Hi, started using Ubuntu Studio with KDE Plasma, and I’m looking for which widget you would suggest for a) starting an appImage (something where I can specify a command), and b) some kind of “multi app” chooser, as in, giving me a couple of choices like Firefox, Chrome, and Brave (browsers, in this case)? I’ve watched several “getting started with Plasma” videos and nothing jumps on these simple things that I am used to.
Thanks for your time!
Hi, although you could use the Application Launcher (Super Key) or KRunner (Alt+F2) as well if the AppImages and web browsers are installed in your system, I think you can use the Command Output widget with a simple shell script (including several functions perhaps) for “multi app” chooser, which will let you display a symbol simply using the command echo followed by an appropriate icon-like symbol from Nerd fonts etc. (a “periodic” function to run once a day?), and then “on_click” function can give you the choices using KDialog or YAD.
Some AppImages let you integrate the app into the system automatically when they’re executed for the first time, but some others expect users to do this manually by creating a .desktop file, copying an app icon to ~/.local/share/icons/breeze or ~/.local/share/icons/hicolor after which they can be used normally like other apps.
Ive been looking for a widget like this! Perfect.
Adding to this, there is also GitHub - TheAssassin/AppImageLauncher: Helper application for Linux distributions serving as a kind of "entry point" for running and integrating AppImages · GitHub which aims to help with managing appimages with less manual work
hi, welcome.
an appimage is just an executable file like any of your other applications or scripts, and while you can run it by double clicking on it, it becomes more integrated with your desktop if you create a .desktop file for it.
this .desktop file creates an entry in your application menu (or launcher) so that it can be accessed via the menu or pinned to the task manager, or added to favorites, etc.
the easiest way to create a new .desktop file is to right click on the app menu in your main panel and choose “edit applications…”
there you will find an GUI for creating the .desktop files where you can choose a category for your appimage, point it at where your appimage lives, give it command line options, give it an icon, even run it in a konsole window (Advanced tab), and then be sure to save it.
as for where to keep your appimage after you download it, that is entirely up to you… there is no agreed upon location … i keep mine in ~/.local/bin so they are automatically added to my $PATH…just move or copy the file there, and it’s as “installed” as an appimage gets.
So far I’ve gone with @skyfishgoo 's recommendation for the AppImage, and that’s working great, particularly because I have to add an argument. For question (b), the app menu popup, I tried Popup Tile Launcher, and got an error, and am about to try Popup Launcher / Better Popup Launcher