using more then 1 windows manager
 

hi, i would like to play around with a few window managers, but im not sure on how i would go about starting each 1.

can i make a file so if i typed startflux it would run fluxbox, startkde to start kde and so on?

im running debian 3.1

If you install the window manager, then at a graphical login screen you should have a button which says "Sessions" or something of the sort. After installing Fluxbox or whatever you should have the option of booting into Fluxbox rather than KDE, GNOME, etc.

If you are using a text-based login system, then I have no idea.

yeah i am using a text-based login, thats why i want to use the command startflux or whatever.

cheers for the suggestion tho

im interested in this too.
How difficult is it to uninstall a window manager/desktop once ive chosen my fav?

if i remember correctly when i last removed 1, i ran apt-get remove fluxbox or whatever

You should have a ~/.xinitrc file. Open this in your favorite text editor (after creating a backup of course!).

It should have a line which says "exec startkde" or something. Change this to any of the following to change your default login.

KDE = startkde
Gnome = gnome-session
Blackbox = blackbox
FVWM = fvwm
FVWM2 = fvwm2
Window Maker = wmaker
IceWM = icewm
Fluxbox = fluxbox

So for example, if you wanted GNOME as your default, change "exec startkde" to "exec gnome-session."

In the same vein, from your text-based login, you should be able to execute any of the window managers as follows:
Or:
I'm not sure about this, but I think this is the way that I did it back when I had a text-based login. Also, if the command doesn't work, maybe your version of Linux requires a direct path to the executable.

On Debian, installing Fluxbox would require:
and uninstallation would be:
Tell me if this works.

if you're uninstalling on Debian using apt-get, remember to use the --purge option or the prereq packages will not be removed, leading to a pile of sh$t on your drive...

For example:

apt-get --purge remove fluxbox # removes fluxbox and dependencies

while

apt-get remove fluxbox # removes only the fluxbox package

Use xinit:

xinit /usr/bin/fluxbox

(replace with the path to the window manager you want to run)

Saketh that worked a treat cheers, but i dont want to have to edit my .xinitrc file every time i want to switch window manager! is there a way to set it up so i could use startflux for fluxbox and startkde for kde?

Komakino that also works great, cheers!

could i make a script file called startflux, startkde, ect to start my managers?