GNOME Desktop Sessions
This chapter provides the information you need to start,
manage, and end a GNOME Desktop session.
Starting a Session
sessions
starting
A session occurs between the time that you log in to the GNOME Desktop
and the time that you log out. The login screen is your gateway to the GNOME
Desktop. The login screen provides fields for you to enter your username and
password. The login screen enables you to select login options, for example
you can select the language of your session.
You start a session when you log in. The session manager starts after
your username and password are authenticated. The session manager enables
you to manage the session. For example, you can save the state of your most
recent session and return to that session the next time that you log in. The
session manager saves and restores the following:
The appearance and behavior settings, for example fonts, colors,
and mouse settings.
The applications that you were running, for example file manager
and text editor windows. You cannot save and restore applications that the
session manager does not manage. For example, if you start the
vi
editor from the command line in a terminal window, session
manager cannot restore your editing session.
To Log in to a Session
sessions
logging in
logging in
to session
To log in to a session, perform the following steps:
On the login screen, click on the
Session
icon. Choose the GNOME Desktop from the list of available desktop environments.
Enter your username in the
Username
field
on the login screen, then press
Return
.
Enter your password in the
Password
field
on the login screen, then press
Return
.
When you log in successfully, the session manager starts a session.
If this is the first time you log in, then the session manager starts a new
session. If you have logged in before, then the session manager restores your
previous session, if you saved the settings for the previous session when
you logged out.
If you want to shut down or restart the system before you log in, click
on the
System
icon on the login screen. A dialog is displayed.
Select the option that you require, then click
OK
.
To Log in to a Session in a Different Language
sessions
different language, logging
in
language, logging in in different
logging in
to session in different language
To log in to
a session in a different language, perform the following actions.
On the login screen, click on the
Language
icon. Choose the language you require from the list of available languages.
Enter your username in the
Username
field
on the login screen, then press
Return
.
Enter your password in the
Password
field
on the login screen, then press
Return
.
When you log in to a session in a different language, you choose
the language for the user interface. You do not specify a keyboard layout
for the session. To specify a keyboard layout, use the
Keyboard
Layout Switcher
applet.
To Lock Your Screen
Lock screen icon.
sessions
locking screen
locking screen
Lock button
To lock the screen, perform
one of the following actions:
Choose
Actions
Lock Screen
.
If the
Lock
button is present on a
panel, click on the
Lock
button.
To add the
Lock
button to a panel, right-click
on the panel. Choose
Add to Panel
Actions
Lock
.
When you lock your screen, the screensaver starts. To unlock the screen,
move your mouse to display the locked screen dialog. Enter your username and
password in the locked screen dialog, then press
Return
.
For information on configuring your screensaver, see
Using
Preference Tools
.
To lock your screen correctly, you must have a screensaver enabled.
Managing the Session
preference tools
Sessions
sessions
managing
To configure the session management of the GNOME Desktop,
use the
Sessions
preference tool. The
Sessions
preference tool recognizes the following types of application:
startup applications
session-managed
Applications that are session-managed. When
you save the settings for your session, the session manager saves all of the
session-managed applications. If you log out, then log in again, the session
manager automatically starts the session-managed applications.
Applications that are not session-managed. When you save the
settings for your session, the session manager does not save any applications
that are not session-managed. If you log out, then log in again, the session
manager does not start non-session-managed applications. You must start the
application manually. Alternatively, you can use the
Sessions
preference tool to specify non-session-managed applications
that you want to automatically start.
Defining Session Behavior When You Log In and Log Out
sessions
login behavior
sessions
logout behavior
To set how a session behaves when you log in
and log out, use
Sessions
preference tool. Make
the changes you require in the
Session Options
tabbed
section. For example, you can select to display a splash screen when you log
in.
To Use Startup Applications
startup programs
startup applications
sessions
using startup
applications
startup applications
non-session-managed
You
can configure your sessions to start with applications that are not session-managed.
To configure non-session-managed startup applications, use the
Sessions
preference tool. Use the
Startup Programs
tabbed section to add, edit, and delete applications. If you save
your settings and log out, the next time that you log in, the startup applications
start automatically.
To Browse Applications in the Current Session
sessions
browsing applications
To browse the applications in the current session, use the
Sessions
preference tool. The
Current Session
tabbed section lists the following:
All GNOME applications that are currently running, that can
connect to the session manager, and that can save the state of the application.
All preference tools that can connect to the session manager,
and that can save the state of the tool.
You can use the
Current Session
tabbed section
to perform a limited number of actions on the session properties of an application
or preference tool. For example, you can edit the startup order, and restart
style of any GNOME application or preference tool that is in the list.
To Save Session Settings
sessions
saving settings
To save your session settings, perform the following steps:
Configure your session to automatically save settings when
you end the session. To configure your session, use the
Sessions
preference tool. The
Sessions
preference
tool starts. Select the
Automatically save changes to session
option on the
Session Options
tabbed section.
End your session.
If you do not select the
Automatically save changes to session
option, when you log out, a dialog asks if you want to save your
current settings. To save your settings, select the option, then continue
to log out.
Ending a Session
sessions
ending
sessions
logging out
logging out
Log Out icon.
To end your session, close all your currently active processes, then
perform one of the following actions:
Click on a
Log Out
button.
Open the
Main Menu
, then choose
Log Out
username
.
Choose
Actions
Log
Out
.
Before you end a session, you might want to save your current
settings so that you can restore the session later. During the logout process,
a dialog asks if you want to save your current settings. In the
Sessions
preference tool, you can select an option to automatically
save your current settings.
