Start menu links questions

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HisDudeness

Start menu links questions

Post by HisDudeness »

Hi! I put this question in the Cinnamon section because I'm using it right now, but if I don't go wrong the problem is in common with MATE as in LMDE 201204 Cinnamon/MATE start menu is shared between the two and regulated by common files.

Question number 1: I wanted to put some custom links I made (by creating new .desktop files in /usr/share/applications/) in the Administration category, so I took a look at those already existing. I noted they all have a combination of System and Settings as highlighted entries. I've done so, and my custom links actually appeared under Administration. The problem is, they are in Preferences too, as a consequence of "Settings" voice, as all default ones are. That makes my Preferences section a bit overcrowded. Anyway, obviously, if I just remove "Settings" option, they are moved to System Tools, where they previously weren't, without being in Administration (because of the lone "System"). Is there a way to put things under Administration without them appearing in Preferences too?

Question number 2 (Which probably is a solution to number 1 as well): Is there a way to create a custom category, assigning it viewed name and the option a .desktop link must have under "Category" to be put in it? Which file I have to edit or create to make so?

Thanks everyone, waiting for replies!
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xenopeek
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Re: Start menu links questions

Post by xenopeek »

I don't think this is LMDE specific. I'm interested in this as well (I want to remove the entries from Preferences that are already also under Administration on my installation :D).
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Re: Start menu links questions

Post by xenopeek »

To experiment with I picked User Accounts (file /usr/share/applications/gnome-user-accounts-panel.desktop). By default it appears in System Tools > System Settings, Preferences and Administration.

Changing the default Categories in this file from:

Code: Select all

Categories=System;Settings;X-GNOME-Settings-Panel;X-GNOME-SystemSettings
to:

Code: Select all

Categories=Settings;X-GNOME-Settings-Panel;X-GNOME-SystemSettings
Removes it from Administration, but continues to show it in System Tools > System Settings and Preferences.

If you change it instead to:

Code: Select all

Categories=Settings;X-GNOME-Settings-Panel
Removes it from Preferences as well, and only shows it in System Tools > System Settings. But, it is moved from the "System" category to the "Other" category.

Really I think Cinnamon needs to change for this, as fiddling any more with the combination of categories also makes it possible to not be able to use User Accounts (when you open it, it then just goes to System Settings). The roadmap (https://github.com/linuxmint/Roadmap) shows an improved Control Center being on the list for Cinnamon 1.8 :mrgreen:
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HisDudeness

Re: Start menu links questions

Post by HisDudeness »

Oh, thanks! Indeed this is not dependent on the Debian Edition differences with the main distribution, posted here just because I'm using LMDE and Cinnamon is more like a default Desktop Environment for the Debian Edition (I wanted to shorten up this, but it would have become "default DE for the DE" :D), but if you think it could have more visibility in the main section and it could affect it too, feel obviously free to move the topic. But you are talking like MATE does not have the same problem, does it?

Anyway, do you know if it's possible adding a custom category to the main menu? I feel like this situation cuts out a lot of customizability and freedom of choice, I can't really believe it's this way...
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Re: Start menu links questions

Post by xenopeek »

You can easily add a new folder to the menu. Right-click the menu button and select "Edit menu". Then click "New Menu" and name it as you want, and you can then also drag it to another place in the list. You can create new items in this folder, and though the menu editor allows you to create subfolders those won't be displayed in the Cinnamon menu (it only shows the top level folders from the menu editor).
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HisDudeness

Re: Start menu links questions

Post by HisDudeness »

I don't know why, but New Item and New Menu buttons do not work for me in the start menu editor. Plus, in Cinnamon, unlike MATE, I can't edit Administration and Preferences menus so, even if I create a custom category of mine, putting the essential elements of Preferences to solve the disorder in it, I can't disable the original one...
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