Help with setting executable shell PATH to Stata 15 installation on Linux Ubuntu 16.04

[Straso Jovanovski]

Hello,
I've recently installed Stata 15 on a personal Linux Ubuntu based system, and have struggled to get it to see the program when searching from the applications menu. I am copying below an excerpt of the Stata installation manual document (IG):

Users who want to access Stata must modify their .profile or .cshrc or
.login shell start-up scripts to include the Stata installation directory in their
PATH. Throughout this manual, we will assume that you have installed Stata
in /usr/local/stata15 and used a symbolic link to /usr/local/stata.

One additional quote:

Once you have verified that Stata is working, modify your shell start-up
script to include Stata in your path. We will assume that you have created a
symbolic link from /usr/local/stata to your Stata installation directory. If
you did not create the recommended symbolic link, substitute your installation
directory for /usr/local/stata in the paths below.
If you use csh or tcsh, there is a line in your .cshrc file (in your home
directory) that looks like
set path = (/bin /usr/bin /usr/local/bin ~/bin)
Edit the file and add /usr/local/stata to the end of the list:
set path = (/bin /usr/bin /usr/local/bin ~/bin /usr/local/stata)
If you use bash, sh, or ksh, there is a line in your .profile (in your home
directory) that looks like
PATH="/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin:$HOME/bin"
Edit the file and add /usr/local/stata to the list:
PATH="/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin:$HOME/bin:/usr/local/stata"
If you are using a symbolic link to your Stata installation directory and you
have included the path to the Stata installation directory, be sure that the
symbolic link appears before the true directory in the path.

I don't know how to begin going about modifying the shell startup script or setting that PATH so to have the program permanently executable without having to go to the terminal each time in order to start up Stata.
Thank you very much for any help.

[William Lisowski]

This is basically a linux task that's easy for someone with a little expertise in linux to do, without any knowledge of Stata, but hard to explain to a linux novice in a way that guards against a misunderstanding that leads to problems.

Since nobody here has offered an answer, I'm going to ask you if you have any source of support for your linux system - a system administration group, or something similar?

If not, do you have a colleague or friend on whom you could call for advice? Five minutes in front of the keyboard - or logged in remotely, for that matter - is all it should take.

[Straso Jovanovski]

Thank you very much. I understand. I will reach out to a professor who is knowledgeable with Linux. Thank you again.