changing window managers
 

Currently using Mandrake 10.0 Official and KDE. I'm also booting into the console and NOT the GUI.
Earlier I managed to successfully install fluxbox after a little work, however I can't figure out how to get the default WM changed from KDE to fluxbox (and possibly back again), so when I type in 'startx' flux starts up instead of kde. In my searching I've figured out how to do it in RH and Slack ...but I'm using Mdk. I haven't found any reasonable solutions yet. I have a friend who is attempting to do the same thing, but he's logging into the GUI (selecting flux just logs him into KDE from what I understand). Clearly I'm still learning here, call me a newbie if it helps ;)

So how do I do this? I apologize if it's a silly question, but the solution is lost to me...

so you log in at the command line eh? Try this: kdm& that should load up the KDE login manager, and from there, you should be able to choose which window manager to use.

worked like a charm :)
except fluxbox isn't listed for some reason. I get "kde, gnome, windowmaker, icewm, default, failsafe". I assume I need to edit a file somewhere, so where do I point my keyboard? I appreciate the help.

couldn't help you there i'm afraid! I use gnome and kde.... and i've never heard of fluxbox! :S it could be a setting under the mandrake control centre somewhere?

nah, i dont even see the option (I think). fluxbox is pretty cool, fast and light on resources, just not as 'pretty' as kde or gnome :)

i like my pretty things :D keeps me entertained when thing's stop working! :(

Hey MiniBubba;:

to add fluxbox to the wm list in kdm, you need you add a file under /etc/X11/dm/Sessions

if you go to that path you'll see several files already there, named:
01KDE.desktop
02GNOME.desktop
07IceWM.desktop

open your favorite editor and create a new text file. Add the following

[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=fluxbox
Comment=fluxbox
TryExec=/usr/local/bin/startfluxbox
Exec=/etc/X11/xdm/Xsession fluxbox
Icon=
Type=Application

save it as 05Fluxbox.desktop (the number '05' may be already used, so choose another one)

you need to be root to do all this...
and that's all

hope this helps

thanks, I think I got it...

except the path is different: /etc/X11/wmsession.d
the file names are the same, except the content format is different (example):
also, i don't see the .desktop extention. if it's hidden, how do I show it?

EDIT: under /usr/local/bin I've got fbrun, fluxbox, fluxbox-generate_menu and a couple other files
should I map to 'fbrun'? trial and error, here I come

Yup, i created a '05Fluxbox' file there too, sorry, i fogot about it

under /etc/X11/wmsession.d create a file '05Fluxbox'

under /etc/X11/dm/Sessions create the '05Fluxbox.desktop' file.

they both have almost the same content described above

that's how it worked for me :)

problem is, I don't have /etc/X11/dm/Sessions path :(
the closest thing I have is /etc/X11/xdm/ ..with no Sessions. Although there is a file named Xsession with the single line the only folder is really a shorcut to /var/lib/xdm/
:scratch:

Weird, we're using the same mdk version, i don't know why the paths are different...