Install PhpStorm by JetBrains with launcher icon in Ubuntu

In this  article I will explain you how to install  PhpStorm by JetBrains in Ubuntu which is considered as an excellent IDE for mainly PHP coding. It has many features and anyone who uses it, he or she will fall in love with it. Now  I'm going to tell you the steps of the installation of PhpStorm.

Step 1 : Creating a JetBrains Account

First you need to create a Student Account in JetBrains web site. Click here to go to the site. Steps are shown below.

Click on Apply now and then select the tab called OFFICIAL DOCUMENT.

Add document option :  Here you have to attach a University ID document. For that, take 2 photos of both sides of your ID and make a PDF including them. Add this document.

Leave the radio button as I'm a Student.

After you submitted the details , JetBrains will confirm you and  send a confirm mail. Do the verification for your account.

The license you are receiving can be used for several softwares by JetBrains.  Not only for PhpStorm.

Step 2 : Download the setup file

After you are verified download the setup file from JetBrains web site. Click here to go to the downloads  page. Download the 30 day trial for Linux. 

Step 3 : Work with the setup files

The setup file format will be in tar.gz format. You need to extract it first.
Navigate to the directory using terminal, where your setup is included. Type the following command in the terminal. Give your correct name of setup file.

          tar -zxvf PhpStorm-2017.1.4.tar.gz 
   ( For the latest version up to now. Use correct name according to your version )

Step 4 : Run and install the setup

• Now you will have a folder called as your PhpStorm version. Navigate to the bin folder inside this directory, using terminal.
• Give ls command to see the files in the directory. You will find a file called as phpstorm.sh in bin folder. Type the following command in the terminal to run this file.

                         ./phpstorm.sh

• Then a window will be  opened and give the option like I do not import settings.
• After that you will be given the chance to enter the activation code or account credentials. Now you can give details of your verified account.

• Then PhpStorm will be opened and now you can use it.

Step 5 : Create launcher icon

But there is an issue. After you close the IDE very first time, you can not find the launcher icon in the Ubuntu search again. You will have to type phpstorm.sh in the terminal when you want to open it. To create a launcher icon, you need to open PhpStorm by terminal and go to Tools in PhpStorm. Select the option Create Desktop Entry and follow the next steps. Then the icon will be created. You can search for it and drag it to the launcher and lock, if you want to have it in launcher.

Important : 
But there's an issue with this launcher icon. When you restarts the machine, the icon will not be in the launcher and you can not find it using Ubuntu Dash(Search). There's a solution for this problem. Open the terminal and type the following command to create the permanent launcher icon.

    gedit ~/.local/share/applications/jetbrains-phpstorm.desktop

Now type the following lines in the opened text file. Then save it and exit.

[Desktop Entry]                                                                  
Version=4.0.1                                                                   
Type=Application                                                                
Name=JetBrains PhpStorm                                                         
Exec=/opt/PhpStorm/bin/phpstorm.sh %f                                           
Icon=/opt/PhpStorm/bin/webide.png                                               
Comment=Develop with pleasure!                                                  
Categories=Development;IDE;                                                     
Terminal=false                                                                  
StartupNotify=true                                                              

StartupWMClass=jetbrains-phpstorm 

Search for PhpStorm in the Ubuntu Dash. Now it is visible in the application menu. If you want to keep it in the launcher, drag and drop it to your launcher. 

That's all..!     

How to configure PhpStorm to run a php file will be explained with my next article.