8    Customizing Your Environment

You cannot migrate to a new user interface without expecting changes. The Common Desktop Environment (CDE) offers you tools and methods to customize your environment that differ from those used in the DECwindows Motif environment. This chapter briefly describes how to customize your session.

This chapter contains the following information:

8.1    Customizing Your Startup Environment

Using CDE, you can add frequently used applications to the Front Panel and subpanels. See Section 7.2.1 for information on adding applications to the Front Panel and subpanels. The applications that are started automatically at startup are determined by the options you set when using the Style Manager Startup control.

When you click on the Style Manager Startup control, a dialog box appears. You have the option at login to resume your current session, return to your home session or ask me at logout the next time you log out:

See the Common Desktop Environment: User's Guide for information on adding applications and setting a login session. See the Common Desktop Environment: Advanced User's and System Administrator's Guide for information on setting a display-specific session.

8.2    Changing Session Manager Settings

When using CDE, the Front Panel always is displayed unless you start a Failsafe session, or a Command-Line Login session. To turn the Front Panel into an icon after logging into the system, use the window or menu controls.

To turn Logout Confirmation on or off, use the Style Manager Startup control.

You cannot change the Lock (Pause) screen message as you could with DECwindows Motif.

8.3    Customizing Window Patterns and Colors

This section describes how you can do the following:

Changing these options when using CDE differs. The following sections discuss how to change the window manager, specify a screen saver and lock background, select a background pattern, and how to change colors.

8.3.1    Changing the Window Manager

When you start a CDE session, the default window manager, /usr/dt/bin/dtwm is started. Unlike the DECwindows Motif environment, specifying an alternate window manager is an advanced feature. You edit resource files to change the Window Manager in CDE. See the Common Desktop Environment: Advanced User's and System Administrator's Guide for further information.

8.3.2    Specifying a Screen Saver and Lock Screen Background

A screen saver extends the life of your monitor by blanking the screen after a specified amount of time. By default, the monitor blanks the display after 10 minutes. Moving the mouse causes the display to resume. A screen lock background is displayed when you pause a session from the CDE Front Panel.

You can customize what is displayed by using the Style Manager Screen control. Refer to Section 4.3.2.

8.3.3    Selecting a Background Pattern

In CDE, you can specify a background pattern for each of your workspaces using the Style Manager Backdrop control. The Backdrop control opens a dialog box, which offers a scrollable lists of background selections. You can also display the root window by selecting No Backdrop from the list of options.

8.3.4    Changing Screen and Window Colors

When using the CDE Style Manager, colors are set by using the Style Manager Color control. The Color control sets screen, window, workspace, and Front Panel colors according to your display type. Depending on your display type, you may have 2, 4, or 8 color buttons that you can use to control the color of windows, window borders, workspaces, text and list areas, and Front Panel background. See the Common Desktop Environment: User's Guide for information on color controls and selecting color palettes.

8.4    Changing Your Security Settings

To change your security settings, use the Host Manager application or the xhost command. The Host Manager displays icons for all hosts known to the local system and for those hosts that you specify. By using the Host Manager, you can set the DISPLAY environment variable and run applications from a remote system.

To start the Host Manager from the Application Manager:

  1. Double click on System_Admin.

  2. Double click on DailyAdmin.

  3. Double click on the Host Manager application.

See the Host Manager online help for more information. To view the online help, click on the Help menu from within the application.

For information about the xhost command, see the xhost(1X) reference page.

8.5    Customizing the Keyboard Settings

When using CDE, keyboard settings can be changed by using the Style Manager controls and the Keyboard Options application. The following sections discuss these methods.

This section contains the following information:

8.5.1    Using Style Manager to Adjust Keyboard Settings

By using the Style Manager controls, the following keyboard settings can be adjusted:

Note

Not all keyboards let you change the key click volume or the beep (bell) volume, tone, or duration.

8.5.2    Using Keyboard Options to Adjust Keyboard Settings

The Keyboards Options application has been migrated and integrated into the CDE interface. It offers further options that you can use to control keyboard settings. Use this application to set the following:

By using the Keyboard Options application, you can also start the Keycaps application and save and load settings for future sessions. For more information on the Keyboard Options and Keycaps applications, see Chapter 5.

8.5.3    Changing PC-Style Keyboards

Several workstations come with personal computer (PC)-style keyboards. Currently, these keyboards have one of the following model numbers, although more models may be produced in the future:

Other workstations come with keyboards such as the LK201 or LK401.

The two styles of keyboards differ both in the functions assigned to certain keys and in the number of function keys. For example, the PC-style keyboards have only 12 function keys ([F1] through [F12]); the LK201/LK401 keyboards have 20 function keys ([F1] through [F14], [Help], [Do], and [F17] through [F20]).

This operating system provides a script that automatically performs mappings to allow you to switch keyboard styles. This script, /usr/examples/pc_to_lk_keys.sh, uses the xmodmap utility to edit the keyboard modifier map and keysym table. (For details about the utility, see the xmodmap(1X) reference page.)

If you have a PC-style keyboard, you can run the script to map most of the keys on the two keypads to the right of the main keyboard, as well as a few keys in the top function key row, to the corresponding keys on the LK201/LK401 keyboards. For example, by running the script, you change the function of the keypad [Insert] key on the PC-style keyboard to perform the keypad [Find] function from the LK201/LK401 keyboards.

Similarly, if you have an LK201/LK401 style keyboard, you can run the same script, this time with the -u flag, to map the keypad keys to the corresponding PC-style keys.

A copy of the script is located in the following file on your system:

/usr/examples/pc_to_lk_keys.sh

To run the script, at the system prompt enter the name of the file as if you were entering a command. The first command line in the following example changes PC-style keys to LK201/LK401 keys. The second command line changes LK201/LK401 keys to PC-style keys. 

% /usr/examples/pc_to_lk_keys.sh% /usr/examples/pc_to_lk_keys.sh -u
 

To have the script run automatically each time you log on to your workstation, use an editor to create or modify the .xsession file in your home directory to read as follows: 

#!/bin/sh
/usr/examples/pc_to_lk_keys.sh
dxsession

This changes PC-style keys to LK201/LK401 keys. The same .xsession file, but with -u flag added to the end of the second line, changes LK201/LK401 keys to PC-style keys.

Now, whenever you log in, your keyboard is set automatically to the different keyboard style.

Table 8-1 shows the keys on the LK201/LK401 keyboard and their corresponding equivalents on the PC-style keyboard.

Table 8-1:  LK201/LK401 Key Functions and Their PC-Style Equivalents

Key on the LK201/LK401 Keyboards Equivalent Key or Function on a PC-Style Keyboard
Help Print Screen
Do/Menu Scroll Lock
Insert Home
Find Insert
Remove Page Up
Next Page Down
Select Delete
Prev End
Keypad 0 Ins, Keypad 0
Keypad 1 End, Keypad 1
Keypad 2 Down arrow, Keypad 2
Keypad 3 PgDn, Keypad 3
Keypad 4 Left arrow, Keypad 4
Keypad 5 Keypad 5
Keypad 6 Right arrow, Keypad 6
Keypad 7 Home, Keypad 7
Keypad 8 Up arrow, Keypad 8
Keypad 9 PgUp, Keypad 9
Keypad . (period) Keypad Del
Keypad - Keypad + (addition)
Keypad , No equivalent PC-style keypad key
Keypad Enter Keypad Enter
PF1 Num Lock
PF2 Keypad / (division)
PF3 Keypad * (multiplication)
PF4 Keypad - (subtraction)

Note

The PC-style keyboard has a key labeled [<--] in the position where the key marked is located on the LK201/LK401 keyboard. On both styles of keyboard, this key deletes the character to the left of the cursor when pressed. On the PC-style keyboard, you can use the [Delete] key on the near keypad to delete either the character that the block cursor is on or the character to the left of the line cursor. In keyboard mappings, the [<--] and keys perform the backspace function. The [Delete] key on the PC-style keyboards performs the delete function.

8.6    Specifying a Session Language

By using CDE, you can specify a language type each time you log into the system. You cannot change the language during the session.

The default language is set by your system administrator. To set the session language from the login screen, click on the Options menu, then click on the Language menu item and select a language group. You can select from a list of languages that have been installed on your system. The default language is restored when you end your session.

Note

CDE ignores any xnlLanguage settings in your .Xdefaults file. CDE ignores this to prevent overriding any language that you select in the Options menu from the login screen.

8.7    Customizing Mouse and Pointer Behavior

When using CDE, mouse and pointer behavior is adjusted by using the Style Manager Mouse control. CDE offers some adjustments not available in the DECwindows Motif environment; however when using CDE, you cannot adjust the color or shape of the pointer.

Use the Mouse control to adjust the following:

8.8    Saving and Restoring Settings

Any changes that you make during a session can be saved. When you change options or settings using the Style Manager, each control provides a dialog box that you can use to OK or Apply changes. Using the CDE Style Manager Startup control gives you the opportunity to specify whether these are the settings you return to in your next session.

The CDE Style Manager Startup control specifies whether you return to your current session, home session, or a display-specific session.

8.9    Modifying Resource Files

The Common Desktop Environment: Advanced User's and System Administrator's Guide describes the resource files you can modify to change your environment. This section briefly highlights those files you edited previously under DECwindows Motif and explains whether or not they remain applicable:

Under DECwindows Motif, the system administrator often edited files in /usr/lib/X11/xdm. Equivalents in CDE can be found in /usr/dt/config. These files include Xaccess, Xservers, Xsession and Xsetup/Xsetup -0.