I just figured out how to manually create a .desktop file which allows a program to be launched by issuing the command gtk-launch [program.desktop]. Problem is it only seems to work if my present working directory is the Desktop directory for my username. Thus when I enter the command gtk-launch program.desktop it runs.
The problem is when I try to enter gtk-launch /home/userName/Desktop/program.desktop. Instead I get a message from terminal saying: gtk-launch: no such application. I know the file is there and cat works just fine reading it.
Why does gtk-launch only seem to be working from inside Desktop? Can I get around this? I'm using Kali linux with GNOME from a persistent USB.