AppFinder -Floating Menu with description of Applications

[mikeslr]

AppFinder.png (105.33 KiB) Viewed 1738 times

Like a StartMenu*, AppFinder displays a list of applications but adds the description provided as a "Comment" in /usr/share/applications/...desktop files for each application. Very handy if you're new to Linux and don't know what each application does. Even handier if you install the Menus under xfce from here, http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic. ... 426#961426 so that applications built for Puppys will be assigned to categories xfce understands. Or install this pet.

xfce_read-jwm.pet

(2.17 KiB) Downloaded 83 times

In most instances use the pet. The difference is that doing it manually will enable you to create a backup of the file it will replace; and manually you could install it to /etc; while the pet installs to /root which has priority.

Its Search box will help if your recall the application's name --or part of it-- but not to which Category the application will appear under. Start typing and all meeting your search criteria will appear, removed as you type more. The Search also 'searches' the 'Comment=' argument of application's desktop files, displaying applications if the 'Comment=' argument includes your search term.
Optionally, you can 'bookmark' your favorite applications on its GUI.

AFAIK, AppFinder is available via the Puppy Package Manager in all Puppys. It shows up as xfce4-AppFinder, but despite that 'xfce4' designation runs under all Puppys without installing a great deal of xfce infrastructure**.

I've published some versions merely so that Users could avoid some 'house-keeping'. IIRC, all that involved was renaming /usr/share/applications/xfce-appfinder.desktop --or something like that-- to Appfinder.desktop; and editing the contents of that file so that it would show up in the Filesystem Category, displayed the icon and --when I remembered-- included the Menus under xfce file in either or both the locations for it.

But don't wait for me to do it for your favorite Puppy. It's an easy to do even for a Newbie: a great first project.

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* You can assign it to a launcher on your Tastkbar/Panel next to your StartMenu. But the GUI isn't 'locked' to that location. Perhaps someone could figure out how to configure it to do that. I think this is configuration file /root/.config/xfce/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfce4-appfinder.xml. It reads:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<channel name="xfce4-appfinder" version="1.0">
<property name="last" type="empty">
<property name="window-height" type="int" value="590"/>
<property name="window-width" type="int" value="721"/>
<property name="pane-position" type="int" value="180"/>
</property>
</channel>
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** 10 files which, if combined, produce a 1066 K pet.

[dancytron]

I use it instead of the menu most of the time.

[mikeslr]

I don't use it often. But I place it on the Taskbar next to the Menu; which I also don't use often. I find it particularly handy when I can't remember if an application was assigned to "Setup", "System", "Utilities" or even "Desktop". Just launch AppFinder and begin typing the application's name in the Search Box.

[JASpup]

I used to use AppFinder in JWM before I found Find'n'Run booting newer pups.

My main problem using AppFinder is missing apps. It is not clear how the search database is populated.

[mikeslr]

That's why I spent hours writing the 'xfce-menu' file and published it: so that Puppy Users running xfce window manager or using AppFinder would have a useful display of Applications: their names and purpose. viewtopic.php?p=21369#p21369.
AppFinder's Search facility 'reads' both the name and comment arguments of the desktop files, and displays any which match the search criteria within the chosen Category or --if All Applications is selected-- all desktop files. Note, the below which used the Search term 'edit' with "All Applications" selected:

AppFinder-Search.png (125.88 KiB) Viewed 1719 times