<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO8859-1" standalone="no"?> <!-- The FreeBSD Documentation Project $FreeBSD$ --> <chapter id="x11"> <chapterinfo> <authorgroup> <author> <firstname>Ken</firstname> <surname>Tom</surname> <contrib>Updated for X.Org's X11 server by </contrib> </author> <author> <firstname>Marc</firstname> <surname>Fonvieille</surname> </author> </authorgroup> </chapterinfo> <title>The X Window System</title> <sect1 id="x11-synopsis"> <title>Synopsis</title> <para>FreeBSD uses X11 to provide users with a powerful graphical user interface. X11 is a freely available version of the X Window System that is implemented in <application>&xorg;</application> (and other software packages not discussed here). The default and official flavor of X11 in &os; is <application>&xorg;</application>, the X11 server developed by the X.Org Foundation under a license very similar to the one used by &os;. Commercial X servers for &os; are also available.</para> <para>For more information on the video hardware that X11 supports, check the <ulink url="http://www.x.org/">&xorg;</ulink> web site.</para> <para>After reading this chapter, you will know:</para> <itemizedlist> <listitem> <para>The various components of the X Window System, and how they interoperate.</para> </listitem> <listitem> <para>How to install and configure X11.</para> </listitem> <listitem> <para>How to install and use different window managers.</para> </listitem> <listitem> <para>How to use &truetype; fonts in X11.</para> </listitem> <listitem> <para>How to set up your system for graphical logins (<application>XDM</application>).</para> </listitem> </itemizedlist> <para>Before reading this chapter, you should:</para> <itemizedlist> <listitem> <para>Know how to install additional third-party software (<xref linkend="ports"/>).</para> </listitem> </itemizedlist> </sect1> <sect1 id="x-understanding"> <title>Understanding X</title> <para>Using X for the first time can be somewhat of a shock to someone familiar with other graphical environments, such as µsoft.windows; or &macos;.</para> <para>While it is not necessary to understand all of the details of various X components and how they interact, some basic knowledge makes it possible to take advantage of X's strengths.</para> <sect2> <title>Why X?</title> <para>X is not the first window system written for &unix;, but it is the most popular of them. X's original development team had worked on another window system prior to writing X. That system's name was <quote>W</quote> (for <quote>Window</quote>). X was just the next letter in the Roman alphabet.</para> <para>X can be called <quote>X</quote>, <quote>X Window System</quote>, <quote>X11</quote>, and a number of other terms. You may find that using the term <quote>X Windows</quote> to describe X11 can be offensive to some people; for a bit more insight on this, see &man.X.7;.</para> </sect2> <sect2> <title>The X Client/Server Model</title> <para>X was designed from the beginning to be network-centric, and adopts a <quote>client-server</quote> model.</para> <para>In the X model, the <quote>X server</quote> runs on the computer that has the keyboard, monitor, and mouse attached. The server's responsibility includes tasks such as managing the display, handling input from the keyboard and mouse, and other input or output devices (i.e., a <quote>tablet</quote> can be used as an input device, and a video projector may be an alternative output device). Each X application (such as <application>XTerm</application>, or <application>&netscape;</application>) is a <quote>client</quote>. A client sends messages to the server such as <quote>Please draw a window at these coordinates</quote>, and the server sends back messages such as <quote>The user just clicked on the OK button</quote>.</para> <para>In a home or small office environment, the X server and the X clients commonly run on the same computer. However, it is perfectly possible to run the X server on a less powerful desktop computer, and run X applications (the clients) on, say, the powerful and expensive machine that serves the office. In this scenario the communication between the X client and server takes place over the network.</para> <para>This confuses some people, because the X terminology is exactly backward to what they expect. They expect the <quote>X server</quote> to be the big powerful machine down the hall, and the <quote>X client</quote> to be the machine on their desk.</para> <para>It is important to remember that the X server is the machine with the monitor and keyboard, and the X clients are the programs that display the windows.</para> <para>There is nothing in the protocol that forces the client and server machines to be running the same operating system, or even to be running on the same type of computer. It is certainly possible to run an X server on µsoft.windows; or Apple's &macos;, and there are various free and commercial applications available that do exactly that.</para> </sect2> <sect2> <title>The Window Manager</title> <para>The X design philosophy is much like the &unix; design philosophy, <quote>tools, not policy</quote>. This means that X does not try to dictate how a task is to be accomplished. Instead, tools are provided to the user, and it is the user's responsibility to decide how to use those tools.</para> <para>This philosophy extends to X not dictating what windows should look like on screen, how to move them around with the mouse, what keystrokes should be used to move between windows (i.e., <keycombo action="simul"> <keycap>Alt</keycap> <keycap>Tab</keycap> </keycombo>, in the case of µsoft.windows;), what the title bars on each window should look like, whether or not they have close buttons on them, and so on.</para> <para>Instead, X delegates this responsibility to an application called a <quote>Window Manager</quote>. There are dozens of window managers available for X: <application>AfterStep</application>, <application>Blackbox</application>, <application>ctwm</application>, <application>Enlightenment</application>, <application>fvwm</application>, <application>Sawfish</application>, <application>twm</application>, <application>Window Maker</application>, and more. Each of these window managers provides a different look and feel; some of them support <quote>virtual desktops</quote>; some of them allow customized keystrokes to manage the desktop; some have a <quote>Start</quote> button or similar device; some are <quote>themeable</quote>, allowing a complete change of look-and-feel by applying a new theme. These window managers, and many more, are available in the <filename>x11-wm</filename> category of the Ports Collection.</para> <para>In addition, the <application>KDE</application> and <application>GNOME</application> desktop environments both have their own window managers which integrate with the desktop.</para> <para>Each window manager also has a different configuration mechanism; some expect configuration file written by hand, others feature GUI tools for most of the configuration tasks; at least one (<application>Sawfish</application>) has a configuration file written in a dialect of the Lisp language.</para> <note> <title>Focus Policy</title> <para>Another feature the window manager is responsible for is the mouse <quote>focus policy</quote>. Every windowing system needs some means of choosing a window to be actively receiving keystrokes, and should visibly indicate which window is active as well.</para> <para>A familiar focus policy is called <quote>click-to-focus</quote>. This is the model utilized by µsoft.windows;, in which a window becomes active upon receiving a mouse click.</para> <para>X does not support any particular focus policy. Instead, the window manager controls which window has the focus at any one time. Different window managers will support different focus methods. All of them support click to focus, and the majority of them support several others.</para> <para>The most popular focus policies are:</para> <variablelist> <varlistentry> <term>focus-follows-mouse</term> <listitem> <para>The window that is under the mouse pointer is the window that has the focus. This may not necessarily be the window that is on top of all the other windows. The focus is changed by pointing at another window, there is no need to click in it as well.</para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term>sloppy-focus</term> <listitem> <para>This policy is a small extension to focus-follows-mouse. With focus-follows-mouse, if the mouse is moved over the root window (or background) then no window has the focus, and keystrokes are simply lost. With sloppy-focus, focus is only changed when the cursor enters a new window, and not when exiting the current window.</para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term>click-to-focus</term> <listitem> <para>The active window is selected by mouse click. The window may then be <quote>raised</quote>, and appear in front of all other windows. All keystrokes will now be directed to this window, even if the cursor is moved to another window.</para> </listitem> </varlistentry> </variablelist> <para>Many window managers support other policies, as well as variations on these. Be sure to consult the documentation for the window manager itself.</para> </note> </sect2> <sect2> <title>Widgets</title> <para>The X approach of providing tools and not policy extends to the widgets seen on screen in each application.</para> <para><quote>Widget</quote> is a term for all the items in the user interface that can be clicked or manipulated in some way; buttons, check boxes, radio buttons, icons, lists, and so on. µsoft.windows; calls these <quote>controls</quote>.</para> <para>µsoft.windows; and Apple's &macos; both have a very rigid widget policy. Application developers are supposed to ensure that their applications share a common look and feel. With X, it was not considered sensible to mandate a particular graphical style, or set of widgets to adhere to.</para> <para>As a result, do not expect X applications to have a common look and feel. There are several popular widget sets and variations, including the original Athena widget set from MIT, <application>&motif;</application> (on which the widget set in µsoft.windows; was modeled, all bevelled edges and three shades of grey), <application>OpenLook</application>, and others.</para> <para>Most newer X applications today will use a modern-looking widget set, either Qt, used by <application>KDE</application>, or GTK+, used by the <application>GNOME</application> project. In this respect, there is some convergence in look-and-feel of the &unix; desktop, which certainly makes things easier for the novice user.</para> </sect2> </sect1> <sect1 id="x-install"> <title>Installing X11</title> <para><application>&xorg;</application> is the default X11 implementation for &os;. <application>&xorg;</application> is the X server of the open source X Window System implementation released by the X.Org Foundation. <application>&xorg;</application> is based on the code of <application>&xfree86; 4.4RC2</application> and X11R6.6. The version of <application>&xorg;</application> currently available in the &os; Ports Collection is &xorg.version;.</para> <para>To build and install <application>&xorg;</application> from the Ports Collection:</para> <screen>&prompt.root; <userinput>cd /usr/ports/x11/xorg</userinput> &prompt.root; <userinput>make install clean</userinput></screen> <note> <para>To build <application>&xorg;</application> in its entirety, be sure to have at least 4 GB of free space available.</para> </note> <para>Alternatively, X11 can be installed directly from packages. Binary packages to use with &man.pkg.add.1; tool are also available for X11. When the remote fetching feature of &man.pkg.add.1; is used, the version number of the package must be removed. &man.pkg.add.1; will automatically fetch the latest version of the application.</para> <para>So to fetch and install the package of <application>&xorg;</application>, simply type:</para> <screen>&prompt.root; <userinput>pkg_add -r xorg</userinput></screen> <note><para>The examples above will install the complete X11 distribution including the servers, clients, fonts etc. Separate packages and ports of X11 are also available.</para> <para>To install a minimal X11 distribution you can alternatively install <filename role="package">x11/xorg-minimal</filename>.</para> </note> <para>The rest of this chapter will explain how to configure X11, and how to set up a productive desktop environment.</para> </sect1> <sect1 id="x-config"> <sect1info> <authorgroup> <author> <firstname>Christopher</firstname> <surname>Shumway</surname> <contrib>Contributed by </contrib> <!-- July 2001 --> </author> </authorgroup> </sect1info> <title>X11 Configuration</title> <indexterm><primary>&xorg;</primary></indexterm> <indexterm><primary>X11</primary></indexterm> <sect2> <title>Before Starting</title> <para>In most cases, X11 is self-configuring. Those with older or unusual equipment may find it helpful to gather some hardware information before beginning configuration.</para> <itemizedlist> <listitem><para>Monitor sync frequencies</para></listitem> <listitem><para>Video card chipset</para></listitem> <listitem><para>Video card memory</para></listitem> </itemizedlist> <indexterm> <primary>horizontal sync frequency</primary> </indexterm> <indexterm> <primary>horizontal scan rate</primary> <see>horizontal sync frequency</see> </indexterm> <indexterm><primary>refresh rate</primary></indexterm> <indexterm> <primary>vertical sync frequency</primary> <see>refresh rate</see> </indexterm> <indexterm> <primary>vertical scan rate</primary> <see>refresh rate</see> </indexterm> <para>Screen resolution and refresh rate are determined by the monitor's horizontal and vertical sync frequencies. Almost all monitors support electronic autodetection of these values. A few monitors do not provide these values, and the specifications must be determined from the printed manual or manufacturer web site.</para> <para>The video card chipset is also autodetected, and used to select the proper video driver. It is beneficial for the user to be aware of which chipset is installed for when autodetection does not provide the desired result.</para> <para>Video card memory determines the maximum resolution and color depth which can be displayed.</para> </sect2> <sect2> <title>Configuring X11</title> <para><application>&xorg;</application> uses <acronym>HAL</acronym> to autodetect keyboards and mice. The <filename role="package">sysutils/hal</filename> and <filename role="package">devel/dbus</filename> ports are installed as dependencies of <filename role="package">x11/xorg</filename>, but must be enabled by the following entries in the <filename>/etc/rc.conf</filename> file:</para> <programlisting>hald_enable="YES" dbus_enable="YES"</programlisting> <para>These services should be started (either manually or by rebooting) before further <application>&xorg;</application> configuration or use is attempted.</para> <para><application>&xorg;</application> can often work without any further configuration steps by simply typing at prompt:</para> <screen>&prompt.user; <userinput>startx</userinput></screen> <para>The automatic configuration may fail to work with some hardware, or may not set things up quite as desired. In these cases, manual configuration will be necessary.</para> <note> <para>Desktop environments like <application>GNOME</application>, <application>KDE</application> or <application>Xfce</application> have tools allowing the user to easily set the screen parameters such as the resolution. So if the default configuration is not acceptable and you planned to install a desktop environment then just continue with the installation of the desktop environment and use the appropriate screen settings tool.</para> </note> <para>Configuration of X11 is a multi-step process. The first step is to build an initial configuration file. As the super user, simply run:</para> <screen>&prompt.root; <userinput>Xorg -configure</userinput></screen> <para>This will generate an X11 configuration skeleton file in the <filename>/root</filename> directory called <filename>xorg.conf.new</filename> (whether you &man.su.1; or do a direct login affects the inherited supervisor <envar>$HOME</envar> directory variable). The X11 program will attempt to probe the graphics hardware on the system and write a configuration file to load the proper drivers for the detected hardware on the target system.</para> <para>The next step is to test the existing configuration to verify that <application>&xorg;</application> can work with the graphics hardware on the target system. Type:</para> <screen>&prompt.root; <userinput>Xorg -config xorg.conf.new -retro</userinput></screen> <para>If a black and grey grid and an X mouse cursor appear, the configuration was successful. To exit the test, switch to the virtual console used to start it by pressing <keycombo action="simul"> <keycap>Ctrl</keycap> <keycap>Alt</keycap> <keycap>F<replaceable>n</replaceable></keycap> </keycombo> (<keycap>F1</keycap> for the first virtual console) and press <keycombo action="simul"> <keycap>Ctrl</keycap> <keycap>C</keycap> </keycombo>.</para> <note> <para>The <keycombo action="simul"> <keycap>Ctrl</keycap> <keycap>Alt</keycap> <keycap>Backspace</keycap> </keycombo> key combination may also be used to break out of <application>&xorg;</application>. To enable it, you can either type the following command from any X terminal emulator:</para> <screen>&prompt.user; <userinput>setxkbmap -option terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp</userinput></screen> <para>or create a keyboard configuration file for <application>hald</application> called <filename>x11-input.fdi</filename> and saved in the <filename class="directory">/usr/local/etc/hal/fdi/policy</filename> directory. This file should contain the following lines:</para> <programlisting><?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <deviceinfo version="0.2"> <device> <match key="info.capabilities" contains="input.keyboard"> <merge key="input.x11_options.XkbOptions" type="string">terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp</merge> </match> </device> </deviceinfo></programlisting> <para>You will have to reboot your machine to force <application>hald</application> to read this file.</para> <para>The following line will also have to be added to <filename>xorg.conf.new</filename>, in the <literal>ServerLayout</literal> or <literal>ServerFlags</literal> section:</para> <programlisting>Option "DontZap" "off"</programlisting> </note> <para>If the mouse does not work, you will need to first configure it before proceeding. See <xref linkend="mouse"/> in the &os; install chapter. In recent <application>Xorg</application> versions, the <literal>InputDevice</literal> sections in <filename>xorg.conf</filename> are ignored in favor of the autodetected devices. To restore the old behavior, add the following line to the <literal>ServerLayout</literal> or <literal>ServerFlags</literal> section of this file:</para> <programlisting>Option "AutoAddDevices" "false"</programlisting> <para>Input devices may then be configured as in previous versions, along with any other options needed (e.g., keyboard layout switching).</para> <note> <para>As previously explained the <application>hald</application> daemon will, by default, automatically detect your keyboard. There are chances that your keyboard layout or model will not be correct, desktop environments like <application>GNOME</application>, <application>KDE</application> or <application>Xfce</application> provide tools to configure the keyboard. However, it is possible to set the keyboard properties directly either with the help of the &man.setxkbmap.1; utility or with a <application>hald</application>'s configuration rule.</para> <para>For example if one wants to use a PC 102 keys keyboard coming with a french layout, we have to create a keyboard configuration file for <application>hald</application> called <filename>x11-input.fdi</filename> and saved in the <filename class="directory">/usr/local/etc/hal/fdi/policy</filename> directory. This file should contain the following lines:</para> <programlisting><?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <deviceinfo version="0.2"> <device> <match key="info.capabilities" contains="input.keyboard"> <merge key="input.x11_options.XkbModel" type="string">pc102</merge> <merge key="input.x11_options.XkbLayout" type="string">fr</merge> </match> </device> </deviceinfo></programlisting> <para>If this file already exists, just copy and add to your file the lines regarding the keyboard configuration.</para> <para>You will have to reboot your machine to force <application>hald</application> to read this file.</para> <para>It is possible to do the same configuration from an X terminal or a script with this command line:</para> <screen>&prompt.user; <userinput>setxkbmap -model pc102 -layout fr</userinput></screen> <para>The <filename>/usr/local/share/X11/xkb/rules/base.lst</filename> file lists the various keyboard, layouts and options available.</para> </note> <indexterm><primary>X11 tuning</primary></indexterm> <para>The <filename>xorg.conf.new</filename> configuration file may now be tuned to taste. Open the file in a text editor such as &man.emacs.1; or &man.ee.1;. If the monitor is an older or unusual model that does not support autodetection of sync frequencies, those settings can be added to <filename>xorg.conf.new</filename> under the <literal>"Monitor"</literal> section:</para> <programlisting>Section "Monitor" Identifier "Monitor0" VendorName "Monitor Vendor" ModelName "Monitor Model" HorizSync 30-107 VertRefresh 48-120 EndSection</programlisting> <para>Most monitors support sync frequency autodetection, making manual entry of these values unnecessary. For the few monitors that do not support autodetection, avoid potential damage by only entering values provided by the manufacturer.</para> <para>X allows DPMS (Energy Star) features to be used with capable monitors. The &man.xset.1; program controls the time-outs and can force standby, suspend, or off modes. If you wish to enable DPMS features for your monitor, you must add the following line to the monitor section:</para> <programlisting> Option "DPMS"</programlisting> <indexterm> <primary><filename>xorg.conf</filename></primary> </indexterm> <para>While the <filename>xorg.conf.new</filename> configuration file is still open in an editor, select the default resolution and color depth desired. This is defined in the <literal>"Screen"</literal> section:</para> <programlisting>Section "Screen" Identifier "Screen0" Device "Card0" Monitor "Monitor0" DefaultDepth 24 SubSection "Display" Viewport 0 0 Depth 24 Modes "1024x768" EndSubSection EndSection</programlisting> <para>The <literal>DefaultDepth</literal> keyword describes the color depth to run at by default. This can be overridden with the <option>-depth</option> command line switch to &man.Xorg.1;. The <literal>Modes</literal> keyword describes the resolution to run at for the given color depth. Note that only VESA standard modes are supported as defined by the target system's graphics hardware. In the example above, the default color depth is twenty-four bits per pixel. At this color depth, the accepted resolution is 1024 by 768 pixels.</para> <para>Finally, write the configuration file and test it using the test mode given above.</para> <note> <para>One of the tools available to assist you during troubleshooting process are the X11 log files, which contain information on each device that the X11 server attaches to. <application>&xorg;</application> log file names are in the format of <filename>/var/log/Xorg.0.log</filename>. The exact name of the log can vary from <filename>Xorg.0.log</filename> to <filename>Xorg.8.log</filename> and so forth.</para> </note> <para>If all is well, the configuration file needs to be installed in a common location where &man.Xorg.1; can find it. This is typically <filename>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</filename> or <filename>/usr/local/etc/X11/xorg.conf</filename>.</para> <screen>&prompt.root; <userinput>cp xorg.conf.new /etc/X11/xorg.conf</userinput></screen> <para>The X11 configuration process is now complete. <application>&xorg;</application> may be now started with the &man.startx.1; utility. The X11 server may also be started with the use of &man.xdm.1;.</para> </sect2> <sect2> <title>Advanced Configuration Topics</title> <sect3> <title>Configuration with &intel; <literal>i810</literal> Graphics Chipsets</title> <indexterm><primary>Intel i810 graphic chipset</primary></indexterm> <para>Configuration with &intel; i810 integrated chipsets requires the <devicename>agpgart</devicename> AGP programming interface for X11 to drive the card. See the &man.agp.4; driver manual page for more information.</para> <para>This will allow configuration of the hardware as any other graphics board. Note on systems without the &man.agp.4; driver compiled in the kernel, trying to load the module with &man.kldload.8; will not work. This driver has to be in the kernel at boot time through being compiled in or using <filename>/boot/loader.conf</filename>.</para> </sect3> <sect3> <title>Adding a Widescreen Flatpanel to the Mix</title> <indexterm><primary>widescreen flatpanel configuration</primary></indexterm> <para>This section assumes a bit of advanced configuration knowledge. If attempts to use the standard configuration tools above have not resulted in a working configuration, there is information enough in the log files to be of use in getting the setup working. Use of a text editor will be necessary.</para> <para>Current widescreen (WSXGA, WSXGA+, WUXGA, WXGA, WXGA+, et.al.) formats support 16:10 and 10:9 formats or aspect ratios that can be problematic. Examples of some common screen resolutions for 16:10 aspect ratios are:</para> <itemizedlist> <listitem><para>2560x1600</para></listitem> <listitem><para>1920x1200</para></listitem> <listitem><para>1680x1050</para></listitem> <listitem><para>1440x900</para></listitem> <listitem><para>1280x800</para></listitem> </itemizedlist> <para>At some point, it will be as easy as adding one of these resolutions as a possible <literal>Mode</literal> in the <literal>Section "Screen"</literal> as such:</para> <programlisting>Section "Screen" Identifier "Screen0" Device "Card0" Monitor "Monitor0" DefaultDepth 24 SubSection "Display" Viewport 0 0 Depth 24 Modes "1680x1050" EndSubSection EndSection</programlisting> <para><application>&xorg;</application> is smart enough to pull the resolution information from the widescreen via I2C/DDC information so it knows what the monitor can handle as far as frequencies and resolutions.</para> <para>If those <literal>ModeLines</literal> do not exist in the drivers, one might need to give <application>&xorg;</application> a little hint. Using <filename>/var/log/Xorg.0.log</filename> one can extract enough information to manually create a <literal>ModeLine</literal> that will work. Simply look for information resembling this:</para> <programlisting>(II) MGA(0): Supported additional Video Mode: (II) MGA(0): clock: 146.2 MHz Image Size: 433 x 271 mm (II) MGA(0): h_active: 1680 h_sync: 1784 h_sync_end 1960 h_blank_end 2240 h_border: 0 (II) MGA(0): v_active: 1050 v_sync: 1053 v_sync_end 1059 v_blanking: 1089 v_border: 0 (II) MGA(0): Ranges: V min: 48 V max: 85 Hz, H min: 30 H max: 94 kHz, PixClock max 170 MHz</programlisting> <para>This information is called EDID information. Creating a <literal>ModeLine</literal> from this is just a matter of putting the numbers in the correct order:</para> <programlisting>ModeLine <name> <clock> <4 horiz. timings> <4 vert. timings></programlisting> <para>So that the <literal>ModeLine</literal> in <literal>Section "Monitor"</literal> for this example would look like this:</para> <programlisting>Section "Monitor" Identifier "Monitor1" VendorName "Bigname" ModelName "BestModel" ModeLine "1680x1050" 146.2 1680 1784 1960 2240 1050 1053 1059 1089 Option "DPMS" EndSection</programlisting> <para>Now having completed these simple editing steps, X should start on your new widescreen monitor.</para> </sect3> </sect2> </sect1> <sect1 id="x-fonts"> <sect1info> <authorgroup> <author> <firstname>Murray</firstname> <surname>Stokely</surname> <contrib>Contributed by </contrib> </author> </authorgroup> </sect1info> <title>Using Fonts in X11</title> <sect2 id="type1"> <title>Type1 Fonts</title> <para>The default fonts that ship with X11 are less than ideal for typical desktop publishing applications. Large presentation fonts show up jagged and unprofessional looking, and small fonts in <application>&netscape;</application> are almost completely unintelligible. However, there are several free, high quality Type1 (&postscript;) fonts available which can be readily used with X11. For instance, the URW font collection (<filename role="package">x11-fonts/urwfonts</filename>) includes high quality versions of standard type1 fonts (<trademark class="registered">Times Roman</trademark>, <trademark class="registered">Helvetica</trademark>, <trademark class="registered">Palatino</trademark> and others). The Freefonts collection (<filename role="package">x11-fonts/freefonts</filename>) includes many more fonts, but most of them are intended for use in graphics software such as the <application>Gimp</application>, and are not complete enough to serve as screen fonts. In addition, X11 can be configured to use &truetype; fonts with a minimum of effort. For more details on this, see the &man.X.7; manual page or the <link linkend="truetype">section on &truetype; fonts</link>.</para> <para>To install the above Type1 font collections from the Ports Collection, run the following commands:</para> <screen>&prompt.root; <userinput>cd /usr/ports/x11-fonts/urwfonts</userinput> &prompt.root; <userinput>make install clean</userinput></screen> <para>And likewise with the freefont or other collections. To have the X server detect these fonts, add an appropriate line to the X server configuration file (<filename>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</filename>), which reads:</para> <programlisting>FontPath "/usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/URW/"</programlisting> <para>Alternatively, at the command line in the X session run:</para> <screen>&prompt.user; <userinput>xset fp+ /usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/URW</userinput> &prompt.user; <userinput>xset fp rehash</userinput></screen> <para>This will work but will be lost when the X session is closed, unless it is added to the startup file (<filename>~/.xinitrc</filename> for a normal <command>startx</command> session, or <filename>~/.xsession</filename> when logging in through a graphical login manager like <application>XDM</application>). A third way is to use the new <filename>/usr/local/etc/fonts/local.conf</filename> file: see the section on <link linkend="antialias">anti-aliasing</link>.</para> </sect2> <sect2 id="truetype"> <title>&truetype; Fonts</title> <indexterm><primary>TrueType Fonts</primary></indexterm> <indexterm><primary>fonts</primary> <secondary>TrueType</secondary> </indexterm> <para><application>&xorg;</application> has built in support for rendering &truetype; fonts. There are two different modules that can enable this functionality. The freetype module is used in this example because it is more consistent with the other font rendering back-ends. To enable the freetype module just add the following line to the <literal>"Module"</literal> section of the <filename>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</filename> file.</para> <programlisting>Load "freetype"</programlisting> <para>Now make a directory for the &truetype; fonts (for example, <filename>/usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/TrueType</filename>) and copy all of the &truetype; fonts into this directory. Keep in mind that &truetype; fonts cannot be directly taken from a &macintosh;; they must be in &unix;/&ms-dos;/&windows; format for use by X11. Once the files have been copied into this directory, use <application>ttmkfdir</application> to create a <filename>fonts.dir</filename> file, so that the X font renderer knows that these new files have been installed. <command>ttmkfdir</command> is available from the FreeBSD Ports Collection as <filename role="package">x11-fonts/ttmkfdir</filename>.</para> <screen>&prompt.root; <userinput>cd /usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/TrueType</userinput> &prompt.root; <userinput>ttmkfdir -o fonts.dir</userinput></screen> <para>Now add the &truetype; directory to the font path. This is just the same as described above for <link linkend="type1">Type1</link> fonts, that is, use</para> <screen>&prompt.user; <userinput>xset fp+ /usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/TrueType</userinput> &prompt.user; <userinput>xset fp rehash</userinput></screen> <para>or add a <literal>FontPath</literal> line to the <filename>xorg.conf</filename> file.</para> <para>That's it. Now <application>&netscape;</application>, <application>Gimp</application>, <application>&staroffice;</application>, and all of the other X applications should now recognize the installed &truetype; fonts. Extremely small fonts (as with text in a high resolution display on a web page) and extremely large fonts (within <application>&staroffice;</application>) will look much better now.</para> </sect2> <sect2 id="antialias"> <sect2info> <authorgroup> <author> <firstname>Joe Marcus</firstname> <surname>Clarke</surname> <contrib>Updated by </contrib> <!-- May 2003 --> </author> </authorgroup> </sect2info> <title>Anti-Aliased Fonts</title> <indexterm><primary>anti-aliased fonts</primary></indexterm> <indexterm><primary>fonts</primary> <secondary>anti-aliased</secondary></indexterm> <para>All fonts in X11 that are found in <filename>/usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/</filename> and <filename>~/.fonts/</filename> are automatically made available for anti-aliasing to Xft-aware applications. Most recent applications are Xft-aware, including <application>KDE</application>, <application>GNOME</application>, and <application>Firefox</application>.</para> <para>In order to control which fonts are anti-aliased, or to configure anti-aliasing properties, create (or edit, if it already exists) the file <filename>/usr/local/etc/fonts/local.conf</filename>. Several advanced features of the Xft font system can be tuned using this file; this section describes only some simple possibilities. For more details, please see &man.fonts-conf.5;.</para> <indexterm><primary>XML</primary></indexterm> <para>This file must be in XML format. Pay careful attention to case, and make sure all tags are properly closed. The file begins with the usual XML header followed by a DOCTYPE definition, and then the <literal><fontconfig></literal> tag:</para> <programlisting> <?xml version="1.0"?> <!DOCTYPE fontconfig SYSTEM "fonts.dtd"> <fontconfig> </programlisting> <para>As previously stated, all fonts in <filename>/usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/</filename> as well as <filename>~/.fonts/</filename> are already made available to Xft-aware applications. If you wish to add another directory outside of these two directory trees, add a line similar to the following to <filename>/usr/local/etc/fonts/local.conf</filename>:</para> <programlisting><dir>/path/to/my/fonts</dir></programlisting> <para>After adding new fonts, and especially new font directories, you should run the following command to rebuild the font caches:</para> <screen>&prompt.root; <userinput>fc-cache -f</userinput></screen> <para>Anti-aliasing makes borders slightly fuzzy, which makes very small text more readable and removes <quote>staircases</quote> from large text, but can cause eyestrain if applied to normal text. To exclude font sizes smaller than 14 point from anti-aliasing, include these lines:</para> <programlisting> <match target="font"> <test name="size" compare="less"> <double>14</double> </test> <edit name="antialias" mode="assign"> <bool>false</bool> </edit> </match> <match target="font"> <test name="pixelsize" compare="less" qual="any"> <double>14</double> </test> <edit mode="assign" name="antialias"> <bool>false</bool> </edit> </match></programlisting> <indexterm><primary>fonts</primary> <secondary>spacing</secondary></indexterm> <para>Spacing for some monospaced fonts may also be inappropriate with anti-aliasing. This seems to be an issue with <application>KDE</application>, in particular. One possible fix for this is to force the spacing for such fonts to be 100. Add the following lines:</para> <programlisting> <match target="pattern" name="family"> <test qual="any" name="family"> <string>fixed</string> </test> <edit name="family" mode="assign"> <string>mono</string> </edit> </match> <match target="pattern" name="family"> <test qual="any" name="family"> <string>console</string> </test> <edit name="family" mode="assign"> <string>mono</string> </edit> </match></programlisting> <para>(this aliases the other common names for fixed fonts as <literal>"mono"</literal>), and then add:</para> <programlisting> <match target="pattern" name="family"> <test qual="any" name="family"> <string>mono</string> </test> <edit name="spacing" mode="assign"> <int>100</int> </edit> </match> </programlisting> <para>Certain fonts, such as Helvetica, may have a problem when anti-aliased. Usually this manifests itself as a font that seems cut in half vertically. At worst, it may cause applications to crash. To avoid this, consider adding the following to <filename>local.conf</filename>:</para> <programlisting> <match target="pattern" name="family"> <test qual="any" name="family"> <string>Helvetica</string> </test> <edit name="family" mode="assign"> <string>sans-serif</string> </edit> </match> </programlisting> <para>Once you have finished editing <filename>local.conf</filename> make sure you end the file with the <literal></fontconfig></literal> tag. Not doing this will cause your changes to be ignored.</para> <para>Finally, users can add their own settings via their personal <filename>.fonts.conf</filename> files. To do this, each user should simply create a <filename>~/.fonts.conf</filename>. This file must also be in XML format.</para> <indexterm><primary>LCD screen</primary></indexterm> <indexterm><primary>Fonts</primary> <secondary>LCD screen</secondary></indexterm> <para>One last point: with an LCD screen, sub-pixel sampling may be desired. This basically treats the (horizontally separated) red, green and blue components separately to improve the horizontal resolution; the results can be dramatic. To enable this, add the line somewhere in the <filename>local.conf</filename> file:</para> <programlisting> <match target="font"> <test qual="all" name="rgba"> <const>unknown</const> </test> <edit name="rgba" mode="assign"> <const>rgb</const> </edit> </match> </programlisting> <note> <para>Depending on the sort of display, <literal>rgb</literal> may need to be changed to <literal>bgr</literal>, <literal>vrgb</literal> or <literal>vbgr</literal>: experiment and see which works best.</para> </note> </sect2> </sect1> <sect1 id="x-xdm"> <sect1info> <authorgroup> <author> <firstname>Seth</firstname> <surname>Kingsley</surname> <contrib>Contributed by </contrib> </author> </authorgroup> </sect1info> <title>The X Display Manager</title> <sect2> <title>Overview</title> <indexterm><primary>X Display Manager</primary></indexterm> <para>The X Display Manager (<application>XDM</application>) is an optional part of the X Window System that is used for login session management. This is useful for several types of situations, including minimal <quote>X Terminals</quote>, desktops, and large network display servers. Since the X Window System is network and protocol independent, there are a wide variety of possible configurations for running X clients and servers on different machines connected by a network. <application>XDM</application> provides a graphical interface for choosing which display server to connect to, and entering authorization information such as a login and password combination.</para> <para>Think of <application>XDM</application> as providing the same functionality to the user as the &man.getty.8; utility (see <xref linkend="term-config"/> for details). That is, it performs system logins to the display being connected to and then runs a session manager on behalf of the user (usually an X window manager). <application>XDM</application> then waits for this program to exit, signaling that the user is done and should be logged out of the display. At this point, <application>XDM</application> can display the login and display chooser screens for the next user to login.</para> </sect2> <sect2> <title>Using XDM</title> <para>To start using <application>XDM</application>, install the <filename role="package">x11/xdm</filename> port (it is not installed by default in recent versions of <application>&xorg;</application>). The <application>XDM</application> daemon program may then be found in <filename>/usr/local/bin/xdm</filename>. This program can be run at any time as <username>root</username> and it will start managing the X display on the local machine. If <application>XDM</application> is to be run every time the machine boots up, a convenient way to do this is by adding an entry to <filename>/etc/ttys</filename>. For more information about the format and usage of this file, see <xref linkend="term-etcttys"/>. There is a line in the default <filename>/etc/ttys</filename> file for running the <application>XDM</application> daemon on a virtual terminal:</para> <screen>ttyv8 "/usr/local/bin/xdm -nodaemon" xterm off secure</screen> <para>By default this entry is disabled; in order to enable it change field 5 from <literal>off</literal> to <literal>on</literal> and restart &man.init.8; using the directions in <xref linkend="term-hup"/>. The first field, the name of the terminal this program will manage, is <literal>ttyv8</literal>. This means that <application>XDM</application> will start running on the 9th virtual terminal.</para> </sect2> <sect2> <title>Configuring XDM</title> <para>The <application>XDM</application> configuration directory is located in <filename>/usr/local/lib/X11/xdm</filename>. In this directory there are several files used to change the behavior and appearance of <application>XDM</application>. Typically these files will be found:</para> <informaltable frame="none" pgwide="1"> <tgroup cols="2"> <thead> <row> <entry>File</entry> <entry>Description</entry> </row> </thead> <tbody> <row> <entry><filename>Xaccess</filename></entry> <entry>Client authorization ruleset.</entry> </row> <row> <entry><filename>Xresources</filename></entry> <entry>Default X resource values.</entry> </row> <row> <entry><filename>Xservers</filename></entry> <entry>List of remote and local displays to manage.</entry> </row> <row> <entry><filename>Xsession</filename></entry> <entry>Default session script for logins.</entry> </row> <row> <entry><filename>Xsetup_</filename>*</entry> <entry>Script to launch applications before the login interface.</entry> </row> <row> <entry><filename>xdm-config</filename></entry> <entry>Global configuration for all displays running on this machine.</entry> </row> <row> <entry><filename>xdm-errors</filename></entry> <entry>Errors generated by the server program.</entry> </row> <row> <entry><filename>xdm-pid</filename></entry> <entry>The process ID of the currently running XDM.</entry> </row> </tbody> </tgroup> </informaltable> <para>Also in this directory are a few scripts and programs used to set up the desktop when <application>XDM</application> is running. The purpose of each of these files will be briefly described. The exact syntax and usage of all of these files is described in &man.xdm.1;.</para> <para>The default configuration is a simple rectangular login window with the hostname of the machine displayed at the top in a large font and <quote>Login:</quote> and <quote>Password:</quote> prompts below. This is a good starting point for changing the look and feel of <application>XDM</application> screens.</para> <sect3> <title>Xaccess</title> <para>The protocol for connecting to <application>XDM</application>-controlled displays is called the X Display Manager Connection Protocol (XDMCP). This file is a ruleset for controlling XDMCP connections from remote machines. It is ignored unless the <filename>xdm-config</filename> is changed to listen for remote connections. By default, it does not allow any clients to connect.</para> </sect3> <sect3> <title>Xresources</title> <para>This is an application-defaults file for the display chooser and login screens. In it, the appearance of the login program can be modified. The format is identical to the app-defaults file described in the X11 documentation.</para> </sect3> <sect3> <title>Xservers</title> <para>This is a list of the remote displays the chooser should provide as choices.</para> </sect3> <sect3> <title>Xsession</title> <para>This is the default session script for <application>XDM</application> to run after a user has logged in. Normally each user will have a customized session script in <filename>~/.xsession</filename> that overrides this script.</para> </sect3> <sect3> <title>Xsetup_*</title> <para>These will be run automatically before displaying the chooser or login interfaces. There is a script for each display being used, named <filename>Xsetup_</filename> followed by the local display number (for instance <filename>Xsetup_0</filename>). Typically these scripts will run one or two programs in the background such as <command>xconsole</command>.</para> </sect3> <sect3> <title>xdm-config</title> <para>This contains settings in the form of app-defaults that are applicable to every display that this installation manages.</para> </sect3> <sect3> <title>xdm-errors</title> <para>This contains the output of the X servers that <application>XDM</application> is trying to run. If a display that <application>XDM</application> is trying to start hangs for some reason, this is a good place to look for error messages. These messages are also written to the user's <filename>~/.xsession-errors</filename> file on a per-session basis.</para> </sect3> </sect2> <sect2> <title>Running a Network Display Server</title> <para>In order for other clients to connect to the display server, you must edit the access control rules and enable the connection listener. By default these are set to conservative values. To make <application>XDM</application> listen for connections, first comment out a line in the <filename>xdm-config</filename> file:</para> <screen>! SECURITY: do not listen for XDMCP or Chooser requests ! Comment out this line if you want to manage X terminals with xdm DisplayManager.requestPort: 0</screen> <para>and then restart <application>XDM</application>. Remember that comments in app-defaults files begin with a <quote>!</quote> character, not the usual <quote>#</quote>. More strict access controls may be desired — look at the example entries in <filename>Xaccess</filename>, and refer to the &man.xdm.1; manual page for further information.</para> </sect2> <sect2> <title>Replacements for XDM</title> <para>Several replacements for the default <application>XDM</application> program exist. One of them, <application>KDM</application> (bundled with <application>KDE</application>) is described later in this chapter. The <application>KDM</application> display manager offers many visual improvements and cosmetic frills, as well as the functionality to allow users to choose their window manager of choice at login time.</para> </sect2> </sect1> <sect1 id="x11-wm"> <sect1info> <authorgroup> <author> <firstname>Valentino</firstname> <surname>Vaschetto</surname> <contrib>Contributed by </contrib> </author> <!-- June 2001 --> </authorgroup> </sect1info> <title>Desktop Environments</title> <para>This section describes the different desktop environments available for X on FreeBSD. A <quote>desktop environment</quote> can mean anything ranging from a simple window manager to a complete suite of desktop applications, such as <application>KDE</application> or <application>GNOME</application>.</para> <sect2 id="x11-wm-gnome"> <title>GNOME</title> <sect3 id="x11-wm-gnome-about"> <title>About GNOME</title> <indexterm><primary>GNOME</primary></indexterm> <para><application>GNOME</application> is a user-friendly desktop environment that enables users to easily use and configure their computers. <application>GNOME</application> includes a panel (for starting applications and displaying status), a desktop (where data and applications can be placed), a set of standard desktop tools and applications, and a set of conventions that make it easy for applications to cooperate and be consistent with each other. Users of other operating systems or environments should feel right at home using the powerful graphics-driven environment that <application>GNOME</application> provides. More information regarding <application>GNOME</application> on FreeBSD can be found on the <ulink url="http://www.FreeBSD.org/gnome">FreeBSD GNOME Project</ulink>'s web site. The web site also contains fairly comprehensive FAQs about installing, configuring, and managing <application>GNOME</application>.</para> </sect3> <sect3 id="x11-wm-gnome-install"> <title>Installing GNOME</title> <para>The software can be easily installed from a package or the Ports Collection:</para> <para>To install the <application>GNOME</application> package from the network, simply type:</para> <screen>&prompt.root; <userinput>pkg_add -r gnome2</userinput></screen> <para>To build <application>GNOME</application> from source, use the ports tree:</para> <screen>&prompt.root; <userinput>cd /usr/ports/x11/gnome2</userinput> &prompt.root; <userinput>make install clean</userinput></screen> <para>For proper operation, <application>GNOME</application> requires the <filename>/proc</filename> filesystem to be mounted. Add</para> <programlisting>proc /proc procfs rw 0 0</programlisting> <para>to <filename>/etc/fstab</filename> to mount &man.procfs.5; automatically during startup.</para> <para>Once <application>GNOME</application> is installed, the X server must be told to start <application>GNOME</application> instead of a default window manager.</para> <para>The easiest way to start <application>GNOME</application> is with <application>GDM</application>, the GNOME Display Manager. <application>GDM</application> is installed as part of the <application>GNOME</application> desktop, although it is disabled by default. It can be enabled by adding this line to <filename>/etc/rc.conf</filename>:</para> <programlisting>gdm_enable="YES"</programlisting> <para>Once you have rebooted, <application>GDM</application> will start automatically.</para> <para>It is often desirable to start all <application>GNOME</application> services together with <application>GDM</application>. To achieve this, add the following line to <filename>/etc/rc.conf</filename>:</para> <programlisting>gnome_enable="YES"</programlisting> <para><application>GNOME</application> may also be started from the command-line by properly configuring a file named <filename>.xinitrc</filename>. If a custom <filename>.xinitrc</filename> is already in place, simply replace the line that starts the current window manager with one that starts <application>/usr/local/bin/gnome-session</application> instead. If nothing special has been done to the configuration file, then it is enough simply to type:</para> <screen>&prompt.user; <userinput>echo "/usr/local/bin/gnome-session" > ~/.xinitrc</userinput></screen> <para>Next, type <command>startx</command>, and the <application>GNOME</application> desktop environment will be started.</para> <note><para>If an older display manager, like <application>XDM</application>, is being used, this will not work. Instead, create an executable <filename>.xsession</filename> file with the same command in it. To do this, edit the file and replace the existing window manager command with <application>/usr/local/bin/gnome-session</application>: </para></note> <screen>&prompt.user; <userinput>echo "#!/bin/sh" > ~/.xsession</userinput> &prompt.user; <userinput>echo "/usr/local/bin/gnome-session" >> ~/.xsession</userinput> &prompt.user; <userinput>chmod +x ~/.xsession</userinput></screen> <para>Yet another option is to configure the display manager to allow choosing the window manager at login time; the section on <link linkend="x11-wm-kde-details">KDE details</link> explains how to do this for <application>KDM</application>, the display manager of <application>KDE</application>.</para> </sect3> </sect2> <sect2 id="x11-wm-kde"> <title>KDE</title> <indexterm><primary>KDE</primary></indexterm> <sect3 id="x11-wm-kde-about"> <title>About KDE</title> <para><application>KDE</application> is an easy to use contemporary desktop environment. Some of the things that <application>KDE</application> brings to the user are:</para> <itemizedlist> <listitem> <para>A beautiful contemporary desktop</para> </listitem> <listitem> <para>A desktop exhibiting complete network transparency</para> </listitem> <listitem> <para>An integrated help system allowing for convenient, consistent access to help on the use of the <application>KDE</application> desktop and its applications</para> </listitem> <listitem> <para>Consistent look and feel of all <application>KDE</application> applications</para> </listitem> <listitem> <para>Standardized menu and toolbars, keybindings, color-schemes, etc.</para> </listitem> <listitem> <para>Internationalization: <application>KDE</application> is available in more than 55 languages</para> </listitem> <listitem> <para>Centralized, consistent, dialog-driven desktop configuration</para> </listitem> <listitem> <para>A great number of useful <application>KDE</application> applications</para> </listitem> </itemizedlist> <para><application>KDE</application> comes with a web browser called <application>Konqueror</application>, which is a solid competitor to other existing web browsers on &unix; systems. More information on <application>KDE</application> can be found on the <ulink url="http://www.kde.org/">KDE website</ulink>. For FreeBSD specific information and resources on <application>KDE</application>, consult the <ulink url="http://freebsd.kde.org/">KDE/FreeBSD initiative</ulink>'s website.</para> <para>There are two versions of <application>KDE</application> available on FreeBSD. Version 3 has been around for a long time, and is still available in the Ports Collection though it's now unmaintained and partially broken. Version 4 is punctually updated and is the default choice for <application>KDE</application> users. They can even be installed side by side.</para> </sect3> <sect3 id="x11-wm-kde-install"> <title>Installing KDE</title> <para>Just as with <application>GNOME</application> or any other desktop environment, the software can be easily installed from a package or the Ports Collection:</para> <para>To install the <application>KDE 3</application> package from the network, type:</para> <screen>&prompt.root; <userinput>pkg_add -r kde</userinput></screen> <para>To install the <application>KDE 4</application> package from the network, type:</para> <screen>&prompt.root; <userinput>pkg_add -r kde4</userinput></screen> <para>&man.pkg.add.1; will automatically fetch the latest version of the application.</para> <para>To build <application>KDE 3</application> from source, use the ports tree:</para> <screen>&prompt.root; <userinput>cd /usr/ports/x11/kde3</userinput> &prompt.root; <userinput>make install clean</userinput></screen> <para>To build <application>KDE 4</application> from source, use the ports tree:</para> <screen>&prompt.root; <userinput>cd /usr/ports/x11/kde4</userinput> &prompt.root; <userinput>make install clean</userinput></screen> <para>After <application>KDE</application> has been installed, the X server must be told to launch this application instead of the default window manager. This is accomplished by editing the <filename>.xinitrc</filename> file:</para> <para>For <application>KDE 3</application>:</para> <screen>&prompt.user; <userinput>echo "exec startkde" > ~/.xinitrc</userinput></screen> <para>For <application>KDE 4</application>:</para> <screen>&prompt.user; <userinput>echo "exec /usr/local/kde4/bin/startkde" > ~/.xinitrc</userinput></screen> <para>Now, whenever the X Window System is invoked with <command>startx</command>, <application>KDE</application> will be the desktop.</para> <para>If a display manager such as <application>XDM</application> is being used, the configuration is slightly different. Edit the <filename>.xsession</filename> file instead. Instructions for <application>KDM</application> are described later in this chapter.</para> </sect3> </sect2> <sect2 id="x11-wm-kde-details"> <title>More Details on KDE</title> <para>Now that <application>KDE</application> is installed on the system, most things can be discovered through the help pages, or just by pointing and clicking at various menus. &windows; or &mac; users will feel quite at home.</para> <para>The best reference for <application>KDE</application> is the on-line documentation. <application>KDE</application> comes with its own web browser, <application>Konqueror</application>, dozens of useful applications, and extensive documentation. The remainder of this section discusses the technical items that are difficult to learn by random exploration.</para> <sect3 id="x11-wm-kde-kdm"> <title>The KDE Display Manager</title> <indexterm><primary>KDE</primary> <secondary>display manager</secondary></indexterm> <para>An administrator of a multi-user system may wish to have a graphical login screen to welcome users. <link linkend="x-xdm">XDM</link> can be used, as described earlier. However, <application>KDE</application> includes an alternative, <application>KDM</application>, which is designed to look more attractive and include more login-time options. In particular, users can easily choose (via a menu) which desktop environment (<application>KDE</application>, <application>GNOME</application>, or something else) to run after logging on.</para> <para>To enable <application>KDM</application>, different files need to be edited depending on the version of <application>KDE</application>.</para> <para>For <application>KDE 3</application>, the <literal>ttyv8</literal> entry in <filename>/etc/ttys</filename> has to be adapted as follows:</para> <programlisting>ttyv8 "/usr/local/bin/kdm -nodaemon" xterm on secure</programlisting> <para>For <application>KDE 4</application>, you have to mount &man.procfs.5; and add the following line to <filename>/etc/rc.conf</filename>:</para> <programlisting>kdm4_enable="YES"</programlisting> </sect3> </sect2> <sect2 id="x11-wm-xfce"> <title>Xfce</title> <sect3 id="x11-wm-xfce-about"> <title>About Xfce</title> <para><application>Xfce</application> is a desktop environment based on the GTK+ toolkit used by <application>GNOME</application>, but is much more lightweight and meant for those who want a simple, efficient desktop which is nevertheless easy to use and configure. Visually, it looks very much like <application>CDE</application>, found on commercial &unix; systems. Some of <application>Xfce</application>'s features are:</para> <itemizedlist> <listitem> <para>A simple, easy-to-handle desktop</para> </listitem> <listitem> <para>Fully configurable via mouse, with drag and drop, etc.</para> </listitem> <listitem> <para>Main panel similar to <application>CDE</application>, with menus, applets and applications launchers</para> </listitem> <listitem> <para>Integrated window manager, file manager, sound manager, <application>GNOME</application> compliance module, and more</para> </listitem> <listitem> <para>Themeable (since it uses GTK+)</para> </listitem> <listitem> <para>Fast, light and efficient: ideal for older/slower machines or machines with memory limitations</para> </listitem> </itemizedlist> <para>More information on <application>Xfce</application> can be found on the <ulink url="http://www.xfce.org/">Xfce website</ulink>.</para> </sect3> <sect3 id="x11-wm-xfce-install"> <title>Installing Xfce</title> <para>A binary package for <application>Xfce</application> exists (at the time of writing). To install, simply type:</para> <screen>&prompt.root; <userinput>pkg_add -r xfce4</userinput></screen> <para>Alternatively, to build from source, use the Ports Collection:</para> <screen>&prompt.root; <userinput>cd /usr/ports/x11-wm/xfce4</userinput> &prompt.root; <userinput>make install clean</userinput></screen> <para>Now, tell the X server to launch <application>Xfce</application> the next time X is started. Simply type this:</para> <screen>&prompt.user; <userinput>echo "/usr/local/bin/startxfce4" > ~/.xinitrc</userinput></screen> <para>The next time X is started, <application>Xfce</application> will be the desktop. As before, if a display manager like <application>XDM</application> is being used, create an <filename>.xsession</filename>, as described in the section on <link linkend="x11-wm-gnome">GNOME</link>, but with the <filename>/usr/local/bin/startxfce4</filename> command; or, configure the display manager to allow choosing a desktop at login time, as explained in the section on <link linkend="x11-wm-kde-kdm">kdm</link>.</para> </sect3> </sect2> </sect1> </chapter>