| Documentation / 3.5. System | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 3.4. Personal | Chapter 4. Assistive Technologies |  | |
| Documentation / 3.5. System | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.4. Personal | Chapter 4. Assistive Technologies | | |
In the following sections you will find examples of how to configure some system aspects of your GNOME desktop like language settings, power management, preferred applications, session (and session sharing) preferences, Beagle search options and audio preferences.
openSUSE can be configured to use any of a number of languages. The language setting determines the language of dialogs and menus and can also determine the keyboard and clock layout.
You can set the following language settings:
Primary language
Whether the keyboard language setting should correlate to the primary language
Whether the time zone should correlate to the primary language
Secondary languages
To configure your language settings:
Click +++.
Enter the root password.
If you do not know the root password contact your system administrator. You cannot continue without the root password.
Specify the primary language, whether you want to adapt the keyboard layout or time zone to the primary language, and any secondary languages you need to support on the computer.
Click .
The language configuration settings are written to several configuration files. This process can take a few minutes. The new settings take effect immediately after they are written to the configuration files.
The Network Proxy Configuration tool lets you configure how your system connects to the Internet. You can configure the desktop to connect to a proxy server and specify the details of the server. A proxy server is a server that intercepts requests to another server and fulfills the request itself, if it can. You can specify the Domain Name Service (DNS) name or the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the proxy server. A DNS name is a unique alphabetic identifier for a computer on a network. An IP address is a unique numeric identifier for a computer on a network.
Click +++.
For more information on the individual options, click .
The Bluetooth module lets you set the visibility of your machine over Bluetooth, the name of your machine used for Bluetooth communication and whether you want to show the Bluetooth applet in your panel. To configure Bluetooth connectivity, follow these steps:
Click +++ or right-click the Bluetooth icon in GNOME panel and select .
On the tab set the visibility of the Bluetooth applet icon in the of the GNOME panel. Right-click the applet icon to set connections with Bluetooth devices and file transfers.
On the tab use options under for switching the Bluetooth adapter on and off. The available options depend on the hardware used.
If the Bluetooth hardware is available and switched on, there is another available tab. Under set the visibility of the machine over a Bluetooth network. If the option is chosen use the slider to set the visibility period. The option specifies the name of the computer in the Bluetooth network.
The section lists all known Bluetooth devices. Use the button with the plus icon to configure a new device connection.
Click .
To configure file sharing over Bluetooth, follow these steps:
Click +++.
In the section configure the
sharing of files in your ~/Public directory. Use
to activate or
deactivate sharing of this directory. Specify whether remote devices
can delete public files and whether they are required to bond with
your computer.
In the section specify whether to accept files sent over Bluetooth, from which devices and whether you want to be notified about received files.
Click .
The Power Management module lets you manage your system's power-saving options. It is especially useful for extending the life of a laptop’s battery charge. However, several options also help to save electricity when you are using a computer that is plugged in to an electrical power outlet.
Sleep mode shuts down the computer when it is dormant for a specified period of time. Whether you are using battery or AC power, you can specify the period of time that the computer remains dormant before it is put to sleep. You can also put the computer’s display to sleep without shutting down the computer, saving the power required by the display.
Sleep mode is especially important when the computer is operating under battery power. Both the screen and the computer draw power from the battery, so you can save a significant amount of battery power by shutting down one or both. It is common to put the display to sleep after a shorter period of time. Then, if the computer remains dormant for an additional period of time, it is also put to sleep.
There are several sleep modes or actions you can set in the Power Management module:
The computer does not shut down or automatically go into any kind of power-saving mode. If you have a laptop, the laptop continues to run normally when the lid is closed.
The screen is blanked, reducing power consumption.
Suspend mode turns off power-consuming computer components such as the display and the hard drive without saving the contents of RAM. Any unsaved data is lost.
The computer saves the contents of RAM to the hard disk and shuts down. When you turn the computer on again, the saved data is put back into RAM, restoring your computer to its previous state. requires an amount of free hard disk space equal to the amount of RAM installed on the computer.
To open the Power Management module, click +++.
Procedure 3.4. Specifying Your Computer's Sleep Settings
Click the tab for the type of power you are using: if your computer uses AC power click . If your computer runs on battery power click . If your computer operates on both AC and battery power, you can configure the settings on both tabs.
Use the sliders to set the amount of inactive time that passes before the display and computer go into sleep mode.
When the display is in sleep mode the computer continues to run. When the computer is in sleep mode, power to the display and hard disk is shut off and the computer uses only the power needed to maintain the contents of RAM.
If the computer is a laptop, set the actions you want taken when the laptop lid is closed.
If you configure how a laptop manages battery power, specify the action you want taken if battery power reaches a critical level.
Choose the option you prefer by selecting it from the menu. If you have sufficient free disk space, is the best choice.
On the tab you can set further options, for example the action to take when the power button is pressed or the sleep type to use when the computer is inactive. The options available there depend on the type of computer you use (laptop or other computer).
You can also define when and how to display the power icon in the notification area and whether to use sound alarm in event of an error.
On the tab you can set automatic wakeups of the computer in specified time on specified days of the week.
When all options are set according to your wishes, click . The options you selected go into effect immediately.
The Preferred Applications module allows you change the default application for various common tasks such as browsing the internet, sending mails or transferring data with FTP.
Click +++.
Click the tab for the type of application you want to set.
Select one of the available applications from the menu or enter the command used to start the application.
Click .
The changes take effect immediately.
The dialog box lets you share a GNOME desktop session between multiple users and set session-sharing preferences.
![[Important]](admon/important.png) | Sharing Desktop Sessions Affects System Security |
|---|---|
Be aware that sharing desktop sessions can be a security risk. Use the restriction options available. If you need to adjust the options to a lower security level, do not forget to switch back to a higher security level as soon as possible. | |
Click +++.
 |
To share your desktop session with other users activate . All keyboard, pointer and clipboard events from the remote user are ignored.
If you want or need to allow other users to access and control your session from a remote location, activate . Click the highlighted text below to send the system address by e-mail to a remote user.
Make use of the security options available. If is activated, remote users require your confirmation before they can connect to your session. To achieve a higher security level, activate (if authentication is used).
Beagle is the search engine used on the GNOME desktop. By default, Beagle is configured to start automatically and index your home directory. If you want to change these settings, specify the number of results displayed after a search or change the Beagle privacy settings, click +++.
For more information, see Section 6.4, “Setting Search Preferences” and Section 6.6, “Preventing Files and Directories from Being Indexed”.
This module lets you manage your sessions. A session occurs between the time that you log into the desktop environment and the time that you log out. You can set session preferences and specify which applications to start when you begin a session. You can configure sessions to save the state of applications and then restore the state when you start another session.
You can also use this preference tool to manage multiple sessions. For example, you might have a mobile session which starts applications you use most frequently when traveling, a demo session that starts applications used to present a demonstration or slide show to a customer and a work session that uses a different set of applications when you are working in the office.
Click +++.
Procedure 3.5. Setting Session Preferences
On the tab you can add programs to start automatically when beginning a session. Click and specify the command that runs this application. The commands are executed automatically when you log in.
You can also a startup application or it to change the command, name or description of a startup application.
Use the tab to set, whether or not running applications should be remembered when you log out. You can also save the currently running applications by pressing .
The tool lets you configure the frequency of update checking, automatic updates and update notifications.
Click +++ to open the tool.
In the section, set the frequency of update checking and whether updates should be installed automatically. You can limit automatic installation to security updates.
In the section, set whether you want to be notified when updates are available or when long tasks have been completed.
Click .
The tool lets you manage sound devices. You can also specify which sounds to play when particular events occur.
Click +++ to open the tool.
Use the tab to configure the device to use for various types of sounds.
Click the drop-down list for each type of sound and select the device to use. In most cases is the best choice, unless you want to use a specific device. Press to test the sound output.
Use the tab to configure sound event functions.
Check to play sounds when particular events occur in the desktop. To enable sounds when buttons are clicked, check . To enable sound alerts check .
Finally, select the to use or set the sound of each event individually.
