[openbox] DockApps at Startup

Holly Bostick motub at planet.nl
Fri Jun 25 05:33:15 EDT 2004


Jess Mahan wrote:

> Ok, don't all jump on me at once, but hear me out.
>
> If i just use startx I can get my dockapps to start by sticking
> them in my ~/.xinitrc, however I cannot figure out how to get
> my dockapps to start up when using GDM when I log in. 
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
>  
>
I'm using GDM, and here's how I do it:

1. Open your favorite text editor as root. Use it to open one of the 
*.desktop files in /etc/X11/dm/Sessions/.

2. Edit the chosen desktop file to reflect Openbox. Meaning, change the 
"name" and "description" fields and change the "Application" field to 
the name of a script that we will shortly create (mine is called 
"openboxstart.sh").

3. Save the edited *.desktop file **as** openbox.desktop.

4. In the user's ~/ (I'm the only user, so that's where I put the 
script; I suppose you could do it globally if you wanted, but I don't 
know where you'd put the file), create "openbox.sh"; mine says:

#!/bin/bash
/usr/libexec/gnome-settings-daemon &
famd &
wmsetbg ~/fluxbox/backgrounds/flower.png
LinNeighborhood -m &
wmtz &
wmweather+ -station KJFK &
gkrellm2 -w &
pypanel &
gnome-terminal --window-with-profile=boinc &
exec openbox

Naturally you would edit this for your own startup programs, but afaik, 
the only rules (other than the "shebang" at the start for the bash 
script) are that all the programs must be backgrounded with a & except 
for Openbox, which has to be the last thing started, and left in the 
foreground.

Save the script with the name you said you would use in the 
openbox.desktop file, make it executable, and log out; the "Openbox" 
entry should now appear in the GDM menu, and choosing it should run the 
script.

It does for me, anyway.

Hope this helps.
Holly



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