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Newer page: version 3 Last edited on Tuesday, October 26, 2004 10:14:28 am by AristotlePagaltzis
Older page: version 2 Last edited on Friday, June 7, 2002 1:06:52 am by perry Revert
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-KDE GUI Login Configuration HOWTO  
-  
-  
-  
-----  
-  
-!!!KDE GUI Login Configuration HOWTO  
-  
-!!John P. Meshkoff, II  
-johnm@sivakalpa.orgv0.03, 2002-05-22  
-  
-  
-----  
-''This is the KDE GUI Login Configuration HOWTO, a tutorial on customizing the GUI login screen. Topics include:  
-How to add other window managers to the drop-down selection list;  
-how to enable user selection icons in the login window;  
-and requiring root permission for system shutdown.''  
-----  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-!!1. Copyright  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-!!2. Introduction  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-!!3. Adding new window manager selections to the drop-down list  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-!!4. Enabling user selection icons in the login dialog box  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-!!5. Requiring root permission for shutdown  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-!!6. Bibliography  
-----  
-  
-!!1. Copyright  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-Copyright (c) 2002 by John Meshkoff  
-  
-  
-Please freely copy and distribute (sell or give away) this document in any format. It's  
-requested that corrections and/or comments be forwarded to the document maintainer. You  
-may create a derivative work and distribute it provided that you:  
-  
-  
-1. Send your derivative work (in the most suitable format such as sgml) to the LDP (Linux  
-Documentation Project) or the like for posting on the Internet. If not the LDP, then let  
-the LDP know where it is available.  
-  
-  
-2. License the derivative work with this same license or use GPL. Include a copyright notice  
-and at least a pointer to the license used.  
-  
-  
-3. Give due credit to previous authors and major contributors.  
-  
-  
-If you're considering making a derived work other than a translation, it's  
-requested that you discuss your plans with the current maintainer.  
-  
-  
-  
-----  
-  
-!!2. Introduction  
-  
-  
-This info is based on my !RedHat 6.1 default KDE Workstation installation. If you are using  
-another distribution, or even another version of !RedHat, or a different Workstation install,  
-then you may have to do some detective work. Hopefully, this info will give you what you need  
-to start detecting! This HOWTO began as the result of wondering how to add another window manager  
-or desktop environment to the drop-down list on the GUI login screen; further investigation  
-revealed other configuration options.  
-  
-  
-I began my own "detective work" when I found a reference on a !RedHat List which  
-mentioned /etc/inittab, and its role in system startup. In  
-/etc/inittab I found the following entries, which define how the  
-X Window System is started in my distribution and version:  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-----  
-  
-# Run xdm in runlevel 5  
-# xdm is now a separate service  
-x:5:respawn:/etc/X11/prefdm -nodaemon  
-  
-----  
-  
-  
-  
-Here is what prefdm looks like:  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-----  
-  
-#!/bin/sh  
-PATH=/sbin:/usr/sbin:/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/X11R6/bin  
-# Run preferred X display manager  
-preferred=  
-if [[ -f /etc/sysconfig/desktop ]; then  
-if grep -q GNOME /etc/sysconfig/desktop 2>/dev/null; then  
-preferred=gdm  
-elif grep -q KDE /etc/sysconfig/desktop 2> /dev/null; then  
-preferred=kdm  
-elif grep -q !AnotherLevel /etc/sysconfig/desktop 2> /dev/null; then  
-preferred=xdm  
-fi  
-fi  
-if [[ -z ":$preferred" ]; then  
-if which gdm >/dev/null 2>&1; then  
-preferred=gdm  
-elif which kdm >/dev/null 2>&1; then  
-preferred=kdm  
-elif which xdm >/dev/null 2>&1; then  
-preferred=xdm  
-fi  
-fi  
-if [[ -n "$preferred" ] && which $preferred >/dev/null 2>&1; then  
-exec `which $preferred` $*  
-fi  
-exit 1  
-  
-----  
-  
-  
-  
-No changes to prefdm are necessary; it determines which display manager is the  
-system default. During boot-up, prefdm parses /etc/sysconfig/desktop  
-and selects the display manager listed there; in the case of my KDE Workstation  
-install, this is kdm (KDE Display Manager). Note that gdm (Gnome Display Manager)  
-is not installed on my system; xdm (X Display Manager) is installed by default as  
-part of the X Window System, and was apparently used by older versions of Red Hat.  
-  
-  
-  
-----  
-  
-!!3. Adding new window manager selections to the drop-down list  
-  
-  
-WARNING: The procedures explained in this HOWTO involve making changes to system  
-configuration files; if you are not experienced in making such changes, some  
-caution is required. Introducing errors into such files may make your system  
-unstable, or cause it to crash. The procedures explained in this HOWTO have  
-been tested and should not cause problems if used correctly.  
-  
-  
-Do ''not'' use a ''word-processor'' program for editing system configuration  
-files; such programs introduce special formatting characters which will corrupt the files.  
-Use a ''text-editor'', particularly one which can handle long lines without introducing  
-extra carriage-return or line feed characters into existing code. Suitable editors include  
-vim (vi improved), vi, and emacs. There are others, but these are usually installed by default  
-in Linux workstation installations; they each have features which make them especially suitable for  
-writing and editing computer code. See the bibliography section at the end of this HOWTO for  
-more information.  
-  
-  
-IMPORTANT: Before making changes to ''any'' system configuration files, you should make  
-back-up copies of the originals, so you can restore them in case of serious errors!  
-  
-  
-The files which we will be changing here are /usr/share/config/kdmrc, which  
-is where we add selection labels to the drop-down list on the login screen, and  
-/etc/X11/xdm/Xsession, which is where we add the path to the executables  
-for our labels (if you are using a different distribution, the path to these  
-files may be different; just do "locate kdmrc" and "locate Xsession"  
-in the shell [[i.e., in a terminal emulation, such as ''xterm'', or KDE's ''konsole'']  
-to find them).  
-  
-  
-The default line to change in kdmrc looks like this:  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-----  
-  
-!SessionTypes=kde;gnome;anotherlevel;default;failsafe;  
-  
-----  
-  
-  
-  
-After adding selection labels for two new window managers, windowmaker and blackbox, the line looks like this:  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-----  
-  
-!SessionTypes=kde;gnome;windowmaker;blackbox;anotherlevel;default;failsafe;  
-  
-----  
-  
-Notice the positions where I have added the labels for the new window managers; all  
-entries will appear on the drop-down list in the same order as they  
-appear in the !SessionTypes list. Next, the actual choosing takes place in  
-/etc/X11/xdm/Xsession. Here is what the appropriate section of  
-Xsession looks like before adding the new entries:  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-----  
-  
-# now, we see if xdm/gdm/kdm has asked for a specific environment  
-#  
-case $# in  
-1)  
-case $1 in  
-failsafe)  
-exec xterm -geometry 80x24--  
-;;  
-gnome)  
-exec gnome-session  
-;;  
-kde)  
-exec startkde  
-;;  
-anotherlevel)  
-# we assume that switchdesk is installed.  
-exec /usr/share/apps/switchdesk/Xclients.anotherlevel  
-;;  
-esac  
-esac  
-  
-----  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-Here is what this section of the Xsession file looks like after adding the new  
-entries (NOTE that the selection labels ''must'' be ''exactly'' the  
-same in Xsession and prefdm, i.e., spelling and case must be identical):  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-----  
-  
-# now, we see if xdm/gdm/kdm has asked for a specific environment  
-#  
-case $# in  
-1)  
-case $1 in  
-failsafe)  
-exec xterm -geometry 80x24--  
-;;  
-gnome)  
-exec gnome-session  
-;;  
-kde)  
-exec startkde  
-;;  
-windowmaker)  
-exec wmaker  
-;;  
-blackbox)  
-exec blackbox  
-;;  
-anotherlevel)  
-# we assume that switchdesk is installed.  
-exec /usr/share/apps/switchdesk/Xclients.anotherlevel  
-;;  
-esac  
-esac  
-  
-----  
-  
-Note that when the executables are installed in one of the paths shown below, only the  
-executable name is required after "exec"; otherwise the full path must be included,  
-as shown for "Xclients.anotherlevel" (above):  
-  
-  
-/usr/bin/  
-  
-  
-/usr/local/bin/  
-  
-  
-/usr/X11R6/bin/  
-  
-  
-/usr/bin/X11/  
-  
-  
-These examples should be enough for you to add your favorite window manager(s) to the  
-KDE graphical login, or to give you a starting point to find out how it's done in your  
-particular installation.  
-  
-  
-  
-----  
-  
-!!4. Enabling user selection icons in the login dialog box  
-  
-  
-In !RedHat 6.1, the default KDE login window shows a dialog box with a space to  
-type in the user name, one in which to type the user password, and a drop down  
-list to select the window manager/desktop environment of choice. By making the  
-following changes to /usr/share/config/kdmrc, user icons will appear in  
-the top of the login box.  
-Here is what the default lines that control user icon view in kdmrc look like (other  
-lines between these two are not shown, and are represented by "..."):  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-----  
-  
-#Users=root;johndoe  
-...  
-!UserView=false  
-  
-----  
-  
-  
-  
-Here are the same lines after editing; delete the comment character ("#") in  
-front of "Users=..." and change "johndoe" to your username (if there are more  
-user accounts on your system, you may add their usernames here, separated by semi-colons  
-as shown). Change "!UserView=false" to "!UserView=true" as shown here:  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-----  
-  
-Users=root;johnpipe  
-...  
-!UserView=true  
-  
-----  
-  
-  
-  
-Now, when you login, you may click on an icon with the mouse to enter the user name; you must still type in your password.  
-  
-  
-  
-----  
-  
-!!5. Requiring root permission for shutdown  
-  
-  
-The default for the shutdown button on the login box allows anyone to use it to shutdown the system.  
-The section in /usr/share/config/kdmrc controlling who may use this button looks like this:  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-----  
-  
-#!ShutdownButton=!RootOnly  
-!ShutdownButton=!ConsoleOnly  
-  
-----  
-  
-  
-  
-To enable only the root user to shutdown the system, change the lines as shown below:  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-----  
-  
-!ShutdownButton=!RootOnly  
-#!ShutdownButton=!ConsoleOnly  
-  
-----  
-  
-  
-  
-Clicking the shutdown button will now prompt for the root password before shutting down the  
-system.  
-  
-  
-  
-----  
-  
-!!6. Bibliography  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-For more HOWTO's, see  
-The Linux Documentation Project  
-  
-Recommended reading:  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-*  
-XWindow-User-HOWTO  
-*  
-  
-*  
-Emacs Beginner's HOWTO  
-*  
-  
-*  
-Vim Color Editor HOW-TO (Vi Improved with syntax color highlighting)  
-*  
-  
-  
-  
-Depending on your Linux distribution and version, you may already have the  
-above HOWTO's installed on your system .  
-----  
+Describe [HowToKDEGUILoginConfigurationHOWTO ] here.