switching desktop environments

[synapse]

Hi! i have a question... how can switch between icewm and xfce? i have both installed and i would like to use both, depending on what i'm doing and how much resources do i need to do that! i'm using 5.8 standard gold if it matters...

[newt]

You could switch to another virtual terminal (tty - is that what it's called?) by pressing Ctrl-Alt-F# (F4-F8 [I think] and F7 is the default tty).  Then just switch between the two as needed - have one logged into xfce and another logged into IceWM.

[GrannyGeek]

You could switch to another virtual terminal (tty - is that what it's called?) by pressing Ctrl-Alt-F# (F4-F8 [I think] and F7 is the default tty).  Then just switch between the two as needed - have one logged into xfce and another logged into IceWM.

But if the goal is saving resources, wouldn't having two desktops running in two consoles consume more than having XFce open in one?
--GrannyGeek

[newt]

You could switch to another virtual terminal (tty - is that what it's called?) by pressing Ctrl-Alt-F# (F4-F8 [I think] and F7 is the default tty).  Then just switch between the two as needed - have one logged into xfce and another logged into IceWM.

But if the goal is saving resources, wouldn't having two desktops running in two consoles consume more than having XFce open in one?
--GrannyGeek

You're absolutely correct.  If the goal is saving resources then your best bet is probably just quiting xfce and starting icewm when you need to switch.  The time factor is pretty minimal and you don't have to have two wms running at all times.

[MikeCindi]

Synapse can correct me if I'm wrong but perhaps the question is not how to run both simultaneously but how to, after logging out of one, start the other. So...after booting your machine or logging out of the currently used window manager (WM) one must change the "session type" to another WM before logging in again. If you use a text mode login (2 or 3) then at the command line you would type the appropriate "start ..." command. I don't know what each (IceWM and xfce) uses though.
HTH,
Mike

[kidd]

Some windowmanagers allow you to swap from one wm to other. Ratpoison for example has tmpwm and newwm that allow you to use temporally another windowmanager, or shutdown ratpoison and start another wm.

Xnest is a software that allows to start X sessions inside other X sessions, so you could start one inside another.

IMHO Combining IceWM and xfce doesn't make much sense as they are pretty similar.  I Only used Xnest when I modified the code of a windowmanager (guess which? ).  It allowed me to test changes without having to log off and on every time.
I used tmpwm only when I had to use some rude apps that spawn lots of windows (gimp,cgoban...).

[tomh38]

The command to start Xfce from the console is "startxfce4" in VL 5.8.  I think the command to start IceWm is simply "starticewm."

If you're using KDM, you can log out of your current window manager/Desktop Environment, and then log into a new one by clicking on "Session," choosing your new WM/DE, and then log in.

[Pita]

It seems to me not much added resouces is needed to run 2 desktops simultaneously as for my experiences.

I use the following command in a terminal:

startx /usr/bin/wmaker -- :1&

to start wmaker lets say from xfce4.

To switch from one to the other:

Ctrl-Alt-F7 or F8, F7 being the default

[lagagnon]

It seems to me not much added resouces is needed to run 2 desktops simultaneously as for my experiences.

There has to be some memory useage of the extra WM. You could find out exactly how much by running the command "free" before and after loading the second WM.

[Pita]

It seems to me not much added resouces is needed to run 2 desktops simultaneously as for my experiences.

There has to be some memory useage of the extra WM. You could find out exactly how much by running the command "free" before and after loading the second WM.

Yes: free before 190024
              after   197860

in quoted example.

And BTW do not kill the terminal you started the other desktop from use exit if you want to close the terminal otherwise the desktop launched will be killed as well.

Regards