ubuntu/fedora: how do I add applications in the menus?

Question

What files and where do I need to drop those in the filsystem hierarchy in order to add an application to Ubuntu or Fedora?

I am creating a .deb package and I would like it to appear in the "Other" menu. How do I achieve this?

Answer 1

Freedesktop.org (which provides some standards that GNOME and KDE conform to) says that shortcuts should appear in .desktop files. You can find out where an existing package puts its .desktop file(s) by using your system's package manager. For example, on Fedora:

$ rpm -ql transmission | grep desktop\$
/usr/share/applications/transmission.desktop

http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Howto%5Fdesktop%5Ffiles is a tutorial that should help you get started.