The default installation creates only a root (super user) account with a home directory that is cleared every time you reboot. (Because root's home directory, and /tmp and /var are all tmpfs RAM disk filesystems in Sidious Linux.)
On the CFHT network, users are added to our master NIS server, but most laptop users will also want to make a local home directory. To avoid confusion, you may want to choose a different username than your regular unix/email account, but you may want to choose the same userid so you don't run into permission problems with files copied to/from network disks. To find out your userid, log on to a network machine and try ls -dln $HOME. Your userid is in the second numeric column.
Back on the Sidious installation, use:
# adduser YOURNAME YOURID
to create a local account. Substitute a name (8 characters or less) for YOURNAME, and the userid from your network account for YOURID. You may omit YOURID and the adduser script will choose one for you.
Several aspects of the desktop can be controlled either by creating a file in your home directory called ~/.fvwm-options, or globally under Preferences in reconfig.
All features of the FVWM2 window manager are described in detail in the man pages (see fvwm2, FvwmTheme, FvwmPager, FvwmButtons, . . . ) You can create your own ~/.fvwm2rc from scratch, or copy the system wide one, /usr/wm/common/system.fvwm2rc into your home directory and customize it, but you will not get the benefits of system-wide updates or fixes to that file after you do that.
So, if all you want to do is change colors and backgrounds, there is another way to do it through a variety of files in your home directory which are included by the system-wide fvwm2rc and startup scripts:
#!/bin/sh if [ "$X_DEPTH" != "8" ]; then xv -24 -root -quit -max $HOME/background.jpg else # Use less colors when run on an 8-bit pseudocolor display # (Or comment out completely to not display background image at all.) : xv -8 -ncols 64 -root -quit -max $HOME/background.jpg fiNotice how the script takes care to reduce the number of colors used if running on an 8-bit display where colors are limited. You can run your script manually to test it. Restarting the window manager does not cause this script to run. It only runs when you first log in.
Rxvt*background: #ffffffffffff
Rxvt*foreground: #000000000000
Rxvt*colorBD: #00ff00ffb0ff
Rxvt*colorUL: #707000004040
Rxvt*cursorColor: #000000000000
Rxvt*scrollColor: #606060606060
Rxvt*troughColor: #606060606060
Rxvt*pixmap: /usr/wm/common/backgrounds/swbg.xpm
Rxvt*font: -*-Courier*New-medium-r-*-14-*
Rxvt.geometry: 80x37
After editing this file, it may be necessary to run the command:
xrdb -merge ~/.XdefaultsNote that the background image and font are only installed under Sidious Linux. The font is a TrueType font, which our older X-Servers cannot display. Use "xlsfonts" to see which fonts are available on your current system.
# ~/.fvwm-include - A quick-and-dirty way to change window manager colors # and fonts while still using the system-wide default # system.fvwm2rc (it m4_sinclude()s this file if present.) # # See also: ~/.Xdefaults for application fonts, colors, and more. # See also: ~/.fvwm-initfunction to set desktop background, etc. # # 2002-1-2 Sidik Isani <isani@cfht.hawaii.edu> # # Fonts - WARNING: These TrueType fonts will only work on the new Linux boxes! # ===== # DefaultFont -*-Comic*Sans*MS-medium-r-*-13-* Style * Font -*-Comic*Sans*MS-medium-r-*-13-* *IOStuff: Font -*-Comic*Sans*MS-medium-r-*-9-* *FvwmButtons: Font -*-Comic*Sans*MS-medium-r-*-9-* *FvwmPager: Font -*-Comic*Sans*MS-medium-r-*-7-* *FvwmPager: SmallFont -*-Comic*Sans*MS-medium-r-*-9-* # # Colors - FVWM2 Colorsets are used here. FvwmTheme must be loaded. # ====== # m4_ifelse(m4_CLASS,PseudoColor,` # # Set the colors for 8-bit displays here - Do not use gradients! # # Later in this file, these colorset are used in the following way: # Colorset 1: Pager # Colorset 2: Active window border and title # Colorset 3: Window border and title # Colorset 4: Menu and FvwmButton # *FvwmTheme: Colorset 1 bg rgb:50/30/40 *FvwmTheme: Colorset 2 bg rgb:c0/70/00, fg rgb:ff/ff/40 *FvwmTheme: Colorset 3 bg rgb:60/60/60, fg rgb:f0/f0/f0 *FvwmTheme: Colorset 4 bg rgb:10/70/28 ',` # # Set the colors for 32-bit or truecolor displays here. # *FvwmTheme: Colorset 1 VGradient 50 rgb:10/00/00 rgb:50/30/40 *FvwmTheme: Colorset 2 CGradient 150 rgb:b0/30/00 rgb:d0/b0/00, bg rgb:d0/b0/00, fg rgb:ff/ff/40 *FvwmTheme: Colorset 3 CGradient 150 rgb:00/00/10 rgb:60/60/60, bg rgb:60/60/60, fg rgb:f0/f0/f0 *FvwmTheme: Colorset 4 CGradient 150 rgb:20/b8/40 rgb:00/28/10 # Colorset gradients do not work for the title bar yet, but they do this way: TitleStyle ActiveDown CGradient 150 rgb:d0/b0/00 rgb:b0/30/00e TitleStyle ActiveUp CGradient 150 rgb:b0/30/00 rgb:d0/b0/00 TitleStyle Inactive CGradient 150 rgb:00/00/10 rgb:60/60/60 ') # # Must be started before other modules ModuleSynchronous Timeout 5 FvwmTheme # # Apply colorsets # Style * Colorset 3, HilightColorset 2 MenuStyle * MenuColorset 4 TitleStyle ActiveDown Colorset 2, ActiveUp Colorset 2, Inactive Colorset 3 *FvwmButtons: Colorset 4 *IOStuff: Colorset 4 *FvwmPager: Colorset * 1 *FvwmPager: HilightColorset * 4 *FvwmPager: WindowColorsets 3 2 # # Customize appearance of the pager a little # *FvwmPager: Balloons Pager *FvwmPager: Window3DBorders *FvwmPager: LabelsBelow # # End of ~/.fvwm-include
Customizing the toolbars, and changes to things other than fonts and colors is considerably messier unfortunately. The first step, if you need to change something that does not work from .fvwm-include, is to copy /usr/wm/common/system.fvwm2rc to your home directory as $HOME/.fvwm2rc.
NOTE: If you make an error in any of the files that FVWM2 reads, check .fvwm-errors-HOSTNAME in your home directory as it may reveal some problems. Also look in this file after clicking on a button and nothing happens. The error messages go there.
The lines of the configuration file that define the buttons depend on whether the AT_CFHT variable is defined or not. It is automatically defined for all machines at CFHT, which have the CFHT ``profile'' selected with ``reconfig'' by the administrator. If this is the case, look for a set of lines starting with:
*CFHTStuff...
otherwise, the lines that control the buttons are the ones starting with:
*IOStuff...
The first few lines define the colors and font, and then the position and geometry (rows or columns) of the buttons. You can override these in .fvwm-include instead, and avoid having to make a whole copy of the system.fvwm2rc. For other operations, you do need your own copy. Look for the section that says:
# # ------------------------------ Tool Bar(s) -------------------------- #
You only need to log out and back in if you have just copied the system.fvwm2rc to your home directory for the first time. After that, every time you change it just selecting ``Refresh'' should reveal the changes.
NOTE: The Web page http://software.cfht.hawaii.edu/wm.html includes somewhat dated information applicable to FVWM1. Note that if you create a .fvwmrc (instead of .fvwm2rc) as the old document says, you will get FVWM1 when you log in! In any case, there are still some useful tips on that page which should probably be integrated with the Sidious Manual some time.