Launchers

A launcher is an object that performs a specific action when you open it.

You can find launchers in the panels, in the panel menubar, and on the desktop. A launcher is represented by an icon in all of these locations.

You might use a launcher to do any of the following:

Start a particular application.
Execute a command.
Open a folder.
Open a Web browser at a particular page on the Web.
Open special Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs). The GNOME Desktop contains special URIs that enable you to access particular functions from the file manager.

You can modify the properties of a launcher. For example, the properties of a launcher include the name of the launcher, the icon that represents the launcher, and how the launcher runs. For more on this, see Section 4.5.2 ― Modifying a Launcher.

In certain situations, a launcher in a menu might not show an icon. For example, if it specifies no icon to display, or if the entire menu is set to show no icons.