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MathCubes
Asked: 2014-05-20 17:06:25 +0800 CST

How do I run a application on top/in a display manager like GDM?

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I was wondering if there is a way to run a application like Onboard on a display manager like GDM. If it depends on the display manager than please post the GDM instructions, or all of the popular display managers. The reason why I need Onboard running while using GDM is I am learning the Dvorak keyboard layout...

Please Note
I know there is an on-screen keyboard included in GDM. Please don't post that as an answer, I am using the keyboard as an example and would like to know how to run any application in the GDM window.

display-manager

1 Answers

  1. You need to add the program you would like to run to the gdm user's startup applications. As explained in the GDM documentation, this is done by adding .desktop files to the /usr/share/gdm/autostart/LoginWindow directory.

    Specifically, in your case, you need to create a file at /usr/share/gdm/autostart/LoginWindow/onboard.desktop with the following contents:

    [Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=Onboard
Comment=Onboard Keyboard
Exec=/usr/bin/onboard

    If the onboard executable is not in /usr/bin, change the last line to point to the correct path.

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