Re: newb question: user switching in KDE?
On Mon, 07 Jun 2004 18:18:57 -0500, Kent West <westk@acu.edu> wrote:
>
>
> Ignatz Sol wrote:
>
> >I am a recent convert to Linux, running Debian sarge/testing with KDE
> >3.2.2. I am interested in setting up some sort of user switching, so
> >that my wife can have her setup separate from mine. I've been
> >especially inspired by the switching available in the new Mac OSX.
> >Now I don't need anything fancy, and I've found a few references to
> >this (like this link, http://www.mepis.org/node/view/2083, though I
> >haven't been able to try it out yet). Just want to be clear as to
> >what is the best way to facilitate this. I will also need to be able
> >to switch with an icon or something similar to make it simple for my
> >wife. Thanks for any help.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> I don't know about an icon-based switch, but I've been using switching
> at my house for years.
>
> After the first person is logged into X in the normal manner (startx,
> xdm, kdm, whatever), the second user can Ctrl-Alt-F2 to get to a
> console, log in there, and then start a second session of X with "startx
> -- :1". The third person can log in (Ctrl-Alt-F3) and start a third
> session with "startx -- :2", and so on.
>
> You can even configure kdm to have a graphical login on each X session
> to make it easier, but I prefer the startx method myself.
>
> Then to switch between users, Ctrl-Alt-F7 to switch to the first
> session, Ctrl-Alt-F8 to the second, Ctrl-Alt-F9 to the third, etc.
>
> I don't know of any way to autolock the screen when leaving one screen,
> but a screensaver with a password might do for your needs (at my house,
> passwords aren't an issue).
>
> --
> Kent
>
Thanks for the help! This worked well. I also have received this
reply on the kde-linux list that mentions the "Start New Session"
button on the K menu:
Quoting from the kde-linux list:
On Tue, 08 Jun 2004 11:30:02 +0100, Pavel Avgustinov
<p_mailings@lithitux.org> wrote:
>
>
> >Logout and login as a different user is what I use.
> >For that you need to introduce a new user. If you are
> >not sure how to do, pls read man pages of useradd.
> >
> >I also like to read if there is a way to switch user
> >without logout and switching back to the previous user
> >without changing his work space. If you do have info
> >about how to do it on KDE please post to list. I like
> >to give it try.
> >
> >
>
> Yes, this is possible - I use it, and it works quite well.
>
> Firstly, rather than useradd, I'd recommend using kuser for less
> experienced users (and I assume you're not very experienced, Ignatz.. :-) ).
>
> In order to have something like the "fast user switching" capabilities
> of MacOs and W**dow$, what you need is the option "Start new session"
> from the KDE menu. This used to be turned on by default up to a few
> releases ago, but now isn't any more - if you don't see it, edit the
> file /etc3/kde/kdm/Xservers (assuming you're using kdm, there are
> probably equivalent files for gdm and xdm) to include the lines
>
> :0 local@tty1 /usr/X11R6/bin/X -nolisten tcp -dpi 115 vt7
> :1 local@tty2 reserve /usr/X11R6/bin/X -nolisten tcp :1 vt8
> :2 local@tty3 reserve /usr/X11R6/bin/X -nolisten tcp :2 vt9
> #:3 local@tty4 reserve /usr/X11R6/bin/X -nolisten tcp :3 vt10
> #:4 local@tty5 reserve /usr/X11R6/bin/X -nolisten tcp :4 vt11
>
> Remove the leading hashes on the last few lines if you think you'll ever
> want more than 3 users using kde at the same time.
>
> After this change, you should get the "Start new session" option in the
> KDE menu (after restarting the X-server - press Ctrl+Alt+Backspace after
> saving any open files and closing programs).
>
> What this does is tell kdm to reserve the virtual terminals 8 and 9 for
> additional sessions. When you start one, a new instance of KDE is
> started on the relevant terminal, and you can log in as a different (or
> even as the same) user and have two independent environments. To switch
> between them, use Ctrl+Alt+F7, Ctrl+Alt+F8 etc.
>
> Hope this helps. Feel free to ask further questions.
>
> Regards,
>
> --
> Pavel Avgustinov
>
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