Add to Desktop For Linux

Have you always wanted to have your Ubuntu desktop filled to the brim with application shortcuts? If the answer is yes, then read on because this little GNOME extension might just be exactly what you need.

It's called Add to Desktop and, just like its name states, it allows you to add application shortcuts to the desktop on Ubuntu (or any other distro with GNOME-based DE).

As you can imagine, it's not the most complicated GNOME extension or piece of software out there. You simply open the Applications grid, right-click on any application you want to create a shortcut for (on the desktop), and simply select the newly added "Add to Desktop" option and, presto! You got yourself a desktop shortcut of any app you want, including those that come by default on Ubuntu.

Not to say that Ubuntu makes it impossible for users to have desktop shortcuts, but that's also not to say that it makes it particularly easy for them either. To add an app shortcut to the desktop, you need to navigate to ~/usr/share/applications (typically this is the default path), and drag and drop the designated .desktop files to the ~/Desktop folder. As mentioned before, not exactly rocket science.

In short, if you value a few seconds of your time, and you often find yourself wanting or needing desktop shortcuts for various apps, then Add to Desktop is an excellent choice.

Pretty much, yes! As mentioned before, it's a simple GNOME extension that does it job exactly as intended. One other small advantage that this extension might bring is the fact that you can drag and drop files directly from Nautilus to other apps. For instance, you can drag a media file (MP4, MP3, AVI, etc.) directly onto the app shortcut of your media player, or drag a PNG onto GIMP's desktop shortcut.

This extension is plain a simple a joy to use. It adds a new line to the app contextx menu in the Applications grid/launcher when and if clicked automatically creates a desktop shortcut to the app.  It can be installed directly from the the EGO website, or even faster via the marvelously useful Extension Manager app.