Ubuntu

program shortcut in terminal

Asked by Gh0st

Hey guys. I'm new to Ubuntu. Just wiped my HD and installed last night. I'm an engineer and I use a program called Matlab. I already downloaded and installed it according to the manufacturer's website and it's on my computer and running. But when I tried to make a shortcut to the program, it wouldn't let me. I found the application in the installation folders but I can't run it normally. It says "this is an executable text file" and I tried "run" but it wouldn't open. I tried the other option "run in terminal" and it works perfectly. So how do I create a shortcut on my desktop that will run a program in terminal? Otherwise I have to go hunting through the install files and choose run in terminal. I also have no clue how to program anything in Ubuntu so you'll have to baby step me through it. Sorry.

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Ian Ace
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Ian Ace (iaculallad) said : 		#1

If you know the location of the matlab application, you could just create a Launcher for it on your desktop. Right-click on your desktop and select "Create Launcher":

Type: Application in Terminal
Name: Matlab Launcher
Command: path and name of the matlab application (i.e: /bin/matlab)

Then click on the OK button.

HTH.

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Best Ian Ace (iaculallad) said : 		#2

If the above procedure does not work, try appending the -desktop on the command line for your launcher:

i.e) /bin/matlab -desktop

HTH.

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Gh0st (gconklin) said : 		#3

Thanks a bunch man!