How to edit app shortcuts in the Ubuntu app menu

Have you ever wanted to edit app shortcuts on Ubuntu? Don’t understand how to do it? We can help! Follow along with this guide as we show you how you can edit app shortcuts in the Ubuntu app menu.

Note: the Alacarte menu editor works on all Ubuntu flavors, not just the main release of Ubuntu. It will also work on all Linux operating systems based on Ubuntu, and even other Linux OSes too. For more information about Alacarte, click here.

Installing Alacarte

The Alacarte menu editor must be installed on your Ubuntu PC. To install the Alacarte program, open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Shift + T or Ctrl + Alt + T on the keyboard. Then, use the Apt command below to install the program.

sudo apt install alacarte

Don’t want to use the command-line in Ubuntu? Here’s how to install the Alacarte application with the GUI, broken down in an easy to understand, step-by-step process.

Step 1: Open up Ubuntu Software Center by searching for it in the app menu on your Ubuntu PC.

Step 2: Allow Ubuntu Software Center to load up. When it finishes loading up, look for the search box, and click on it with the mouse to access the search function for the Software Center.

Step 3: Type in “Alacarte” in the search box. Then, press the Enter key. Pressing Enter will allow you to run a search in Ubuntu’s software sources for the Alacarte menu editor program.

Step 4: Look through the search results for the “Alacarte” application, then click on it with the mouse. By clicking on “Alacarte” in the search results, you’ll go to the app’s installation page in Ubuntu Software Center.

Step 5: Look for the “Install” button, and click on it with the mouse to start the installation of the Alacarte menu editor application on your Ubuntu PC.

Step 6: After you click on the “Install” button in Ubuntu Software Center, you will see a password prompt window appear on the screen. Enter the password of your current user into the prompt, and press Enter on the keyboard to submit it.

Once you enter your password into the prompt, Ubuntu Software Center will begin installing the Alacarte application to your Ubuntu Linux PC. Sit back and be patient, as it may take a couple of seconds to install fully.

When the installation of Alacarte is complete, look for the “Launch” button in Ubuntu Software Center to instantly start up the program!

Edit app shortcuts in the Ubuntu app menu

To edit app shortcuts in the Ubuntu app menu, open up Alacarte on the Ubuntu desktop. To do this, press Win on the keyboard, search for “Alacarte” in the menu, and click on it to launch. Then, follow the step-by-step instructions below.

Note: if you can’t find Alacarte in the app menu, press Alt + F2 to open up the quick launcher. Then, type in the alacarte command and press the Enter key to launch the program.

Step 1: Inside Alacarte, you will see the entire Ubuntu application menu separated into individual categories. There are many different categories available. Look through the categories and click on the one that has the app shortcut you want to edit on Ubuntu.

Step 2: After clicking on the application shortcut in Alacarte, find the “Properties” button, and select it. Clicking on “Properties” will bring up a “Launcher Properties” window.

Step 3: Inside of the “Launcher Properties” window, make your edits. To change the name of a program on your Ubuntu PC, find “Name” and change the name in the text box. Or, change the command by clicking on the “Command” box. Change the program icon by clicking on the existing icon on the left.

Step 4: Click the “OK” button when done editing your application shortcut in Alacarte. Ubuntu should automatically update the changes made.

Deleting app shortcuts

You may want to delete an application from Ubuntu’s app menu outright so that it no longer shows up. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Look through the categories on the left and select the one that has the app shortcut you want to delete from the Ubuntu app menu.

Step 2: Select the application shortcut in Alacarte with the mouse.

Step 3: Find the “Delete” button on the right-hand side, and click on it with the mouse to remove the shortcut from the Ubuntu app menu, and from your Ubuntu PC’s filesystem itself.