Chapter 2 Starting a Desktop Session

A desktop session occurs between the time you log in and the time you log out.

The login screen, displayed by the Login Manager, is your gateway to the desktop. It provides a place for you to type your login name and password. The Options menu on the login screen lists your login options. In addition to running a desktop session, you can run a failsafe session. You can also select the language for your session.

• Starting and Ending a Desktop Session

• To Use a Session in a Different Language

• Starting a Failsafe Session

• Starting a Command-Line Session

• Using a Home Session

Starting and Ending a Desktop Session

A desktop session starts when you log in. Session Manager is started after Login Manager authenticates your login and password.

Session Manager provides the ability to manage sessions—to remember the state of your most recent session and return you there the next time you log in.

Session Manager saves and restores:

• The appearance and behavior settings – for example, fonts, colors, and mouse settings.

• The window applications that were running – for example, your File Manager and Text Editor windows. Certain types of applications can't be saved and restored by Session Manager. For example, if you start the vi editor from a command line in a Terminal window, Session Manager cannot restore your editing session.

To Log In to a Desktop Session

1. Type your login name and press Return or click OK.

2. Type your password and press Return or click OK.

   If Login Manager does not recognize your name or password, click Start Over and start the log in process over again.

   Once you've logged in, Session Manager starts a session:

   • If this is the first time you've logged in, you'll get a new session.

   • If you've logged in before, your previous session will be restored.

To Log Out

• Click the Exit control in the Front Panel.

• Or, choose Log out from the Workspace menu.

When you log out of a regular desktop session, Session Manager saves information about your current session so that it can be restored the next time you log in. Information about non-desktop applications may not be saved.

To Use a Session in a Different Language

1. Choose Language from the Options menu on the login screen.

2. Choose the language group that includes the language you need.

3. Select a language.

4. Log in.

   The default language for your system is set by your system administrator. The Options menu enables you to access other languages. Choosing a language in the Options menu sets the LANG environment variable for your session. The default language is restored at the end of the session.

Starting a Failsafe Session

A failsafe session is a session that starts a single Terminal window (and optionally Workspace Manager). It is useful when you need access to a single Terminal window to execute several commands before logging in to a desktop session.

To Log In to a Failsafe Session

1. Choose Session from the Options menu.

2. Choose Failsafe Session from the Session submenu.

3. Log in.

To Log Out of a Failsafe Session

Type the exit command in a Terminal window.

Starting a Command-Line Session

Command Line Login mode enables you to temporarily leave the desktop to work in your operating system environment. Command Line Login mode is not a desktop session. When your system is in Command Line Login mode, the desktop is suspended. You log in using your operating system mechanism rather than Login Manager. There are no windows because the X server is not running.

To Log In to and Out of a Command-Line Session

Certain types of configurations (for example, X terminals) do not provide a Command Line Login mode option.

To enter Command Line Login mode:

1. Choose Command Line Login from the Options menu.

   The login screen disappears and is replaced by a console prompt.

2. Supply your login and password as prompted.

To leave Command Line Login mode:

Type exit at a command-line prompt.

Using a Home Session

Ordinarily, the desktop saves session information when you log out and uses that information to start your next session. If you start or stop applications during your session, or use Style Manager to change the appearance and behavior of your system, changes you make are reflected in your next session. This type of session is called a current session.

The desktop also provides a home session. A home session is a session that you explicitly save. It's like taking a snapshot of your current session at some point in time. Once you've saved a home session, you can specify that logging in always restores that session instead of the current session.

To Save a Home Session

1. Click the Style Manager control in the Front Panel.

2. Click the Startup control in Style Manager.

   The Startup dialog box is displayed.

3. Click Set Home Session in the Startup dialog box.

4. Click OK in the confirmation dialog box that appears.

   This saves the current state of your session.

To Automatically Start the Home Session at Login

1. Click the Style Manager control in the Front Panel.

2. Click the Startup control in Style Manager.

   The Startup dialog box is displayed.

3. Select Return to Home session.

4. Click OK.

   When you choose Return to Home session, Session Manager will not save your session at logout.

To Choose between the Current and Home Session for Each Session

1. Click the Style Manager control in the Front Panel.

2. Click the Startup control in Style Manager.

   The Startup dialog box is displayed.

3. Select Ask Me at Logout.

4. Click OK.

   You decide what will be your next session—current or home—at logout time. If you choose to return to the home session, the current session information is not saved. (You cannot change your mind the next time you log in.)