Menu entries for not-yet-installed apps

The EasyOS Kirkstone-series is built from packages compiled in a fork of OpenEmbedded/Yocto. There are some great packages in that repository, installable via PKGget.

The problem is that they are "off the radar" for users. For example, there is Scribus desktop publishing and OBS Studio video recording and live streaming. Users just don't realise they are there, and instead look for them as AppImage or Flatpak. The native apps are far superior.

I want to put these apps in front of the eyes, so human users will be aware of their existence. To this end, I am starting to put some of them into the menu. Starting with Scribus...

The previous blog post describes introduction of 'packages-templates/scribus' in the running EasyOS, for proper fixes if Scribus is installed:

https://bkhome.org/news/202307/packages-templates-copied-from-woofq.html

...note, another fix in packages-templates/scribus is 'scribus.desktop' with more translations than is in the original package.

Don't want to get carried away with lots of menu entries for packages that aren't actually installed, just a few. And, they need to be clearly identified as not-yet-installed. I decided that they will have an orange-ball icon:

There is now /usr/share/applications/scribus.desktop that displays in the "Document" menu category, with this orange-ball icon and the text "Scribus desktop publishing". When chosen, it will run /usr/bin/scribus.install, which displays this:

Then if the "INSTALL" button is clicked, PKGget will run:

Here is the commit:

https://github.com/bkauler/woofq/commit/b4466115e7cfa08f2c9c0fd345ce26a446fc93e5

Script 'scribus.install' will install Scribus to run as user "scribus", with home at /home/scribus. It also offers to create a desktop icon.

So, Scribus is no longer hidden away, undiscovered. It is right there, easily discovered, and is now installed with the fixes from packages-templates and runs securely as user "scribus".

Pretty good, but not yet tested. I had a coding marathon until the wee small hours. Now it is morning and I am posting about what has been done while still fresh in the mind. Will test later.

I am planning to add OBS Studio and Dia in the same way, as menu entries with the orange-ball icon.   

Tags: easy