How To Install Appmenu For KRunner In Kubuntu

If you want to try out the new Appmenu Runner (HUD-like functionality for KDE) in Kubuntu, here's how to install it from source.

The instructions below have been tested on both Kubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot and 12.04 Precise Pangolin, using KDE 4.8 (see how to install the latest KDE 4.8 in Kubuntu 11.10, HERE).

Before proceeding, please note that in my test, Appmenu Runner only worked if the menu wasn't displayed in the application window - I'm not sure if this is how it's supposed to work or if it's a bug. So for now (?), you'll have to either add "Window Menubar" to a panel or install Oxygen Appmenu, or else Appmenu for KRunner won't work:

Ok, now let's start the Appmenu Runner installation in Kubuntu 11.10 / 12.04:

1. Install the required dependencies:

sudo apt-get install libdbusmenu-qt-dev kdelibs5-dev appmenu-qt cmake pkg-config pkg-kde-tools libqt4-dev build-essential git-core

2. Get the Appmenu KRunner plugin source:

cd
git clone git://anongit.kde.org/scratch/afiestas/appmenu.git

3. Now let's compile it:

cd appmenu
mkdir build
cd build
cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=`kde4-config --prefix`
make
sudo make install

Once installed, log out and log back in. You should now have a new KRunner plugin called "Appmenu action launcher" (it should be enabled by default):

To use it, select an application, press ALT + F2 and type the menu action you want to perform.