Software Package Creation: PuppyLinux

HomePage > ComponentHowTo Components and HowTos > GuiIndex GUI > WindowManagers

Software Package Creation

For packages which require a menu entry perform the following:

compiling Compile, install, & create a .pet software package

Create a .desktop file so that the menu will show an entry for that software application

.desktop menu configuration file

The rest of this page explains how to create a .desktop file:

Create a text file using the template displayed in the Appendix below

Place it in this directory: /usr/share/applications

The entries in the file are {key,value} pairs in the format: Key=Value

Keys are either optional or required. The first three {key,value} pairs from the template are required; and the last two are optional but required for a menu icon to appear in the desired menu location.

Note that the "Encoding" key is deprecated, i.e. obsolete and no longer recognized. Any keys not found in the latest freedesktop specification are not recognized.

Menu and Desktop Icons

Icon location: /usr/share/pixmaps
Icon file format: .xpm, or .png, is preferred
Icon size: 48x48 (use mtPaint for re-sizing)
Menu categories: selected from /etc/xdg/menus/hierarchy

Therefore, the abiword.desktop file would typically consist of:

Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=AbiWord
Exec=abiword
Comment=word processor
Icon=abiword48.png
Categories=WordProcessor

If you are installing a package, such as a self contained program in the /opt directory, you will need to type in the entire path to the icon you want to use. eg: Icon=/opt/fred/icons/ fred48.png , and you may need to type the entire path to the program eg: Exec=/opt/fred/fredprogram

Appendix

All Puppy packagers are advised to use this template for the sake of standardization. It adheres to the latest freedesktop specification.

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=
Exec=
Comment=
Icon=
Categories=

Other optional keys are available which are seldom used:

#Terminal=true
#MimeType=
#GenericName=
#NoDisplay=
#Hidden=
#OnlyShowIn=
#NotShowIn=
#TryExec=
#Path=
#StartupNotify=true
#StartupWMClass=

#Name[az]=
#Name[bg]=
#Name[ca]=
#Name[cs]=
#Name[de]=
#Name[dz]=
#Name[el]=
#Name[en_CA]=
#Name[en_GB]=
#Name[es]=
#Name[et]=
#Name[fi]=
#Name[fr]=
#Name[ga]=
#Name[he]=
#Name[hr]=
#Name[hu]=
#Name[it]=
#Name[ja]=
#Name[ko]=
#Name[lt]=
#Name[lv]=
#Name[mk]=
#Name[ml]=
#Name[mr]=
#Name[ms]=
#Name[nb]=
#Name[ne]=
#Name[nl]=
#Name[nn]=
#Name[pl]=
#Name[pt]=
#Name[pt_BR]=
#Name[ru]=
#Name[sk]=
#Name[sr]=
#Name[sr@Latn]=
#Name[sv]=
#Name[te]=
#Name[tr]=
#Name[uk]=
#Name[vi]=
#Name[zh_CN]=
#Name[zh_TW]=

Related Webpages

Pdebthing

forum post

PuppyLinux : SoftwarePackageCreation