Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

trio · Last edited by trio on Fri 18 Feb 2011, 21:27; edited 3 times in total

Ever wonder how to create a menu entry for your executables?

This simple tool (a simple "coming back" project that doesn't consume too much time) may help you ....

install the pet, run fixmenus (for older puppies) and restart window manager

Menu entry is under utility or you can run the command "menumaker"

Test as you like .....

Oh yes, it's made in LUPU 520

Cheers

v1.1 - Delete a menu entry function

DaveS · Joined: 09 Oct 2008 Posts: 3726 Location: UK

Thanks Trio... loads easier than creating a .desktop file by hand Smile

Bert · Joined: 30 Jun 2006 Posts: 1105

+1!

Very nice tool.
What's more, it works! Smile

One little thing, while installing the pet it says it will be installed in Setup.
But it installs in Utilities...

Which is of course equally logical..

While using your Pet for the first time, I managed to make a mistake: I forgot to change the bottom entry to the appropriate category, so now I have a menu entry in multimedia, which should be in Internet.
Rolling Eyes

What do you think about a Menumaker's counterpart, called e.g. MenuCleaner..? Or Menumaker having an added functionality: removing menu-entries that are no longer needed? (Ah these Puppy users, you give them one great thing and they start asking for another.. Embarassed

)

A more technical quesion: If you want to add a mini-icon to the menu-entry, does it have to be located in /usr/local/lib/X11/mini-icons? I tried to link to an icon somewhere else on the drive (carefully entering the correct path) and it wasn't shown in the menu. I realize this is not a Menumaker question, but maybe someone reading this has the answer ready Wink

?

Thanks again Trio!

trio · Posted: Fri 18 Feb 2011, 19:52 Post subject:

DaveS
Welcome!
Laughing

Bert
Great it works! Very Happy

Now to answer your questions:
about the icons, I KNOW that you can use other icons, but they should adhere the puppy's rule, maybe this is the answer:

Barry K:

trio · Posted: Fri 18 Feb 2011, 21:24 Post subject:

Version 1.1 - add function to delete a menu entry

Download at mainpost

`f00 · Last edited by `f00 on Sat 19 Feb 2011, 04:54; edited 1 time in total

Hmm, really truly deleting? (beware the whiteout, but you knew that - surprising how often n00Bs take awhile to get that concept when entries come back all walking undead Laughing

)

Build in a function to keep a particular wm from 'shotgunning' categories and other messing about and you're my hero.

I suppose it might be done to create symlinks to 'uncommon' icon locations (but there always seems to be yet another when you think you cover them all) and it gets unwieldy or may even create an overabundance of syms (like pfbpanel did at one time and yes it did miss my favorite dumping ground /usr/share/pixmaps which is pretty simple to remember for me)

Categories can be weird as well but mostly xdg is standard fare for most menu systems that do a good job at giving puppy users a menu that's familiar and useful. Or goes by mru-favorites or however.

Will give it a run (but I just got almost all my manual updating done).

addenda
#commenting out the category line is an acceptable method for 'nulling' an entry respected by most systems (but not fully effective for those few with an "other" or catchall/miscellaneous category, :sigh: ), this avoids the whiteout conundrum (and keeps the file on hold just in case there's a change of heart, simpler to uncomment). If the whole app is definitely not wanted, like those big ones that don't work out or for whatever reason hopefully the dotpet will uninstall clean or you did make a backup, right?

cheers, anyway Smile

GustavoYz · Joined: 07 Jul 2010 Posts: 894 Location: .ar

Great Idea, going to see how it works for me...
It could be useful for 'pet packaging' too.
Thanks.

sheldonisaac · Joined: 21 Jun 2009 Posts: 586 Location: Philadelphia, PA

(PORTIONS SNIPPED)

amigo · Joined: 02 Apr 2007 Posts: 2544

Boy, glad I downloaded the original version, since the thing already seems to be drifting in its purpose -next thing we'll see that the tool becomes a general backup-snapshot-remote_installer-desktop_animation_setter-disk_defragger thingy....
LOL, I'm just remembering what happened when someone decided puppy needed a trash can and it wound up being a backup/snapshot/restoration thingy by the time it was finished -but of course you couldn't use it to actually delete any files....

Bert · Joined: 30 Jun 2006 Posts: 1105

Sylvander · Posted: Sun 20 Feb 2011, 07:50 Post subject:

PROBLEM!

See this.

1. Installed the menumaker program, and used it to put a menu item in place for dldflash.

2. It made the menu item OK, but the menu item failed to run dldflash.
In fact dldflash then no longer worked.

3. Used menumaker to delete the menu item.
That worked OK.

4. Used menumaker to re-make the menu item with the same result as before.

5. Rebooted the Puppy [lupu-520-ataflash] and chose to not save the session at shut-down.
Once back into the Puppy...
The menu items were gone...
But the menumaker command was still functional.
And the dldflash command was now functional.

6. See this regarding lupu-520-ataflash...
The Lupu is booted using a live CD-RW disk, that uses a lupusave on an internal HDD...
But the isolinux.cfg file in the ISO used to make the CD has been edited to make the Puppy treat the lupusave file on the HDD as though it were a lupusave on a Flash Drive...
Then this change and this change have both been made so that I can choose to not save any changes to the session.

trio · Posted: Sun 20 Feb 2011, 08:06 Post subject:

Sylvander,
Smile

are you sure there's a problem with this app ... Nothing fancy about this simple app, it only creates a xxx.desktop file, then run fixmenus ... Nothing more ...

So, if you have problem eith this tool, you must have problems also when installing apps with menu entries ...

I'm not with puppy ... I'm posting from blackberry ... Sorry ..

big_bass · Joined: 13 Aug 2007 Posts: 1742

Hey trio
Glad to see you posting again

heres a link to a something doing the same functions *except make the desktop
*I would like to edit the code to edit inside the boxes like you have going
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=57805&start=22

here is a better way to handle the menu items so as they dont get deleted by removing the .desktop entry they just get moved safely to another directory but can be returned when you wish http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=40277

I added a fix to auto refresh the menu and added a patch from jemimah
for TXZ pup a great app trapster made
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=40277&start=39

I posted these because the part I like about your code is editing inside the boxes and the drop down box for the choices combining all these good features will make even a better app

the 16*16 images are standard on "puppy" but not standard for an official linux package(but 48*48 should be the minimum size )JWM will resize images anyway and the increased size of larger images is outweighed by having to rebuild all the packages because of non standard image sizes using those micro images also it should be noted that *.png for images should be used instead of *.xpm

thanks for posting your code

Joe

Sylvander · Posted: Sun 20 Feb 2011, 13:27 Post subject:

1. "are you sure there's a problem with this app"
Looks like the problem is with downloadflash-001.pet
See this post.in the Lucid Puppy 5.2 thread.
...And the following posts resulting from that.

Bert · Joined: 30 Jun 2006 Posts: 1105