Sorry for the title and for placing this topic in the wrong place because I'm not sure where it belongs.
Explanation of the title:
1) create two url links and two launchers on the desktop (the only place where they can be created anyway),
2) move one of each to your home/download folder or any other place,
3) expected result: no change in the moved ones,
4) what happens: url link and launcher that were moved from the desktop to another place display the extension .desktop; they also could lose the icon you chose for them.
This behaviour doesn't happen in 20 and 20.1.
Is there a fix on the way or do you know how I could fix it on my own?
Thank you!
20.2: Url links and launchers desktop extension visible when moved to another place
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20.2: Url links and launchers desktop extension visible when moved to another place
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
Re: 20.2: Url links and launchers desktop extension visible when moved to another place
This is how Thunar — Xfce's file manager — version on Linux Mint 20.2 treats the special type of files you created at step 1. Those are desktop entry files; text files describing information about an application such as the name, icon, and description. These files are used for application launchers (and URL shortcuts). They have the extension .desktop but Thunar treats them specially if they are on the desktop; then it shows the application name and icon in place of the actual file name. Anywhere else they are shown as the actual file name as you found out.
This is a security measure: that if you extract some archive of files you downloaded from the internet and it has some file "malicious.desktop" file in it, that has an application name "sexypic.jpg" or whatever and sexy icon, you won't double-click the "sexypic.jpg" file and run the malicious software but will see the file name "malicious.desktop" and start getting cautious. Though Thunar's implementation sucks because it still runs the .desktop file if you double-click it.
Anyway, some users want the .desktop file treated specially everywhere and some users want it shown with its actual file name everywhere. Can't please everybody but I think security trumps preferences and there probably other ways you can have a set of URL bookmarks.
(For anybody that cares, the desktop entry specification explains how the file format works: https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Specif ... ntry-spec/)
I don't see an option in Thunar for changing this behavior nor would I expect it. Other file managers can have different behavior with regards to how .desktop files are treated so you can install and use a different file manager if you must have this functionality. Nemo (Cinnamon's file manager) for sure and probably Caja (MATE's file manager) still show the application name and icon for .desktop files everywhere. You could try one of those; you can install them on Xfce (
This is a security measure: that if you extract some archive of files you downloaded from the internet and it has some file "malicious.desktop" file in it, that has an application name "sexypic.jpg" or whatever and sexy icon, you won't double-click the "sexypic.jpg" file and run the malicious software but will see the file name "malicious.desktop" and start getting cautious. Though Thunar's implementation sucks because it still runs the .desktop file if you double-click it.
Anyway, some users want the .desktop file treated specially everywhere and some users want it shown with its actual file name everywhere. Can't please everybody but I think security trumps preferences and there probably other ways you can have a set of URL bookmarks.
(For anybody that cares, the desktop entry specification explains how the file format works: https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Specif ... ntry-spec/)
I don't see an option in Thunar for changing this behavior nor would I expect it. Other file managers can have different behavior with regards to how .desktop files are treated so you can install and use a different file manager if you must have this functionality. Nemo (Cinnamon's file manager) for sure and probably Caja (MATE's file manager) still show the application name and icon for .desktop files everywhere. You could try one of those; you can install them on Xfce (
apt install nemo
or apt install caja
).