stopping kde
- LinuxPPC
- MkLinux
- No maintanence required. By default, the boot is into console mode.
creating .xinitrc (applies to either LinuxPPC or MkLinux)
- You need to create a .xinitrc file in your home directory. For the root superuser, the home directory is /root; in general, the home directory for any particular user (including root) is denoted with a ~
- Below is a sample .xinitrc file (thanks to Hollis Blanchard!):
#!/bin/sh
########################################################################
# .xinitrc #
# based on one written by hollis+@andrew.cmu.edu #
# 1/15/99 #
# #
# To use: #
# * if you have a ~/.Xclients, remove it. The system copy is in #
# /etc/X11/xinitrc/Xclients if you ever want it back. #
# #
# * place this file in your home (~) directory. For root, home is #
# /root. Be sure to also put .fvwmrc etc in your home directory. #
# #
# * modify this script: #
# -add your window managers #
# -remove clocks, change background colors, etc. #
# #
# * Type 'startx fvwm', 'startx kde', etc. #
# 'startx' alone will run the default wm. #
# #
########################################################################
# to fix backspace and delete in X:
xmodmap -e "keycode 59 = BackSpace"
xmodmap -e "keycode 125 = Delete"
# accelerate the mouse:
xset m 8 3
## NOTES: ##############################################################
# #
# #
# * $1 represents the first argument to startx. #
# #
# * WM is the name of the program to execute. This is normally the #
# window manager itself, but in the case of kde it needs to be the #
# startkde script. #
# #
########################################################################
ARG=$1
# specify the default wm argument here:
DEFAULTWM="fvwm2"
if [ ! $ARG ]; then
ARG=$DEFAULTWM
fi
# to add another wm here, just copy, paste, and edit the 'elif' line.
if [ $ARG = "fvwm2" ]; then
WM=fvwm2
xsetroot -solid MidnightBlue
elif [ $ARG = "fvwm" ]; then
xclock -digital -bg black -fg gray -update 1 -geometry -0+0 &
WM=fvwm
xsetroot -solid MidnightBlue
elif [ $ARG = "after" ]; then # Delete for MkLinux DR3!!!
WM=afterstep # Delete for MkLinux DR3!!!
xsetroot -solid MidnightBlue # Delete for MkLinux DR3!!!
elif [ $ARG = "twm" ]; then
xterm &
xclock -digital -bg black -fg gray -update 1 -geometry -0+0 &
xsetroot -solid MidnightBlue
WM=twm
elif [ $ARG = "kde" ]; then
WM=startkde
else
WM=$DEFAULTWM
xmessage "'$ARG' is not a valid window manager; defaulting to $WM.
Modify ~/.xinitrc if '$ARG' is actually installed." &
fi
# The next line actually runs the selected window manager and logs the
# output (stdout AND stderr) to the file ~/console. If you run a
#
# tail -f ~/console
#
# in an xterm, it will display the (constantly updated) contents of that
# file. This can be usful for talk requests, wm errors, etc.
exec $WM >& ~/console
window manager example - installing precompiled AfterStep
- For LinuxPPC, an early AfterStep 1.0 is installed with R4. Never worked well as installed AFAICT. To be strict, this needs to be removed before installing the new version. If not, there may be installation errors, but it is not clear these errors are fatal. To remove AfterStep 1.0, rpm -e AfterStep-1.0-7a should work. If it does not, an alternate approach is to start up the file manager in kde, and look around for the afterstep files. Also do a file search over the entire directory structure for after* and also as*. Between these three steps AfterStep 1.0 can be removed from your LinuxPPC system, although it is a bit tedious. For MkLinux, DR3 had no AfterStep installation on it, which makes it slightly easier to deal with than LinuxPPC. The balance of the directions apply equally well to LinuxPPC or MkLinux.
- Download the precompiled binary AfterStep-1.6.10-1-mklinux-DR3.tar.gz from ftp://ftp.afterstep.org/stable/binaries/ and place it in /.
- From /, execute tar -xzvf AfterStep-1.6.10-1-mklinux-DR3.tar.gz. It will install all components in all the right places (as far as you know).
- Here is the -KEY-, and I hope I have saved you a lot of time by just telling it to you rather than you having to dig for hours until this became crystal clear: copy the files in /usr/local/share/afterstep to ~/GNUstep/Library/AfterStep, using the following list of commands (I can and do make tpyos - you should check this to see if it makes sense):
- cd /root
- mkdir GNUstep
- cd GNUstep
- mkdir Library
- cp -R /usr/local/share/afterstep /root/GNUstep/Library
- cd Library
- mv afterstep AfterStep
- You will now have the AfterStep files in pretty much the places described at AfterStep Configuration Stuff
- The copy step is important because the ~/GNUstep/Library/AfterStep/autoexec file (which does the initial launch configuration) assumes this path.
- For the .xinitrc file at the top of this page, change the path from WM=afterstep to WM=/usr/local/bin/afterstep, and type startx after at the console to begin running the AfterStep window manager!
- If you try to run startx after and get a file not found error, the path /usr/local/bin/ is not registered with bash, and you must add it. To make sure that you can actually run afterstep regardless of whether your path is set right, change directories (cd /usr/local/bin/) and run afterstep from the "current directory": ./afterstep. Also make sure you have execute permission.
- To set the video mode and color depth as you start X, type
startx after -- -mode 16 -depth 16
(yes that is mode and not vmode; also note the double dash). There is not a trivial way to include the mode and depth information in .xinitrc.
compiling and installing AfterStep applets
some AfterStep links to peruse
more windowmanager links