Screensaver Application

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A screensaver is an application that replaces the image on a screen when the screen is not in use. The screensaver application for the Oracle Solaris Desktop is XScreenSaver. The following sections describe how to set preferences for the XScreenSaver application, and how to modify displays that are available for the screensaver.

This section describes how to set preferences for the screensaver. This section also provides information about how to modify the displays that are available for the screensaver.

Setting Screensaver Preferences

The default screensaver preferences are stored in the /usr/share/X11/app-defaults/XScreenSaver file. To start the Screensaver preference tool, run the xscreensaver-demo command from the /usr/bin/ directory. To start the Screensaver preference tool from System menu, choose System → Preferences → Screensaver.

Setting Default Screensaver Preferences for All Users

To set default screensaver preferences for all users, modify the XScreenSaver file. Or, you can use the XScreenSaver dialog to create a $HOME/.xscreensaver file, then copy the file to the location of the XScreenSaver file.

Restoring Default Screensaver Settings for a User

To restore the default settings for a user, delete the $HOME/.xscreensaver file from the user's home directory. If no $HOME/.xscreensaver file is present, the system uses the default preferences in the XScreenSaver file.

Note - The default display behavior of the XScreenSaver application is to display a blank screen.

To activate changes to the screensaver preferences, use the following command to reload the screensaver preferences:

# xscreensaver-command -restart

Modifying Screensaver Preferences

To modify screensaver application preferences, you can use the Screensaver preference tool. When you modify the screensaver preferences, the preferences are stored in the user's home directory, in the $HOME/.xscreensaver file.

Modifying Look and Feel of Your Screensaver

The screensaver displays are listed in the XScreenSaver file and in the $HOME/.xscreensaver file. The screensaver application allows users to choose one or more screensaver displays.

How to Add a Screensaver Display

Copy the executable file for the display to the /usr/lib/xscreensaver/hacks/ directory.
Add the command for the screensaver display to the XScreenSaver file or the $HOME/.xscreensaver file.
To run the screensaver display on the whole screen rather than in a window, include appropriate arguments. For example, you might want to include the –root option to display the screensaver display on the whole screen.

Disabling a Screensaver Display

To disable the screensaver displays for all users on a Sun Ray client, type the following command:

# pkg uninstall 'desktop/xscreensaver/hacks*'

Note - The Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM) service name for the XScreenSaver application is dtsession. This name is used for compatibility with previous applications.