desktop-file-utils-0.11

The XDG Base Directory specification defines the standard locations for applications to place data and configuration files. These files can be used, for instance, to define the menu structure and menu items in a desktop environment.

The default location for configuration files to be installed is /etc/xdg, and the default locations for data files are /usr/local/share and /usr/share. These locations can be extended with the environment variables XDG_CONFIG_DIRS and XDG_DATA_DIRS, respectively. The GNOME, KDE and XFCE environments respect respect these settings. Update the XDG_DATA_DIRS (if necessary) and XDG_CONFIG_DIRS environment variables so that the additional MIME-types application databases and desktop menu files are properly maintained and discovered by adding the following to the system-wide or personal profile:

For GNOME:

XDG_DATA_DIRS=$GNOME_PREFIX/share:/usr/local/share:/usr/share
XDG_CONFIG_DIRS=/etc/gnome/2.14.3/xdg:/etc/xdg
export XDG_DATA_DIRS XDG_CONFIG_DIRS

For KDE:

XDG_DATA_DIRS=$KDE_PREFIX/share:/usr/local/share:/usr/share
XDG_CONFIG_DIRS=/etc/kde/xdg:/etc/xdg
export XDG_DATA_DIRS XDG_CONFIG_DIRS

For XFCE, the default locations should be appropriate if the instructions in the BLFS book were followed.

When a package installs a .desktop file to a location in one the base data directories, a database mapping MIME-types to available applications can be updated. For instance, the cache file at /usr/share/applications/mimeinfo.cache can be rebuilt by executing the following command as the root user:

update-desktop-database /usr/share/applications