5 Ways to Open or Launch an Application in Debian

The calculator is one of the basic tools of any operating system. The Linux operating system also includes a calculator application, which is perfectly sufficient for basic use. You can solve both simple and complex mathematical equations. By default, the calculator application in Linux appears in a simple mode. However, to perform more advanced calculations, you can switch to different modes, such as advanced mode, financial mode, and programming mode.

If you use the calculator regularly, you may find ways to start it with a method that best suits your needs. In this article, we'll explain 5 different methods you can use to open an application in your Linux operating system. The methods described include opening the application both from the GUI and from the terminal.

We have used Debian 11 as the operating system to describe the methods described in this article.

Method 1: Launch Apps using Terminal

The Terminal is an easy way to launch applications in Linux. To open an application via Terminal, Simply open the Terminal and type the application name.

To open the Terminal, go to the Activities tab located on the top left corner of the desktop. Then in the search bar, type terminal. When the Terminal icon appears, click on it to launch it. Type the below command in it to launch the calculator:

$ gnome-calculator

Gnome Calculator

Method 2: Using the Run Command dialog

Run Command dialog provides a quick way of opening an application without opening the Terminal. It is already built-in to all Linux distributions. To access it, just press Alt+F2.

If you want to run a quick command, it will instantly open a dialog box, type the below command and hit enter:

$ gnome-terminal

It will launch the calculator application instantly.

Gnome Terminal

Method 3: Using the keyboard shortcut

If you frequently use the calculator application, you can set a keyboard shortcut for it to quickly launch it. To create a shortcut, go to the Activities tab on the top left corner of your desktop. In the search bar, type keyboard. From the results, select the Keyboard option as shown in the below image.

Create Keyboard Shortcut

It will open up a window. From its right pane, click on Launch calculator option.

Keyboard shortcut settings

A dialog box will appear for you to set a shortcut for calculator application. Press the keys simultaneously you wish to use for the shortcut.

Set Shortcut

Once done, click on the Set button.

Enter new shortcut

Now whenever you need to use the calculator, just press the shortcut keys and the calculator will open instantly.

Method 4: From the Applications list

Ubuntu list of applications include the Gnome calculator application. To access the list of applications, click on the Activities tab on the top left corner of your desktop, then on the down left corner of your desktop, you will see dotted icons. Click on that to view the list of installed applications.

GNOME application list

Here you will find your Gnome calculator application.

List of installed Linux applications on GNOME Desktop

Method # 5 Using the Application Launcher Search

Another way to open up a calculator application in Debian is by using the Application launcher search. It can help you to find any installed application and system utilities.

To find calculator application using the application launcher search, hit the super keys and in the search bar, type calculator. Then from the search results that appear, simply click the calculator application.

Search for an application

In this article, we have discussed different ways to open a calculator application. You can try and use any method which you find more convenient.