newly installed apps not showing up in the menu

[outerdimensions]

Hi a am a New.B to linux. I have used the package manager to install some apps but they do not show up in the menu ??? went i try to add a new item ther do not show up as being available ??
in win XP etc the apps are in the program files directory.. but where R they in Linux ????
Oh & after runing the mint update my VMware virtual box XP doesn't work any more either
can some one PLZ help
Thanks

[newW2]

You usually only have to right click on the menu button and select reload plugins to see the installed app show on the menu. Sometimes you have to add a launcher in the menu manually. One of the better examples of that are adding ligthtscribe simple menu. Here is a good howto for that:
http://www.ubuntugeek.com/installing-li ... beler.html

[outerdimensions]

Thank u.. but that did not help.. i have reloaded the plug ins.. but the apps just do not appear to be available... i can't find them any where... i could make a new menu item ( launcher) if i could find where they were installed to..EG in Win XP they go in the Program files directory.. but where does Linux hide things ????

[nop]

if apps do not show up in the menu I go to folder
/usr/share/applications
where I find them (until now) copy and paste on the desktop.

[bobsmith]

Yep, I find this to be a pain too. Some apps show up in the menu, some don't, and others have no UI to run. Sometimes there is a UI, but it's a separate app. It can be very confusing for us MS converts. My brother was asking how I like Linux and I told him that I like it a lot, but it's not a game for sissies. It can be fun for those of us who enjoy the challenge of the "hunt". Plus, as a retiree, I have the time. It's also perfect for those who are satisfied with the default install - usually there's no tinkering needed - but where's the fun in that?

Adding a launcher is very easy. Just right-click on the Menu button, select "Edit menu", and then select the group you want it in, and "New Item". Enter the name - it can be anything you want. Enter the command... finding the command usually isn't too bad. I open Nautilus and go to File System in the left pane, then to usr/bin. I have always found the command I needed there. Notice that you can press the little launcher icon (the springy thing) and choose your own image. I keep a bunch of icons in a separate folder and link to those when making the launcher. Icons can be found at /usr/share/icons - and other places. Sometimes I just go to google and find my own, but more often than not there is a perfect icon in /usr/share/icons and all its sub-folders.

Good luck!

[oakhilltop]

To find where an application is you can open a terminal and type

which application_name

For example

which gedit
will return /usr/bin/gedit

[qbicdesign]

I have noticed this too - but I'm convinced its only since Mint 6
I never had this problem in Mint 5.
My hunch is that apps installed using the Mint Install program are fine, but if i install using Synaptic or the deb installer they simply don't appear...
Anyone else able to verify this?

[GrayWizardLinux]

yes- I have had numerous issue and had to do 3-4 installs for felica. wish I stayed with daryna. Maybe tomorrow I will install daryna...I likw mint and Clem works hard but Daryna was nice - Cassandra the best and Felica is not so good for me. slower too!

[GrayWizardLinux]

I also have had apps not uninstall i just found out too. I am disappointed with felica. really, really wish I kept my system as it was with Daryna 2 days ago. I am very frustrated. Just being honest - no flames....

[galen]

the only ones I've seen are ace-of-penguins, which does not seem to have menu links in the package. older software may not even try to create menu listings

[SiKing]

Any chance this is related to my bug: viewtopic.php?f=76&t=18811 Unfortunately, I have not had the time to look into a proper fix.

[afrodeity]

me too, I just installed basilisk, but its nowhere in the menu. It shows up in package managers as having been installed. And I even reinstalled it to be safe. No luck, where is it?

[afrodeity]

me too, I just installed basilisk, but its nowhere in the menu. It shows up in package managers as having been installed. And I even reinstalled it to be safe. No luck, where is it?

Okay, figured it out using the instructions given in bobsmiths post above. Now I'm trying to install virtualbox, but same routine doesn't seem to work ... I guess this is all about hacking?

[newW2]

I just installed Virtualbox OSE. The launcher is in Accessories.

[qbicdesign]

I've switched back to Mint 5 - all my worries are gone

[gaz]

I had the same issue, whether installed from Mint Install, Synaptic or the deb file.

The reason I use Mint is because I do not want to poke around behind the curtain. Rather than finding the application & assigning a launcher [which kind of defeats the "no poking around" criterion] , should I just go back to Mint 5?

[jquinten]

i find if u just put the names of the apps into a launcher it works fine,not much poking around really needed, or you just run it in terminal (which usually means u can just type the program name into terminal and hit enter). i uninstall most of my packages in synaptic.

[el_b]

Also just try running it. same thing happened to me with Opera. Just type opera in the terminal, for example. If it runs, it's installed. To make a shortcut type whereis opera or which opera. It will return the directory in which the app is.

[StanTheMan]

All installed applications have a script file -- usually in ' /usr ' or ' /opt ' which will launch the application when the script file is run. But to find this script file is a big question. once you find the script file you caN create a desktop icon launcher by right clicking on disktop and entering the launch dialogue box under ' command ' Often the script file is in ' /usr/xxxx/=script ' or some sub folder.
If you have file manager and find a quetionable script file, just double click on it and if it launches you can set up a desktop icon.0

[beth]

I am using Mint 7 RC1. It's very impressive. However, like all Linux operating systems there seems to be a devil in the details. Usually those details make no sense whatsoever to those of us who wrote programs and formats decades and decades before Windows came along. The Linux language, while I understand why everyone had to use language different from Windows, is simply stated -- outrageous and verbally unrelated to the actions of the applications. How newbie geeks ever navigate Linux successfully is amazing.

So here I am again, stuck on something simple -- a file splitter, and I find the very issues I am stuck on, are the same issues others are also stuck on. Downloading from the internet packages is no problem with Mint. Some of the downloads will indeed copy onto the desktop where they can really be installed and used, and even have a link on the menu. Others, however, get lost in the so-called "root" system (even with an installer) and that system is the beginning of a trek through mental illness for anyone trying to find their download files. If one does not engage in cursing before being sunk in the "root", you shall before all is said and done. Ultimately and thankfully, we have forums to bail us out.

Ok, I need a file splitter. A simple file splitter. One that loads easily. One that will place a link on the menu. One that will install without all the mumbo jumbo. "Root" requires a password, yet it won't take mine. I prefer to leave "root" to the ethers. I don't want to have a successful download, and then have to hunt for the file, then finding the file won't open and finding it's impossible to use the thing.

So here I cast my problem at the feet of those who understand the Linux mumbo jumbo, and make a plea for help.

Thank you.