There are several ways you can select between window managers. First, if you put the name of an X client (wmaker, gnome-session, kde, blackbox) in a $HOME/.Xclients file, and make it executable (chmod +x .Xclients), startx will read it and start that client for you. Mine just has the word "gnome-session" in it, but I run WindowMaker out of my graphical login manager.
Second, you can edit a few files and add your wm of choice to the xdm login menu. Speaking from a RedHat layout, your graphical login configs will be somewhere under /etc/X11, in the Xsession file and in at least one other file that depends on your login manager. If you're using KDE by default, they'll be in the "kdmrc" file. If you installed Ximian or something else that made Gnome your default and your login manager, they'll be files in /etc/X11/gdm/Sessions as simple two-line shell scripts that are pretty self-explanatory. I have kdm running as a login manager, and I looked for mentions of "failsafe" and "twm" in the /etc/X11/xdm/kdmrc file. They're in a "case" statement around line 100 on my box... case $1 in gnome) exec -l $SHELL -c "gnome-session" ;; kde) exec -l $SHELL -c "/usr/share/apps/switchdesk/Xclients.kde" ;; ## if you install WindowMaker by rpm, it will place a "switchdesk" file ## that you can reference like so windowmaker) exec -l $SHELL -c "/usr/share/apps/switchdesk/Xclients.windowmaker" ;; esac If you didn't install by rpm or otherwise don't find that switchdesk file, it reads as follows... #!/bin/bash exec /usr/bin/wmaker ... and is executable. I have a similar case statement in my /etc/X11/xdm/Xsessions file, which is probably purely for running the standard xdm login manager instead of the kdm login manager that comes with KDE and has the little dragon on it. -- -j John Beamon On Sun, 2 Jun 2002, Chopin Cusachs wrote: > Date: Sun, 02 Jun 2002 06:57:27 -0500 > From: Chopin Cusachs <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Reply-To: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [brlug-general] Another Quick Poll.. > > > Will be back to the battle this week, but would probably have voted for KDE if > my Red Hat 7.3 box didn't lock up when I try to start KDE. Have blackbox > and > another downloaded but not yet installed, but want to run down a bug or two > on the > system before more experiments. Have had problems with setting up DUN, too. > Linux box dual boots and the other OS seems to communicate well with the > world. > > > Newbie question: If I have several GUIs installed, how can I select one > from them > from the command line? Startx runs the default. Are there parameters I > have so > far missed that permit selecting another? Gnome is installed, too. > > Think I have a deeper problem than simply GUI; have trouble getting the > command > line setup program to cooperate. > > Choppy > > At 10:40 PM 6/1/02 -0500, you wrote: > >Now for another poll... > > > >What is your favorite Window Manager? > > > _______________________________________________ > General mailing list > [email protected] > http://brlug.net/mailman/listinfo/general_brlug.net >
