Hi,

In windows i can schedule a screensaver to activate if the system has been idled for a set time. In linux how do i do that? And can i set a time limit, and when the system has been idled for that time limit, a locking program will lock up the screen so no body can open it excpet when i come back the the computer? It doesn't matter if the screensaver solution can also solve the locking issue.

thnx

you're asking a fair few very basic questions, the answers to which you can easily find out yourself. i really don't want to sound rude and i'm very sorry if i appear so. i'd recommend buying a linux book to help you get a decent grip on the many little things the linux does. alternatively, there's a number of entire linux books on teh link in my sig. have a flick through the redhat unleashed on for a start.

either way, xscreensaver should load automatically as a "daemon" when you load xwindows, assuming you're using kde or gnome. if not, just add a line such as

xscreensaver &

to end start of your .xinitrc of .Xclients file. There's probably a way to do that with a gui config thing in kde or gnome, but i don't use them, so i couldn't say!

Can you or anyone explain more thoroughly? I'm new, i'm sorry. But how do u edit the fileS? Any easier way?

thnx

well that's precisely WHY i said you shuold get a book...

just open a console and use an editor such as

gedit
kedit
pico
jove
vi
emacs

or a million others to edit the file i mentioned. try running the program directly first tho. just type "xscreensaver &" into a console prompt.

What do i edit? How to set time limit?

I wanna learn off the net, but couldn't find any info on this subject.

not to sound condencending, but...... *sigh*

emacs ~/.xscreensaver

edit the times you see in that file. will be in this format: hh:mm:ss.

emacs ~/.xinitrc

add "xscreensaver &" right before the line that initiates your WM. i'm running windowmaker, so my two lines look like this:

xscreensaver &
exec /usr/sbin/wmaker

Thnx thnx

just one more question. What's the use of the ampersand (&) ?
I see them used in some commands but had no idea what they do.

thnx

& makes it run in the background so your terminal is not tied up with it and you can get a new prompt at the same terminal. If you have gnome all the options you are looking for are in the control center. xscreensaver manual at http://www.jwz.org/xscreensaver/man1.html

CLICK THE LINK ON MY SIGNATURE. READ SOMETHING THERE.