SDB:Change Display Manager
Situation
The Display Manager (DM) or login manager is typically the first interaction the user has with the computer after boot, as it is where the user enters his or her username and password to log on.
Although the default DM (gdm for GNOME installations, or SDDM for KDE installations) will suffice for most cases, sometimes users will want to change to a non-default DM for performance or aesthetic purposes. This article explains that process.
Procedure
Installing Another DM
An alternative DM must be installed before it may be selected.
To install one of the below managers, type the indicated code.
| Display Manager | Brief Description | To Install, Type: |
|---|---|---|
| gdm (Gnome Display Manager) [1] | Default DM for GNOME desktop installations |
zypper in gdm |
| SDDM (Simple Desktop Display Manager) [2] | QML-Based X11 and Wayland DM. Default DM for KDE Plasma 5 installations |
zypper in sddm |
| LightDM [3] | A lightweight DM; default for XFCE installations |
zypper in lightdm |
| kdm (KDE Display Manager [4] | Default DM for KDE 4 installations |
zypper in kdm |
| kdm3 | DM for KDE3 |
zypper in kdebase3-kdm |
Setting the new default
The way this is accomplished changed with the release of Leap 15.
To list all display managers the alternatives system knows about, run
update-alternatives --list default-displaymanager
To change the display manager interactively
update-alternatives --config default-displaymanager
To change it non-interactively
update-alternatives --set default-displaymanager /usr/lib/X11/displaymanagers/<choice>
YaST and YaST2 also have an "Alternatives" module under the Miscellaneous section. If you need to install this package, it is called yast2-alternatives.