How can I quickly find an application that's already installed, when I cannot find it through the "Applications" main menu?

 In synaptic you can see all packagers installed with aptitude,apt-get or synaptic.Type name of package and you will see if package is installed or not.

zvacet: My question is not yet answered (though, of course, I thank you for your reply).
___I know that I can check which packages are installed through the way you described. My question is that AFTER I've installed a package, and I want to then USE it, I do not know how to access it; i.e. "where is the icon I can click to pop up the window in which I can begin to use it.
___I am an English Teacher who would like to set up a Linux workstation to be able to teach English over the Internet. If you can help in another way towards this larger goal, please let me know. In circumstances in which helpers like you contribute towards something that results in an income for me, I don't like to accept free help. So if there is any way you can help me to set myself up as an English Teacher delivering lessons over the Internet, I should---and will---arrange for fair payments to be sent to you from the proceeds of any income derived from the afore-mentioned work. Thanks in advance.==Regards, "SharrisCousin"

Hi,

Some packages, after being installed, add themselves an icon/menu element to the menu list under Applications, some others don't !

For the packages that do not show in the applications's menu, open a terminal (Applications > Accessories) then type the package name which, usually, is the command to start the program.

You may find the name of the packgae/program using the command "apropos" followed by a blank space and a descriptor of the thing your program should do. Example type in terminal

apropos gstreamer

will show you a set of program names in relation with gstreamer

Hope that helps.

I forgot to add:

Once you've found that program name, you may either create a launcher for it or add it to the menu list of applications, but that's an other question.

@ SharrisCousin

Look at http://ubuntu-tutorials.com/2008/11/03/enable-apple-isight-camera-ubuntu-810/ or https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MactelSupportTeam/AppleiSight

I hope it will be helpful to you.

@VuDoQuynh:
Your answer has just led to one success: I installed Banshee via AptGet, then could not find it under the Sound&Video menu, so I tried your suggestion of typing the app name in the terminal, and it worked. So thanks for that.
___Now, I'm wondering how to create a launcher (is that the same as a "shortcut"?)
___Someone told me that Banshee was now the equal of iTunes; please correct this if it's wrong.
Thanks for all your help
++SharrisCousin

System>preferences>main menu>on the left side select sound&video and after that on right side select new item.You will see window and under command browse to /usr/bin (common place but check if banshee is there)and choose banshee.Name will be Banshee.Icon is probably under /usr/share/pixmaps.

Thank you all, you have tried very hard, especially as unpaid volunteers. But I have come up with yet another problem for which I just don't have the strength or motivation to go into. Also, I don't like to demand other peoples' time under such conditions. Briefly, Ubuntu forced me to use the newest beta version of Audacity, (1.3.x) which I have NEVER been able to use because I've never been able to decipher how to do it. I say "forced" because, no matter where I look, and how I try, I can't get the earler v1.2.6---I guess Ubuntu is saying, "Hey you're using me for free. Surely the least you can do is be my guinea pig to try the software and report the bugs etc" No, that's not the deal I want. I just want things to work, and Ubuntu often trips me up, and wastes an enormous amount of time. ***OH, when ever it's waking up from "Hibernation" it takes AGES to wake up. I even go and have a cup of coffee, a shower, and return to see it saying "waking up". Also when introducing others to Ubuntu, I ABSOLUTELY need to work out of the box. Instead many people to whom I've introduced Ubuntu come back to tell me that they hate it, that it (for example) won't play YouTube videos. Of course these are simple things which I know how to remedy (in my own case, I know simply to download & install the Flash player, but most people DON'T know that, and quickly decide it's not for them.) I'm afraid that Linux is nowhere near "prime time" yet. Thanks again for all your help, but, again, I am turning away from Linux after giving it yet another try.

SharrisCousin,

you can create a launcher on your desktop for most of your favourite programs:

Point to any item on the Desktop.
Right_Mouse_Click on it ... in this menu
select >Desktop
select >Create_Launcher

now start typing the first part of the program name you want to launch from your Desktop, e.g. OpenOffi

in a short moment there will pop up a proposal for your program,
select one of them, and your QuickLaunch-button appears on your Desktop.