[SOLVED] Desktop files

smallpond · 05-16-2021, 11:12 AM

I've been a KDE user for a while but am trying Gnome again in hopes they have fixed custom application launching. desktop files seem ok except for Bitwarden, which ships as a self-updating AppImage file. The problem is that on every update, it's name changes to the new version. Currently Bitwarden-1.26.3-x86_64.AppImage. desktop files don't seem to accept wildcards, so I had to call a separate shell script which in turn starts the app. Was wondering if anyone can think of a solution where the script isn't needed.

Code:

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=Bitwarden
Comment=Password Manager
Exec=/home/smallpond/bin/bitwarden.sh
Icon=/home/smallpond/bin/bitwarden.ico
Terminal=false

Code:

#!/bin/bash
AI=$HOME/bin/Bitwarden-*.AppImage
$AI

teckk · 05-16-2021, 11:43 AM

I can only give a general answer.

I don't see how that will work.

Code:

touch myapp-1234.AppImage

AI=$HOME/myapp-*.AppImage

echo "$AI"
/home/me/myapp-*.AppImage

a=$(find . -name 'myapp-*.AppImage')
echo "$a"
./myapp-1234.AppImage

echo "Hello there" > myapp-1234.AppImage

cat "$AI"
cat: '/home/me/myapp-*.AppImage': No such file or directory

cat "$a"
Hello there

smallpond · 05-16-2021, 12:06 PM

Thanks for taking a look. Double quotes prevents the wildcard expansion, which is why I don't use them in my script when running the AppImage.

The script actually does work in Gnome. It just doesn't seem very robust.

teckk · 05-16-2021, 12:24 PM

My point was, in this line

Code:

Exec=/home/smallpond/bin/bitwarden.sh

Instead of just a $path, can that be a string of commands, and then run that. Haven't used Gnome for 15 years.

For example: "find.. | do something"

smallpond · 05-16-2021, 12:45 PM

Good idea! Unfortunately, it looks like the first thing after the "exec=" has to be a simple path or else it doesn't even show up in the activities menu. I don't think I can put commands in there.

It would be nice if I could put a wildcard in a symlink, but that doesn't work either.

shruggy · 05-16-2021, 02:24 PM

From the spec:

Quote:

The Exec key must contain a command line. A command line consists of an executable program optionally followed by one or more arguments. The executable program can either be specified with its full path or with the name of the executable only. If no full path is provided the executable is looked up in the $PATH environment variable used by the desktop environment. The name or path of the executable program may not contain the equal sign ("="). Arguments are separated by a space.

smallpond · 09-15-2021, 10:28 AM

My separate script works, and it looks like my original request is not possible, so I am marking the thread as solved.