0

I've got a new machine running Ubuntu 14.4 today, and I installed Eclipse by downloading and unzipping it.

Now I would like to be able to:

  1. run the command eclipse in the terminal to open Eclipse;
  2. search for it using Alt+F2 and typing "eclipse".

I added the eclipse directory in the path environment, this solved my requirement (1).

Eclipse has a .desktop file, so it can be put into to the launcher. But I still can't use Alt+F2 to open the command "screen" and find it by typing eclipse. Is there any procedure I have to follow so Ubuntu finds the Eclipse in the "run a command" screen just like it finds Firefox, with an icon and everything?

Also, what is the screen that appears after pressing Alt+F2 called?

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

If you add the new directory to your PATH environment variable temporarily, the command launcher window (Alt-F2) will not find it. You have to make the PATH modification in your startup dot-files (usually .bash_profile or .bashrc), then you have to log out and log back in for the change to take effect for all new shells. After the re-login, you should be able to start it by typing "eclipse" in the command launcher window.

Improve this answer
3
  • I did this changing the /etc/environment. Yes, I am able to call it using the launcher due to the path variable, but I would like it to look like Chrome, Firefox or any other application, that has an Icon and can be easily identified
    – JSBach
    Commented Apr 20, 2015 at 19:18
  • In that case, I would say you'd be better off installing eclipse from the Ubuntu repositories than downloading and unzipping. If you need a specific version of eclipse for some reason, then keep the downloaded version, and see askubuntu.com/questions/26632/how-to-install-eclipse for more details about how to make the .desktop file work.
    – John
    Commented Apr 20, 2015 at 19:22
  • great! This is exactly whats I needed! Thanks!
    – JSBach
    Commented Apr 20, 2015 at 20:06

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .