In this article, I keep track of how I installed Sublime Text 2 on my computer(s) running Ubuntu, from download to adding a launcher in Unity sidebar.

Installing

  • Download Sublime from website
    • download linux 64 bit version at http://www.sublimetext.com/2
      • latest version at the time of my writing is 2.0.2
    • save to /opt/INSTALL_MEDIA
  • create /opt/sublimetext directory
cd /opt
sudo mkdir sublimetext
sudo chown lesaint:lesaint sublimetext
  • cp tar file to /opt/sublime, decompress it and create symbolic link to the current version
cp ../INSTALL_MEDIA/Sublime\ Text\ 2.0.2\ x64.tar.bz2 .
tar xvfj Sublime\ Text\ 2.0.2\ x64.tar.bz2
mv Sublime\ Text\ 2 2.0.2
ln -s 2.0.2 sublime

Executing

  • add sublime to local bin directory for convenient command line use
ln -s /opt/sublimetext/sublime/sublime_text /usr/local/bin/sublime
  • create sidebar launcher in Unity
    • create a desktop file in ~/.local/share/applications/ called sublimetext.desktop with following content
    [Desktop Entry]
    Name=Sublime Text 2
    Exec="/opt/sublimetext/sublime/sublime_text" %F
    MimeType=text/plain;
    Terminal=false
    Type=Application
    Icon=/opt/sublimetext/sublime/Icon/256x256/sublime_text.png
    Categories=GNOME;GTK;Utility;TextEditor;Development;
    Actions=New;

    [Desktop Action New]
    Name=New Editor Window
    Exec="/opt/sublimetext/sublime/sublime_text" --new-window
    MimeType=text/plain;
    OnlyShowIn=Unity;
- resources :
    + [http://www.sublimetext.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3457#p43852](http://www.sublimetext.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3457#p43852)
    + [http://www.saintsjd.com/2012/10/create-a-sidebar-launcher-for-sublime-text-2-in-ubuntu-unity/](http://www.saintsjd.com/2012/10/create-a-sidebar-launcher-for-sublime-text-2-in-ubuntu-unity/)

Minimal Sublime tuning

  • Install Package Control extension
  • Keyboard shortcuts
    • make delete line shortcut actually useable
      • default shurtcut ctrl+shift+k can not be used with a single hand
      • open shorcut preferences : Preferences > Key Bindings - User
      • add the following line (which overwrite default's ctrl+d key binding for command find_under_expand)
            { "keys": ["ctrl+d"], "command": "run_macro_file", "args": {"file": "Packages/Default/Delete Line.sublime-macro"} }
  • User preferences

    • I found several nice ideas of tuning Sublime Text there : http://www.synbioz.com/blog/sublime_text
    • open user preferences : Preferences > Settings - User
    • make sure files have trailing new line

          "ensure_newline_at_eof_on_save": true,
          "trim_trailing_white_space_on_save": true
      

    • improve visibility of modified files tabs and hightligh line with cursor

    "highlight_line": true,
    "highlight_modified_tabs": true

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