Pinning applications with command-line switches reverts to default command

Customization
1

Hey everyone, I’m running into a problem on Zorin OS when I try to pin any application that needs command-line arguments to the dash. For example, I’m trying to launch Terminator with a custom layout switch (-l quattro), but whenever I pin it, the pinned shortcut only calls the default command (no switches).

I’ve tried a few different approaches. I made a simple shell script that runs terminator -l quattro (a custom layout for the app), which works great when I run it from the terminal—but after pinning it, the dash icon still goes back to using just terminator. I also tried creating a custom launcher file (the usual .desktop approach) to specify the command and arguments. While this works if I launch it directly, the pinned version still reverts to calling Terminator without any arguments.

Has anyone managed to pin a custom command with switches to the dash successfully? If so, I’d love to know any workarounds or tips. Thanks in advance!

2

There's nothing tricky to it. At the Exec= line just type your command as you normally would on the terminal. The only thing you need to watch out for are any additional parameters that you may want to run or that are required to be provided in a more dynamic way. But that doesn't seem to be the case here.

You can find more details about the specification in the documentation, more specifically I'd recommend reading through section The Exec key and the Example Desktop Entry File.

1 Like
3

This is my terminator-quattro.desktop:

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Terminator Quattro
Comment=Launch Terminator with the "quattro" layout
Exec=terminator -l quattro
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Icon=terminator
Categories=Utility;TerminalEmulator;
# xteStartupWMClass=Terminator

And pinning it to dash does not make it launch as terminator -l quattro, but terminator only.

4

Do other options work? Like -f for fullscreen or -m for maximized? If they do there may be an issue with the configuration or how Terminator handles it.

Where is your desktop file located?

1 Like
5

I'll check the location later, but I believe it should be ~/.local/share/applications/.

Just to confirm:

  • Only one Terminator-specific .desktop file has been created: terminator-quattro.desktop by me.
  • When searching the Start menu or using the system search for "terminator", two applications show up: "Terminator" and "Terminator Quattro".
  • One launches Terminator in the default mode — a single, non-maximized terminal window.
  • The other launches it in the specified "quattro" layout — a maximized window with four terminal panes.
  • However, launching them separately and pinning them to the dash doesn't preserve their behavior. Both pinned launchers end up launching the default, non-maximised single-terminal instance. I'm unpinning any terminator intance, before executing the other one.
6

Do you have any reason to have two entries for the same application? I'd suggest renaming your custom desktop entry at ~/.local/share/applications as terminator.desktop, which should take precedence over any other one.

To make sure changes settle in, remove all pinned launchers and restart.

1 Like
7

Well, the /usr/share/applications/terminator.desktop is the original I wasn't about to change. The ~/.local/share/applications/terminator-quattro.desktop is the one I created to have a shortcut.

OK, I extended the exec line in the /usr/share/applications/terminator.desktop by -l quattro and the pinned icon is now working as expected and launching a quattro layout of the terminator. But I lost the original default terminator launcher. Oh, I can run terminator from the cmd line...

I have to think about all this. My main goal was to create two or three terminator launchers, keep one of them (the quattro) pinned to the dash, but also being able to effortlessly launch the other layouts/settings.

8

Mmm, I guess that could work although I'm not a big fan of the idea. I'm not familiar with Terminator but I would think that the ability to switch layouts should come from the application itself, is it not possible?

I would also recommend looking into tmux which sounds like it will provide what you're looking for, including the ability to switch layouts from within tmux itself, and it works on any terminal emulator. You'll have to configure it, but I can share a couple of videos that walks you through it.

You can have multiple desktop files in your home directory, just make sure to named them differently. That should be enough for you to be able to use a different launcher with different flags. In theory, there shouldn't be any reason why this would interfere, but...

9

Launching a new instance with a different predefined layout is possible within terminator. The original instance remain open. So, it is not quite a layout change.

10

I was trying tmux earlier as a less experienced user. I will give it a try again.

11

Yep, that is what I had so far, two .desktops: the default and with the layout switcher. I wanted to keep both accessible, but use more the layout switcher, so I wanted to pinning the dash. But pinning the quattro fails, it launches the default.

12

I reduced the issue to minimal .desktop examples:

  • /usr/share/applications/terminator.desktop
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Terminator Default
Exec=terminator
Type=Application
  • ~/.local/share/applications/terminator-quattro.desktop
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Terminator Quattro
Exec=terminator -l quattro
Type=Application

Both can be identified and differentiated in the Start Menu and in the Environment Search. Both can be pinned to dash. But after pinning, both are launching the default layout.