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How to run multiple instances of an application from the Panel in Cinnamon

Why can't an app pinned to the Panel be launched multiple times?

You can add any application to the Panel by dragging it from the list of applications that opens with the “Menu” (“Start”) button. You can also pin the application icon to the Panel by right-clicking on the open application icon and selecting the “Pin to Panel” option from the context menu.

In this case, the application icon will be pinned to the panel, and you can launch this application at any time by clicking on the icon.

But after launching one instance of the application, when clicking on the same icon, it will alternately hide or show the application, but will not launch a new instance of the same program.

The following animation shows that clicking on the application button alternately shows and hides it:

For some applications, this is really inconvenient! For example, if we want to launch a second instance of LibreOffice Writer, a web browser, or a Terminal, then this cannot be done from the Panel, even though the button for this application is always present there.

The good news is that we can add application launchers to the panel, and we don't need to install anything – everything is already included in the standard Cinnamon Applets. All you need to do is set up Panel Launchers. It's not difficult, and this tutorial will show you step by step how to add an application to Cinnamon to launch from the Panel (Panel Launchers) multiple instances of the same program.

How to add Panel Launchers to Panel in Cinnamon

Right-click on any free space in the Panel and select “Applets” from the context menu that opens.

Enter “Panel Launchers” into the search box, select the found applet and click the “+” button to add this applet to the Panel.

The Panel Launchers applet will appear on the right side of the Panel next to the clock and the “Notifications” applet.

Some application icons can be automatically placed on this applet. You can already use the applet: remove the default icons and add your own applications. But I'm more comfortable when Panel Launchers is located next to the “Menu” button (“Start” button).

Therefore, let's look at how to drag application icons to launch on the Panel to the Menu button.

How to move Panel Launchers to the Menu button

Right-click anywhere in the Panel and select “Panel edit mode” from the context menu that opens.

Now parts of the panel will be highlighted.

You need to grab (press the left mouse button and start dragging without releasing the button) and move the Panel Launchers applet to the desired location.

If you are unable to move the applet, then try to grab it between the application icons.

To make sure you are trying to drag and drop Panel Launchers and not another applet, right-click on it and examine the context menu that opens. If it says “Remove 'Panel launchers'” then it's a Panel Launchers applet.

Now that the Panel Launchers are next to the Menu button, the same apps appear to be duplicated on the Panel.

In fact, some of them are pinned to the Panel but not hosted on Panel Launchers.

To remove them, right-click on the icons and select “Unpin from Panel” from the context menu.

Uninstall every app you don't need on the panel.

If the application icon is placed on Panel Launchers, then the “Unpin from Panel” line will not be in the context menu, instead there will be the “Remove” option.

How to add an app to Panel Launchers

You need to understand the difference between adding an application to a panel and adding an application to Panel Launchers.

When adding an application icon to the Panel (pinned to the Panel), you will not be able to launch more than one instance of the application using this icon.

In the Panel, you can right-click on the icon of an open application and select “Pin to Panel”. But this is not what we need.

Another option to press the Menu button, select the app, right click on it and select “Add to panel” will also not work and will just pin the app to the Panel instead of adding it to the Panel Launchers.

To add an application to Panel Launchers:

  1. Press the Menu (Start) button.
  2. Find the app.
  3. Drag it to the Panel Launchers area.

An example of adding an application to Panel Launchers is shown in the following animation:

Launching Multiple Instances of Applications from the Panel

Now it is enough to click on the application icon to open any number of windows of one application.

The following animation shows this clearly. In it, I open several Terminal windows.

Some programs keep track of the number of running instances and prevent a second instance from starting

Some applications, when they start up, check to see if another instance of the application is already running. And if launched, then a new instance of the same application is not launched.

An example of such a program is System Monitor (gnome-system-monitor).

That is, even from Panel Launchers you will not be able to launch several instances of such programs. This is not a bug in Panel Launchers, but a deliberate desire by the author of the program to prevent multiple windows from launching.

For some programs, this behavior can be changed in the application settings.

Alternatives for Panel Launchers

If the functionality of Panel Launchers is not enough for you, then pay attention to the alternatives:

To get them, right-click on any free space on the Panel.

Then select “Applets” from the context menu that opens.

In the window that opens, go to the “Download” tab.

In the search bar, enter the name or functions of the desired applets.

Download the applets you need and add them to the Panel.


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