LinuxQuestions.org
Review your favorite Linux distribution.
Go Back   LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Software
User Name
Password
Linux - Software This forum is for Software issues.
Having a problem installing a new program? Want to know which application is best for the job? Post your question in this forum.

Notices


Reply
  Search this Thread
Old 05-23-2009, 03:56 PM   #1
moxieman99
Member
 
Registered: Feb 2004
Distribution: Dabble, but latest used are Fedora 13 and Ubuntu 10.4.1
Posts: 425

Rep: Reputation: 147Reputation: 147
Specifying folder for screensaver to pull pictures from


I am running Fedora 10 with Gnome interface. I have several folders in my /home/<user>/Pictures directory, and I want the screensaver option under System>Preferences>Look and Feel>Screensaver>Pictures to use only one or two of the folders in there, not all of the folders.

How do I specify, or limit, where the screensaver program looks for photos to display in Gnome?

Thanks,

Moxieman
 
Old 05-24-2009, 03:19 PM   #2
Retrievil_Knievil
Member
 
Registered: Mar 2004
Location: Stavanger, Norway
Distribution: Gentoo, Slackware/SLAX, Knoppix, CentOS, IPCop & DSL
Posts: 138

Rep: Reputation: 21
This depends on what versions you are running, but on my system you go to the folder/file:
/usr/share/applications/screensavers/personal-slideshow.desktop

And edit the line which says "Exec=slideshow" - shown below:

Code:
[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=Pictures folder
Comment=Display a slideshow from your Pictures folder
Exec=slideshow 
TryExec=slideshow
StartupNotify=false
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=GNOME;Screensaver;
OnlyShowIn=GNOME;
X-Ubuntu-Gettext-Domain=gnome-screensaver
Change it to this:

Code:
[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=Pictures folder
Comment=Display a slideshow from your Pictures folder
Exec=slideshow --location=/home/<user>/Pictures
TryExec=slideshow
StartupNotify=false
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=GNOME;Screensaver;
OnlyShowIn=GNOME;
X-Ubuntu-Gettext-Domain=gnome-screensaver
 
Old 05-25-2009, 09:03 AM   #3
moxieman99
Member
 
Registered: Feb 2004
Distribution: Dabble, but latest used are Fedora 13 and Ubuntu 10.4.1
Posts: 425

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 147Reputation: 147
Closest I could find to what you mentioned was /home/<user>/.gconf/apps/gnome-screensaver/%gconf.xml which reads as follows:

<gconf>
<entry name="idle_activation_enabled" mtime="1243112316" type="bool" value="false">
</entry>
<entry name="idle_delay" mtime="1243111161" type="int" value="1">
</entry>
<entry name="lock_enabled" mtime="1238248784" type="bool" value="false">
</entry>

<entry name="themes" mtime="1243170217" type="list" ltype="string">

<li type="string">
<stringvalue>screensavers-personal-slideshow</stringvalue>
</li>
</entry>

<entry name="mode" mtime="1243170217" type="string">
<stringvalue>single</stringvalue>
</entry>
<entry name="power_management_delay" mtime="1243256298" type="int" value="30">
</entry>
</gconf>

Looking at your suggestion, should I change the first <stringvalue> line to read

<stringvalue>screensavers-personal --location=/home/<user>/Pictures/<subfolder>-slideshow</stringvalue>

Appreciate your efforts, Retrieval

--------------------------
Well, I just tried my above and it didn't work. Seem that the file I edited gets re-written every time you select a new screensaver. I'll figure it out. Eventually.

Last edited by moxieman99; 05-25-2009 at 10:48 AM.
 
Old 05-26-2009, 03:00 AM   #4
Retrievil_Knievil
Member
 
Registered: Mar 2004
Location: Stavanger, Norway
Distribution: Gentoo, Slackware/SLAX, Knoppix, CentOS, IPCop & DSL
Posts: 138

Rep: Reputation: 21
Do you have a file in your home-directory called .xscreensaver? I think some versions of gnome-screensaver reads this file, this is where I changed my slideshow prefs the last time I did it. There should be an option called "imageDirectory: /home/<user>/Pictures".
 
Old 05-26-2009, 05:31 AM   #5
moxieman99
Member
 
Registered: Feb 2004
Distribution: Dabble, but latest used are Fedora 13 and Ubuntu 10.4.1
Posts: 425

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 147Reputation: 147
Only files I'm showing under xscreensaver search (other than some man and .png files) are:

/etc/xdg/menus/preferences-post-merged/gnome-screensaver-hide-xscreensaver.menu
/usr/share/doc/nss_ldap-261/pam.d/xscreensaver

The /usr I cannot open and the /etc doesn't look like it is what I want. It doesn't have any location strings.

Am searching now for files containing the term imageDirectory

Last edited by moxieman99; 05-26-2009 at 05:33 AM.
 
Old 05-26-2009, 06:22 AM   #6
Retrievil_Knievil
Member
 
Registered: Mar 2004
Location: Stavanger, Norway
Distribution: Gentoo, Slackware/SLAX, Knoppix, CentOS, IPCop & DSL
Posts: 138

Rep: Reputation: 21
Do you by any chance have a folder called "/usr/share/backgrounds"? I've also seen Fedora users reporting that they remove the pictures in this folder, and symlink to their own backgrounds-folder from this folder. Not sure which version of Fedora they were using, though.

I've been working some time with this myself to make it work, and it really made me question the thought the Gnome developers had when they swapped a perfectly working screensaver interface (xscreensaver) with their own, (and IMHO limited, at best) interface. Seems like a bad idea to change something that works, if you ask me...

For me, the solutions have changed as I upgraded my system, now I am using the folder "/usr/share/wallpapers", which is a symlink to my pictures archive. This also seems to be the folder CentOS uses. I do not have a Fedora 10 system here, so I cannot verify if these are the correct folders for you, but one of them might provide you with a solution..

Really like your tagline, btw
 
Old 05-26-2009, 09:23 AM   #7
moxieman99
Member
 
Registered: Feb 2004
Distribution: Dabble, but latest used are Fedora 13 and Ubuntu 10.4.1
Posts: 425

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 147Reputation: 147
Quote:
Originally Posted by Retrievil_Knievil View Post
Do you by any chance have a folder called "/usr/share/backgrounds"? I've also seen Fedora users reporting that they remove the pictures in this folder, and symlink to their own backgrounds-folder from this folder. Not sure which version of Fedora they were using, though.

I've been working some time with this myself to make it work, and it really made me question the thought the Gnome developers had when they swapped a perfectly working screensaver interface (xscreensaver) with their own, (and IMHO limited, at best) interface. Seems like a bad idea to change something that works, if you ask me...

For me, the solutions have changed as I upgraded my system, now I am using the folder "/usr/share/wallpapers", which is a symlink to my pictures archive. This also seems to be the folder CentOS uses. I do not have a Fedora 10 system here, so I cannot verify if these are the correct folders for you, but one of them might provide you with a solution..

Really like your tagline, btw
Right now I am searching for the "Cosmos" app to find out where it gets its pictures from and then maybe find out where the screensaver triggers Cosmos. If I can find that, and where its pictures are, then maybe I can backdoor where screensaver options get set for the Pictures folder.

Thanks!
 
  


Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off



Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Using f-stop imported pictures to the photo folder. Where is the photo folder? elocs Linux - Newbie 9 08-21-2009 11:02 PM
How do I remove F-Spot photos and Pictures folder from the screensaver list? Thane Ubuntu 4 02-16-2009 09:25 PM
Gnome pictures screensaver changing image size ziggy25 Linux - Software 2 02-23-2008 01:07 PM
How to turn some pictures to a ScreenSaver? weiweif Linux - Software 2 10-01-2004 11:53 PM
screensaver pictures... talkinggoat Linux - Software 1 07-19-2004 08:29 PM

LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Software

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:29 AM.

Main Menu
Advertisement
My LQ
Write for LQ
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute content, let us know.
Main Menu
Syndicate
RSS1  Latest Threads
RSS1  LQ News
Twitter: @linuxquestions
Open Source Consulting | Domain Registration