I just installed Ubuntu 20.04 and it seems to be working OK so far. However I've noticed that /usr/share/applications no longer shows apps installed, in so far as you could view and run them from there. What I see now are desktop configuration files, all shown with a default icon. I noticed the same thing when running Live Ubuntu. I don't see the point of this.
It's not that much of an issue in that I can still use the 'Show Apps' button on the panel to find and launch an application. But in previous versions of Ubuntu, that applications folder was useful on showing the properties of an app so you could see the command needed to launch it from the terminal. That no longer seems possible. Or did something go awry with my installation?
1 Answer
This behaviour indeed has changed in Ubuntu 20.04. Now, the file manager shows .desktop files as what they are: .desktop files. It does not anymore show them as launchers.
It is indeed very personal: for me, this is not an issue. It is a welcome change. The file manager serves to manage files on your drive. So I prefer these launchers also be shown as the files they are. Launching apps indeed is designed to happen in an other place: in the Activities or Applications overview.
So conclusion, do not worry: there is nothing wrong with your installation :-)
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