Hitchhiker's Guide to Openbsd

11.5.3 - xdm(1) startup
xdm(1)
 is usually started by the 
system startup scripts
, but for testing purposes (recommended, until you 
know your have your X config right!), it can be run as root. 
xdm(1) has a lot of other functionality that won't be touched on here, but for our purposes, xdm will 
present the user with a login screen, get and verify a user name and password, and then give the user 
their X environment. When X shuts down, either deliberately or accidently, xdm will start it back up 
again. This is why you want to make sure X is configured properly before using xdm(1), and certainly 
before having xdm(1) start at boot, otherwise, you may have some difficulty getting control of the 
machine. 
When xdm(1) starts, it runs the 
/etc/X11/xdm/Xsession
, which will check to see if the user has 
a 
.xsession
file in their home directory. So, if you wish to change your default window manager, 
simply invoke it (and maybe other things) in 
.xsession
. Again, any programs you want started with 
X (for example, maybe three xterm(1)s) can be placed here, but all should be backgrounded except for 
your window manager, as again, when that exits, your X session will be ended. In this case, xdm(1) will 
restart X and bring you back to a login screen. 
11.5.4 - Trying a new window manager
You can invoke a particular window manager when you load X without altering any defaults like this: 
$ startx /usr/local/bin/fluxbox
Several window managers (including cwm(1) and fvwm(1)) offer the ability to change window 
managers on the fly, without restarting X or any of your applications. Your new window manager 
replaces your old one; exiting the newly-loaded window manager terminates X, it does not return you 
back to your previous window manager. fvwm(1) allows you to start a different window manager by left 
clicking on the background ("root window"), chose "(Re)Start", then pick your preferred window 
manager (however, note that you will need to add your alternative window managers to your 
.fvwmrc
file (the system-wide default is 
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fvwm/.fvwmrc
)). cwm(1) allows you to 
invoke another window manager by hitting Ctrl-Alt-w, and typing in the manager you wish to switch to. 
Once you have found a window manager you like, you can set it as the final program run by your startup 
scripts as described above. 
http://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq11.html (13 of 14)9/4/2011 10:02:17 AM

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12 - Hardware and Platform-Specific Questions
 
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