Ubuntu: How to add an application icon to the launcher?

[this process was accomplished using Ubuntu 12.04 LTS]

Install the program alacarte (it's currently name is "Main Menu"):

sudo apt-get install alacarte

Then, just open it and add a new item to the category you want.

Done!

You could also do this process adding a .desktop file manually. To do that, follow this link:

http://askubuntu.com/questions/224004/how-to-add-programs-to-the-launcher