I. Presentation

This is a customizable theme for the XDM login manager.

II. Requirements

This XDM theme depends on the following softwares :

  • bash

  • xdm

  • imagemagick

  • numlockx (optional)

  • compton (optional)

  • feh (optional)

  • xonclock (optional)

  • cairo-clock (optional)

  • conky (optional)

  • xscreensaver (optional)

  • To take advantage of this theme, XDM must be the current login manager.

  • numlockx is required to enable num lock at XDM startup.

  • The image viewer feh is required for this XDM theme to work with the compositor compton.

  • the analog clocks xonclock and cairo-clock are required by the Xsetup extension analog-clock.

  • the system monitor conky is required by the Xsetup extension sysmon-conky.

  • xscreensaver is required by the Xsetup extension xdm-screensaver.

III. Directories and Files

This XDM theme includes the resources, scripts, images, and documentation files below :

1. In /etc/X11/xdm/slackware

  • Xresources

    The resources of the X clients run by XDM outside the user’s sessions.

    This file defines the visual aspect of the login box, and keyboard shortcuts to start a given WM/DE.

    WM/DE Keyboard Shortcuts

    failsafe

    F1 or Ctrl + Return

    blackbox

    F2 or Alt + B

    fluxbox

    F3 or Alt + F

    fvwm2

    F4 or Alt + V

    kde

    F5 or Alt + K

    twm

    F6 or Alt + T

    window maker

    F7 or Alt + W

    xfce

    F8 or Alt + X

  • Xservers

    File in which are defined the X server(s) running on the local machine.

  • Xsetup

    The setup script which is run each time the X server is started/reset.

    This script assits XDM in setting up the screen the user sees. In the case of this XDM theme, this script, draws the XDM's background and starts widgets according to the settings found in Xsetup configuration’s file(s).

  • Xstartup

    The startup script which is run after user logs in by XDM.

    This script :

    • kills the processes and X clients started by Xsetup (ex. compton, xclock, …)

    • registers the XDM session with sessreg.

    Note that it is required to kills the clients started by Xsetup, otherwise they would continue to run inside the WM/DE the user started.

  • Xreset

    The program which is run (as root) after the session terminates.

    This script de-register the XDM session with sessreg.

  • Xsession

    The program to run as the session after the user has logged in.

    For more about Xsession, see sections The configuration file Xsession.conf and How Xsession works.

  • Xbuttons_bar

    This script is run by Xsetup. It displays a buttons bar which allows user to execute actions under XDM, like selecting a session, suspending or rebooting the computer,…

    For more about Xbuttons_bar, see sections The configuration file Xbuttons_bar.conf and The desktop sessions menu.

  • xdm-config

    xdm configuration file for this XDM theme.

  • Xbuttons_bar.conf

    Xbuttons_bar (default) configuration file. For more, read this.

  • Xsession.conf

    Xsession (default) configuration file. For more, read this.

  • Xsetup.conf

    Xsetup (default) configuration file. For more, read this.

2. In /etc/X11/xdm/slackware/extensions.d

Directory in which the Xsetup extensions are stored.

An Xsetup extension is a shell script which adds new feature(s) to Xsetup.

  • analog-clock

    An Xsetup extension to display an analog clock on the XDM screen.

  • analog-clock.conf

    analog-clock (default) configuration file.

  • sysmon-conky

    An Xsetup extension to integrate the system monitor conky on the XDM screen.

  • sysmon-conky.conf

    sysmon-conky (default) configuration file.

  • sysmon-conky-rt.conf and sysmon-conky-pt.conf

    conky configuration files used by extension sysmon-conky.

  • xdm-screensaver

    An Xsetup extension to run a screensaver on XDM screen.

  • xdm-screensaver.conf

    xdm-screensaver (default) configuration file.

3. In /etc/X11/xdm/slackware/pixmaps

  • s-logo-on-white.xpm

    The Slackware (S) logo on a white background.

  • s-logo-on-grey.xpm

    The Slackware (S) logo on a grey background.

  • *.jpg

    Wallpapers for this XDM theme.

4. In /usr/libexec/setxdmbg

  • setxdmbg.sh

    Command line tool to set the XDM background image easily. See this page for more about this tool.

5. In /usr/bin

  • setxdmbg

    symlink to /usr/libexec/setxdmbg/setxdmbg.sh

6. In /usr/share/man/man1

  • setxdmbg.1.gz : setxdmbg manual page.

7. In /usr/share/man/man5

  • Xsetup.conf.5.gz : Xsetup.conf manual page.

  • Xbuttons_bar.conf.5.gz : Xbuttons_bar.conf manual page.

  • Xsession.conf.5.gz : Xsession.conf manual page.

  • analog-clock.conf.5.gz : analog-clock.conf manual page.

  • sysmon-conky.conf.5.gz : sysmon-conky.conf manual page.

  • xdm-screensaver.conf.5.gz : xdm-screensaver.conf manual page.

8. In /usr/doc/xdm-slackware-theme-<VERSION>/

  • README

    Text version of this html page.

  • readme.html

    This html page.

  • setxdmbg.html

    setxdmbg manual page in html format.

  • slackware-s-logo.xcf

    Gimp file used to generate s-logo-on-white.xpm and s-logo-on-grey.xpm pixmaps. Might be useful to create Slackware (S) logo images on other colors than white and grey.

  • adoc/readme.txt

    Source file (to asciidoc format) of readme.html

  • adoc/setxdmbg.txt

    Source file (to asciidoc format) of setxdmbg.html

IV. The configuration file Xsetup.conf

This is the (default) Xsetup configuration file.

Below the properties (aka variables) that can be (re)defined in Xsetup configuration file(s) :

  • DISABLE_LOG (default to off)

    Defines whether or not logging of Xsetup activity must be disabled.

    The activity is logged in /var/log/xdm-xsetup.${XDISP}.log

    XDISP is the X server display name, without field screennumber, and to XDM resource name format, that is, with underscores in place of dots and colons. For instance, in case of X server display name :1, XDISP is _1.

  • XDM_LOCALE (default to en_US.UTF-8)

    Defines the locale used while running XDM.

  • WITH_COMPTON (default to on)

    Defines whether or not Xsetup must start the compositor compton if installed.

    Attention, WITH_COMPTON is turned off when the image viewer feh is not installed.

  • COMPTON_ARGS (see Xsetup.conf for default value)

    The compton arguments.

  • WITH_BUTTONS_BAR (default to on)

    Defines if Xsetup must start the buttons-bar (i.e. Xbuttons_bar).

  • BUTTONS_BAR_POSITION (default to TOP_LEFT)

    The position of the buttons-bar which can be one of the following :

    TOP_LEFT

    TOP_RIGHT

    BOTTOM_LEFT

    BOTTOM_RIGHT

  • WITH_XCLOCK (default to on)

    Defines if Xsetup must start xclock if installed.

  • XCLOCK_POSITION (default to TOP_RIGHT)

    Defines the position of xclock which can be one of the following :

    TOP_LEFT

    TOP_RIGHT

    BOTTOM_LEFT

    BOTTOM_RIGHT

  • XCLOCK_FONT (see Xsetup.conf for default value)

    Defines the font of the xclock widget.

  • XCLOCK_FG_COLOR (default grey90)

    Defines the foreground color of the xclock widget.

  • XCLOCK_STRFTIME (default to %T)

    Defines the strftime format of the date/time displayed by the xclock widget.

  • WITH_NUMLOCK_ON (default to on)

    Defines if the num lock must be activated (requires numlockx) when starting XDM.

  • PRIMARY_ONLY (default to on)

    Defines whether or not the XDM background and widgets (xclock, buttons-bar, …) must be displayed on the primary screen only when XDM is running on a multi-screen configuration.

    Note that Xsetup has no control over the display on which the XDM greeting and login prompt are displayed.

  • PRIMARY_ID (default to auto)

    Defines the identifier of primary display.

    • Can be any existing output supported by xrandr (ex. VGA-1, HDMI-0, DVI-D-0,…), or the keyword auto, to auto-detect the primary display.

    • This property is ignored when PRIMARY_ONLY is set to off.

    • PRIMARY_ONLY is turned off when the given identifier is invalid, or when this property is set to auto and none of the displays listed by xrandr is defined as primary.

  • XDMBGIMG (default to ${SCRIPTDIR}/pixmaps/default-wallpaper.pixmap)

    Full path to the image that Xsetup must pass to setxdmbg to generate the XDM background image.

    When this property is not set, XDM background is black, unless if compton is enabled, in which case the background is greyed. To prevent this, WITH_COMPTON must be turned off.

    By default, this property points the symlink default-wallpaper.pixmap in directory ${SCRIPTDIR}/pixmaps, so that, user can change the XDM background image source without to have to edit this configuration file.

    SCRIPTDIR is the absolute path to Xsetup’s directory.

  • BORDER_TOP (default to 40:black)

    The height and color of the border at top of the XDM background image when the buttons-bar and/or xclock widget is/are enabled and placed on top.

    The value of this property must be to the format <height>:<color>.

    color can be an X11 color name or an hex triplet to the format #rrggbb.

    Important:

    The border is drawn with imagemagick which does not use the same color names as xclock/xmessage widgets.

    For instance, imagemagick associates the color c(0,80,0) to the name green, while X11 associates this name to the color c(0,255,0).

  • BORDER_BTM (default to 40:black)

    The height and color of the border at bottom of the XDM background image when the buttons-bar and/or xclock widget is/are enabled and placed on bottom.

    The same format and informations as for BORDER_TOP apply to this property.

  • EXTRAIMGOPS (empty by default)

    The imagemagick extra image operators that Xsetup must pass to setxdmbg to generate the XDM background image.

    Attention, extra image operators can be time consuming the first time the XDM background image is generated.

  • EXTENSIONS (empty by default)

    Defines the Xsetup extension(s) to load (and execute).

    For more, see section Extension mechanism.

V. The configuration file Xbuttons_bar.conf

This is the (default) Xbuttons_bar configuration file.

Below the properties (aka variables) that can be (re)defined in Xbuttons_bar configuration file(s) :

  • DISABLE_LOG (default to off)

    Defines whether or not logging of Xbuttons_bar activity must be disabled.

    The activity is logged in /var/log/xdm-xbuttons_bar.${XDISP}.log

    XDISP is the X server display name, without field screennumber, and to XDM resource name format, that is, with underscores in place of dots and colons. For instance, in case of X server display name :1, XDISP is _1.

  • BUTTONS_ORDER (default to "SESSIONS SYSTEM")

    Defines the buttons present in the buttons-bar and their order.

    Below the supported identifiers :

    SESSIONS

    Identifier of button to access the sessions menu.

    SYSTEM

    Identifier of button to access the system menu.

    SCREENSHOT

    Identifier of button to take a screenshot of XDM screen.

  • SYSMENU_BUTTONS_ORDER (default to "SUSPEND HIBERNATE REBOOT HALT")

    Defines the buttons present in the system menu and their order.

    Below the supported identifiers :

    SUSPEND

    Identifer of button to suspend the system.

    HIBERNATE

    Identifer of button to hibernate the system.

    REBOOT

    Identifer of button to reboot the system.

    HALT

    Identifer of button to halt the system.

  • SESMENU_BTLABEL (default to "Session[@SESSION_NAME@]")

    Defines the label of the button to access the sessions menu.

    When the tag @SESSION_NAME@ is present, it is replaced by the name of the current selected session, if any, by the string specified by property NOSESSION_STR otherwise.

  • NOSESSION_STR (default to "default")

    The string by which the tag @SESSION_NAME@, if present in property SESMENU_BTLABEL, must be replaced when there is no selected session.

  • SYSMENU_BTLABEL (default to "System")

    Defines the label of the button to access the system menu.

  • SCREENSHOT_BTLABEL (default to "Screenshot")

    Defines the label of the button to take a screenshot of XDM screen.

    To make this button invisible on the screenshots, simply set this property to " ".

  • SUSPEND_BTLABEL (default to "Suspend")

    Defines the label of the button to suspend the system.

  • HIBERNATE_BTLABEL (default to "Hibernate")

    Defines the label of the button to hibernate the system.

  • REBOOT_BTLABEL (default to "Reboot")

    Defines the label of the button to reboot the system.

  • HALT_BTLABEL (default to "Halt")

    Defines the label of the button to halt the system.

  • EXITMENU_BTLABEL (default to "Exit")

    Defines the label of the button to exit from system/sessions menu.

  • RESET_BTLABEL (default to "Reset")

    Defines the reset button label of sessions menu selection.

  • FONT (see Xbuttons_bar.conf)

    Defines the buttons-bar font.

  • FG_COLOR (default to grey90)

    Defines the buttons-bar foreground color.

  • SYSMENU_FONT (see Xbuttons_bar.conf)

    Defines the system menu font.

  • SESMENU_FONT (see Xbuttons_bar.conf)

    Defines the sessions menu font.

  • SYSMENU_FG_COLOR (default to grey90)

    Defines the system menu foreground color.

  • SESMENU_FG_COLOR (default to grey90)

    Defines the sessions menu foreground color.

  • XINITRC_FILES_DIR (default to /etc/X11/xinit)

    Defines the location of xinitrc.* session files used to populate the sessions menu.

  • SESSIONS_BLACKLIST (empty by default)

    Defines the sessions to exclude from the sessions menu.

  • SESMENU_VIEWPORT_SIZE (default to 10)

    Defines the maximum number of items visible at a time in the sessions menu.

    When there is more items than that in the sessions menu, scroll buttons are added accordingly.

  • SESMENU_LSCROLL_BTLABEL (default to " < ")

    Defines the label of the sessions menu left-scroll button.

  • SESMENU_RSCROLL_BTLABEL (default to " > ")

    Defines the label of the sessions menu right-scroll button.

  • PERSISTENT_SESSION (default to off)

    Defines whether or not the (last) selected session in the sessions menu must persist (across XDM resets and system reboots).

  • SCREENSHOT_DELAY (default to 5)

    Defines the delay (in seconds) before taking a screenshot.

  • SCREENSHOT_DIR (default to /tmp)

    Defines the screenshot folder.

    Screenshot names are to the format :

    xdm.${XDISP}.$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S).png

  • SCREENSHOT_NTFY_MSG (see Xbuttons_bar.conf)

    Defines the message displayed before taking a screenshot.

    The tag @SCREENSHOT_DELAY@ is replaced at runtime by the value of property SCREENSHOT_DELAY.

  • SCREENSHOT_NOW_BTLABEL (default to Now)

    Defines the label of button to dismiss the timeout and take a screenshot immediately.

  • SCREENSHOT_CANCEL_BTLABEL (default to Cancel)

    Defines the label of button to cancel taking a screenshot.

  • SCREENSHOT_TAKEN_MSG (see Xbuttons_bar.conf)

    Defines the message displayed after taking a screenshot.

    The tag @SCREENSHOT_FILENAME@ is replaced at runtime by the full path to the screenshot file.

  • SCREENSHOT_FAIL_MSG (see Xbuttons_bar.conf)

    Defines the message displayed when taking a screenshot failed.

  • SCREENSHOT_DLG_FONT (see Xbuttons_bar.conf)

    Defines the font of the message displayed before/after taking a screenshot, and in case of error.

  • SCREENSHOT_ALWAYS_FULL (default to off)

    Defines whether or not to always take full screenshots, even when XDM is configured for primary display only (Xsetup.PRIMARY_ONLY=on).

VI. The configuration file Xsession.conf

This is the (default) Xsession configuration file.

Below the properties (aka variables) that can be (re)defined in Xsession configuration file(s) :

  • DISABLE_LOG (default to off)

    Defines whether or not logging of Xsession activity must be disabled.

    The activity is logged in ~/xdm-xsession.${XDISP}.log

    XDISP is the X server display name, without field screennumber, and to XDM resource name format, that is, with underscores in place of dots and colons. For instance, in case of X server display name :1, XDISP is _1.

  • USR_XSESSION (default to ${HOME}/.xsession)

    Full path to the user’s X session.

  • SYS_XSESSION (default to /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc)

    Full path to the system’s X session.

  • XINITRC_FILES_DIR (default to /etc/X11/xinit)

    The location of xinitrc.* session files.

  • SYS_XRESOURCES (default to /etc/X11/xinit/.Xresources)

    Full path to the system’s X resources.

  • USR_XRESOURCES (default to ${HOME}/.Xresources)

    Full path to the user’s X resources.

  • SYS_XMODMAP (default to /etc/X11/xinit/.Xmodmap)

    Full path to the system’s X modmap.

  • USR_XMODMAP (default to ${HOME}/.Xmodmap)

    Full path to the user’s X modmap.

  • LOAD_XRESOURCES_ON (default to ( "failsafe" ) )

    The name of the sessions for which Xsession must load the X resources (specified by SYS_RESOURCES and USR_XRESOURCES) when available.

    Most of the xinitrc scripts usually load the X resources automatically. Thus, this variable should only be used for those who don’t.

    failsafe is a pseudo-session for which there is no xinitrc script.

  • LOAD_XMODMAP_ON (default to ( "failsafe" ) )

    The name of the sessions for which Xsession must load the X modmap (specified by SYS_XMODMAP and USR_XMODMAP) when available.

    Most of the xinitrc scripts usually load the X modmap automatically. Thus, this variable should only be used for those who don’t.

    failsafe is a pseudo-session for which there is no xinitrc script.

  • XSESSION_ERRFILE (see Xsession.conf for default value)

    Defines the files in which (session) errors can be redirected.

    Errors are only redirected to one of the specified files, the 1st that met the following condition :

    umask 077 && cp /dev/null XSESSION_ERRFILE[i] 2>/dev/null

    Errors are not redirected when this variable is not set, nor when the condition above is not met by any of the specified files.

  • SOURCE_SYS_PROFILE (default to on)

    Defines whether or not the system profile script /etc/profile must be sourced by Xsession, when present.

  • SOURCE_USR_PROFILE (default to on)

    Defines whether or not the user profile script ~/.profile must be sourced by Xsession, when present.

  • SOURCE_SYS_XPROFILE (default to on)

    Defines whether or not the system x-profile script /etc/xprofile must be sourced by Xsession, when present.

  • SOURCE_USR_XPROFILE (default to on)

    Defines whether or not the user x-profile script ~/.xprofile must be sourced by Xsession, when present.

  • FAILSAFE_TERM (default to /usr/bin/uxterm)

    Defines the terminal emulator to execute when running failsafe mode.

    The failsafe mode is run when all possible sessions (ie. session passed in argument (if any), session selected through the sessions menu (if any), user’s session, system’s default session) failed to start.

  • FAILSAFE_TERM_GEOMETRY (default to 80x24+0+0)

    Defines the geometry of the terminal emulator specified by variable FAILSAFE_TERM.

    When this variable is not set, no geometry is passed to the terminal emulator.

VII. Multiple XDM logins

The file Xservers that comes with this theme includes sections to run up to 3 X servers on a single machine, and thus 3 XDM logins. By default, only the X server on local display :0 (paired with VT7) is enabled.

To enable the X server on local display :1 (paired with VT8), it is required to uncomment the line :

#:1 local /usr/bin/X :1 vt8

To enable the X server on local display :2 (paired with VT9), it is required to uncomment the line :

#:2 local /usr/bin/X :2 vt9

Once done, restart XDM, or reboot the system. To access XDM on local display :1, hit CTRL+ALT+F8, to access XDM on local display :0, hit CTRL+ALT+F7.

By default, all XDM logins share the same configuration which is specified by the (default) configuration files :

  • Xsetup.conf

  • Xbuttons_bar.conf

  • Xsession.conf

The Xsetup/Xbuttons_bar/Xsession configuration of each XDM login can be (re)defined in specific configuration files named :

  • Xsetup.<XDISP>.conf

  • Xbuttons_bar.<XDISP>.conf

  • Xsession.<XDISP>.conf

XDISP is the X server display name, without field screennumber, and to XDM resource name format, that is, with underscores in place of dots and colons.

For instance, the Xsetup configuration for XDM login on :1 is named Xsetup._1.conf, the Xbuttons_bar configuration for the XDM login :2 is named Xbuttons_bar._2.conf.

When only a few properties need to be redefined for a given XDM login, the default configuration can be loaded by the dedicated configuration. For instance, to only redefine the property XDMBGIMG for the XDM login on :1 and :2, the configuration files Xsetup._1.conf and Xsetup._2.conf could look like that :

Xsetup._1.conf
# Load default
source ${SCRIPTDIR}/Xsetup.conf

# defines background image for XDM on :1
XDMBGIMG=${SCRIPTDIR}/pixmaps/default-wallpaper._1.pixmap
Xsetup._2.conf
# Load default
source ${SCRIPTDIR}/Xsetup.conf

# defines background image for XDM on :2
XDMBGIMG=${SCRIPTDIR}/pixmaps/default-wallpaper._2.pixmap

When an XDM login has no dedicated Xsetup/Xbuttons_bar/Xsession configuration, the default configuration is used.

VIII. Extension mechanism

The extension mechanism allows to improve XDM user experience with external shell scripts which are dynamically loaded and executed by Xsetup.

The extensions must be in the folder extensions.d of Xsetup's directory.

The extension(s) that Xsetup must load/execute have to be specified by the property EXTENSIONS, declared in Xsetup's configuration file(s).

1. Included extensions

This XDM theme comes with the extensions described below.

A. analog-clock

Extension to display an analog-clock on XDM screen.

When Xsetup is configured with compton support, analog-clock starts an instance of cairo-clock, otherwise, an instance of xonclock is started.

if neither cairo-clock nor xonclock is installed, analog-clock does nothing.

By default, analog-clock's settings are loaded from configuration file analog-clock.conf.

On system with multiple XDM logins, there might be a configuration file per X server: analog-clock._0.conf for X server :0, analog-clock._1.conf for X server :1, …

Below the properties (aka variables) that can be (re)defined in analog-clock configuration file(s) :

  • XOC_SKIN (default to /usr/share/xonclock/skins/chrome-128-bs.png)

    Defines xonclock's skin.

  • XOC_POSITION (default to TOP_RIGHT)

    Defines xonclock's position on XDM screen. Can be one of the following :

    TOP_LEFT

    TOP_RIGHT

    BOTTOM_LEFT

    BOTTOM_RIGHT

  • XOC_SIZE (default to 128)

    Defines the xonclock's size.

    Attention, xonclock has no option to set the clock size which is defined by the skin (see XOC_SKIN). The size specified by property XOC_SIZE is only used when computing the position of the clock.

  • XOC_MARGIN (default to 16)

    Defines the xonclock's margin.

  • XOC_USE_BACKGROUND (default to on)

    Defines whether or not xonclock must merge the skin with desktop root window background image.

  • XOC_SHOW_SECONDS (default to on)

    Defines whether or not xonclock must render second hand.

  • XOC_SHOW_DATE (default to on)

    Defines whether or not xonclock must display the date.

  • XOC_DATE_FORMAT (default to "%b %d")

    Defines the strftime format of the date string used by xonclock to render the date.

  • XOC_EXTRA_ARGS (default to ())

    Defines the extra arguments to pass to xonclock.

    Note that XOC_EXTRA_ARGS can also be used to override arguments that analog-clock passes to xonclock.

    Example :

    XOC_EXTRA_ARGS=( "--date-position=BOTTOM-RIGHT" "--date-offset-v=32" )

  • CC_THEME (default to radium)

    Defines the cairo-clock's theme.

  • CC_POSITION (default to TOP_RIGHT)

    Defines cairo-clock's position on XDM screen. Can be set to one of the following :

    TOP_LEFT

    TOP_RIGHT

    BOTTOM_LEFT

    BOTTOM_RIGHT

  • CC_SIZE (default to 200)

    Defines the cairo-clock's size to format WIDTH[:HEIGHT]. When HEIGHT is not set, defaults to WIDTH.

  • CC_MARGIN (default to 16)

    Defines the cairo-clock's margin.

  • CC_SHOW_SECONDS (default to on)

    Defines whether or not cairo-clock must render second hand.

  • CC_SHOW_DATE (default to on)

    Defines whether or not cairo-clock must render the date string.

  • CC_EXTRA_ARGS (default to ())

    Defines the extra arguments to pass to cairo-clock.

    Note that CC_EXTRA_ARGS can also be used to override arguments that analog-clock passes to cairo-clock.

    Example :

      CC_EXTRA_ARGSfx=( "--twentyfour" )

B. sysmon-conky

Extension to integrate the system monitor conky on the XDM screen.

if conky is not installed, sysmon-conky does nothing.

By default, sysmon-conky's settings are loaded from configuration file sysmon-conky.conf.

On system with multiple XDM logins, there might be a configuration file per X server: sysmon-conky._0.conf for X server :0, symon-conky._1.conf for X server :1, …

Below the properties (aka variables) that can be (re)defined in sysmon-conky configuration file(s) :

  • CONKY_REAL_TRANSPARENT_CFG (default to ${EXTDIR}/conky-real-transparent.conf)

    Defines the conky configuration with real transparency.

    This configuration is used when Xsetup is configured with compton, i.e. WITH_COMPTON=on (see Xsetup).

  • CONKY_PSEUDO_TRANSPARENT_CFG (default to ${EXTDIR}/conky-pseudo-transparent.conf)

    Defines the conky configuration with pseudo transparency.

    This configuration is used when Xsetup is configured without compton, i.e. WITH_COMPTON=off (see Xsetup).

  • CONKY_EXTRA_ARGS (default to ())

    Defines the extra arguments to pass to conky.

    Example :

    CONKY_EXTRA_ARGS=( "--alignment=bottom_middle" "--interval=2" )

C. xdm-screensaver

Extension to run a screensaver on XDM screen.

By default, xdm-screensaver's settings are loaded from configuration file xdm-screensaver.conf.

On system with multiple XDM logins, there might be a configuration file per X server: xdm-screensaver._0.conf for X server :0, xdm-screensaver._1.conf for X server :1, …

Below the properties (aka variables) that can be (re)defined in xdm-screensaver configuration file(s) :

  • SCREENSAVER_MODE (default to windowed)

    Defines the operating mode of xdm-screensaver extension. Can be set to one of the following.

    • fullscreen

      The screensaver is draw on the root window.

      Attention, when this mode is selected :

      • The screensaver is not visible when compton is enabled (i.e. the Xsetup property WITH_COMPTON is set to on).

      • The background image specified by Xsetup property XDMBGIMG is erased by the screensaver.

      • Parts of the top/bottom border on which is placed the buttons-bar and/or the xclock widget might be erased by the screensaver.

    • windowed

      The screensaver is draw on a newly-created window on the physical display specified by property SCREENSAVER_DISPLAY.

      Attention, when this mode is selected, the screensaver’s window might overlap any other window on the same physical display (ex. the XDM login window).

  • SCREENSAVER_DISPLAY (default to 1)

    Defines the physical display on which to draw the screensaver when SCREENSAVER_MODE is set to windowed. This can be one of the following:

    • The name of any output supported by xrandr (ex. VGA-0, HDMI-0, …)

    • The number of the corresponding display in the list returned by command xrandr --listmonitors (ex. 0, 1, 2, ..)

    • the keyword primary to select the primary display.

  • SCREENSAVER_WINDOW_POS (default to TOP_LEFT)

    Defines the position of the window on which to draw the screensaver when SCREENSAVER_MODE is set to windowed.

    The position is relative to the physical display specified by property SCREENSAVER_DISPLAY. Can be one of the following :

    TOP_LEFT

    TOP_MIDDLE

    TOP_RIGHT

    MIDDLE_LEFT

    MIDDLE_MIDDLE

    MIDDLE_RIGHT

    BOTTOM_LEFT

    BOTTOM_MIDDLE

    BOTTOM_RIGHT

  • SCREENSAVER_WINDOW_SIZE ( default to (100% 100%) )

    Defines the dimensions (width x height) of the window on which to draw the screensaver when SCREENSAVER_MODE is set to windowed. The dimensions can be expressed in pixel, or in percent of the width/height of the physical display specified by property SCREENSAVER_DISPLAY.

  • SCREENSAVER_WINDOW_MARGINS ( default to ( 8 8 ) )

    Defines the margins around the window on which to draw the screensaver when SCREENSAVER_MODE is set to windowed.

  • SCREENSAVER_DIR (default to /usr/libexec/xscreensaver)

    Defines the location of screensavers.

  • SCREENSAVER (default to gltext)

    Defines the screensaver to run.

  • SCREENSAVER_EXTRA_ARGS ( see below )

    Defines the extra-arguments to pass to the screensaver specified by property SCREENSAVER.

    default to ( "-text" "$(head -n 1 /etc/slackware-version)" )

2. Integrate extensions

To integrate conky in XDM screen, open Xsetup.conf, and set property EXTENSIONS as below :

EXTENSIONS=( "sysmon-conky" )

To integrate an analog-clock in XDM screen, open Xsetup.conf, and set property EXTENSIONS as below :

EXTENSIONS=( "analog-clock" )

To integrate conky and an analog clock on the XDM screen, simply set property EXTENSIONS as below :

EXTENSIONS=( "sysmon-conky" "analog-clock" )

On a system with multiple XDM logins, it is possible to have different extension(s) on each XDM login.

For instance, to attach conky to XDM on :0, and an analog-clock to XDM on :1, the Xsetup configuration files for these XDM logins could look like as below :

Xsetup._0.conf
# Load default
#
source ${SCRIPTDIR}/Xsetup.conf

# integrate conky on XDM screen of X server :0
EXTENSIONS=( "sysmon-conky" )
Xsetup._1.conf
# Load default
#
source ${SCRIPTDIR}/Xsetup.conf

# integrate an analog-clock on XDM screen of X server :1
#
EXTENSIONS=( "analog-clock" )

3. Implementing extensions

It is required to follow the rules below when implementing an Xsetup extension:

  • The extension must be non blocking, otherwise the XDM display manager will be unusable.

  • Any program started in the background by the extension must be referenced in the Xsetup processes registry by calling the function register_process().

    This is required to ensure that any process started by the extension will be stopped (by Xstartup) before user’s X session start.

    Before calling register_process(), remember that $! is the PID of the last executed background command, which might not the PID of the process to track :

    /usr/bin/foo -bar $(head -n 1 /foo/bar) &
register_process $! FOO-0

    In the example above, the PID of command $(head -n 1 /foo/bar) is passed to register_process() instead of PID of /usr/bin/foo. To avoid this, instead of passing commands to the process to track, use variables :

    ARG=$(head -n 1 /foo/bar)
/usr/bin/foo -bar ${ARG} &
register_process $! FOO-0

Below the list of Xsetup variables and functions that can be useful when implementing extensions :

SCRIPTDIR

EXTDIR

XDISP

XSCREEN_NFO

PRIMARY_NFO

is_disabled()

is_in_list()

is_process_registered()

get_xscreen_infos()

get_display_infos()

get_display_geometry()

get_xoff()

get_xpos()

get_yoff()

get_ypos()

log_infos()

register_process()

deregister_process()

IX. The desktop sessions menu

This menu :

  • is available only if Xbuttons_bar is configured to includes it, i.e when property BUTTONS_ORDER (defined in Xbuttons_bar configuration file) includes the keyword SESSIONS.

  • allows to select a WM/DE that will be started on user login.

  • includes an entry for each WM/DE :

    • for which there is a corresponding xinitrc (executable) in directory specified by property XINITRC_FILES_DIR defined in Xbuttons_bar configuration file.

    • which is not on the blacklist specified by variable SESSION_BLACKLIST defined in Xbuttons_bar configuration file.

The selection made through the desktop sessions menu is volatile by default (i.e. reset on logout), but can be defined as persistent (across XDM resets and system reboots) by turning Xbuttons_bar's property PERSISTENT_SESSION on.

Xbuttons_bar communicates the selected session to Xsession script through the file /var/lib/xdm/xdm.<XDISP>.xsession (XDISP is the target X server display name to XDM resource name format) which is reset each time Xbuttons_bar starts unless PERSISTENT_SESSION is turned on.

Attention, when PERSISTENT_SESSION is turned on, the selected session become the session of any user that can login on to current X server. There is no (known) way to implements a per-user configuration.

X. How Xsession works

When Xsession is run (after the user has logged in), it executes the following :

  1. If a session name is passed in argument (when user hit one of the session keyboard shortcuts defined in Xresources), Xsession try to start it. On failure, it continues (see 2).

  2. If a session has been selected from the sessions menu (i.e. the file /var/lib/xdm/xdm.<XDISP>.xsession is not empty), Xsession try to start it. On failure, it continues (see 3).

  3. Xsession try to start the user’s session specified by variable USR_XSESSION. On failure, it continues (see 4).

  4. Xsession try to start the system’s session specified by variable SYS_XSESSION. On failure, it continues (see 5).

  5. At this point, Xsession runs the failsafe mode by starting the terminal emulator specified by variable FAILSAFE_TERM. On failure, Xsession exits.

XI. Tips and tricks

1. Howto take a screenshot of XDM

The buttons-bar includes a screenshot tool which is disabled by default. To enable it :

  • Open Xbuttons_bar configuration file.

  • Add the keyword SCREENSHOT to the property BUTTONS_ORDER.

  • Restart XDM.

The screenshot tool settings are defined by the following properties (in Xbuttons_bar configuration file) :

  • SCREENSHOT_BTLABEL

  • SCREENSHOT_DELAY

  • SCREENSHOT_DIR

  • SCREENSHOT_NTFY_MSG

  • SCREENSHOT_NOW_BTLABEL

  • SCREENSHOT_CANCEL_BTLABEL

  • SCREENSHOT_TAKEN_MSG

  • SCREENSHOT_FAIL_MSG

  • SCREENSHOT_DLG_FONT

  • SCREENSHOT_ALWAYS_FULL

2. Howto change the login box background color

To change the login box background color to something like, grey, proceed as below :

  • Open the file /etc/X11/xdm/slackware/Xresources

  • Replace : 

    xlogin.Login.background: white

xlogin.Login.shdColor: #dedede
xlogin.Login.hiColor: #dedede

    By :

    xlogin.Login.background: grey

xlogin.Login.shdColor: grey30
xlogin.Login.hiColor: grey90

  • Replace : 

    xlogin.Login.logoFileName: /etc/X11/xdm/slackware/pixmaps/s-logo-on-white.xpm

    By :

    xlogin.Login.logoFileName: /etc/X11/xdm/slackware/pixmaps/s-logo-on-grey.xpm

Note that to change the background color by something else than grey, it is first required to create a Slackware (S) logo image (to .xpm format) with the desired background color, which can easily be done starting with the gimp image /usr/doc/xdm-slackware-theme-<VERSION>/slackware-s-logo.xcf.

3. My X server(s) tend to grow without bound over time

In this case, it might be useful to set DisplayManager.<DISPLAY>.terminateServer to true in /etc/X11/xdm/slackware/Xresources.

DISPLAY is the X server display name to XDM resource name format.

XII. Known issues

1. Multiple XDM logins, multi-screen, and nVidia

In case of Multiple XDM logins on a system using an nvidia videocard with 2 monitors and the proprietary nvidia driver, at startup, the 1st XDM login is correctly placed at the center of 1st physical display, but, the 2nd XDM login is placed at the center of the abstract X screen.

This issue is automatically resolved following a login/logout on the 2nd XDM login. It is also possible to fix that by reseting the 2nd XDM login (CTRL+ALT+BACKSPACE).

This issue comes from the nvidia proprietary driver. It has neither been observed with driver nouveau , nor on systems with an videocard using a non nvidia GPU.

XIII. Credits

  • This xdm theme has been designed using informations found on archwiki (here) and scripts from:

    • archlinux package xdm-archlinux (at archlinux.org/packages)

    • slackware package slackware-xdm-theme (at slackbuilds.org)

    • The following wallpapers (in /etc/X11/xdm/slackware/pixmaps) are resized version of image found at ravefinity.com

      C1-Nights-Haze-Blue-2.jpg

      C2-Green-Moutain-Side-2.jpg

      C1-Nights-Haze-Grey-2.jpg

      C2-Morning-View-2.jpg

      C1-Nights-Haze-Purple-2.jpg

      C2-Ocean-Side-Sunset-2.jpg

      C1-Shuttleworth-Galaxy-2.jpg

      C2-Precipice.jpg

      C1-Steele-Star-2.jpg

      C2-Sunset-Shore-2.jpg

      C2-The-Rivers-Of-Cuomo-2.jpg

      All of these wallpapers are under creative commons license.

    • The following wallpapers (in /etc/X11/xdm/slackware/pixmaps) are from unknown source :

      Geminid-Meteor-Shower.jpg

      Green-Hills.jpg

      Mars-Olympus-Mons.jpg

      Space-Outer-Nature.jpg