Desktop, BSD style

Revision as of 09:43, 22 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:

#!/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 a background setting console program.

It is important to add an & after adding new configuration commands in Xsetup_0, 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.