dxsession(1X)dxsession(1X)NAME
dxsession, dxpause - DECwindows session manager and error log window
SYNOPSIS
dxsession
DESCRIPTION
The dxsession program provides a graphical interface to DECwindows ses‐
sion management functionality. You can use dxsession to invoke appli‐
cations and to customize the workstation environment.
A DECwindows session begins when you log into the workstation through
the Xprompter login prompt. The dxsession program is automatically
executed as the DECwindows session manager. When started, dxsession
first reads the .Xdefaults file in your home directory and incorporates
those resource values into the X Server. Next, dxsession starts a win‐
dow manager, the default being mwm. You may specify another window
manager in your .Xdefaults file or with the session manager Options
Window dialog.
After the session manager window appears dxsession runs the applica‐
tions and shell scripts specified in the Automatic Startup list. If
you have a .X11Startup file in your home directory, it will be appended
to the Automatic Startup list automatically. This script is rarely
necessary, unless you require complex startup actions or the setting of
environment variables.
Use the Options menu to tailor dxsession. Whenever you save the
attributes you have specified by means of the Options dialogs, dxses‐
sion writes resource specifications into your .Xdefaults file. Note
that the .Xdefaults file is only read by dxsession once, when it
starts.
Session Manager Window
The session manager window consists of the following areas: Displays
window manager icons that let you move and resize the session manager
window, and shrink the window to an icon. For more information, see
mwm(1X). Lists the available dxsession menus (such as Applications and
Options).
dxconsole
dxconsole is started by the session manager at login. dxconsole records
all messages sent to /dev/console as well as any output from the ses‐
sion manager, and then can be used as an enter by window.
When the dxconsole window has been restored from an icon, you can click
on the Dismiss button to shrink the window to an icon or click on the
Clear button to delete existing text from the window and shrink the
window to an icon.
DXpause
The dxpause program starts when the user selects Pause from the Session
menu on the Session Manager Menu Bar. The program places a blank
screen over the workstation screen and displays the Continue Session
dialog box. This box prompts for the password of the person whose ses‐
sion was paused. When you enter the correct password, the blank screen
is removed and the session resumes.
MENUS
The session manager window contains the following menus:
Session Applications Options Help
Session Menu
The Session menu contains the following items: Places a blank screen
over the workstation screen and displays the Continue Session dialog
box, which prompts for the password of the person whose session was
paused. When you enter the correct password, dxsession removes the
blank screen and resumes the session. Ends the current session and
exits from all applications.
Applications Menu
The Applications menu contains a list of applications that you can
start. By default it includes all of the standard DECwindows applica‐
tions (Mail, Calendar, DECterm, and so forth). Choose one of the
applications to start it up. You can add applications as items on the
menu or remove those currently listed by choosing the Applications Menu
item from the Options menu.
Options
The Options menu contains the following items: Displays a dialog box
that lets you provide or change application definitions. An applica‐
tion definition consists of the name to use in Session Manager menus
and the associated command that is executed when dxsession starts the
application. Applications must be defined before you can add them to
the Applications menu or Automatic Startup list. Displays a dialog box
that lets you specify the applications that appear on the Applications
menu. You must define an application by means of the Options Applica‐
tions Definitions menu before you add it to the Applications menu. you
add it to to the Applications menu. Displays a dialog box that lets
you specify the applications that dxsession automatically starts each
time a session starts. You must define an application by means of the
Options Applications Definitions menu before you add it to the Applica‐
tions menu. Displays a dialog box that lets you specify characteris‐
tics of your keyboard (such as bell and keyclick volume). Displays a
dialog box that lets you specify the language in which you prefer to
work. Displays a dialog box that lets you specify characteristics of
your pointer (such as its shape and color). Displays a dialog box that
lets you specify the hosts that can display applications on this work‐
station. Displays a dialog box that lets you customize attributes of
dxsession. These include its start-up state (as an icon or opened win‐
dow), the text that appears when your workstation is paused, and the
message region's size and header. Displays a dialog box that lets you
specify screen and window characteristics. These include colors, size
of your icons, and on some systems, the screen background pattern. In
addition, if you want to use a window manager other than the default
DECwindows one, you can specify it here. Restores the settings you
last saved. Restores the system default settings. Saves the current
settings. Overview gives an overview of Session Manager's menus and
features. About provides information about the software version.
X DEFAULTS
The dxsession application uses the values present in the .Xdefaults
file in your home directory, when you first log in to customize the
appearance and characteristics of its windows and dialogs. The format
for a resource specification in the .Xdefaults file is:
[name*]resource: value Specifies the application name or the name
string that restricts the resource assignment to that application or to
a component of an application. If this argument is not specified, the
resource assignment is globally available to all X applications. Spec‐
ifies the resource. Specifies the value that is to be assigned to the
resource.
For more information, see X(1X).
Because each toolkit-based application can consist of a combination of
widgets (for example, push buttons and a scroll bar), you can form the
name string by adding widget class and name identifiers to the string.
For further information about adding class and name identifiers, see
X(1X).
Note that the first name for lines that apply only to the session man‐
ager should be labeled "DXsession". The first name for lines that
apply only to dxconsole should be labeled "DXConsole".
For dxsession, the available classes are:
AttachedDialogBox Dialog Label MainWindow Menu Menubar Message Pulldown
Pushbutton Text Toggle
For dxsession, the available names are:
ConfirmFilename ConfirmPrint CreatePulldown CustomizeAutoStart Cus‐
tomizeAppDef CustomizeAppMenu CustomizeKeyboard CustomizePrinter Cus‐
tomizePulldown CustomizeSecurity CustomizeSession CustomizeWindow Main‐
Window Menubar Messages SessionPulldown SETLANGUAGE_BOX WorkAreaDialog
In addition to the general resources listed in X(1X), and those that
the Options dialog boxes specify, dxsession uses the following
resources: Specifies the name of the terminal emulator to run at dxses‐
sion startup. The default is dxterm. Specifies the design of the
pointer character. DECwindows pointers are specified by negative num‐
bers; choose the pointer by using the Options Pointer dialog box. X
pointers can be specified by positive numbers that correspond to values
in /usr/include/X11/cursorfont.h. A list of applications, delimited by
commas, to be considered for starting up by dxsession at startup time.
An integer indicating how many of the applications specified in the
AutoStart resource to actually be started. If the AutoStart resource
contains 5 applications and the value of num_AutoStart is 3, only the
first three of the AutoStart applications are started. Specifies
whether the keyboard bell is enabled or not. The default value is
enabled. Specifies the integer value of the volume of the bell. The
default value is 50. Specifies whether the keyclick resource is
enabled or not. The default value is enabled. Specifies the integer
value of the volume of the keyclick. The default value is 50. Speci‐
fies whether the autorepeat mode is enabled or not. The default value
is enabled. Specifies the mode of the keyboard when the value of the
resource is in use. The default value is caps. Specifies whether the
screen_saver resource is enabled or not. The default value is
enabled. Specifies the integer value of the number of minutes during
which, if there is no keyboard or mouse activity, the system enables
the screen_saver. The default value is 10 (minutes). Specifies the
color of the foreground of the display. The default value is black.
Specifies the color of the background of the display. The default
value is white. Specifies the pattern of the display. The default
value is 0. Specifies the color of the foreground of the pointer. The
default value is white. Specifies the color of the background of the
display. The default value is white. Specifies the state of the ses‐
sion manager when it is started up. The default value is mapped. The
alternate value is iconified. Specifies whether the session manager is
to query for confirmation if the user chooses to End Session. The
default value is 1 (true). Specifies a list of hosts, delimited by
commas. The list is used by the Security feature of the session man‐
ager. The default value is an empty list. Specifies an integer repre‐
senting the number of hosts mentioned in the host_list resource to be
considered. The default value is 0. Specifies a list of applications,
delimited by commas, to be used by the Applications button of the
Options feature of the session manager. The default value is an empty
list. Specifies an integer representing the number of applications
mentioned in the AppMenu resource to be used. The default value is 0.
Specifies a list of applications, delimited by commas, to be started up
by the session manager at startup time. The default value is an empty
list. Specifies an integer representing the number of Applications
mentioned in the AutoStart resource to be used. The default value is
0. Specifies an integer representing the X coordinate of the session
manager window at startup time. The default value is 0. Specifies an
integer representing the Y coordinate of the session manager window at
startup time. The default value is 0. Specifies a string to be dis‐
played in the Pause feature of the session manager. The default value
is "Enter your password to resume". Specifies a string representing
the name of the window manager to be started up by the session manager.
The default value is System Default. Specifies a list of applications,
delimited by commas, to be used by the Applications feature of the ses‐
sion manager. Indicates values to be replaced by the user. Specifies
an integer representing the number of Applications mentioned in the
applications resource to be used. The default value is 2. Specifies a
file to be executed at startup time by the session manager. This fea‐
ture will become obsolete in the next release, and it is suggested that
the resource value for this resource be appended to the list of
AutoStart resource value. The current release append the value (if
any) to the Automatic Startup list, and comments out the line contain‐
ing this resource name. Specifies whether the session manager is to
consider the root password also while checking whether a typed string
matches the user's password. It becomes useful when the session is to
be resumed from a paused state. The default value is false.
dxconsole Resources
Specifies the height of the dxconsole window. The default value is 10.
Specifies the width of the dxconsole window. The default value is 40.
DXpause Resources
The first name for lines that apply only to the Pause task should be
labeled DXpause. When this resource is True, dxpause executes an
XGrabServer library call, thereby inhibiting all processing of requests
or close downs on any other connection. Although this action abso‐
lutely insures that no information is displayed "through" the pause
screen, it also effectively suspends other tasks that need to output
information to their windows. When this resource is False, the protec‐
tive pause screen is raised to the top of the display stack 20 times
per second, thus re-covering any other window that might have been dis‐
played. Tasks that need to output to their own windows will not be
suspended. The default is False.
FILESRELATED INFORMATIONmwm(1X), dxconsole(1X), X(1X),
dxsession(1X)