Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8

Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

A guide to managing Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 from your desktop

Last Updated: 2019-05-07

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop
A guide to managing Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 from your desktop
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Abstract
This documentation collection describes how to manage Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 from the
desktop. Basics of using GNOME Shell and displaying the graphics are given, as well as the
instructions for system administrators on how to configure GNOME on a low level, or how to
customize desktop environment for multiple users.
 Table of Contents

Table of Contents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . FEEDBACK
PROVIDING . . . . . . . . . . . . ON
. . . .RED
. . . . .HAT
. . . . .DOCUMENTATION
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. . . . . . . . . . . . .

.CHAPTER
. . . . . . . . . . 1.. .STARTING
. . . . . . . . . . . USING
. . . . . . . .GNOME
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6. . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.1. WHAT GNOME 3 IS 6
1.2. GNOME ENVIRONMENTS 6
1.2.1. GNOME Standard 6
1.2.2. GNOME Classic 8
1.3. SELECTING GNOME ENVIRONMENT AND DISPLAY PROTOCOL 9
Procedure 9
1.4. LAUNCHING APPLICATIONS 10
Procedure 10
Procedure 11
Procedure 12
Procedure 12
1.5. INSTALLING APPLICATIONS 12
Procedure 12
Procedure 14
Procedure 14
Procedure 14
Procedure 15
1.6. DESKTOP ICONS 15
Desktop icons in GNOME Classic 16
Desktop icons in GNOME Standard 16
1.7. HANDLING SOUND 16
1.8. HANDLING GRAPHICS AND PHOTOS 19
1.9. HANDLING PRINTING 20
1.9.1. Starting GNOME control center for setting up printing 20
Procedure 21
1.9.2. Adding a new printer in GNOME Control center 21
Prerequisites 22
Procedure 22
1.9.3. Configuring a printer in GNOME Control center 24
Displaying printer’s settings menu 24
Procedure 24
Displaying and modifying printer’s details 24
Procedure 24
Setting the default printer 25
Procedure 25
Removing a printer 26
Procedure 26
1.9.4. Printing a test page in GNOME Control Center 26
Prerequisites 26
Procedure 26
1.9.5. Setting print options using GNOME Control center 27
Procedure 27
1.10. SHARING MEDIA BETWEEN APPLICATIONS 27
1.11. CUSTOMIZING GNOME SHELL ENVIRONMENT WITH THE TWEAKS TOOL 28

.CHAPTER
. . . . . . . . . . 2.
. . DISPLAYING
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .GRAPHICS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
..............
2.1. KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE WAYLAND AND X11 PROTOCOL 30
2.1.1. X11 Applications 30

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

2.1.2. libinput 31
2.1.2.1. Mice, touchscreens, trackballs, pointing sticks 31
2.1.2.2. Touchpads 31
2.1.2.3. Graphics tablets 31
2.1.2.4. Other input devices 31
2.1.3. Gestures 31
2.2. CURRENT WAYLAND LIMITATIONS 32
2.2.1. Nvidia drivers 32
2.2.2. Remote desktop 32
2.2.3. X Display Manager 32
2.2.4. Additional Limitations 32

.CHAPTER
. . . . . . . . . . 3.
. . CONFIGURING
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GNOME
. . . . . . . . . AT
. . . .LOW
. . . . . LEVEL
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
..............
3.1. INTRODUCTION TO CONFIGURING GNOME 33
3.2. MANAGING USER AND SYSTEM GNOME SETTINGS 33
3.3. DISPLAYING GSETTINGS VALUES FOR DESKTOP APPLICATIONS 33
3.3.1. Using dconf-editor and gsettings utility 33
3.3.2. Additional information 34
3.4. USING DCONF PROFILES 34
3.4.1. Introduction to dconf profiles 34
3.4.2. Selecting a dconf profile 35
3.5. CONFIGURING CUSTOM DEFAULT VALUES 35
3.5.1. Locking down specific settings 37
3.6. STORING USER SETTINGS OVER NFS 37
3.7. SETTING GSETTINGS KEYS PROPERTIES 38
3.8. WORKING WITH GSETTINGS KEYS ON COMMAND LINE 38
3.8.1. Setting key value 38
3.8.2. Monitoring key changes 39
3.8.3. Checking whether key is writable 39
3.8.4. Checking key valid values 40
3.8.5. Checking description of valid key values 40
3.8.6. Querying key value 40
3.8.7. Resetting key value 41
3.8.8. Resetting schema 41
3.8.9. Listing installed non-relocatable schemas 42
3.8.10. Listing schema keys 42
3.8.11. Listing schema children 43
3.8.12. Listing schema’s keys and values 43
3.9. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 44

. . . . . . . . . . . 4.
CHAPTER . . .CUSTOMIZING
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DESKTOP
. . . . . . . . . . .APPEARANCE
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
..............
4.1. CUSTOMIZING DESKTOP BACKGROUNDS 45
4.1.1. Customizing the default desktop background 45
Procedure 45
4.1.2. Adding extra backgrounds 46
Procedure 46
Example implementation of org.gnome.desktop.background GSettings keys 46
4.1.3. Setting the screen shield 47
Procedure 47
Troubleshhoting 47
4.2. USING GNOME SHELL EXTENSIONS TO CUSTOMIZE DESKTOP ENVIRONMENT 48
4.2.1. Enabling machine-wide extensions 48
Prerequisite: 48

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Procedure 48
4.2.2. Locking down enabled extensions 48
Procedure 48
4.2.3. Setting up mandatory extensions 49
Prerequisites 49
Procedure 49

.CHAPTER
. . . . . . . . . . 5.
. . CUSTOMIZING
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GNOME
. . . . . . . . .DESKTOP
. . . . . . . . . . .FEATURES
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
..............
5.1. ENABLING THE CTRL+ALT+BACKSPACE SHORTCUT 51
Procedure 51
5.2. DISABLING COMMAND-LINE ACCESS 51
5.2.1. Setting the org.gnome.desktop.lockdown.disable-command-line Key 52
Procedure 52
5.2.2. Disabling virtual terminal switching on X.Org 52
Procedure 52
5.3. PREVENTING THE COMPUTER FROM SUSPENDING WHEN CLOSING THE LID 53
Procedure 53
5.4. CHANGING BEHAVIOR WHEN PRESSING THE POWER BUTTON IN GRAPHICAL TARGET MODE 54
Procedure 54

. . . . . . . . . . . 6.
CHAPTER . . .LOCKING
. . . . . . . . . .DOWN
. . . . . . . SELECTED
. . . . . . . . . . . . TASKS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
..............
6.1. LOCKING DOWN PRINTING 56
Procedure 56
6.2. LOCKING FILE SAVING ON DISK 57
Procedure 57
6.3. LOCKING REPARTITIONING 57
Procedure 58
6.4. LOCKING DOWN USER LOGOUT AND USER SWITCHING 58
Procedure 58
Procedure 59

.CHAPTER
. . . . . . . . . . 7.
. . MANAGING
. . . . . . . . . . . . .USER
. . . . . . SESSIONS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
..............
7.1. WHAT GDM IS 60
7.2. RESTARTING GDM 60
Procedure 60
Procedure 60
7.3. ADDING AN AUTOSTART APPLICATION FOR ALL USERS 60
Procedure 60
7.4. CONFIGURING AUTOMATIC LOGIN 61
Procedure 61
7.5. CONFIGURING AUTOMATIC LOGOUT 61
Procedure 61
Procedure 62
7.6. SETTING SCREEN BRIGHTNESS AND IDLE TIME 62
Configuring the drop in the brightness level 63
Procedure 63
Setting brightness level 63
Procedure 63
Setting idle time 63
Procedure 63
7.7. LOCKING THE SCREEN WHEN THE USER IS IDLE 64
Procedure 64
7.8. SCREENCAST RECORDING 64
Procedure 64

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

4
 PROVIDING FEEDBACK ON RED HAT DOCUMENTATION

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We appreciate your input on our documentation. Please let us know how we could make it better. To do
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3. Fill in the Description field with your suggestion for improvement. Include a link to the
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4. Click Submit Bug.

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

CHAPTER 1. STARTING USING GNOME

1.1. WHAT GNOME 3 IS

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 is shipped with the default desktop environment GNOME 3.

GNOME 3 represents a presentation layer that provides a graphical user interface as well as the focused
working environment, which enables you to access all your work from one place.

1.2. GNOME ENVIRONMENTS

GNOME 3 provides two essential environments:

GNOME Standard

GNOME Classic

Both environments can use two different protocols to build a graphical user interface:

The X11 protocol, which uses X.Org as the display server.

The Wayland protocol, which uses GNOME Shell as the Wayland compositor and display
server.
This solution of display server is further referred as GNOME Shell on Wayland.

NOTE

Note that the graphics based on the Wayland protocol are not available for virtual
machines that use the qxl driver.

You can find the current list of environments for which Wayland-based graphics are
unavailable in the /usr/lib/udev/rules.d/61-gdm.rules file.

The default combination in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 is GNOME Standard environment using GNOME
Shell on Wayland as the display server.

However, due to Section 2.2, “Current Wayland limitations” , you may want to switch the graphics
protocol stack.

You may also want to swich from GNOME Standard to GNOME Classic.

For more information about graphics based on the Wayland protocol, see Section 2.1, “Key differences
between the Wayland and X11 protocol”.

For information on how to switch the environments, see Selecting GNOME environment.

1.2.1. GNOME Standard

GNOME Standard user interface includes these major components:

Top bar
The horizontal bar at the top of the screen provides access to some of the basic functions of
GNOME Standard, such as the Activities Overview, clock and calendar, system status icons,
and the system menu.

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 CHAPTER 1. STARTING USING GNOME

System menu
The system menu is located in the top right corner, and enables you:

Updating settings

Controlling the sound bar

Finding information about your Wi-Fi connection

Switching user

Logging out

Turning off the computer

Activities Overview
The Activities Overview features windows and applications views that let the user run
applications and windows and switch between them.

The search entry at the top allows for searching various items available on the desktop,
including applications, documents, files, and configuration tools.

The vertical bar on the left side contains a list of favorite and running applications. You can add
or remove applications from the default list of favorites according to your needs.

The workspace list displayed on the right side allows the user to switch between multiple
workspaces, or move applications and windows from one workspace to another.

Message tray
The message tray provides access to pending notifications. The message tray shows when the
user presses Super+M.

The GNOME 3 Standard Desktop

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

1.2.2. GNOME Classic

GNOME Classic represents a mode for users who prefer a more traditional desktop experience that is
similar to GNOME 2 environment used with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6. It is based on GNOME 3
technologies, and at the same time it includes multiple features similar to GNOME 2.

GNOME Classic user interface consists of these major components:

Applications and Places

The Applications menu is displayed at the top left of the screen. It gives the user access to
applications organized into categories. The user can also open the Activities Overview from
that menu.

The Places menu is displayed next to the Applications menu on the top bar. It gives the user
quick access to important folders, for example Downloads or Pictures.

Taskbar
The taskbar is displayed at the bottom of the screen, and features:

A window list

A notification icon displayed next to the window list

A short identifier for the current workspace and total number of available workspaces
displayed next to the notification icon

Four available workspaces

In GNOME Classic, the number of workspaces available to the user is by default set to 4.

Minimize and maximize buttons

Window titlebars in GNOME Classic feature the minimize and maximize buttons that let the
user quickly minimize the windows to the window list, or maximize them to take up all of the
space on the desktop.

A traditional Super+Tab window switcher

In GNOME Classic, windows in the Super+Tab window switcher are not grouped by application.

System menu
The system menu is located in the top right corner, and enables you:

Updating settings

Controlling the sound bar

Finding information about your Wi-Fi connection

Switching user

Logging out

Turning off the computer

The GNOME 3 Classic Desktop with the Rhythmbox application and the Favorites submenu
of the Applications menu

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 CHAPTER 1. STARTING USING GNOME

1.3. SELECTING GNOME ENVIRONMENT AND DISPLAY PROTOCOL

The default desktop environment for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 is GNOME Standard with GNOME
Shell on Wayland as the display server.

However, due to Section 2.2, “Current Wayland limitations” , you may want to switch the graphics
protocol stack.

You may also want to swich from GNOME Standard to GNOME Classic. See Section 1.2, “GNOME
environments” for differences between these two environments.

For switching between various combinations of GNOME environment and graphics protocol stacks, use
the following procedure.

Procedure

1. From the login screen (GDM), click the cogwheel next to the Sign In button.

NOTE

You cannot access this option from the lock screen. The login screen appears
when you first start Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 or when you log out of your
current session.

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

2. From the drop-down menu that appears, select the option that you prefer.

NOTE

Note that in the menu that appears on the login screen, the X.Org display server
is marked as X11 display server.

IMPORTANT

The change of GNOME environment and graphics protocol stack resulting from the
above procedure is persistent across user logouts, and also when powering off or
rebooting the computer.

1.4. LAUNCHING APPLICATIONS

This section describes various approaches that you can use to launch available applications in GNOME 3.

Procedure

1. Press Alt+F2 to make the Enter a Command screen appear.

2. Write the name of the executable into the Enter a Command screen:

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 CHAPTER 1. STARTING USING GNOME

This approach works both in GNOME Standard and GNOME Classic environment.

Procedure

In GNOME Standard, go to Activities Overview and click on the Show Applications icon in the
vertical bar on the left side.
Note that you can choose between displaying all or just the frequent applications by using the
Frequent/All switch at the bottom of the screen.

Alternatively, you can also start typing the name of the required application in the search entry.

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

Procedure

1. In GNOME Classic, go to Applications menu.

2. Choose the required application from one of the available categories.

The available categories include:

Favorites

Accessories

Internet

Office

Sound & Video

Sundry

System Tools

Utilities

Procedure

1. Open a terminal.

2. Type the name of the required application on the command line.

This approach works both in GNOME Standard and GNOME Classic environment.

1.5. INSTALLING APPLICATIONS

This section describes various approaches that you can use to install a new application in GNOME 3.

Procedure

1. Use one of the approaches described in Launching applications to launch GNOME Software.

NOTE

GNOME Software is a utility, which enables you to install and update applications
and gnome-shell extensions through a graphical environment. This utility is based
on the PackageKit technology, which serves as its back end. GNOME Software
offers mainly the desktop applications, which are the applications that include the
*.desktop file. The available applications are grouped into multiple categories
according to their purpose.

2. Choose the application to be installed from one of the available categories.

Audio & Video

Communication & News

Productivity

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 CHAPTER 1. STARTING USING GNOME

Graphics & Photography

Add-ons

Developer Tools

Utilities

3. Click the selected application, and then click the Install button.

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

NOTE

Add-ons include for example GNOME Shell extensions, codecs or fonts.

Procedure

1. Start opening a file that is associated with an application or applications that are currently not
installed on your system.

2. GNOME will automatically identify suitable application in which the file can be opened, and will
offer to download the application.

Procedure

1. Download the required rpm package.

2. Open the directory that includes the downloaded rpm in the Nautilus file manager.

NOTE

The downloads are by default stored in the /home/user/Downloads directory.

3. Double-click the icon of the rpm to install it.

Procedure

1. Start typing the name of the required application in the search entry.

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 CHAPTER 1. STARTING USING GNOME

GNOME will automatically find the application in a respective repository, and will display the
application’s icon.

1. Click the application’s icon that automatically appears to open GNOME Software.

2. Click again the icon of the application and finish the installation in GNOME Software as
described above.

Procedure

1. Open a terminal.

2. Run the yum install command with the name of the required application:

~]# yum install <application_name>

1.6. DESKTOP ICONS

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

In RHEL 8, the Desktop icons functionality is no longer provided by the Nautilus file manager, but by the
desktop icons gnome-shell extension available in the gnome-shell-extension-desktop-icons
package.

Desktop icons in GNOME Classic

The GNOME Classic environment includes the gnome-shell-extension-desktop-icons package by
default. Desktop icons are always on, and cannot be turned off. If you want to create a desktop icon for a
file, you just need to put this file into the /Desktop directory, and the icon appears automatically.

Desktop icons in GNOME Standard

If you have only the GNOME Standard environment available, and not GNOME Classic, you must install
gnome-shell-extension-desktop-icons.

After the package has been installed, you can switch the desktop icons on or off by using the Tweaks
application:

1. Go to Tweaks, and select Extensions - Desktop icons, and switch it on.

2. Put the required file into the /Desktop directory, and the icon appears automatically on your
desktop.

1.7. HANDLING SOUND

In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, sound is handled by the PulseAudio sound server that lets programs
output the audio using the Pulseaudio daemon.

For more information on PulseAudio, see the pulseaudio man page.

To handle sound, you can use one of these two graphical applications in GNOME:

System menu

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 CHAPTER 1. STARTING USING GNOME

Tweaks tool

GNOME Control Center

System menu is located in the top right corner, and it only enables you to set the intensity of the sound
output or sound input through the sound bar. The sound bar for input sound is available only if you are
running an application that is supposed to use an iternal microphone (built-in audio), such as some
teleconference tools.

Tweaks tool only enables you to configure the Over-Amplification.

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

GNOME Control Center provides more options to configure sound. You can launch this tool by using
one of the approaches described in Launching applications. Moreover, you can also launch it from the
System menu by clicking on its icon.

When GNOME Control Center opens, choose Sound from the left vertical bar.

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 CHAPTER 1. STARTING USING GNOME

Through GNOME Control Center - Sound, you can configure the following:

Output sound

Input sound

Sound effects

Applications

The Output and Input menus show only the built-in audio devices unless you connect any external
device that can handle sound.

The Output menu enables you to select the required profile from available analog or digital profiles that
are displayed depending on available output devices.

The Applications menu shows all currently running applications that can process sound, and allows you
to amplify or lower the sound of a particular application.

1.8. HANDLING GRAPHICS AND PHOTOS

GNOME Shell provides multiple tools to handle graphics and photography.

You can check the available tools under the Graphics & Photography menu in GNOME Software:

1. Open the GNOME software.

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

2. Go to Graphics & Photography.

The available tools include:

Photos
For accessing, organizisng and sharing your photos.

GNU Image Manipulation Program

For creating images and editing photographs.

Inkspace
For creating and editing scalable vector graphics images.

XSane
For scanning images with a scanner.

LibreOffice Draw
For create and editing drawings, flow charts, and logos.

1.9. HANDLING PRINTING

In GNOME Shell, printing can be set up using the GNOME Control center GUI.

1.9.1. Starting GNOME control center for setting up printing

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 CHAPTER 1. STARTING USING GNOME

Procedure

1. Use one of the approaches described in Section 1.4, “Launching applications” to start the
GNOME Control center GUI.
Moreover, you can also start the GNOME Control center from the system menu in the top right
corner by clicking on the "Settings" icon.

2. When the GNOME Control center GUI appears, go to:

Devices → Printers

Figure 1.1. GNOME Control center configuration tool

1.9.2. Adding a new printer in GNOME Control center

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

This section describes how to add a new printer using the GNOME Control center GUI.

Prerequisites
To be able to add a new printer using the GNOME Control center GUI, you must click on Unlock, which
appears on the right side of the top bar, and authenticate as one of the following users:

Superuser

Any user with the administrative access provided by sudo (users listed within /etc/sudoers)

Any user belonging to the printadmin group in /etc/group

Procedure

1. Open the Add Printer dialog.

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 CHAPTER 1. STARTING USING GNOME

2. Select one of the available printers (including also network printers), or enter printer IP address
or the hostname of a printer server.

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

1.9.3. Configuring a printer in GNOME Control center

This section describes how to configure a new printer, and how to maintain a configuration of a printer
using the GNOME Control center GUI.

Displaying printer’s settings menu

Procedure

Click the "settings" button on the right to display a settings menu for the selected printer:

Displaying and modifying printer’s details

Procedure

Click Printer Details to display and modify selected printer’s settings:

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 CHAPTER 1. STARTING USING GNOME

With this menu you can:

Search for Drivers

GNOME Control Center communicates with PackageKit that searches for a suitable driver
suitable in available repositories.

Select from Database

This option enables you to select a suitable driver from databases that have already been
installed on the system.

Install PPD File

This option enables you to select from a list of available postscript printer description (PPD) files
that can be used as a driver for your printer.

Setting the default printer

Procedure

Click Use Printer by Default to set the selected printer as the default printer:

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

Click Use Printer by Default to set the selected printer as the default printer:

Removing a printer
Procedure

Click Remove Printer to remove the selected printer:

1.9.4. Printing a test page in GNOME Control Center

This section describes how to print a test page to make sure that the printer functions properly.

You might want to print a test page if one of the below prerequisites is met.

Prerequisites

A printer has been set up.

A printer configuration has been changed.

Procedure

1. Click the "settings" button on the right to display a settings menu for the selected printer:

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 CHAPTER 1. STARTING USING GNOME

2. Click Printing Options → Test Page

1.9.5. Setting print options using GNOME Control center

This section describes how to set print options using the GNOME Control center GUI.

Procedure

1. Click the "settings" button on the right to display a settings menu for the selected printer:

2. Click Printing Options

1.10. SHARING MEDIA BETWEEN APPLICATIONS

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 includes the PipeWire media server, which ensures access to multimedia
devices and media sharing between applications.

When running a remote desktop session on GNOME Shell on Wayland, PipeWire and the VNC server is
used. The functionality of remote desktop session is provided by the gnome-remote-desktop and
pipewire packages.

On X.Org, just VNC is needed to run a remote desktop session. This functionality on X.Org is provided
by the vino package.

PipeWire is used also with teleconference tools such as BlueJeans when running on GNOME Shell on
27
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

PipeWire is used also with teleconference tools such as BlueJeans when running on GNOME Shell on
Wayland. In such case, the pipewire service is activated automatically when you start sharing your
screen within the teleconference tool.

To check the status of the pipewire service, run:

~]$ systemctl --user status pipewire

1.11. CUSTOMIZING GNOME SHELL ENVIRONMENT WITH THE TWEAKS

TOOL
You can customize the GNOME Shell environment for a particular user by using the Tweaks tool.

To open Tweaks, use one of the approaches described in Section 1.4, “Launching applications”.

To choose the required item that you want to customize, use the vertical menu on the left. For example
you can choose the applications to start automatically when you log in by using the Statup Applications
menu, or you can customize your top bar appearance by using the Top Bar menu.

The Tweaks tool

Customizing startup applications in Tweaks

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 CHAPTER 1. STARTING USING GNOME

Customizing the appearance of your top bar in Tweaks

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

CHAPTER 2. DISPLAYING GRAPHICS

In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, you can choose between two protocols to build a graphical user interface:

X11

Wayland

The X11 protocol uses X.Org as the display server. Displaying graphics based on this protocol works the
same way as in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, where this was the only option.

The Wayland protocol on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 uses GNOME Shell as its compositor and display
server, which is further referred as GNOME Shell on Wayland. Displaying graphics based on the
Wayland protocol has some differences and limitation compared to X11. For more information, see Key
differences between the Wayland and X11 protocol and Current Wayland limitations .

New installations of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 automatically select GNOME Shell on Wayland.
However, you can switch to X.Org, or select the required combination of GNOME environment and
display server as described in Section 1.3, “Selecting GNOME environment and display protocol” .

Note that there are also a few environments where X.Org is preferred over GNOME Shell on Wayland,
such as:

Cirrus graphics used in a VM environment

Matrox graphics

Aspeed graphics

QXL graphics used in a VM environment

Nvidia graphics when used with the proprietary driver

IMPORTANT

The Nvidia graphics by default use Nouveau, which is an open source driver. Nouveau is
supported on Wayland, hence you can use Nvidia graphics with Nouveau on GNOME
Shell on Wayland without any limitations. However, using Nvidia graphics with proprietary
Nvidia binary drivers is not supported on GNOME Shell on Wayland. In this case, you
need to switch to X.Org as described in Section 1.3, “Selecting GNOME environment and
display protocol”.

NOTE

You can find the current list of environments for which Wayland is not available in the
/usr/lib/udev/rules.d/61-gdm.rules file.

For additional information on the Wayland project, see Wayland documentation.

2.1. KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE WAYLAND AND X11 PROTOCOL

2.1.1. X11 Applications

Client applications need to be ported to the Wayland protocol or use a graphical toolkit that has a

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 CHAPTER 2. DISPLAYING GRAPHICS

Client applications need to be ported to the Wayland protocol or use a graphical toolkit that has a
Wayland backend, such as GTK, to be able to work natively with the compositor and display server based
on Wayland.

Legacy X11 applications that cannot be ported to Wayland automatically use Xwayland as a proxy
between the X11 legacy clients and the Wayland compositor. Xwayland functions both as an X11 server
and a Wayland client. The role of Xwayland is to translate the X11 protocol into the Wayland protocol
and reversely, so that X11 legacy applications can work with the display server based on Wayland.

On GNOME Shell on Wayland, Xwayland is started automatically at startup, which ensures that most
X11 legacy applications work as expected when using GNOME Shell on Wayland. However, the X11 and
Wayland protocols are different, and hence some clients relying on X11-specific features may behave
differently under Xwayland. For such specific clients, you can switch to the X.Org display server as
described in Section 1.3, “Selecting GNOME environment and display protocol” .

2.1.2. libinput
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 uses a new unified input stack, libinput, which manages all common device
types, such as mice, touchpads, touchscreens, tablets, trackballs and pointing sticks. This unified stack is
used both by the X.Org and by the GNOME Shell on Wayland compositor.

GNOME Shell on Wayland uses libinput directly for all devices, and no switchable driver support is
available. Under X.Org, libinput is implemented as the X.Org libinput driver, and driver support is
outlined below.

2.1.2.1. Mice, touchscreens, trackballs, pointing sticks

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 uses the X.Org libinput driver for these devices. The X.Org evdev driver,
which was used in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, is available as fallback where required.

2.1.2.2. Touchpads

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 uses the X.Org libinput driver for touchpads. The X.Org synaptics driver,
which was used for touchpads in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, is no longer available.

2.1.2.3. Graphics tablets

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 continues using the X.Org wacom driver, which was used for tablet devices
in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7. However, the X.Org libinput driver is available where required.

2.1.2.4. Other input devices

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 used the X.Org evdev driver for other input devices that are not included
not in the above categories. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 uses the X.Org libinput driver by default but
can fall back to the X.Org evdev driver if a device is incompatible with libinput.

2.1.3. Gestures
GNOME Shell on Wayland supports new touchpad and touchscreen gestures. These gestures include:

Switching workspaces by dragging up or down with four fingers.

Opening the Activities Overview by bringing three fingers closer together.

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

2.2. CURRENT WAYLAND LIMITATIONS

2.2.1. Nvidia drivers

Proprietary Nvidia binary drivers are not supported with GNOME Shell on Wayland. To avoid any
complications while using the Nvidia GPU, GNOME Shell automatically falls back to X.Org, which means
that the login screen does not provide any option based on the Wayland protocol.

NOTE

The Nouveau driver is still supported and is the default driver for Nvidia graphics.

2.2.2. Remote desktop

With GNOME Shell on Wayland, VNC support is provided by the gnome-remote-desktop package.
Remote access using VNC via gnome-remote-desktop currently requires an already logged in session,
and only the primary monitor is accessible. Screen sharing with GNOME Shell on Wayland is possible
using the PipeWire media server. For more details on the PipeWire media server, see PipeWire project.

For more advanced VNC usage, you need to switch to X.org, where traditional VNC tools are available.

2.2.3. X Display Manager

The X Display Manager Control Protocol (XDMCP) is not supported with GNOME Shell on Wayland.

Hence, it is not possible to use the X display manager to start a session on the X.Org display server from
the same or another computer.

2.2.4. Additional Limitations

The following additional limitations related to the Wayland protocol should be noted:

X.Org screen manipulation utilities are not available.

The xrandr utility is not supported because Wayland handles layout, rotations, and resolutions
differently.

The GNOME Shell cannot be restarted using the ALT+F2/r method.

Due to stability issues, using X11 instead of Wayland is recommended in virtual environments.

Wayland does not support the custom or niche devices that cannot be handled by the libinput
driver.

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 CHAPTER 3. CONFIGURING GNOME AT LOW LEVEL

CHAPTER 3. CONFIGURING GNOME AT LOW LEVEL

3.1. INTRODUCTION TO CONFIGURING GNOME

To be able to configure the GNOME Desktop Environment, you need to understand these basic terms:

dconf

GSettings

gsettings

dconf has two different meanings.

Firstly, dconf is a key-based Binary Large Object (BLOB) database for storing GNOME configurations.
dconf manages user settings such as GDM, application, and proxy settings, and serves as the back end
for GSettings.

Secondly, dconf is a command-line utility which is used for reading and writing individual values or entire
directories from and to a dconf database.

GSettings is a high-level API for application settings which serves as the front end for dconf.

gsettings is a command-line tool which is used to view and change user settings.

3.2. MANAGING USER AND SYSTEM GNOME SETTINGS

dconf allows system administrators and users several levels of control over GNOME configuration:

Administrators can define default settings that apply to all users.

Users can override the defaults with their own settings.

Administrators can also lock settings to prevent users from overriding them.

3.3. DISPLAYING GSETTINGS VALUES FOR DESKTOP APPLICATIONS

3.3.1. Using dconf-editor and gsettings utility

Viewing and editing of the GSettings values can be achieved with one of the following tools:

dconf-editor GUI tool

gsettings command-line utility

NOTE

The dconf-editor is not installed on the system by default. To install it, run the following
command as the root user:

~]# yum install dconf-editor

The dconf-editor and gsettings utility has the following in common:

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

allow browsing and changing options for system and application preferences

allow to change preferences

can be run by regular users, because both tools are intended to browse and modify the current
user’s GSettings database

The dconf-editor provides a GUI for browsing the settings and their editing. It presents the hierarchy of
settings in a tree-view and also displays additional information about each setting, including the
description, type and default value.

The gsettings utility can be used to display and set dconf values. gsettings utility supports Bash
completion for commands and settings. This tools also allows you to automate configuration in shell
scripts. ⁠

Figure 3.1. dconf-editor showing org.gnome.destop.background GSettings keys

3.3.2. Additional information

For more information on the dconf-editor tool, see the dconf-editor(1) man page and the
dconf-editor Project documentation .

For more information on the gsettings utility, see the gsettings(1) man page.

3.4. USING DCONF PROFILES

3.4.1. Introduction to dconf profiles

A dconf profile is a list of system’s hardware and software configuration databases, which the dconf
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 CHAPTER 3. CONFIGURING GNOME AT LOW LEVEL

A dconf profile is a list of system’s hardware and software configuration databases, which the dconf
system collects.

The dconf profiles allow you to compare identical systems to troubleshoot hardware or software
problems.

The dconf system stores its profiles in the text files which can be located either within the
/etc/dconf/profile/ directory or elsewhere. The $DCONF_PROFILE environment variable can specify a
relative path to the file from /etc/dconf/profile/, or an absolute path, such as in a user’s home directory.

Note that key pairs which are set in a dconf profile override the default settings.

3.4.2. Selecting a dconf profile

On startup, dconf consults the $DCONF_PROFILE environment to find the name of the dconf profile
to open. The result depends on whether the variable is set or not:

If set, dconf attempts to open the profile named in the variable and aborts if this step fails.

If not set, dconf attempts to open the profile named user and uses an internal hard-wired
configuration if this step fails.

Each line in a dconf profile specifies one dconf database.

The first line indicates the database used to write changes. The remaining lines show read-only
databases.

The following is a sample profile stored in /etc/dconf/profile/user:

user-db:user
system-db:local
system-db:site

In this example, the dconf profile specifies three databases. user is the name of the user database which
can be found in ~/.config/dconf, and local and site are system databases, located in /etc/dconf/db/.

NOTE

To apply a new dconf user profile to the user’s session, you need to log out and log in,
because the dconf profile for a session is determined at login.


WARNING

As a user or application developer, do not manipulate dconf directly. To manipulate

dconf, always use the dconf-editor or the gsettings utility. The only exception to
use dconf directly is when setting system-wide default configurations, because the
aforementioned tools do not allow to manipulate such configurations.

3.5. CONFIGURING CUSTOM DEFAULT VALUES

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

Machine-wide default settings can be set by providing a default for a key in a dconf profile. These
defaults can be overridden by the user.

Setting a default for a key has two prerequisites:

the user profile exists

the value for the key was added to a dconf database

For example, to set the default background:

1. Create the user profile in /etc/dconf/profile/user:

user-db:user
system-db:local

where local is the name of a dconf database.

2. Create a keyfile for the local database in /etc/dconf/db/local.d/01-background, which contains

the following default settings:

~]# dconf path

[org/gnome/desktop/background]

# GSettings key names and their corresponding values

picture-uri='file:///usr/local/share/backgrounds/wallpaper.jpg'
picture-options='scaled'
primary-color='000000'
secondary-color='FFFFFF'

In the default setting of the keyfile, the following GSettings keys are used:

Table 3.1. org.gnome.desktop.background schemas GSettings Keys

Key Name Possible Values Description

picture-options "none", "wallpaper", "centered", Determines how the image set by

"scaled", "stretched", "zoom", wallpaper_filename is rendered.
"spanned"

picture-uri filename with the path URI to use for the background
image. Note that the backend
only supports local file:// URIs.

primary-color default: 000000 Left or Top color when drawing

gradients, or the solid color.

secondary-color default: FFFFFF Right or Bottom color when

drawing gradients, not used for
solid color.

1. Edit the keyfile according to your preferences.

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 CHAPTER 3. CONFIGURING GNOME AT LOW LEVEL

For more information, see Section 3.3, “Displaying GSettings values for desktop applications” .

2. Update the system databases:

~]# dconf update

When the user profile is created or changed, the user needs to log out and log in again before the
changes will be applied.

If you want to avoid creating a user profile, you can use the dconf command-line utility to read and
write individual values or entire directories from and to a dconf database. For more information, see the
dconf(1) man page.

3.5.1. Locking down specific settings

By using the lockdown mode in dconf, you can prevent users from changing specific settings.

To lock down a GSettings key:

1. Create a locks subdirectory in the keyfile directory such as /etc/dconf/db/local.d/locks/.

2. Add any number of files with keys that you want to lock into this directory.

Without enforcing the system settings using a lockdown, any settings that users make take precedence
over the system settings. User can thus override the system settings with their own.

For example, to lock settings for the default wallpaper:

1. Set a default wallpaper.

2. Create a new /etc/dconf/db/local.d/locks/ directory.

3. Create a new file in /etc/dconf/db/local.d/locks/00-default-wallpaper with the following

contents, listing one key per line:

# Prevent users from changing values for the following keys:

/org/gnome/desktop/background/picture-uri
/org/gnome/desktop/background/picture-options
/org/gnome/desktop/background/primary-color
/org/gnome/desktop/background/secondary-color

4. Update the system databases:

~]# dconf update

3.6. STORING USER SETTINGS OVER NFS

For dconf to work correctly when using Network File System (NFS) home directories, the dconf keyfile
back end must be used.

Note that dconf keyfile back endonly works properly if the glib2-fam package is installed. Without this
package, notifications on configuration changes made on remote machines are not displayed properly.

With Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, glib2-fam is available in the BaseOs repository.

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

To set the dconf keyfile back end:

1. Ensure that the glib2-fam package is installed on the system.

To verify whether the package is installed on the system:

~]# yum list installed

If glib2-fam is not in the list of installed packages, install it by running:

~]# yum install glib2-fam

2. Create or edit the /etc/dconf/profile/user file on every client.

3. At the very beginning of /etc/dconf/profile/user file, add the following line:

service-db:keyfile/user

The dconf keyfile back endtakes effect the next time that the user logs in. It polls the keyfile to
determine whether updates have been made, so settings may not be updated immediately.

3.7. SETTING GSETTINGS KEYS PROPERTIES

This section describes how to set GSettings keys properties for a single-logged user.

Each GSettings key can have only one value in a dconf database. Setting the same key to a different
value at a different place of the dconf database overrides the previous value.

Values of some keys are of array type. For array type, you can specify the value of the key as a list of
multiple elements separated by a comma.

To set a GSettings key of array type, follow this syntax:

key=['option1', 'option2']

The following example shows setting of the org.gnome.desktop.input-sources.xkb-options

GSettings key whose value is of array type: ⁠

Example settings of the org.gnome.desktop.input-sources.xkb-options GSettings Key

[org/gnome/desktop/input-sources]
# Enable Ctrl-Alt-Backspace for all users
# Set the Right Alt key as the Compose key and enable it
xkb-options=['terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp', 'compose:ralt']

3.8. WORKING WITH GSETTINGS KEYS ON COMMAND LINE

This section focuses on using of the gsettings command to configure, manipulate and manage the
GSettings keys. The most frequent use cases that can be resolved by using the gsettings command are
shown.

3.8.1. Setting key value

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 CHAPTER 3. CONFIGURING GNOME AT LOW LEVEL

To set a value of a key:

gsettings set SCHEMA [:PATH] KEY

Note that the value is specified as a serialised GVariant.

Example 3.1. Adding selected applications into the favorite applications key

To add selected applications among your favorite applications:

$ gsettings set org.gnome.shell favorite-apps "['firefox.desktop', 'evolution.desktop',

'rhythmbox.desktop', 'shotwell.desktop', 'org.gnome.Nautilus.desktop',
'org.gnome.Software.desktop', 'yelp.desktop', 'org.gnome.Terminal.desktop',
'org.gnome.clocks.desktop']"

If the operation succeeds, no return code is shown. As a result, all listed applications are added to
favorite applications. The change is valid immediately.

3.8.2. Monitoring key changes

To monitor a key for changes and print values that changed:

gsettings monitor SCHEMA [:PATH] [KEY]

Note that if the KEY argument is not specified, all keys in the schema are monitored. Monitoring
continues until the process is terminated.

Example 3.2. Monitoring changes of the favorite applications key

To monitor the changes of the favorite applications key, open two terminals and run:

In the first terminal:

$ gsettings monitor org.gnome.shell favorite-apps

In the second terminal:

$ gsettings set org.gnome.shell favorite-apps "['firefox.desktop', 'evolution.desktop',

'rhythmbox.desktop', 'shotwell.desktop', 'org.gnome.Nautilus.desktop',
'org.gnome.Software.desktop', 'yelp.desktop', 'org.gnome.Terminal.desktop']"

As a result, a notification whether and how favorite applications changed is displayed in the first
terminal:

favorite-apps: ['firefox.desktop', 'evolution.desktop', 'rhythmbox.desktop', 'shotwell.desktop',

'org.gnome.Nautilus.desktop', 'org.gnome.Software.desktop', 'yelp.desktop',
'org.gnome.Terminal.desktop']

3.8.3. Checking whether key is writable

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

To check whether a key is writable:

gsettings writable SCHEMA [:PATH] KEY

Example 3.3. Checking whether the favorite applications key is writable

To check whether the favorite applications key is writable:

$ gsettings writable org.gnome.shell favorite-apps

As a result, the return code shows True.

3.8.4. Checking key valid values

To check the range of valid values for a key:

gsettings range SCHEMA [:PATH] KEY

Example 3.4. Checking the range of valid values for the remember-mount-password key

To check valid values for the remember-mount-password key:

$ gsettings range org.gnome.shell remember-mount-password

As a result, the return code displays type of the key value, which is type b in this particular case. For
more information, see GNOME developer.

3.8.5. Checking description of valid key values

To check the description of valid values for a key:

gsettings describe SCHEMA [:PATH] KEY

Example 3.5. Checking the description of valid values for the picture-uri key

To check the description of valid values for the picture-uri key:

$ gsettings describe org.gnome.desktop.screensaver picture-uri

As a result, the following output is displayed:

URI to use for the background image. Note that the backend only supports local file:// URIs.

3.8.6. Querying key value

To get the value of a key:

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 CHAPTER 3. CONFIGURING GNOME AT LOW LEVEL

gsettings get SCHEMA [:PATH] KEY VALUE

Note that the value is displayed as a serialised GVariant.

Example 3.6. Querying value of the remember-mount-password key

To get value of the remember-mount-password key:

$ gsettings get org.gnome.shell remember-mount-password

As a result, the return code displays false.

3.8.7. Resetting key value

To reset the value of a key:

gsettings reset SCHEMA [:PATH] KEY

If resetting succeeds, no return code is displayed. Default values are in stored dconf and gsettings-
desktop-schemas files.

Example 3.7. Resetting the lock-delay key to its default value

The default value of the lock-delay key is 0, and it is stored in the /usr/share/glib-
2.0/schemas/org.gnome.desktop.screensaver.gschema.xml file.

Users can set the value of lock-delay as needed.

For example, to set the lock-delay key for screensaver to 200:

$ gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.screensaver lock-delay 200

To reset the lock-delay key for screensaver to its default value:

$ gsettings reset org.gnome.desktop.screensaver lock-delay

As a result, the value of lock-delay value is set to 0.

3.8.8. Resetting schema

To reset a schema:

gsettings reset-recursively SCHEMA [:PATH]

Example 3.8. Resetting the org.gnome.desktop.screensaver schema to its defaults

To reset the org.gnome.desktop.screensaver schema to its defaults:

$ gsettings reset-recursively org.gnome.desktop.screensaver

As a result, the lock-delay value is reset to 0, and other keys within the
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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

As a result, the lock-delay value is reset to 0, and other keys within the
org.gnome.desktop.screensaver schema that were changed by user are reset to their defaults as
well.

3.8.9. Listing installed non-relocatable schemas

To list installed schemas that are non-relocatable:

gsettings list-schemas [--print-paths]

If the [--print-paths] argument is specified , the path where each schema is mapped is printed as well.

Example 3.9. Listing installed non-relocatable schemas

To list all schemas installed on your system that are non-relocatable:

$ gsettings list-schemas

As a result, a full list of schemas is returned. The following list is truncated.

org.gnome.rhythmbox.library
org.gnome.shell.overrides
org.gnome.system.proxy.https
org.gnome.clocks
org.gnome.eog.fullscreen
org.gnome.login-screen
org.gnome.eog.view

3.8.10. Listing schema keys

To list the keys that are in the selected schema:

gsettings list-keys SCHEMA [:PATH]

Example 3.10. Listing keys in the org.gnome.shell schema

To list keys in the org.gnome.shell schema:

$ gsettings list-keys org.gnome.shell

As a result, a list of keys is returned. The following list is truncated.

enabled-extensions
command-history
remember-mount-password
always-show-log-out
had-bluetooth-devices-setup
looking-glass-history
disable-user-extensions
app-picker-view

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 CHAPTER 3. CONFIGURING GNOME AT LOW LEVEL

disable-extension-version-validation
development-tools
favorite-apps

3.8.11. Listing schema children

To list children of a selected schema:

gsettings list-children SCHEMA [:PATH]

Note that the list is empty if there are no children.

Example 3.11. Listing children of the org.gnome.shell schema

To list children of the org.gnome.shell schema:

$ gsettings list-children org.gnome.shell

As a result, the following output is returned:

keyboard org.gnome.shell.keyboard
keybindings org.gnome.shell.keybindings

3.8.12. Listing schema’s keys and values

To list keys and values of a selected schema recursively:

gsettings list-recursively [SCHEMA [:PATH]]

Note that if the schema whose keys you want to list is not specified, all keys within all schemas are listed.

Example 3.12. Listing keys and values recursively

To list keys and values in all schemas recursively:

$ gsettings list-recursively

As a result, all key and values in all schemas on system are listed, as shown below. Note that the
following list is truncated.

org.gnome.nautilus.desktop network-icon-visible false

org.gnome.nautilus.desktop font ''
org.gnome.nautilus.desktop network-icon-name 'Network Servers'
org.gnome.nautilus.desktop home-icon-name 'Home'
org.gnome.nautilus.desktop volumes-visible true
org.gnome.Vinagre always-enable-listening false
org.gnome.Vinagre always-show-tabs false
org.gnome.Vinagre show-accels false
org.gnome.Vinagre history-size 15
org.gnome.Vinagre shared-flag true

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

3.9. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Certain portions of this text first appeared in the GNOME Desktop System Administration Guide .
Copyright © 2014 The GNOME Project, Michael Hill, Jim Campbell, Jeremy Bicha, Ekaterina
Gerasimova, minnie_eg, Aruna Sankaranarayanan, Sindhu S, Shobha Tyagi, Shaun McCance, David King,
and others. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

The editors of this Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 documentation would like to thank the GNOME
community members for their valuable contributions to the GNOME Desktop System Administration
Guide.

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 CHAPTER 4. CUSTOMIZING DESKTOP APPEARANCE

CHAPTER 4. CUSTOMIZING DESKTOP APPEARANCE

This section explains how system administrators can customize appearance of the desktop environment
for different users of the system.

4.1. CUSTOMIZING DESKTOP BACKGROUNDS

As a system administrator, you can configure the default desktop background, add extra backgrounds,
or add multiple backgrounds using the dconf utility.

If the users of the system are not permitted to change background from the defaults, system
administrator needs to lock the settings using the locks directory. Otherwise, each user can customize
the background according to their preferences.

4.1.1. Customizing the default desktop background

You can configure the default desktop background and its appearance by setting the relevant
GSettings keys in the org.gnome.desktop.background schema.

For more information about GSettings, see Section 3.1, “Introduction to configuring GNOME” .

Use the following procedure to set the default background:

Procedure

1. Create a local database for machine-wide settings in /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-background:

# Specify the dconf path

[org/gnome/desktop/background]

# Specify the path to the desktop background image file

picture-uri='file:///usr/local/share/backgrounds/wallpaper.jpg'
# Specify one of the rendering options for the background image:
# 'none', 'wallpaper', 'centered', 'scaled', 'stretched', 'zoom', 'spanned'
picture-options='scaled'
# Specify the left or top color when drawing gradients or the solid color
primary-color='000000'
# Specify the right or bottom color when drawing gradients
secondary-color='FFFFFF'

2. Optionally, if you want an user to not be able to change the default background, override the
user’s setting in the /etc/dconf/db/local.d/locks/background file:

# List the keys used to configure the desktop background

/org/gnome/desktop/background/picture-uri
/org/gnome/desktop/background/picture-options
/org/gnome/desktop/background/primary-color
/org/gnome/desktop/background/secondary-color

3. Update the system databases:

# dconf update

4. Users must log out and back in again before the system-wide settings take effect.

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

4.1.2. Adding extra backgrounds

You can make extra backgrounds available to users on your system.

Procedure

1. Use the org.gnome.desktop.background schemas to create a file in the xml format specifying
your extra background’s appearance.

Table 4.1. Frequently used org.gnome.desktop.background schemas GSettings Keys

Key Name Possible Values Description

picture- "none", "wallpaper", "centered", Determines how the image set by

options "scaled", "stretched", "zoom", wallpaper_filename is rendered.
"spanned"

color- "horizontal", "vertical", and "solid" Determines shade the background color.
shading-
type

primary- default: #023c88 Left or Top color when drawing gradients, or the
color solid color.

secondary default: #5789ca Right or Bottom color when drawing gradients,

-color not used for solid color.

idef::desktop-title[] The full range of options can be found in the dconf-editor GUI or the
gsettings command-line utility. For more information, see Section 3.3, “Displaying GSettings
values for desktop applications”. endif::

2. Store the *.xml file under the /usr/share/gnome-background-properties/ directory.

When an user clicks their name in the top right corner, chooses Settings, and in the Personal section of
the table selects Background, they will see the new background available.

Example implementation of org.gnome.desktop.background GSettings keys

An example extra backgrounds file with one <wallpaper> element

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<!DOCTYPE wallpapers SYSTEM "gnome-wp-list.dtd">
<wallpapers>
<wallpaper deleted="false">
<name>Company Background</name>
<name xml:lang="de">Firmenhintergrund</name>
<filename>/usr/local/share/backgrounds/company-wallpaper.jpg</filename>
<options>zoom</options>
<shade_type>solid</shade_type>
<pcolor>#ffffff</pcolor>
<scolor>#000000</scolor>
</wallpaper>
</wallpapers>

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 CHAPTER 4. CUSTOMIZING DESKTOP APPEARANCE

In one configuration file, you can specify multiple <wallpaper> elements to add more backgrounds as
shown in the following example with two <wallpaper> elements, adding two different backgrounds.

An example extra backgrounds file with two <wallpaper> elements

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<!DOCTYPE wallpapers SYSTEM "gnome-wp-list.dtd">
<wallpapers>
<wallpaper deleted="false">
<name>Company Background</name>
<name xml:lang="de">Firmenhintergrund</name>
<filename>/usr/local/share/backgrounds/company-wallpaper.jpg</filename>
<options>zoom</options>
<shade_type>solid</shade_type>
<pcolor>#ffffff</pcolor>
<scolor>#000000</scolor>
</wallpaper>
<wallpaper deleted="false">
<name>Company Background 2</name>
<name xml:lang="de">Firmenhintergrund 2</name>
<filename>/usr/local/share/backgrounds/company-wallpaper-2.jpg</filename>
<options>zoom</options>
<shade_type>solid</shade_type>
<pcolor>#ff0000</pcolor>
<scolor>#00ffff</scolor>
</wallpaper>
</wallpapers>

4.1.3. Setting the screen shield

Screen shield is the screen that quickly slides down when the system is locked. It is controlled by the
org.gnome.desktop.screensaver.picture-uri GSettings key. GDM uses its own dconf profile, so you
can set the default background by changing the settings in that profile.

For more information on GSettings and dconf, see Section 3.1, “Introduction to configuring GNOME” .

Procedure

1. Create a gdm database for machine-wide settings in /etc/dconf/db/gdm.d/01-screensaver:

[org/gnome/desktop/screensaver]
picture-uri='file:///opt/corp/background.jpg'

Replace /opt/corp/background.jpg with the path to the image file you want to use as the
screen shield. Supported formats are PNG, JPG, JPEG, and TGA. Note that the image will be
scaled if necessary to fit the screen.

2. Update the system databases:

# dconf update

3. Users must log out and back in again before the system-wide settings take effect.

Troubleshhoting
If the screen shield does not update, you can:

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

1. Make sure that you have updated the system databases by running the dconf update
command as the root user.

2. Try restarting GDM.

4.2. USING GNOME SHELL EXTENSIONS TO CUSTOMIZE DESKTOP

ENVIRONMENT
GNOME Shell extensions allow for the customization of the default GNOME Shell interface and its
parts, such as window management and application launching.

IMPORTANT

Before deploying third-party GNOME Shell extensions on Red Hat Enterprise Linux,
make sure to read the following document to learn about the Red Hat support policy for
third-party software:How does Red Hat Global Support Services handle third-party
software, drivers, and/or uncertified hardware/hypervisors?

4.2.1. Enabling machine-wide extensions

Prerequisite:
To make extensions available to all users on the system, install them in the /usr/share/gnome-
shell/extensions directory.

Procedure

1. Create a local database file for machine-wide settings in /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-extensions:

[org/gnome/shell]
# List all extensions that you want to have enabled for all users
enabled-extensions=['[email protected]',
'[email protected]']

The enabled-extensions key specifies the enabled extensions using the extensions' uuid
([email protected] and [email protected]).

2. Update the system databases:

# dconf update

3. Users must log out and back in again before the system-wide settings take effect.

NOTE

There is currently no way to enable additional extensions for users who have
already logged in. This does not apply for existing users who have installed and
enabled their own GNOME extensions.

4.2.2. Locking down enabled extensions

You can prevent the user from enabling or disabling extensions by locking down the
org.gnome.shell.enabled-extensions key.

Procedure

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 CHAPTER 4. CUSTOMIZING DESKTOP APPEARANCE

1. Create a local database file for machine-wide settings in /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-extensions:

[org/gnome/shell]
# List all extensions that you want to have enabled for all users
enabled-extensions=['[email protected]',
'[email protected]']

The enabled-extensions key specifies the enabled extensions using the extensions' uuid
([email protected] and [email protected]).

2. Override the user’s setting and prevent the user from changing it in
/etc/dconf/db/local.d/locks/extensions:

# Lock the list of mandatory extensions

/org/gnome/shell/enabled-extensions

3. Update the system databases:

# dconf update

4. Users must log out and back in again before the system-wide settings take effect.

After locking down the org.gnome.shell.enabled-extensions, any extensions installed in

~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions or /usr/share/gnome-shell/extensions that are not listed in
the org.gnome.shell.enabled-extensions key will not be loaded by GNOME Shell, thus preventing the
user from using them.

4.2.3. Setting up mandatory extensions

In GNOME Shell, you can provide a set of extensions that the user has to use.

Prerequisites
The extensions must be installed under the /usr/share/gnome-shell/extensions directory.

Procedure

1. Create a local database file for machine-wide settings in /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-extensions-

mandatory:

[org/gnome/shell]
# List all mandatory extensions
enabled-extensions=['[email protected]',
'[email protected]']

The enabled-extensions key specifies the enabled extensions using the extensions' uuid
([email protected] and [email protected]).

2. Override the user’s setting and prevent the user from changing it in
/etc/dconf/db/local.d/locks/extensions-mandatory:

# Lock the list of mandatory extensions

/org/gnome/shell/enabled-extensions

3. Update the system databases:

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

# dconf update

4. Users must log out and back in again before the system-wide settings take effect.

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 CHAPTER 5. CUSTOMIZING GNOME DESKTOP FEATURES

CHAPTER 5. CUSTOMIZING GNOME DESKTOP FEATURES

5.1. ENABLING THE CTRL+ALT+BACKSPACE SHORTCUT

The Ctrl+Alt+Backspace shortcut key combination is used for terminating the X.Org display server.

You might want to terminate X.Org especially when:

A program caused X.Org to stop working.

You need to switch from your logged-in session quickly.

You have launched a program that failed.

You cannot operate in the current session.

Your screen freezes.

To enable the Ctrl+Alt+Backspace shortcut to forcibly terminate X.Org by default for all users, you
need to set the org.gnome.desktop.input-sources.xkb-options GSettings key.

Procedure

1. Create a local database for machine-wide settings in /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-input-sources:

[org/gnome/desktop/input-sources]
# Enable Ctrl-Alt-Backspace for all users
xkb-options=['terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp']

2. Override the user’s setting, and prevent the user from changing it in
/etc/dconf/db/local.d/locks/input-sources:

# Lock the list of enabled XKB options

/org/gnome/desktop/input-sources/xkb-options

3. Update the system databases for the changes to take effect:

# dconf update

4. Users must log out and back in again before the system-wide settings take effect.

If the Ctrl+Alt+Backspace key combination is enabled, all users can terminate X.Org , which brings
them back to the login prompt.

5.2. DISABLING COMMAND-LINE ACCESS

To disable command-line access for a desktop user, you need to make configuration changes in a
number of different contexts:

Section 5.2.1, “Setting the org.gnome.desktop.lockdown.disable-command-line Key”

Section 5.2.2, “Disabling virtual terminal switching on X.Org”

Remove Terminal and any other application that provides access to the terminal from the

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

Remove Terminal and any other application that provides access to the terminal from the
Applications menu and Activities Overview in GNOME Shell. This is done by removing menu
items for those applications.

NOTE

The following steps do not remove the desktop user’s permissions to access a command
line, but rather remove the ways that the desktop user could access command line.

5.2.1. Setting the org.gnome.desktop.lockdown.disable-command-line Key

This approach prevents the user from:

Accessing the terminal

Specifying a command line to be executed by using the Alt+F2 command prompt

Procedure

1. Create a local database for machine-wide settings in /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-lockdown:

[org/gnome/desktop/lockdown]
# Disable command-line access
disable-command-line=true

2. Override the user’s setting and prevent the user from changing it in
/etc/dconf/db/local.d/locks/lockdown:

# Lock the disabled command-line access

/org/gnome/desktop/lockdown

3. Update the system databases:

# dconf update

4. Users must log out and back in again before the system-wide settings take effect.

5.2.2. Disabling virtual terminal switching on X.Org

With the X.Org display server, users can normally use the Ctrl+Alt+function key shortcuts to switch
from the GNOME Desktop and X.Org to a virtual terminal. You can disable access to all virtual terminals
by modifying the X.Org configuration. The X.Org configuration should be modified by adding the
DontVTSwitch option to the Serverflags section of an X configuration file in the /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/
directory, as shown by the following procedure.

IMPORTANT

You cannot apply the procedure if GNOME Shell on Wayland is used as the display
server.

Procedure

1. Create or edit an X configuration file in the /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/ directory:

NOTE
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NOTE

By convention, these host-specific configuration file names start with two digits
and a hyphen and always have the .conf extension. Thus, the following file name
can be /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-xorg.conf.

Section "Serverflags"

Option "DontVTSwitch" "yes"

EndSection

2. Restart the X.Org display server for the changes to take effect.

5.3. PREVENTING THE COMPUTER FROM SUSPENDING WHEN

CLOSING THE LID
When closing the lid of your laptop, the computer by default suspends in order to save power. You can
prevent the computer from suspending when closing the lid by changing the setting for that behavior.


WARNING

Some laptops can overheat if they are left running with the lid closed, especially if
they are in a confined place. Therefore, consider whether changing the default
setting from suspend to an other option is beneficial in your case.

Procedure

1. Open the /etc/systemd/logind.conf file for editing.

2. Find the HandleLidSwitch=suspend line in the file.

If it is quoted out with the # character at the start, unquote it by removing #.

If the line is not present in the file, add it.

3. Replace the default suspend parameter with:

lock for the screen to lock

ignore for nothing to happen

poweroff for the computer to switch off

For example:

[Login]
HandleLidSwitch=lock

4. Save your changes, and close the editor.

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

5. Run the following command so that your changes preserve the next restart of the system:

# systemctl restart systemd-logind.service


WARNING

Restarting the service forcibly interrupts any currently running GNOME session of
any desktop user who is logged in. This can result in users losing unsaved data.

For more information on the /etc/systemd/logind.conf file, see the logind.conf man page.

5.4. CHANGING BEHAVIOR WHEN PRESSING THE POWER BUTTON IN

GRAPHICAL TARGET MODE
When the machine is booted to a graphical login screen or user session, hitting the power button makes
the machine suspend by default. This happens both in cases when the user presses the power button
physically or when pressing a virtual power button from a remote console. To achieve a different
behavior when pressing the power button, set the function of this button with dconf.

For example, if you want the system to shutdown after pressing the power button, use the following
procedure:

Procedure

1. Create a local database for system-wide settings in the /etc/dconf/db/local.d/01-power file:

[org/gnome/settings-daemon/plugins/power]
power-button-action='interactive'

2. Override the user’s setting, and prevent the user from changing it in the
/etc/dconf/db/local.d/locks/01-power file:

/org/gnome/settings-daemon/plugins/power/power-button-action

3. Update the system databases:

# dconf update

4. Log out and back in again before the system-wide settings take effect.

This configuration initiates a system shutdown after pressing the power button. To configure the
system differently, you can set the behavior of particular buttons.

Options for particular buttons:

nothing
does nothing

suspend

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 CHAPTER 5. CUSTOMIZING GNOME DESKTOP FEATURES

suspends the system

hibernate
hibernates the system

interactive
shows a pop-up query asking the user what to do

With interactive mode, the system powers off automatically after 60 seconds when hitting the
power button. However, you can choose a different behavior from the pop-up query as shown in
the figure below.

Pop-up query for interactive mode

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CHAPTER 6. LOCKING DOWN SELECTED TASKS

This section describes how to lock down for users the following tasks:

Printing

File saving on disk

Repartitioning

User logout and user switching

6.1. LOCKING DOWN PRINTING

You can disable the print dialog from being shown to users. This can be useful if you are giving
temporary access to a user or you do not want the user to print to network printers.

IMPORTANT

The feature only works in applications which support it. Not all GNOME and third party
applications have this feature enabled. The changes do not have effect on applications
which do not support this feature.

To provent applications from printing, lock down the org.gnome.desktop.lockdown.disable-printing

key:

Procedure

1. Create the user profile in /etc/dconf/profile/user unless it already exists:

user-db:user
system-db:local

2. Create a local database for machine-wide settings in the etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-lockdown

file:

[org/gnome/desktop/lockdown]

# Prevent applications from printing

disable-printing=true

3. Override the user’s setting and prevent the user from changing it in the
/etc/dconf/db/local.d/locks/lockdown file:

# List the keys used to configure lockdown

/org/gnome/desktop/lockdown/disable-printing

4. Update the system databases:

# dconf update

Having followed these steps, applications supporting this lockdown key, such as Evolution, Evince, or
Gedit, will disable printing.

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 CHAPTER 6. LOCKING DOWN SELECTED TASKS

6.2. LOCKING FILE SAVING ON DISK

You can disable the Save and Save As dialogs. This can be useful if you are giving temporary access to
a user or you do not want the user to save files to the computer.

IMPORTANT

The feature only works in applications which support it. Not all GNOME and third party
applications have this feature enabled. The changes will have no effect on applications
which do not support this feature.

To prevent applications from file saving, lock down the org.gnome.desktop.lockdown.disable-save-

to-disk key:

Procedure

1. Create the user profile in /etc/dconf/profile/user unless it already exists:

user-db:user
system-db:local

2. Create a local database for machine-wide settings in the /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-lockdown

file:

[org/gnome/desktop/lockdown]

# Prevent the user from saving files on disk

disable-save-to-disk=true

3. Override the user’s setting and prevent the user from changing it in the
/etc/dconf/db/local.d/locks/lockdown file:

# Lock this key to disable saving files on disk

/org/gnome/desktop/lockdown/disable-save-to-disk

4. Update the system databases:

# dconf update

Having followed these steps, applications supporting this lockdown key, for example Videos, Image
Viewer, Evolution, Document Viewer, or GNOME Shell, will disable their Save As dialogs.

6.3. LOCKING REPARTITIONING

polkit enables you to set permissions for individual operations. For udisks2, the utility for disk
management services, the configuration is located at /usr/share/polkit-
1/actions/org.freedesktop.udisks2.policy. This file contains a set of actions and default values, which
can be overridden by system administrator.

IMPORTANT

polkit configuration stored in /etc overrides the configuration shipped by packages in

/usr/share/.

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

Procedure

1. Create a file with the same content as in /usr/share/polkit-

1/actions/org.freedesktop.udisks2.policy:

cp /usr/share/polkit-1/actions/org.freedesktop.udisks2.policy /etc/share/polkit-
1/actions/org.freedesktop.udisks2.policy

Do not change the /usr/share/polkit-1/actions/org.freedesktop.udisks2.policy file, your

changes will be overwritten by the next package update.

2. Delete the action you do not need, and add the following lines to the /etc/polkit-
1/actions/org.freedesktop.udisks2.policy file:

<action id="org.freedesktop.udisks2.modify-device">
<message>Authentication is required to modify the disks settings</message>
<defaults>
<allow_any>no</allow_any>
<allow_inactive>no</allow_inactive>
<allow_active>yes</allow_active>
</defaults>
</action>

Replace no by auth_admin if you want to ensure only the root user is able to perform the
action.

3. Save the changes.

When the user tries to change the disks settings, the following message is returned:

Authentication is required to modify the disks settings.

6.4. LOCKING DOWN USER LOGOUT AND USER SWITCHING

To prevent the user from logging out, use the folowing procedure.

Procedure

1. Create the /etc/dconf/profile/user profile, which contains the following lines:

user-db:user
system-db:local

where local is the name of a dconf database

2. Create the /etc/dconf/db/local.d/ directory if it does not already exist.

3. Create the /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-logout key file to provide information for the local
database:

[org/gnome/desktop/lockdown]
# Prevent the user from user switching
disable-log-out=true

4. Override the user’s setting, and prevent the user from changing it in the
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 CHAPTER 6. LOCKING DOWN SELECTED TASKS

4. Override the user’s setting, and prevent the user from changing it in the
/etc/dconf/db/local.d/locks/lockdown file:

# Lock this key to disable user logout

/org/gnome/desktop/lockdown/disable-log-out

5. Update the system databases:

# dconf update

6. Users must log out and back in again before the system-wide settings take effect.

IMPORTANT

Users can evade the logout lockdown by switching to a different user. To prevent such
scenario, lock down user swithcing as well.

To lock down user switching, use the following procedure:

Procedure

1. Create the /etc/dconf/profile/user profile, which contains the following lines:

user-db:user
system-db:local

where local is the name of a dconf database

2. Create the /etc/dconf/db/local.d/ directory if it does not already exist.

3. Create the /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-user-switching key file to provide information for the

local database:

[org/gnome/desktop/lockdown]
# Prevent the user from user switching
disable-user-switching=true

4. Override the user’s setting, and prevent the user from changing it in the
/etc/dconf/db/local.d/locks/lockdown file:

# Lock this key to disable user switching

/org/gnome/desktop/lockdown/disable-user-switching

5. Update the system databases:

# dconf update

6. Users must log out and back in again before the system-wide settings take effect.

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

CHAPTER 7. MANAGING USER SESSIONS

7.1. WHAT GDM IS

The GNOME Display Manager (GDM) is a graphical login program running in the background that runs
and manages the X.Org display servers for both local and remote logins.

GDM is a replacement for XDM, the X Display Manager. However, GDM is not derived from XDM and
does not contain any original XDM code. In addition, there is no support for a graphical configuration tool
in GDM, so editing the /etc/gdm/custom.conf configuration file is necessary to change the GDM
settings.

7.2. RESTARTING GDM

When you make changes to the system configuration such as setting up the login screen banner
message, login screen logo, or login screen background, restart GDM for your changes to take effect.


WARNING

Restarting the service forcibly interrupts any currently running GNOME session of
any desktop user who is logged in. This can result in users losing unsaved data.

Procedure

To restart the GDM service, run the following command:

# systemctl restart gdm.service

Procedure

To display results of the GDM configuration, run the following command:

$ DCONF_PROFILE=gdm gsettings list-recursively org.gnome.login-screen

7.3. ADDING AN AUTOSTART APPLICATION FOR ALL USERS

To start an application automatically when the user logs in, create a .desktop file for that application in
the /etc/xdg/autostart/ directory. To manage autostart applications for individual users, use the
gnome-session-properties application.

Procedure

1. Create a .desktop file in the /etc/xdg/autostart/ directory:

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=Files

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 CHAPTER 7. MANAGING USER SESSIONS

Exec=nautilus -n
OnlyShowIn=GNOME;
AutostartCondition=GSettings org.gnome.desktop.background show-desktop-icons

Replace Files with the name of the application.

Replace nautilus -n with the command you want to use to run the application.

2. Use the AutostartCondition key to check for a value of a GSettings key.

The session manager runs the application automatically if the key’s value is true. If the key’s
value changes in the running session, the session manager starts or stops the application,
depending on what the previous value for the key was.

7.4. CONFIGURING AUTOMATIC LOGIN

As an administrator, you can enable automatic login from the Users panel in GNOME Settings, or you
can set up automatic login manually in the GDM custom configuration file, as follows.

Run the follwoing procedure to set up automatic login for a user john.

Procedure

Edit the /etc/gdm/custom.conf file, and make sure that the [daemon] section in the file
specifies the following:

[daemon]
AutomaticLoginEnable=True
AutomaticLogin=john

Replace john with the user that you want to be automatically logged in.

7.5. CONFIGURING AUTOMATIC LOGOUT

User sessions that have been idle for a specific period of time can be ended automatically. You can set
different behavior based on whether the machine is running from a battery or from mains power by
setting the corresponding GSettings key, then locking it.


WARNING

Users can potentially lose unsaved data if an idle session is automatically ended.

To set automatic logout for a mains powered machine:

Procedure

1. Create a local database for machine-wide settings in the /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-autologout

file:

[org/gnome/settings-daemon/plugins/power]
# Set the timeout to 900 seconds when on mains power

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

sleep-inactive-ac-timeout=900
# Set action after timeout to be logout when on mains power
sleep-inactive-ac-type='logout'

2. Override the user’s setting, and prevent the user from changing it in the
/etc/dconf/db/local.d/locks/autologout file:

# Lock automatic logout settings

/org/gnome/settings-daemon/plugins/power/sleep-inactive-ac-timeout
/org/gnome/settings-daemon/plugins/power/sleep-inactive-ac-type

3. Update the system databases:

# dconf update

4. Users must log out and back in again before the system-wide settings take effect.

The following GSettings keys are of interest:

org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.power.sleep-inactive-ac-timeout
The number of seconds that the computer needs to be inactive before it goes to sleep if it is
running from AC power.

org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.power.sleep-inactive-ac-type
What should happen when the timeout has passed if the computer is running from AC power.

org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.power.sleep-inactive-battery-timeout
The number of seconds that the computer needs to be inactive before it goes to sleep if it is
running from power.

org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.power.sleep-inactive-battery-type
What should happen when the timeout has passed if the computer is running from battery
power.

If you want to list available values for a key, use the following procedure:

Procedure

Run the gsettings range command on the required key. For example:

$ gsettings range org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.power sleep-inactive-ac-type

enum
'blank'
'suspend'
'shutdown'
'hibernate'
'interactive'
'nothing'
'logout'

7.6. SETTING SCREEN BRIGHTNESS AND IDLE TIME

This section describes how to:

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 CHAPTER 7. MANAGING USER SESSIONS

Configure the drop in the brightness leve

Set brightness level

Set idle time

Configuring the drop in the brightness level

To set the drop in the brightness level when the device has been idle for some time:

Procedure

1. Create a local database for machine-wide settings in the /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-power file

including these lines:

[org/gnome/settings-daemon/plugins/power]
idle-dim=true

2. Update the system databases:

# dconf update

3. Users must log out and back in again before the system-wide settings take effect.

Setting brightness level

To set brightness level:

Procedure

1. Create a local database for machine-wide settings in the /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-power file, as

in the following example:

[org/gnome/settings-daemon/plugins/power]
idle-brightness=30

Replace 30 with the integer value you want to use.

2. Update the system databases:

# dconf update

3. Users must log out and back in again before the system-wide settings take effect.

Setting idle time

To set idle time after which the screen is blanked and the default screensaver is displayed:

Procedure

1. Create a local database for machine-wide settings in /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-session, as in

the following example:

[org/gnome/desktop/session]
idle-delay=uint32 900

Replace 900 with the integer value you want to use.

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Managing RHEL systems from your desktop

You must include the uint32 along with the integer value as shown.

2. Update the system databases:

# dconf update

3. Users must log out and back in again before the system-wide settings take effect.

7.7. LOCKING THE SCREEN WHEN THE USER IS IDLE

To enable the screensaver and make the screen lock automatically when the user is idle, follow this
procedure:

Procedure

1. Create a local database for system-wide settings in the etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-screensaver

file:

[org/gnome/desktop/session]
# Set the lock time out to 180 seconds before the session is considered idle
idle-delay=uint32 180
[org/gnome/desktop/screensaver]
# Set this to true to lock the screen when the screensaver activates
lock-enabled=true
# Set the lock timeout to 180 seconds after the screensaver has been activated
lock-delay=uint32 180

You must include the uint32 along with the integer key values as shown.

2. Override the user’s setting, and prevent the user from changing it in the
/etc/dconf/db/local.d/locks/screensaver file:

# Lock desktop screensaver settings

/org/gnome/desktop/session/idle-delay
/org/gnome/desktop/screensaver/lock-enabled
/org/gnome/desktop/screensaver/lock-delay

3. Update the system databases:

# dconf update

4. Users must log out and back in again before the system-wide settings take effect.

7.8. SCREENCAST RECORDING

GNOME Shell features a built-in screencast recorder. The recorder allows users to record desktop or
application activity during their session and distribute the recordings as high-resolution video files in the
webm format.

To make a screencast:

Procedure

1. To start the recording, press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+R shortcut.

When the recorder is capturing the screen activity, it displays a red circle in the bottom-right
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 CHAPTER 7. MANAGING USER SESSIONS

When the recorder is capturing the screen activity, it displays a red circle in the bottom-right
corner of the screen.

2. To stop the recording, press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+R shortcup.

The red circle in the bottom-right corner of the screen disappears.

3. Navigate to the ~/Videos directory where you can find the recorded video with a file name that
starts with Screencast and includes the date and time of the recording.

NOTE

The built-in recorder always captures the entire screen, including all monitors in multi-
monitor setups.

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