I'm glad I'm not the only one having trouble. the arduino-ide file is property set and properly set as an executable But... Linux-Mint will not execute it as an iconned program, so for those who haven't yet, don't select the file (click anywhere except on the icons. now, hopefully if you right click anywhere except the icons, but right click this time, and if it's one of the options is "Open Terminal" you're now at the command prompt.
Now, type the following: ./arduino-ide
Developers, you missed a few steps for the GUI crowd, terminal access scares them.
I got it running on suggestions on another website, it's kind of a long way to do things, but it works. I too am keeping 1.8.19 handy, havent't ventured further than installing it.
Hi @gelfling6. This deficiency is tracked by the Arduino IDE developers here:
However, since the time that report was made, an AppImage package of the Arduino IDE was made available, which does allow you to start the iDE without using the terminal. You'll notice this is the first link on the Software page. The ZIP package is provided to offer Linux users options, but the AppImage is the preferred package both for this reason as well as because it supports auto-update.
So if this is something that bothers you, simply use the AppImage download link.
You can learn about how to use the AppImage package here: