How do I create a desktop application for ROS?

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UPDATE

Check this repository for a complete example including automatic desktop/icon file install : https://gitlab.com/InstitutMaupertuis...

Read below if you want to manually create a desktop launcher.

First, create a directory for your icons, then copy the application icon to the directory:

sudo mkdir /usr/local/share/icons -p
sudo cp ros.png /usr/local/share/icons/

After that we need to create a .desktop file:

sudo mkdir /usr/local/share/applications/ -p
sudo gedit /usr/local/share/applications/ros_fanuc_m10ia_support.desktop

Make sure to have ros-indigo-fanuc package installed for this example:

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Fanuc M10iA support
Comment=ROS - Fanuc M10iA support
Exec=bash -c "source /opt/ros/indigo/setup.bash && roslaunch fanuc_m10ia_support test_m10ia.launch"
Icon=/usr/local/share/icons/ros.png
Type=Application
Categories=ROS;
StartupNotify=true

Once this is done, use the Unity launcher and search for fanuc:

Click to launch the application:

You can also pin the application in the launch bar like any other application:

Of course, this process would be ideally incorporated to the install target of your CMake script. This way the launcher would be automatically created at the application installation.