Ubuntu – Custom keyboard shortcut to lauch a terminal and run a command in Unity

command lineshortcut-keysunity

I know this should be the simplest thing, but coming up empty. ;-(

I would like to create a keyboard shortcut ctrl-alt-P that opens a terminal window and runs a ping command:

ping -c 4 somefixeddomain.com

[Useful for quickly checking whether my internet connection is actually working.]

I have attempted to do this (in Unity, Ubuntu v11.10) using:

Settings > Keyboard > Custom Shortcuts

filling in all the obvious stuff, but no luck. All ideas welcome.

Best Answer

For Ubuntu 11.10 (Unity)

  1. Go to System Settings > Keyboard > Shortcuts > Custom Shortcuts.
  2. Add a new shortcut by pressing the + button.

  3. Choose a name for your shortcut, and in the 'Command' field, enter

    gnome-terminal -e "ping -c4 [your domain here]"

  4. Assign your shortcut key combination by selecting the shortcut and pressing the combination you desire (e.g. Ctrl+Alt+P).

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