Multiple Desktop Environments
From openSUSE
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Introduction
One of the best aspects of openSUSE is choice. This choice is reflected in subjects such as software, developers, alternative applications and much more. It is also reflected in desktop environments. This includes the three major desktop environments: Gnome, KDE 3 and KDE 4. With these different environments available, each with their own advantages, it can be hard to choose which to use. The great part is that openSUSE users can install more than one desktop environment and switch between them when they please. There are two methods to installing multiple desktop environments: during installation and after installation. Both of these methods, as well as support information for using multiple desktop environments and for the desktop environments themselves. Note that the "During Installation" version is based on the DVD version of the openSUSE installation; the LiveCD installation does not apply.
Installation
As stated in the introduction, the two major methods for installing multiple desktop environments are during the openSUSE installation process and after openSUSE is installed on your system. There are no major advantages to using one method over another, apart from convenience. Installing multiple desktop environments during installation may be easier for some users, due to the fact that the packages will be installed along with all the required packages for openSUSE.
During Installation
This process begins at the "Desktop Selection" section of the openSUSE installation. On this page, select a primary desktop environment to be used on your system. This choice will not effect any following steps and because you are installing more than one desktop, you can always select another primary desktop environment (talked about later). Once you have selected a primary desktop environment, continue with the installation until you reach the "Installation Overview" page. This is the page where subsequent desktop environments can be added.
This page may take a few seconds to load. Once the refresh is complete, click the "Change..." button at the bottom-center of the page. In this list, select "Software." This will load the software patterns available from the DVD. Scroll down in the left menu until you find the heading: "Graphical Environments." Under this heading, you will find all the patterns for the desktop environments. To install these patterns, check the boxes from the lists below that correspond to the desktop environment(s) you wish to install:
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GNOME Desktop Environment (version 2.x.x):
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KDE Desktop Environment (version 3.x.x):
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KDE Desktop Environment (version 4.x.x):
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Once you have selected the packages to be installed, press "OK" and complete the installation.
After Installation
The second method is added new desktop environments after installing openSUSE. To do this, open YaST Package Manager either by opening YaST, entering the root password, and clicking on the button for "Software Management" under the "Software" heading or opening a terminal window and issuing the following set of commands (each line representing a new command and number signs (#) representing commands issued as a root user [do not enter #s into the terminal window]):
su Password: # yast2 --install
Once you have opened YaST Package Manager, the software repositories will refresh. After this is complete, click the dropdown menu labeled "Groups" in the lower left (the position of this dropdown depends which desktop environment you are currently using; both environments will likely have this dropdown on the left side, though) of the window. From this list, select "Patterns" and wait while the left menu refreshes. Once the refresh is complete, scroll down in the left column until you come across the heading "Graphical Environments." From this list, select the following patterns that correspond to the environments you want install and then press the "Install All" button:
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GNOME Desktop Environment (version 2.x.x):
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KDE Desktop Environment (version 3.x.x):
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KDE Desktop Environment (version 4.x.x):
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Once you have selected the environments you wish to install, press the "Apply" button to install them.
Switching Between Environments
With multiple environments installed, you have the ability to boot into different environments when you wish. To do this, boot your openSUSE system and wait until you arrive at the login screen. On the bottom-left of this screen will be a link title: "Sessions." Click this link and a prompt will appear with the available sessions. From this list, select one of the desktop environments (for example: GNOME, KDE3 or KDE4) and enter your username and password. Before openSUSE boots this environment, you will be asked if you want to make this session the default session. If you wish for this current session to be the one that automatically loads when you login, then accept. If you do not wish to have this desktop environment load when you login, then decline the prompt.
Keeping Up-to-date
Whether desktop environments are installed during the openSUSE installation or after the installation, it is always a good idea to keep current with software for your environments. Desktop environments are kept up-to-date through repositories supported by the developer. Below are links for the repositories of the two major desktop environment developers for Linux systems: Gnome and KDE. To add a repository, open YaST and select "Software Repositories" from the "Software" section. Press the "Add" button in the bottom-left and then select "Specify URL..." from the list. Enter the URL of the repository (found on the pages linked below) and name the repository. Once these fields are completed, press the "Next" button and the repository will be added. If prompted to Import a Key, accept (decline only if you are a more experienced user and have a reason to do so) and once the repository has been added, close YaST.
Gnome Repositories
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KDE Repositories
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Disabling Automatic Login
If auto-login is selected, users will not be able to select a session before logging into openSUSE. There are two options: boot into the default sessions and logout to change it or disable the automatic login. While automatic login may be convenient, it is suggested for security reasons that users disable this option (as stated above, having automatic login enabled will also skip the login screen where sessions can be changed). To disable this option, open YaST, enter the root password, and open "User and Group Management" under the "Security and Users" section.
When this window loads, you will see all the users on your system. Click the dropdown labeled: "Expert Options" and select "Login Settings" from the list. In this new window, uncheck "Auto Login" (it is suggested that "Passwordless Logins" also be unchecked for security reasons when automatic login is disabled). Once you have unchecked these options, press "OK" and then "Finish" in the User and Group Administration window. The next time you reboot, you the login screen will appear and prompt you for your username and password. You will also be able to see the "Sessions" link in the bottom-left to change the boot session (see Switching Between Environments above).
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This page was last modified 08:31, 28 November 2009. This page has been accessed 1,551 times.
