Answer by Daniele Santi for How to run an executable text-file directly?

You should not create a link to the executable, but create a so called "Desktop Entry",i.e. a simple .desktop file which your system interprets as a series of instructions to correctly load the application.

In your specific case, you should

1. Create (if not already present) the directory $HOME/.local/share/applications/;

2. Create inside it a new Netbeans.desktop file with the following content

   [Desktop Entry]Name=NetbeansComment=Netbeans IDEExec=** put here your full Netbeans executable path here **Icon=netbeansTerminal=falseType=ApplicationCategories=Development,IDE;StartupNotify=false

3. You'll find the Netbeans launcher in your application menu.

Obviously, you can/should modify the file content to your needs.

As for the meaning of the file entries, you can find here a nice tutorial for Linux Mint and here the official GNOME documentation on desktop entries.