Ubuntu – Unity launcher full – Need more icons

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I have already reduced the Unity launcher icons to 32 but still the space is exhausted already with my most-used programs. Basically I have to scroll often in the unity launcher bar with is annoying.

So far (Ubuntu 10.04) I had those icons as mini ones in the top panel (smaller icons and wider space) where they could fit all.

I was thinking already of sub-launchers or something the like but could not find something like the drawer was in Gnome 2.

I am using Ubuntu at home and in the office. I am a consultant and need a lot of stuff on a regular basis. To put links at the desktop does not make sense because of the many windows that I usually have open there is hardly ever a piece of the desktop looking through.

How do you – power users get keep most-used programs at reach (and I mean <= 2 clicks away)?

Best Answer

Disclaimer: I am the original author of this indicator.

The Launcher List Indicator has been developed specifically for the purpose of having more than one set of icons on the Unity launcher and allow easy switching between them.

How does it work

Suppose you want to have a launcher list for home use, another for work apps, another for something else.

Here's the steps:

Start by adding all the icons you want to have in Home profile.
Once you're satisfied with that list, click Save current in the indicator, and you will have a popup dialog appear asking you to name the profile. Click OK, and you will see that profile to be added to the list.
Clear the launcher and repeat the process to add another profile. Very simple, very minimalistic , very easy to use.

Obtaining the Indicator

The simplest method is to download zip archive from the project's github page :

 https://github.com/SergKolo/launcher-list-indicator/archive/master.zip

If you have git installed, you can obtain latest version via command

git clone https://github.com/SergKolo/launcher-list-indicator.git

It is intended to be started as part of Startup Applications upon user login.

It is recommended to keep the app and its icon in the same folder

Trivia:

The indicator has been featured on OMG!Ubuntu and WebUpd8

For 11.04 and earlier:

Unity does support custom launchers from .desktop files. To create custom launcher from a .desktop file you need to create a *.desktop file for your program.

gedit ~/.local/share/applications/name.desktop

The .desktop file should look something like this:

[Desktop Entry]
Name=the name you want shown
Comment=
Exec=command to run
Icon=icon name
Terminal=false
Type=Application
StartupNotify=true

In your file manager open your home folder and navigate to: (You may need to press ctrl+h to show hidden files to see the .gconf directory.)

.gconf-> desktop-> unity-> launcher -> favourites

you'll see a bunch of folders starting with "app-". you need to create a folder for your program. Use the same name.desktop you used in /usr/share/applications. Go into 1 of the folders for something that is already on the dock & copy the xml file and paste that into your new folder. Open it with your text editor and change the name of the *.desktop to your name.desktop.

Open gconf-editor (you can open gconf by running the command gconf-editor in the Terminal) & go to:

desktop-> unity-> launcher -> favorites

Double click the list on the right & add your name.desktop.

Log out & back in and you should see your launcher. (thank you kerry_s on the Ubuntu Forums for helping with this answer)

Unity also has a feature called Lenses. By default, you have two in Unity: Applications and Files. In the future, you will be able to install and create a lot more. There is some info about that on the Ubuntu wiki: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Unity/Lenses

Ubuntu – What Custom Launchers and Unity Quicklists are available

Home Icon Quicklist

Copy 'Home Folder' launcher file to your home directory:

mkdir ~/.local/share/applications
cp /usr/share/applications/nautilus-home.desktop ~/.local/share/applications

Open the file for editing in gedit:

gedit ~/.local/share/applications/nautilus-home.desktop

Delete the following line from the file:
```
OnlyShowIn=GNOME;
```

Add this text to the bottom of the file, then close and save:

X-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts=Videos;Documents;Music;Pictures;Downloads
[Videos Shortcut Group]
Name=Videos
Exec=nautilus Videos
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Documents Shortcut Group]
Name=Documents
Exec=nautilus Documents
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Music Shortcut Group]
Name=Music
Exec=nautilus Music
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Pictures Shortcut Group]
Name=Pictures
Exec=nautilus Pictures
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Downloads Shortcut Group]
Name=Downloads
Exec=nautilus Downloads
TargetEnvironment=Unity

Log out and log in again to see the changes.

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