----- Original Message -----
From: Matt Stegman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, August 20, 1999 8:45 PM
Subject: Re: [newbie] Changing the Window Manager
> > Steve wants to know how to start a different window manager from the
command
> > line, not from within KDE (or booting to initlevel 5).
>
> Right, that's what `desktopcfg` does. Well, kind of. It is a console
> utility that allows you to change your default desktop- your choices are
> GNOME, KDE, AfterStep, or "Plain X11" which means fvwm2, I think. If you
> run desktopcfg as root you may change the system default.
>
> And since you asked...
> Another way to change the window manager that starts when you run `startx`
> is to put a command in ~/.xinitrc. This file is a shell script run
> after X has started (it is usually what loads a window manager).
> `desktopcfg` uses this file to start your window manager (WM). You may
> safely delete this, and specify your own script. Mine follows:
>
> #/home/matthead/.xinitrc
> exec kde
>
> I think that I'm going to replace "exec kde" with "exec enlightenment" as
> I'm tired of KDE, and would like to use Enlightenment for a while. The
> only thing I don't like is that you can't move windows around in the
> pager (a point for AfterStep, 'cause you can in there!)... but that's
> off-topic.
>
> Yet another way to specify a window manager to run with X is by appending
> it to `xinit` (`startx` is a shell script that runs `xinit` with some
> default arguments). Try, for instance, `xinit /usr/bin/enlightenment`
> This will start X and then run the Enlightenment WM. Because of the way
> `xinit` interprets your arguments, you have to specify the full path to
> the program you wish to run in X (it doesn't _have_ to be a WM). It
> doesn't even matter if the path to the program is in $PATH. If you're
> interested in the why, try `man xinit`.
>
> Which window managers are included with Mandrake? Here's a few (I
> installed the extra window managers package, so all these may not be on
> your system):
> /usr/bin/enlightenment
> /usr/bin/gnome-session
> /usr/bin/kde
> /usr/X11R6/bin/AnotherLevel
> /usr/X11R6/bin/afterstep
> /usr/X11R6/bin/fvwm
> /usr/X11R6/bin/fvwm2
> /usr/X11R6/bin/wmaker
>
> I'm sure there are more. Also, gnome-session starts GNOME, which is not a
> window manager, but rather a "desktop environment." This includes
> the panel, the right-click menu on the desktop, the icons, and more.
> GNOME uses Enlightenment as it's WM by default, but can be configured to
> use WindowMaker, or some other WM I can't remember right now. The same
> goes for KDE, execpt that I don't think you can successfully use any
> WM other than kwm, which is KDE's default.
>
> This is probably much more information than you ever cared to know, but
> it's still not all! However, I'll bet `desktopcfg` is plenty for most
> people. The thing is, if you want more control over what happens when you
> start X, well, you've got it. This is one of many advantages that Linux
> has over Windows: the freedom of choice. For any given task, there are
> usually several different ways to accomplish it, each with it's own unique
> advantages & disadvantages. This means you can find the best way to get a
> job done- you're not locked into someone else's idea of "the best way,"
> like you are with proprietary systems (Microsoft being only the most
> prominent).
>
> -Matt Stegman
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
>
>
For myself, thank you. That is exactly what I wanted to know.
Manny Styles
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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