exporting the display doesn't work again

[Gregory Nowak]

Thanks Janina, if things get to the point where I really can't resolv this, I'll try the suggestion. Although, I would prefer to not have X run everytime I boot.
Greg


On Mon, Mar 18, 2002 at 04:04:03PM -0500, Janina Sajka wrote:
> Gregory:
> 
> I am sorry that I haven't been reading this thread, so I don't know if 
> what I'm going to tell you has been covered already. But, if it has, just 
> delete this and smack me later with a wet noodle! <grin>
> 
> Some years ago I asked for similar advice on blinux. Dave Mielke wrote me 
> a nice note on this issue, and his advice was something I've kept all 
> these years in a file. I know share it with you in hopes it will help. 
> 
> Drum roll,  ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
> Here's Dave!
> 
> >From dave at mielke.cc Wed Nov  8 20:45:28 2000
> 
> [quoted lines by Janina Sajka on February 2, 2000, at 12:18]
> 
> >My problem is that I need to launch X in order to launch VMware -- so
> >there's the no speech problem here. How can I get around this? Can I maybe
> >cause X to launch and then start VMware -- say as Console F7 -- by putting
> >some kind of statement in my .bashrc?
> 
> The best way, in my opinion, is to have X running all the time. If you're using
> a RedHat-like system, then all you need to do is change the default system run
> level from 3 to 5. Find the "initdefault" line in "/etc/inittab", change the
> number, and reboot ("init q", in this case, doesn't work very well). The line
> you're looking for, looks like this:
> 
>     id:5:initdefault:
> 
> When you start X, it always assumes that it should take over the console. It
> does this by claiming the first free virtual console, and then switching to it.
> After you boot, therefore, your system will automatically switch to the virtual
> console in which X is running near the end of system initialization. You can
> easily get back to a text console by pressing ctl-alt-F1. Just alt-F1 won't
> work, as X takes over that ability, so you need to add the control key to the
> sequence. This console takeover by X, by the way, would also happen if you were
> to start it from the command line; you'd still need to ctl-alt-Fn your way back
> to your text console session.
> 
> With X running, you need to do something else in order to allow yourself to
> start X applications when not logged in via X. You need to authorize those
> "foreign" applications to use the X display. To do this, edit the file
> "/etc/X11/xdm/Xsetup_0", and add the following line at the bottom:
> 
>     /usr/X11R6/bin/xhost +localhost
> 
> This change allows any X application started on your own machine to use your
> machine's own X display. It takes effect whenever the X server is restarted.
> You can do this either by rebooting or by switching to the virtual console that
> X is using and then pressing ctl-alt-backspace.
> 
> With this done, set your "DISPLAY" environment variable to ":0" so that the X
> applications will know how to contact the correct X server. If you're using
> bash, then do:
> 
>     export DISPLAY=:0
> 
> If you think that there'll never be any need for someone to look at what's on
> the X display, then there's a simpler way to do it. Ignore anything said above,
> and just do the following two things. First, add an invisible X display to your
> system by adding the following line to the bottom of "/etc/inittab":
> 
>     xv:2345:respawn:/usr/bin/X11/Xvfb :2 -ac -screen 2 800x600x32 -fn 7x14
> 
> Either rebooting or executing "init q" will cause this change to take effect.
> Then, direct your X applications to this server by setting "DISPLAY" to ":2".
> If you're using bash, then do:
> 
>     export DISPLAY=:2
> 
> I, personally, do both. I then point DISPLAY at :0 for applications which have
> important output, e.g. NetScape, and to :2 for applications with unimportant
> output, e.g. RealPlay. I prefer using the invisible display whenever possible
> because it's less problematic. Sometimes the visible X display gets into
> trouble, and I then require sighted assistance in order to recover it.
> 
> -- 
> Dave Mielke           | 856 Grenon Avenue | I believe that the Bible is the
> Phone: 1-613-726-0014 | Ottawa, Ontario   | Word of God. Please contact me
> EMail: dave at mielke.cc | Canada  K2B 6G3   | if you're concerned about Hell.
> 
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> -- 
> 	
> 				Janina Sajka, Director
> 				Technology Research and Development
> 				Governmental Relations Group
> 				American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
> 
> Email: janina at afb.net		Phone: (202) 408-8175
> 
> Chair, Accessibility SIG
> Open Electronic Book Forum (OEBF)
> http://www.openebook.org
> 
> 
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