How can I pass command line arguments to a script through Dash? (14.04)

I recently asked this question about adding a shell script to Dash:

In 14.04 how do I run a bash script I wrote without opening a terminal?

It worked perfectly.

Follow-up question: How can I pass command-line arguments through Dash? Example: In this case, my dash command is named "Panel". The script panels my screen with 8 terminals. Here's an example of the usage:

panel             # Tile the screen with 8 terminal windows.
panel --left      # Tile the left side with 4 terminals
panel --right     # Tile the right side with 4 terminals

And so on. How can I pass arguments like --left or --right through Dash? Ideally I'd like to have this workflow:

• Press the SUPER key
• Type panel --left (for example)
• Dash goes away and the left side is paneled.

Right now it runs the right script, but ignores --left.

Tips?

The problem is that you cannot "run" a .desktop file from Dash with arguments, so the setup exactly like you have in mind is impossible I am afraid. However, assuming your script does take arguments, there are a few elegant alternative options, maybe even better:

1. Save your script in ~/bin

   • remove the extension
   • make it executable

   • run it by pressing AltF2, type the command

     <scriptname> <argument> 
     

2. Create a quicklist in the Unity launcher:
   

   (assuming you saved the script in ~/bin, made it executable and removed the extension as in 1.)

   

   [Desktop Entry]
   Name=name_of_your_script_like_you_see_it_in_Dash
   Exec=<scriptname> <default_argument>
   Icon=/path/to/some/icon
   Type=Application
   
   Actions=Panel;Panel -left;Panel -right;
   
   [Desktop Action Panel]
   Name=Panel
   Exec=<scriptname> <default_argument>
   OnlyShowIn=Unity;
   
   [Desktop Action Panel -left]
   Name=Panel -left
   Exec=<scriptname> <argument_1>
   OnlyShowIn=Unity;
   
   [Desktop Action Panel -left]
   Name=Panel -right
   Exec=<scriptname> <argument_2>
   OnlyShowIn=Unity;
   

   Save it as panel.desktop in ~/.local/share/applications and drag it on to the launcher.

3. Create three different keyboard shortcuts, for example Alt+<, Alt+^, Alt+> to run your script+arguments:

   "System Settings" > "Keyboard" > "Shortcuts" > "Custom Shortcuts"

   Click "+" to add your commands: <scriptname> <argument>

4. Not the most obvious one, but exploring the options, it should be mentioned: you can call a (zenity) option list from Dash:

   

   Type the first character of your option, press return and your script will run with the chosen argument.

   

   Again assuming that you saved the script in ~/bin, made it executable and removed the language extension as in 1.:

   • Copy the script below into an empty file, save it as panel_options.sh, make it executable.

     #!/bin/bash
     
     test=$(zenity --list "1. Panel" "2. Panel -left" "3. Panel -right" --column="Panel options" --title="Panel")
     
     if [[ "$test" = "1. Panel"* ]]; then
         <scriptname> <default_argument>
     elif [[ "$test" = "2. Panel -left"* ]]; then
         <scriptname> <argument_1>
     elif [[ "$test" = "3. Panel -right"* ]]; then
         <scriptname> <argument_2>
     fi
     

   • Create the .desktop file from the code below. In the Icon= line, set the path to your icon, in the Exec= line the path to pane_options.sh, save it as panel.desktop in ~/.local/share/applicatios

     [Desktop Entry]
     Name=Panel
     Exec=/path/to/panel_options.sh
     Icon=/path/to/some/icon
     Type=Application
     StartupWMClass=Zenity