Starting a Session

A session occurs between the time that you log in to the desktop environment and the time that you log out. The login screen, displayed by the Login Manager, is your gateway to the desktop environment. The login screen provides fields for you to enter your username and password. The Options menu on the login screen lists your login options, for example you can select the language of your session.

You start a session when you log in. The session manager starts after the Login Manager authenticates your username and password. The session manager enables you to manage the session. For example, you can save the state of your most recent session and return to that session the next time that you log in. The session manager saves and restores the following:

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

• The applications that you were running, for example file manager and text editor windows. You cannot save and restore applications that the session manager does not manage. For example, if you start the vi editor from the command line in a terminal window, session manager cannot restore your editing session.

To Log in to a Session

To log in to a session, perform the following actions.

1. Choose Options -> Session. Choose the GNOME Desktop from the list of available desktop environments.

2. Enter your login name in the field on the Login Manager dialog, then click OK.

3. Enter your password in the field on the Login Manager dialog, then click OK.

When you log in successfully, the session manager starts a session. If this is the first time you log in, then the session manager starts a new session. If you have logged in before, then the session manager restores your previous session.

To Start a Session in a Different Language

To start a session in a different language, perform the following actions.

1. On the login dialog, choose Options -> Session. Choose the GNOME Desktop from the list of available desktop environments.

2. On the login dialog, choose Options -> Language.

3. Choose the language group that includes the language that you want.

4. Choose a language.

5. Log in.

Your system administrator sets the default language for your system. The Options menu on the Login Manager dialog enables you to access other languages. When you choose a language in the Options menu, your system sets the LANG variable for your session. The system restores the default language at the end of the session.