Desktop, BSD style

Revision as of 16:28, 5 November 2015

• work in progress

Xorg

Install x11/xorg-minimal . Then add dbus_enable="YES" to /etc/rc.conf:

For using fd, add to /etc/fstab:

fdescfs    /dev/fd    fdescfs   rw    0   0

XDM

To configure x11/xdm to start up on boot, edit /etc/ttys and change the option on line ttyv8 from off to on:

ttyv8   "/usr/local/bin/xdm -nodaemon"  xterm   on secure

The secure option allows logging in to the root console without a password from single user mode.

Then set up .xsession in each home folder, with owner permissions to read and execute, for example chmod 400 .xsession.

.xsession requires the minimum of:

#!/bin/sh
exec /usr/local/bin/<windowmanager>
exec $1

If problems occur, check /var/log/xdm.log

% less /var/log/xdm.log

Customization

Customization files for XDM are located in /usr/local/lib/X11/xdm/.

The background image can be changed by using a background setting command in Xsetup_0. To change the login manager's background, use graphics/feh MIT.

Example of addition to Xsetup_0:

feh --bg-scale /home/user1/bsd.jpg &

It is important to add an & after adding new configuration commands, or the login screen will freeze up with certain commands.

To change the box logo, edit Xresources, comment out or reference another .xpm file in the lines xlogin*logoFileName.

The file Xsession is responsible for choosing the window manager, it points to .xsession in the home directory.

Desktops

Choose your desktop with ~/.xsession:

#!/bin/sh
exec /usr/local/bin/<windowmanager>
exec $1

These desktops install with xorg-minimal.

• x11-wm/ctwm MIT Claude's Tab Window Manager; twm extension
• x11-wm/dwm MIT Dynamic Window Manager; Minimalist window manager that uses C programming language for custom desktop configuration
• x11-wm/wmii MIT Window Manager Improved, Improved; Minimalist and dynamic window manager

Desktop programs

Desktop programs start up through the window manager's configuration files, and not through ~/.xsession.

Be sure you install the programs you need such as x11/xterm , since this is a minimal install to be further customized.