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120 lines
5.2 KiB
Markdown
120 lines
5.2 KiB
Markdown
---
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lang: en
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layout: doc
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permalink: /doc/managing-appvm-shortcuts/
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redirect_from:
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- /en/doc/managing-appvm-shortcuts/
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- /doc/ManagingAppVmShortcuts/
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- /wiki/ManagingAppVmShortcuts/
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ref: 202
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title: Managing AppVm Shortcuts
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---
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Managing shortcuts to applications in AppVMs
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============================================
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For ease of use Qubes aggregates shortcuts to applications that are installed in AppVMs and shows them in one "start menu" in dom0.
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Clicking on such shortcut runs the assigned application in its AppVM.
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To make applications newly installed via the OS's package manager show up in the menu, use the `qvm-sync-appmenus` command (Linux VMs do this automatically):
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`qvm-sync-appmenus vmname`
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After that, select the *Add more shortcuts* entry in the VM's submenu to customize which applications are shown:
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The above image shows that Windows HVMs are also supported (provided that Qubes Tools are installed).
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What if my application has not been automatically included in the list of available apps?
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Some times applications may not have included a `.desktop` file and may not be detected by `qvm-sync-appmenus`.
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Other times, you may want to make a web shortcut available from the Qubes start menu.
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You can manually create new entries in the "available applications" list of shortcuts for all AppVMs based on a TemplateVM.
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To do this:
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1. Open a terminal window to the TemplateVM.
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2. Create a custom `.desktop` file in `/usr/share/applications` (you may need to first create the subdirectory).
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Look in `/usr/share/applications` for existing examples, or see the full [file specification](https://specifications.freedesktop.org/desktop-entry-spec/desktop-entry-spec-latest.html).
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It will be something like:
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```
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[Desktop Entry]
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Version=1.0
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Type=Application
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Terminal=false
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Icon=/usr/share/icons/Adwaita/256x256/devices/scanner.png
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Name=VueScan
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GenericName=Scanner
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Comment=Scan Documents
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Categories=Office;Scanning;
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Exec=vuescan
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```
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3. In dom0, run `qvm-sync-appmenus <TemplateVMName>`.
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4. Go to VM Settings of the AppVM(s) to which you want to add the new shortcut, then the Applications tab.
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Move the newly created shortcut to the right under selected.
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If you only want to create a shortcut for a single AppVM, you can create a custom menu entry instead:
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1. Open a terminal window to Dom0.
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2. Create a custom `.desktop` file in `~/.local/share/applications`.
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Look in the same directory for existing examples, or see the full [file specification](https://specifications.freedesktop.org/desktop-entry-spec/desktop-entry-spec-latest.html).
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You may use `qvm-run` inside the `.desktop` file; see [Behind the scenes](/doc/managing-appvm-shortcuts/#behind-the-scenes) for more details.
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3. Edit the `~/.config/menus/applications-merged/<vmname>-vm.menu` file for the AppVM.
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4. Add a custom menu entry referring to your newly created `.desktop` file.
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~~~
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<Menu>
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<Name>Webmail</Name>
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<Include>
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<Filename>custom.desktop</Filename>
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</Include>
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</Menu>
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~~~
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What about applications in DispVMs?
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-----------------------------------
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[See here](/doc/disposablevm-customization/).
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Fixing shortcuts
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----------------
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First, try this in dom0:
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```
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$ qvm-appmenus --update --force <vm_name>
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```
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If that doesn't work, you can manually modify the files in `~/.local/share/applications/` or `/usr/local/share/applications/`.
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For example, suppose you've deleted `my-old-vm`, but there is a leftover Application Menu shortcut, and you find a related file in `~/.local/share/applications/`.
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In dom0:
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```
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$ rm -i ~/.local/share/applications/my-old-vm-*
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```
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Behind the scenes
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-----------------
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`qvm-sync-appmenus` works by invoking *GetAppMenus* [Qubes service](/doc/qrexec/) in the target domain.
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This service enumerates installed applications and sends formatted info back to the dom0 script (`/usr/libexec/qubes-appmenus/qubes-receive-appmenus`) which creates .desktop files in the AppVM/TemplateVM directory.
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For Linux VMs the service script is in `/etc/qubes-rpc/qubes.GetAppMenus`.
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In Windows it's a PowerShell script located in `c:\Program Files\Invisible Things Lab\Qubes OS Windows Tools\qubes-rpc-services\get-appmenus.ps1` by default.
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The list of installed applications for each AppVM is stored in dom0's `~/.local/share/qubes-appmenus/<vmname>/apps.templates`.
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Each menu entry is a file that follows the [.desktop file format](https://standards.freedesktop.org/desktop-entry-spec/desktop-entry-spec-latest.html) with some wildcards (*%VMNAME%*, *%VMDIR%*).
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Applications selected to appear in the menu are stored in `~/.local/share/qubes-appmenus/<vmname>/apps`.
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Actual command lines for the menu shortcuts involve `qvm-run` command which starts a process in another domain.
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Examples: `qvm-run -q -a --service -- %VMNAME% qubes.StartApp+7-Zip-7-Zip_File_Manager` or `qvm-run -q -a --service -- %VMNAME% qubes.StartApp+firefox`
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Note that you can create a shortcut that points to a .desktop file in your AppVM with e.g. `qvm-run -q -a --service -- personal qubes.StartApp+firefox`.
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