waqqas31
11-18-2002, 01:58 AM
I have read numerous posts on the forums about problems people are having with regards to running the KDE Screensavers in RedHat 8.0. My personal troubles in this area led me to explore the forums for a solution. I can't say I have solved the problem, BUT I have found an alternative method which may do the trick for you until RedHat decides to address the issue.
Since this is a newbie forum, after all, and me being a newbie as well, I'll give all the steps in an orderly 1,2,3 fashion. The approach we'll be taking is the following: we will not use KDE's built-in screensaver, but rather configure xscreensaver to be our default screensaver. There's no need to worry for Matrix fans, as xscreensaver includes a Matrix screensaver as well. :D
1. First, we must disable the KDE Screensaver. To do this, right-click on your desktop, and click "Configure Desktop..." or you can reach the same menu via the RedHat menus: Preferences -> Look And Feel -> Desktop. On the left hand side there's a few buttons, click on Screensaver. UNCHECK the first checkbox that is labeled "Enable screensaver." Click 'OK.'
2. Next, we will configure xscreensaver to function the way we would like it to. Open up a terminal window (KDE Menu -> System Tools -> Terminal) and type "xscreensaver" and press enter (do not type the quotes). You should be greeted with a splash screen. Click the "Settings" button. You now see the "Screensaver Preferences" window. You can play with these settings quite a bit, but for the sake of an example, we would like the Matrix screensaver to kick in after 8 minutes of the computer being idle. Next to 'Mode' select "Only One Screen Saver." Then scroll down the list until you find XMatrix. Select XMatrix by clicking it once. Enter "8" next to "Blank After" and if you want the screensaver to start over every say, 5 minutes, enter "5" next to "Cycle After." If you rather the screensaver just start and run continuously, enter "0" here. Now click on the Advanced tab near the top of the window. In the bottom left quarter there is a section labeled "Diagnostics." UNCHECK the "Display Splash Screen at Startup" option. Now click "Close." There, we have configured xscreensaver to behave the way we want it to once it kicks in.
3. Now we have to make sure that xscreensaver starts up each time KDE does. This means that it will operate in the background, and only kick in after the number of minutes you specified. It will not display the screensaver on your screen as soon as you log in, in case the thought crossed your mind. On your desktop there should be an icon for "Home." Click or double-click it to open a Konqueror window. The folder we want to access is hidden from view, so we'll have to type in the location manually. If your username is charlie, the "Location" field should read something like this: "file:/home/charlie" Now, without erasing what's written there, add the following: "/.kde/Autostart" so the Location field now reads "file:/home/charlie/.kde/Autostart" Press Enter if you already haven't done so. You should see at least one item in the folder, namely "Autorun.desktop". You won't need to touch that, however. Right-click on the empty space in the window, go to the "Create New" submenu and select "Link to Application..." In the properties window that pops up, in the General tab, enter "launch-xscreensaver" as the name (again, don't type the quotes). Then click on the Execute tab, and enter "xscreensaver". Click 'OK'.
There, you've done it! The next time you start up KDE, xscreensaver will be running and will kick in if you leave your computer idle. If you want to change the screensaver settings, use the following command inside a Terminal window:
[username@host username] xscreensaver-command -demo
This will launch the same window from where we originally chose our Matrix screensaver from. You can play with the options to your liking, then simply click "Close" and your settings will be automatically saved.
Well, that's the end of the "tip!" Hope my fellow newbies found this helpful. :p
Since this is a newbie forum, after all, and me being a newbie as well, I'll give all the steps in an orderly 1,2,3 fashion. The approach we'll be taking is the following: we will not use KDE's built-in screensaver, but rather configure xscreensaver to be our default screensaver. There's no need to worry for Matrix fans, as xscreensaver includes a Matrix screensaver as well. :D
1. First, we must disable the KDE Screensaver. To do this, right-click on your desktop, and click "Configure Desktop..." or you can reach the same menu via the RedHat menus: Preferences -> Look And Feel -> Desktop. On the left hand side there's a few buttons, click on Screensaver. UNCHECK the first checkbox that is labeled "Enable screensaver." Click 'OK.'
2. Next, we will configure xscreensaver to function the way we would like it to. Open up a terminal window (KDE Menu -> System Tools -> Terminal) and type "xscreensaver" and press enter (do not type the quotes). You should be greeted with a splash screen. Click the "Settings" button. You now see the "Screensaver Preferences" window. You can play with these settings quite a bit, but for the sake of an example, we would like the Matrix screensaver to kick in after 8 minutes of the computer being idle. Next to 'Mode' select "Only One Screen Saver." Then scroll down the list until you find XMatrix. Select XMatrix by clicking it once. Enter "8" next to "Blank After" and if you want the screensaver to start over every say, 5 minutes, enter "5" next to "Cycle After." If you rather the screensaver just start and run continuously, enter "0" here. Now click on the Advanced tab near the top of the window. In the bottom left quarter there is a section labeled "Diagnostics." UNCHECK the "Display Splash Screen at Startup" option. Now click "Close." There, we have configured xscreensaver to behave the way we want it to once it kicks in.
3. Now we have to make sure that xscreensaver starts up each time KDE does. This means that it will operate in the background, and only kick in after the number of minutes you specified. It will not display the screensaver on your screen as soon as you log in, in case the thought crossed your mind. On your desktop there should be an icon for "Home." Click or double-click it to open a Konqueror window. The folder we want to access is hidden from view, so we'll have to type in the location manually. If your username is charlie, the "Location" field should read something like this: "file:/home/charlie" Now, without erasing what's written there, add the following: "/.kde/Autostart" so the Location field now reads "file:/home/charlie/.kde/Autostart" Press Enter if you already haven't done so. You should see at least one item in the folder, namely "Autorun.desktop". You won't need to touch that, however. Right-click on the empty space in the window, go to the "Create New" submenu and select "Link to Application..." In the properties window that pops up, in the General tab, enter "launch-xscreensaver" as the name (again, don't type the quotes). Then click on the Execute tab, and enter "xscreensaver". Click 'OK'.
There, you've done it! The next time you start up KDE, xscreensaver will be running and will kick in if you leave your computer idle. If you want to change the screensaver settings, use the following command inside a Terminal window:
[username@host username] xscreensaver-command -demo
This will launch the same window from where we originally chose our Matrix screensaver from. You can play with the options to your liking, then simply click "Close" and your settings will be automatically saved.
Well, that's the end of the "tip!" Hope my fellow newbies found this helpful. :p