Learning Red Hat Linux

Using GNOME and Enlightenment

In this section, you’ll learn how to configure and use the GNOME desktop and the Enlightenment window manager. If you choose to use a different desktop or window manager, you should consult the documentation that accompanies each. However, you should read this section anyway, because the procedures for configuring various desktops and window managers are more similar than different: the way you perform each step may vary but the function of each step will not.

Launching GNOME and Enlightenment

Before starting GNOME, you must configure the X startup files. Move to the your home directory and enter the following command:

cp .Xclients .Xclients.SAVE

Be sure you include the dot before the file name. This command makes a copy of your .Xclients file so that you can restore it to its current state if something goes wrong. If you get an error informing you that the .Xclients file doesn’t exist, simply ignore the error. Next, using pico or another text editor of your choice, edit your .Xclients file to contain only these lines:

#!/bin/bash
  gnome-session
##

If you want every user to be able to access GNOME, you could place a .Xclients file in each user’s home directory. However, that would be tedious if your system had many users. Moreover, if you added a user, you’d need to create a .Xclients file before the new user could access GNOME.

Fortunately, Linux provides a better way. If no .Xclients file exists in a user’s home directory, X executes the commands in ...