Linux Mint 12: Add and Edit Main Menu Items
Customizing the Linux Mint 12 Main Menu
The default main menu within Linux Mint 12 presents a comprehensive selection of options. However, users may desire to personalize this menu by adding, removing, or rearranging its components. To accomplish these modifications, a dedicated menu editor program, known as Alacarte, is required.
Installing Alacarte
Notably, Alacarte is not included as a standard installation in Linux Mint. Fortunately, it remains readily accessible through the Software Manager for straightforward installation.
Begin by navigating to Applications, then selecting Other, and finally choosing Software Manager.
Within the Software Manager window, locate the Search box. Type “alacarte” into this field – quotation marks are unnecessary. Results will appear dynamically as you type.
Click on the “alacarte” result displayed in the search results.
On the Alacarte screen, initiate the installation process by clicking the Install button.
System authentication is required to proceed with software installation. Enter your user password in the Password field of the Authenticate dialog box and then click Authenticate.
The installation progress will be visually indicated at the bottom of the Software Manager window.
Upon completion of the installation, the Alacarte screen may not immediately reflect the updated status. It might still indicate “Not installed” despite successful installation. To verify, click the Search results arrow within the breadcrumbs at the top of the window.
Selecting “alacarte” from the list of results again should now display the correct status: “Installed,” accompanied by a Remove button for uninstallation, if desired.
To close the Software Manager, select Close from the File menu.
Using the Alacarte Menu Editor
To launch the Alacarte menu editor, navigate to Applications, then Other, and finally select Main Menu.
The Main Menu window will appear. The left pane lists all available menu categories. Selecting a category in the left pane displays its corresponding items in the right pane.
Items displayed in italics in either list are currently hidden from the menu. To make a hidden item visible, simply select the checkbox to its left.
To add a new item to a specific menu category, select that category and click the New Item button.
The Create Launcher dialog box will be displayed. Ensure that “Application” is selected in the Type drop-down list if you are adding a program. You can also add a Location (or folder) to the menu. Enter a descriptive name for the application in the Name field; this name will appear on the menu.
To specify the command to execute when the menu item is selected, click the Browse button and locate the executable file for the program. A comment can be added in the Comment field, which will appear as a tooltip when hovering over the menu item.
Click OK to save the new menu item.
As an example, we added RedNotebook to the Other menu category.
By default, menu items are arranged alphabetically. However, Alacarte allows you to customize this order and move items within each submenu. Separators can also be added to visually group items. This provides a flexible way to tailor the main menu in Linux Mint to your specific workflow.