Choose whether or not to 'Save Session' on logout?

tedrogers · 2017-09-20 18:36:44

Hi,

In other distributions (LXDE, Xubuntu etc.) it's very easy to choose whether or not to 'Save Session' on logout or not.

You simply check / uncheck the 'Save Session' option on the logout dialogue box.

How do I do this in OB / Bunsenlabs?

Thanks.

Last edited by tedrogers (2017-09-20 18:37:23)

Head_on_a_Stick · 2017-09-20 18:47:16

I think you can do that by installing xfce4-session and then adding xfce4-session to ~/.config/openbox/autostart (add an ampersand at the end if the desktop won't start).

If you will allow me the liberty: the more well-endowed distributions (feature-wise) can be likened to Mrs. Doyle's teasmaid — they do everything for you but some people like the misery... 8o

Last edited by Head_on_a_Stick (2017-09-20 18:48:11)

Head_on_a_Stick · 2017-09-20 18:53:33

If you add xfce4-session to the openbox autostart script then the standard theme changer (lxappearance) will not work anymore so you will also have to install the XFCE settings changer as well:

https://packages.debian.org/jessie/xfce4-settings

I had that running in BunsenLabs a while back with bspwm & tint2 and it worked really well

Last edited by Head_on_a_Stick (2017-09-20 19:04:30)

martix · 2017-09-20 19:36:12

I'm wondering at what stage should be xfce4-settingssession added to the autostart script? Looking at similar entries, the line might be

xfce4-session &

It sounds like a useful package, I'll give it a try.

Last edited by martix (2017-09-20 20:20:54)

Head_on_a_Stick · 2017-09-20 19:50:28

martix wrote:

I'm wondering at what stage should be xfce4-settings added to the autostart script?

Anywhere you want.

EDIT: sorry, I misread your post.

Don't add xfce4-settings to the autostart script at all, just call it manually whenever you want to change the settings.

Last edited by Head_on_a_Stick (2017-09-20 19:55:52)

martix · 2017-09-20 20:20:11

^Oh, I'm sorry, I meant xfce4-sessions above (not xfce4-settings)... So I'm guessing I can put that line in the autostart script wherever I want?

martix · 2017-09-20 20:26:17

Just for the record: xfce4-settings installs together with xfce4-session. When installed, e.g. setting the icon theme is available from a dynamic menu (like bl-obmenu-generator) via Menu/Settings/Settings Manager/Appearance/Icons. All the other settings like fonts, style, etc. are also available there.

EDIT:

@tedrogers First of all a warning: Please do not try this! Or only in case you are willing to handle unexpected issues.

Well, I just made a reboot after installing xfce4-session and putting that line in the autostart script. It did boot, however I got a nice light-blue desktop with an XFCE4 wallpaper and all the /~ folder content as desktop icons. No tint2, no conky, bl-hotcorners, etc. After removing that line from the autostart script it did not change anything. I can work on the desktop though as I can start tint2, conky, etc. via terminal.

Update: After removing those packages everything is back to normal. I guess with some tweaking it is possible to handle those packages (as no openbox menu is available after installing them and - as mentioned - no tint2, conky, etc.). It seems to be a useful feature though, worth a try.

Last edited by martix (2017-09-20 21:58:02)

tedrogers · 2017-09-21 00:29:39

martix wrote:

Just for the record: xfce4-settings installs together with xfce4-session. When installed, e.g. setting the icon theme is available from a dynamic menu (like bl-obmenu-generator) via Menu/Settings/Settings Manager/Appearance/Icons. All the other settings like fonts, style, etc. are also available there.

EDIT:
@tedrogers First of all a warning: Please do not try this! Or only in case you are willing to handle unexpected issues.
Well, I just made a reboot after installing xfce4-session and putting that line in the autostart script. It did boot, however I got a nice light-blue desktop with an XFCE4 wallpaper and all the /~ folder content as desktop icons. No tint2, no conky, bl-hotcorners, etc. After removing that line from the autostart script it did not change anything. I can work on the desktop though as I can start tint2, conky, etc. via terminal.
Update: After removing those packages everything is back to normal. I guess with some tweaking it is possible to handle those packages (as no openbox menu is available after installing them and - as mentioned - no tint2, conky, etc.). It seems to be a useful feature though, worth a try.

I'm glad I asked!

A bullet dodged for me.

I thank you for taking one for the team, and for giving me forewarning!

So there really is no simpler way OB way? A text file edit?

Head_on_a_Stick · 2017-09-21 06:02:28

martix wrote:

I just made a reboot after installing xfce4-session and putting that line in the autostart script. It did boot, however I got a nice light-blue desktop with an XFCE4 wallpaper and all the /~ folder content as desktop icons. No tint2, no conky, bl-hotcorners, etc.

Hmmm... I was sure that worked fine for me, I definitely had xfce4-session controlling the theming but I must have done some other things to get it working.

I am very sorry about that martix and thank you very much for doing what I should have done and testing it for the OP.

I will have a fiddle with my BL system tonight and see if I can get it working.

tedrogers · 2017-09-21 09:12:33

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:

martix wrote:
I just made a reboot after installing xfce4-session and putting that line in the autostart script. It did boot, however I got a nice light-blue desktop with an XFCE4 wallpaper and all the /~ folder content as desktop icons. No tint2, no conky, bl-hotcorners, etc.
Hmmm... I was sure that worked fine for me, I definitely had xfce4-session controlling the theming but I must have done some other things to get it working.
I am very sorry about that martix and thank you very much for doing what I should have done and testing it for the OP.
I will have a fiddle with my BL system tonight and see if I can get it working.

Thank you HoaS.

In another attempt, I can confirm that installing lxsession doesn't work without further tweaks...this just hangs openbox on login until lxsession is removed. Perhaps it needs calling from autostart or something...I don't have enough understanding or guts to start tearing my system apart and experimenting wildly / blindly.

Head_on_a_Stick · 2017-09-21 17:10:46

Right, I must apologise for my egregious error in recommending that you add xfce4-session to the autostart file, that was spectacularly bad advice

I was confused and mis-remembered that I was in fact using xfsettingsd to let the XFCE settings manager work in BunsenLabs, it was nothing to do with xfce4-session.

Whilst it is possible to hack up the BL desktop in XFCE by adding `bl-tint2-session` & `volumeicon-alsa` to the autostart program list you would probably be better off just installing the rest of the XFCE desktop and selecting that from the login screen.

@martix, the XFCE desktop was "stuck" for you because installing the xfce4-session package updates /etc/alternatives/x-session-manager to point to that program instead of openbox-session and this is what LightDM runs.

If you wanted to re-install xfce4-session to play around with it then you can get the stock BunsenLabs desktop back by either selecting "openbox session" in the LightDM session selector (the spanner icon at the top-right of the panel in the login screen) or by using:

sudo update-alternatives --config x-session-manager

ohnonot · 2017-09-21 18:06:36

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:

Whilst it is possible to hack up the BL desktop in XFCE by adding `bl-tint2-session` & `volumeicon-alsa` to the autostart program list you would probably be better off just installing the rest of the XFCE desktop and selecting that from the login screen.

yes, and then replace xfwm with openbox and xfce4-panel with tint2 and remove xfdesktop.
sounds like a good plan actually.

but (not sure how far this has been discussed already) BL does offer some sort of session management itself; it might be best to simply move away from bunsenlabs (as a desktop, not the distro itself) completely.

martix · 2017-09-22 09:39:01

@HoaS That's ok, it was just an "apt install - apt remove" test anyway. Thank you for telling us about this feature and explaining the details. It confirms my impression that it started as a different session, which could be tweaked to a similar one like the original openbox desktop.

Actually it's a tempting idea having an option for an xfce-session as well to test save session on logout and I like that desktop anyway (I was wondering a while back why Debian decided to use Gnome as default DE, instead of the rock solid yet full of features XFCE). If I'm not mistaken, as ohnonot suggests, replacing xfwm by openbox would make it even possible to use the openbox menu (or bl-obmenu-generator). "Save session" is similar to "show my windows from last time" in Firefox and this feature can be really useful sometimes.

tedrogers · 2017-09-22 13:43:12

ohnonot wrote:

BL does offer some sort of session management itself; it might be best to simply move away from bunsenlabs (as a desktop, not the distro itself) completely.

I'm confused. So BL *does* have a session manager?

Personally, if it doesn't, I'm not going down this whole "replace xfwm with openbox and xfce4-panel with tint2 and remove xfdesktop" malarkey. For me personally, it is a recipe for disaster.

ohnonot · 2017-09-22 16:34:59

tedrogers wrote:

I'm confused. So BL *does* have a session manager?

not in the way you are imagining.

Head_on_a_Stick · 2017-09-22 16:42:51

tedrogers wrote:

if it doesn't, I'm not going down this whole "replace xfwm with openbox and xfce4-panel with tint2 and remove xfdesktop" malarkey. For me personally, it is a recipe for disaster

We developed the BunsenLabs desktop with modularity and tweakability (if that's a word) as central paradigms, even more so than the openbox window manager and tint2 panel — the whole ethos of the distribution is that it can be bent and melded into exactly what you want it to be.

If the thought of all that "malarkey" (excellent word btw) bothers you then perhaps this isn't the right distribution for you, there are many others available that offer more fully-featured and pre-configured desktops.

And no, the stock BunsenLabs desktop does not use a session manager (and probably never will) but such things can be added, as already noted.

EDIT: also, there is nothing to stop you installing the entire XFCE desktop (for example) and using that instead of the openbox version we provide, the system would be indistinguishable from Debian XFCE then (roughly).

Last edited by Head_on_a_Stick (2017-09-22 16:45:59)

tedrogers · 2017-09-22 17:12:39

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:

tedrogers wrote:
if it doesn't, I'm not going down this whole "replace xfwm with openbox and xfce4-panel with tint2 and remove xfdesktop" malarkey. For me personally, it is a recipe for disaster
We developed the BunsenLabs desktop with modularity and tweakability (if that's a word) as central paradigms, even more so than the openbox window manager and tint2 panel — the whole ethos of the distribution is that it can be bent and melded into exactly what you want it to be.
If the thought of all that "malarkey" (excellent word btw) bothers you then perhaps this isn't the right distribution for you, there are many others available that offer more fully-featured and pre-configured desktops.
And no, the stock BunsenLabs desktop does not use a session manager (and probably never will) but such things can be added, as already noted.
EDIT: also, there is nothing to stop you installing the entire XFCE desktop (for example) and using that instead of the openbox version we provide, the system would be indistinguishable from Debian XFCE then (roughly).

No it's quite okay. BL is fast for me, and that was my main objective. I can live without a few comfort features. If I install a load of XFCE gubbins, it will slow my machine down, and it will be be to similar to my Xubuntu install on the same machine, which I break all the time!

All I meant is that if I start digging around under the hood of my BL install, I'll in all likelihood end up with a broken system and will have more questions than answers. I just don't have the time for that.

Thanks.

tknomanzr · 2017-09-22 21:24:54

^ Do you have a place to push backups too? If so, then there's some topics on these forums that will help you get your install backed up so that you can proceed with a little less trepidation. We had a long discussion about it in the early days of BL.

johnraff · 2017-09-23 02:04:58

ohnonot wrote:

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:
Whilst it is possible to hack up the BL desktop in XFCE by adding `bl-tint2-session` & `volumeicon-alsa` to the autostart program list you would probably be better off just installing the rest of the XFCE desktop and selecting that from the login screen.
yes, and then replace xfwm with openbox and xfce4-panel with tint2 and remove xfdesktop.

Back in the day, there used to be a CrunchBang XFCE version which basically tweaked xfce to look like crunchBang. I forget if it used openbox or xfwm, though. It's certainly possible to replace xfwm with openbox in xfce's config: those interested might get some ideas from this now archaic #!/xfce Waldorf/Wheezy netinstall script: https://github.com/johnraff/cb-xfce-netinstall especially the xfce4-session config.

tedrogers · 2017-09-23 08:18:42

tknomanzr wrote:

^ Do you have a place to push backups too? If so, then there's some topics on these forums that will help you get your install backed up so that you can proceed with a little less trepidation. We had a long discussion about it in the early days of BL.

I could partimage, but honestly I really can't be bothered. For me, the net gains aren't worth the risk / hassle. Thanks for the suggestion all the same though.

#1 2017-09-20 18:36:44