.sh file (with permissions 755) in /usr/bin/: #!/bin/bash
status=»$(wmctrl -m | grep «showing the desktop» | sed -r ‘s/(.*)(ON|OFF)/\2/g’)»
if [ $status == «ON» ]; then wmctrl -k off else wmctrl -k on fi
My icon ShowDesktop.jpeg (with permissions 644) is in /usr/share/pixmaps/
The directories I used for the Exec and the Icon lines in the ShowDesktop.desktop file (/usr/bin/, /usr/share/pixmaps) were culled from previous AskUbuntu answers: Standard place for custom scripts Icon Path in Desktop File
Well, it seems like you’re having some trouble getting the «Show Desktop» feature to work for all users on your fresh installation of Ubuntu desktop 22.04. Let’s see if we can figure out what might be going wrong here.
First off, the shell script and desktop file you’ve created seem to be in the right place, but there might be a couple of issues with them. Let’s take a closer look.
In your show-desktop.desktop file, there are a couple of things to check. Make sure that the Type field is set to «Application» (which you have already done correctly). Next, ensure that the Name field is properly set to «Show Desktop». Double-check that the Exec field points to the correct location of your shell script, which seems to be /usr/share/applications/show-desktop.sh . Lastly, verify that the Icon field references a valid icon file, perhaps one named «desktop» as you have specified.
Now, let’s examine your show-desktop.sh script. It looks like you’re using the wmctrl command to manipulate the desktop status. However, there might be a small mistake in the script itself. When comparing the value of the $status variable, you need to enclose it in double quotes to prevent issues with empty or multi-word values. So, instead of [ $status == «ON» ] , you should use [«$status» == «ON»] . This ensures that the comparison works as expected.
Here’s an updated version of your script with the correction:
#!/bin/bash status="$(wmctrl -m | grep "showing the desktop" | sed -r 's/(.*)(ON|OFF)/\2/g')" if [ "$status" == "ON" ]; then wmctrl -k off else wmctrl -k on fi Once you’ve made these adjustments, try logging out and logging back in to see if the «Show Desktop» icon appears in your Activities or Apps. Hopefully, this will resolve the issue and allow all users to access the feature conveniently.
Give it a shot, and if you encounter any further troubles, feel free to ask for more assistance!
How to create a shortcut for all users?
Ingles Dear, Good morning, we want to implement in the user profiles already generated a shortcut on the desktop where an OpenVPN terminal is being run with the following command:
openvpn --config sample.ovpn Is it possible to find something similar to windows C:\Users\Public\Desktop ? I checked the following thread and I don’t think it meets what we need: How to create a desktop shortcut for all users in ubuntu 14.04 for ad joined mac Sorry for the bad wording in English. Version: Ubuntu 18.04 Thanks! UPDATE 22/07/2020 Español: Estimados, Al final terminamos optando por hacerlo desde Ansible. Si bien con lo del directorio Skel que en cada perfil nuevo que se crea, se genera el acceso directo, nos está faltando el playbook/config para que dicho acceso sea copiado a todos los perfiles existentes. El destino del archivo sería home//Desktop(Escritorio) pero me termina generando una carpeta el nombre ««. ¿Algún experto en Ansible que pueda guiarme? Gracias! Ingles: Dears, In the end we ended up choosing to do it from Ansible. Although with the Skel directory that in each new profile that is created, the direct access is generated, we are missing the playbook/config so that said access is copied to all existing profiles. The destination of the file would be home//Desktop(Escritorio) but it ends up generating a folder with the name ««. Any Ansible expert who can guide me? Thank you!
Thread: Create dekstop shortcut to programs for all users
Gee! These Aren’t Roasted! 
Create dekstop shortcut to programs for all users
Does someone know how to create desktop shortcuts to programs (e.g to rdesktop) to all users on Ubuntu 10.04 ?
Where (in which file) do I put the shortcut so it will appare (clickable) on the dekstop for all users logging into the machine ?
Gee! These Aren’t Roasted!
Re: Create dekstop shortcut to programs for all users
I created a launcher on the desktop. I copied this launcher from /home/myUser/Desktop/ to /etc/skel/.
Now anybody new logging into the system gets the shortcut from /etc/skel/.
If anybody wants to copy the desktop preferences so that all new users gets the same settings, they also have to copy the /home/myUser/.gconf folder to /etc/skel/ aswell.
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