Ubuntu Software Center

launching application from software center

Asked by [mrs_sheep]

Is there a possibility to launch an application directly from the Ubuntu Software Center?

If not, this is what I thought of:
Just like if I install something new and i want to use it immediately there should be "Run now" button or something.
There already is "Add to launcher" (as for 11.04) but I think most people install software to use it,
so it would be more comfortable if there was some launcher.

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Gary Lasker
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Best Gary Lasker (gary-lasker) said : 		#1

Hi Clemens, thank you for your suggestion. Indeed, this has been considered carefully already, with the conclusion of the designer of Software Center being that launching apps from Software Center is not something that we ought to support. The reason is that Software Center is not meant to be a launcher for applications, therefore it's preferred to show people the recommended way to launch applications (that is, via the Unity launcher when Unity is running, or via the menus otherwise) than to provide a secondary launcher capability inside Software Center. The "Add to Launcher" popup is our attempt to address this issue directly.

Thanks again!

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[mrs_sheep] (mrs-sheep) said : 		#2

I get really get your point, but i think there is a huge difference between "Add to launcher" which is for prefered apps only, and the launch now - most software you install is software you just in some occasion, and one of these occasion made you install it.

So, thank you, you solved my question, but i'd kindly ask to think about some option for the lazy guys like me to launch it. [We already now how to use unity ;) ]

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[mrs_sheep] (mrs-sheep) said : 		#3

Thanks Gary Lasker, that solved my question.

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Gary Lasker (gary-lasker) said : 		#4

Hey Clemens! I do appreciate your point and I think for many folks a "launch now" button would be very convenient. However, the concern is for those folks who may not be as computer-savvy, for whom a "launch now" button might be misconstrued as the recommended way to launch applications. It's important that folks don't feel they need to launch Software Center in order to launch applications that they have installed.

Still, it has been requested on a few occasions so we might do well to consider how we might accomodate this use case.

Thanks again and best regards,
Gary

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[mrs_sheep] (mrs-sheep) said : 		#5

Hey Gary,
as you said "computer-savvy" it occured to me that the solution had to be easy to use but hard to find: A shortcut!
There should be a menu item somewhere so that people could find it.
Hope it will come in some future release ;)
Clemens

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Horst F JENS (horst.jens) said : 		#6

I also recommand a "launch application" button or shortcut. The whole point of writing / viewing reviews is lost if you can not access this reviews in the application menu. The "education" of users about the correct way to launch an application can be solved by displaying a text message or a little graphic.
-Horst

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Gary Lasker (gary-lasker) said : 		#7

Hello Horst, thanks for your comment. I am not sure that I understand what you mean when you say "The whole point of writing / viewing reviews is lost if you can not access this reviews in the application menu.". Could you maybe clarify that a little further? The reason that I am confused by that statement is that I don't see how reviews are related the launching of applications from within Software Center.

Many thanks,
Gary

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Horst F JENS (horst.jens) said : 		#8

Hi Gary, sorry for my unclear writing:

If i download & install several apps (like all action games) using synaptic or software center i tend to NOT know all them by heart but have to figure out what works, what is good etc.
In the new ubuntu start menu i see name & icons of the installed programs but i see neither the application description from software center / synaptic nor do i see the user-reviews from Ubuntu-Software center.

both description and review would be helpful to figure out what program to start.

Having a "launch" button in the ubuntu software center would make this process more comfortable until the user know wich software to start until he can remember from the name of the program and its icon what it does.

Of course this problem could also be solved by integrating access to program description / user review (and ideally, uninstall button) direct from the ubuntu application menu; however i feel that it is far less complicated to include a simple launch button into the ubuntu software center.

This would also smooth program-testing after an distro-upgrade:
User installs all his favorite apps and some new apps using ubuntu software center. then he could launch them (without need to leave ubuntu software center and access the cumbersome ubuntu app menu) , see if it works or not with the new distro and instantly write review ( and ideally, find a link to launchpad to write bug report).

Generally, i don't think it is such a bad idea to launch software from the ubuntu software center instead of from the ubuntu application menu. As long as the user gets an hint that there exist shortcuts / menu entry, let him do what he want to do instead trying to "educate" users into a certain behavoir. If you think about it, the ubuntu software center is indeed a better place for newbies to launch software, because they can see description, screenshot and reviews of a program before launching it.
Sometimes programs do not respond after launching from the menu; if instead launching from ubuntu software center the user could see reviews indicating this problem and would feel less lost.

-Horst