I've recently been playing around with launchers in Ubuntu. One of my most used applications is Apache2. Primarily because the development I do on my laptop uses Apache2.
Anyway, I love the idea of having a shortcut on my launcher to control Apache2.
Here's what I did:
Text Snippet:
$ gedit /home/roger/Desktop/apache_launcher.desktop
Put this content in the code:
Text Snippet:
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Apache2 Control
GenericName=Apache2 Control
X-GNOME-FullName=Apache2 Control
Comment=Start, Stop, Restart, Force Reload, Reload Apache2
Exec=notify-send 'Apache2 Controller' 'This is a launcher application. Pin to your launcher and right click.'
Icon=emblem-web
Terminal=false
Type=Application
StartupNotify=true
X-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts=Start;Stop;Restart;Reload;Force-Reload
[Start Shortcut Group]
Name=Start
Exec=gksu service apache2 start
TargetEnvironment=Unity
[Stop Shortcut Group]
Name=Stop
Exec=gksu service apache2 stop
TargetEnvironment=Unity
[Restart Shortcut Group]
Name=Restart
Exec=gksu service apache2 restart
TargetEnvironment=Unity
[Reload Shortcut Group]
Name=Reload
Exec=gksu service apache2 reload
TargetEnvironment=Unity
[Force-Reload Shortcut Group]
Name=Force Reload
Exec=gksu service apache2 force-reload
TargetEnvironment=Unity
Now, save the file and head back to the terminal.
Text Snippet:
$ sudo mv /home/roger/Desktop/apache_launcher.desktop /usr/share/applications
$ cd /usr/share/applications
$ sudo chmod 644 apache_launcher.desktop
$ sudo chown root:root apache_launcher.desktop
Now, if you open your applications list. Search for 'Apache' and you'll see a Globe icon. Drag this over to your launcher.
Right click on it, and you'll see the options of control.
Hope this helps you out!