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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.
In the DECwindows Motif environment, the Session Manager offers an Application menu and Customize menu. The Application menu lists default applications available to you. By using the Customize menu, you can add or remove applications from the Applications menu. You can also specify that certain applications start automatically at each login session by selecting the Autostart menu item from the Customize menu.
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 of returning to your current session, home session, or a display-specific session when you log in next:
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.
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From the DECwindows Motif Session Manager Customize menu, you can use the Options menu to do the following:
When using CDE, the Front Panel is always displayed unless you start a Failsafe session, Command-Line Login session, or DECwindows Motif 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 the Lock (Pause) screen message as was possible when using DECwindows Motif.
From the DECwindows Motif Session Manager Customize menu, you can use the Windows... menu item to 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
See the Host Manager online help for more information. To view the online help, click on the Help menu from within the application.
To use the xhost command, see the xhost reference page.
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.
By using the Style Manager controls, the following keyboard settings can be adjusted:
Sets the volume, tone and duration of the warning beep (bell) or turns the beep off. The warning beep notifies you of system messages, or warns you when you type incorrect key combinations in applications such as the vi text editor.
Sets the click volume of keys as you type or turns off the click volume. You can also set whether or not a key repeats for as long as it is pressed.
To adjust the click volumes of keys and to turn auto repeat on or off, use the Style Manager Keyboard control. A dialog box appears that you can use to change the keyclick volume and auto repeat of keys.
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.
Several Digital 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 Digital 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).
Digital UNIX 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 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 Digital UNIX 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 change 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 Digital PC-style keyboard.
| 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 Digital PC-style keyboard has a key labeled [<-] in the position where the key marked [<X] ] 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 the character that the block cursor is on or the character to the left of the line cursor.
In keyboard mappings, the [<-] and [<X] ] keys perform the backspace function. The Delete key on the PC-style keyboards performs the delete function.
By using CDE, you can specify a language type each time you log into the system. You cannot change the language during the session.
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.
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:
Specifies how mouse buttons are to be interpreted. By default, mouse buttons are arranged for use by righthanded person. That is, mouse button 1 is on the left and mouse button 3 is on the right. You can specify that mouse button 1 be the leftmost button and mouse button 3 be the rightmost button for a lefthanded person.
Specifies the behavior of mouse button 2. Mouse button 2 can be set to Transfer or Adjust mode. When using the Transfer setting, mouse button 2 is used to drag and drop list or text items (if supported by the application).
When using the Adjust setting, mouse button 2 extends lists selections in a multiple-select list or extends text selection fields; list items are dragged and dropped by using mouse button 1.
Provides a slider that you can use to vary how fast the pointer moves across the screen. For example, a setting of 2 causes the pointer to move twice as fast as the mouse moves.
Specifies how the system interprets two successive clicks of the mouse. That is, it sets the time in which you must click a mouse twice to signal a double click action. For example, double clicking on certain icons starts an application.
Specifies the minimum number of pixels you must move the mouse before the pointer moves at the specified accelerated speed.
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.
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.