Adding Home, Trash and Web Icons to Linux Desktop

Home, Trash and Web icons used to be enabled by default on most Linux desktops – not anymore! I am often asked to add them back when I install Linux for some other people. They are part of the workflow, and I am not interested in changing workflows. I am simply interested in moving the user from Windows to Linux. This article describes how I do it for various Linux desktops.

LXDE

To create the icons in LXDE, right-click on the desktop and select Create New/Blank File. Name the file Home.desktop. Right-click on the file and open it in Leafpad. Copy the following text in the file:

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Exec=pcmanfm
Icon=user-home
Terminal=false
StartupNotify=true
MimeType=x-directory/normal;inode/directory;
Name=Home

Similarly, create a new Trash.desktop file with the following content:

[Desktop Entry]
Icon=user-trash
Type=Application
Exec=pcmanfm trash:///
Categories=FileManager;Utilities;GTK;
Terminal=False
StartupNotify=true
MimeType=x-directory/normal;inode/directory;
Name=Trash

/usr/share/applications stores desktop files for all installed GUI applications. Copy firefox.desktop file in ~/Desktop folder. If you want to change the name appearing under the icon, edit Name= line in the file.

$ cp /usr/share/applications/firefox.desktop ~/Desktop/.

LXDE Desktop

XFCE

XFCE is one of the few desktop environments that handles its own icons. At least in my Ubuntu setup, the icons showed up by default. To enable or disable them run Application/Settings/Desktop utility program:

XFCE Desktop

Mate

Similar to XFCE, Mate handles and displays its own icons. Adding or removing them is usually accomplished using dconf-editor. Start it from a terminal

$ dconf-editor

and go into org/mate/caja/desktop and adjust the settings.

Mate Desktop

Firefox icon is set as described in LXDE section.

Cinnamon

To install the icons in Cinnamon, open a terminal and run the following command:

$ gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.background show-desktop-icons true

Handle the firefox icon as ususal.

Cinnamon Desktop

Gnome 3

Gnome 3 desktop requires a totally strange and unusual workflow. Actually, I’ve never meet anyone who likes it. I wouldn’t bother changing my workflow in order to accommodate Gnome 3, it is much easier to change the desktop to something more friendly.

Anyway, icons in Gnome 3 are handled the same way they are handled in Cinnamon.

KDE

For KDE just create the files in ~/Desktop directory, similar to LXDE:

$ cd ~/Desktop
$ ls
firefox.desktop  Home  Trash
$
$ cat Home
[Desktop Entry]
Icon=folder
Type=Link
URL[$e]=file://$HOME/.
$
$ cat Trash
[Desktop Entry]
Icon=user-trash-full
Type=Link
URL[$e]=trash:/
$

KDE Desktop

Unity

Unity is another desktop featuring a totally different workflow. It is a cellphone workflow. Get used to it and you’ll be able to play Angry Birds all day.

There is no customization software officially included in Unity, you have to install it separately:

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:freyja-dev/unity-tweak-tool-daily
$ sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install unity-tweak-tool

It allows you to customize most aspects of the your desktop, including your desktop icons.

Unity Desktop

Conclusion

Think about your desktop environment as an implementation of a physical desktop, like the one you used to have in grade school. It should help you do your work by managing the location of application windows on your screen. In Linux, you have the power to choose your desktop environment, and you can set it up as you need it to be.

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