#!/usr/bin/env xdg-open
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Dolphin
GenericName=File Manager
Type=Application
Exec=dolphin
Icon=dolphin.png
Category=System;

• The Name field specifies the name of the application
• The GenericName field specifies a description of the application
• The Type field specifies the type of the application
• The Exec field specifies the executable program or script to be launched when running the desktop file
• The Icon field specifies the icon to be used by the desktop file

Usually desktop environments will recognize a desktop file and display its name from the Name section instead of the filename which could be something like launch-dolphin.desktop.

All you have to do is create such a desktop file using a text editor like Gedit or Nano, and also make sure to give execute permissions to your desktop file, e.g. chmod 755 launch-dolphin.desktop, so the program xdg-open will be ran automatically. You can then drag and drop your desktop files on the desktop or to a panel.

Here is an example for running an application in System Tray using the AllTray program, using the command alltray dolphin:

#!/usr/bin/env xdg-open
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Dolphin (SysTray)
GenericName=File Manager
Type=Application
Exec=alltray dolphin
Icon=dolphin.png
Category=System;

AllTray is an application docker and it will integrate any graphical application in the system tray. For terminal applications, follow the next example.

Or, for example to run a terminal application, using alltray konsole -e irssi, which will launch Konsole and start up the IRC client Irssi inside it:

#!/usr/bin/env xdg-open
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Irssi
GenericName=File Manager
Type=Application
Exec=alltray konsole -e irssi
Icon=xterm.png
Category=Internet;

Creating a Desktop File in KDE

That is all. If you right-click your desktop file now and open it with a text editor, it should look something like this, pretty much the same as creating it manually: