Summer

This is a simple tutorial on how to make any program to start up by default in Ubuntu:

1. Start up the program you want to add in the startup.
2. Open a terminal window and type the following command:xprop | grep WM_CLASSYou will notice that your cursor will change to a cross-hair. Now click on the Application which you want to be added in the startup. You will get a string back like this: WM_CLASS(STRING) = “application”, “Application”

   I got this when I clicked on my Terminal window which I am using with Tilda

   

   Screenshot Tilda Ubuntu

   the first string tells the command for terminal is tilda.

3. Now you need the path for the application. To get the path, use the “which” command in terminal. For eg. which tilda will return me the path to the program on my machine. Just substitute whatever the first string you got in place of “tilda”
4. The system will reply a path like : /usr/bin/tilda. In your case it will be your application path.
5. Copy the path and open the Session Manager from System > Preferences > Sessions. You will see a window like below:
   

   screenshot-sessions-preferences

6. Click on the add button on the right and add the path you copied from the terminal window into the window
   

   Adding a Program to Startup in Ubuntu

7. That’s it. Logoff and login again. You will find the application you added in the Session Manager will start by default.

The first thing I discovered after my crossover from Windows was that I have to make the Ubuntu Terminal my friend. I have been running away from the DOS prompt since I first learnt Windows back in 2002. Since then I have always been assisted by UI replacements to do all the work I should have been using the Terminal for. But after Ubuntu happened, I have had to use the Terminal pretty regularly for everything. So, I decided to put together a small list of commands I learned in the first few days I have started using Ubuntu:

The Ubuntu Terminal can be found in Applications » Accessories » Terminal. A terminal is in a way very similar to a file manager in that it’s always inside a specific folder and is able to navigate to other folders and do regular file management. By default it’s inside my home folder when I run it. To confirm that my terminal is indeed browsing my home folder, I need to type pwd ending with a press on enter. The pwd command outputs the path to the current folder.

If I want to see a list of files and directories inside the current directory, I need to run the command “ls”. If I want to navigate up the directory tree, I run “cd ..”(cd space dot dot.) If I want to navigate down the directory tree, I run “cd directoryName” where directoryName is the name of the folder I want to navigate to. For example: if I am inside my home folder and there’s a directory called “movies” inside it, I will have to run “cd movies” to go into that directory. If I want to go back I have to run “cd ..”(cd space dot dot.) If I ever get lost all I have to do is run “cd” by itself; this will take me back to my home folder.