diff --git a/src/calibre/gui2/ui.py b/src/calibre/gui2/ui.py
index a76f04e9b3..c63dd2beab 100644
--- a/src/calibre/gui2/ui.py
+++ b/src/calibre/gui2/ui.py
@@ -601,12 +601,12 @@ class Main(MainWindow, MainWindowMixin, DeviceMixin, EmailMixin,  # {{{
         self.tags_view.recount()
 
     def handle_cli_args(self, args):
+        from urllib.parse import unquote, urlparse, parse_qs
         if isinstance(args, string_or_bytes):
             args = [args]
         files, urls = [], []
         for p in args:
             if p.startswith('calibre://'):
-                from urllib.parse import unquote, urlparse, parse_qs
                 try:
                     purl = urlparse(p)
                     if purl.scheme == 'calibre':
@@ -617,6 +617,17 @@ class Main(MainWindow, MainWindowMixin, DeviceMixin, EmailMixin,  # {{{
                 except Exception:
                     prints('Ignoring malformed URL:', p, file=sys.stderr)
                     continue
+            elif p.startswith('file://'):
+                try:
+                    purl = urlparse(p)
+                    if purl.scheme == 'file':
+                        path = unquote(purl.path)
+                        a = os.path.abspath(path)
+                        if not os.path.isdir(a) and os.access(a, os.R_OK):
+                            files.append(a)
+                except Exception:
+                    prints('Ignoring malformed URL:', p, file=sys.stderr)
+                    continue
             else:
                 a = os.path.abspath(p)
                 if not os.path.isdir(a) and os.access(a, os.R_OK):
diff --git a/src/calibre/linux.py b/src/calibre/linux.py
index 4acc969198..a315fa6bc1 100644
--- a/src/calibre/linux.py
+++ b/src/calibre/linux.py
@@ -1129,7 +1129,7 @@ Name=calibre
 GenericName=E-book library management
 Comment=E-book library management: Convert, view, share, catalogue all your e-books
 TryExec=calibre
-Exec=calibre --detach %F
+Exec=calibre --detach %U
 Icon=calibre-gui
 Categories=Office;
 X-GNOME-UsesNotifications=true