Autostart programs @ GUI login (Solved)

[dawnsboy]

It seems odd that as long as I have been using VL (since 3.2 download) I have not had a need to autostart programs from GUI login.  I have generally logged in from the command line and am comfortable with editing the xinitrc for the window manager of choice.  For example if I wish to start Icewm with xfce-mcs-manager (to support Thunar) and gkrellm I would simply open up the /etc/x11/xinit/xinitrc.icewm-desk file as root and add the following:

xfce-mcs-manager &
gkrellm

This entry is followed by:

# Start icewm
exec icewm

However this seems only to work from commandline login and not from GUI login.  Which file must be edited in VL 5.8 Standard to start these same programs with Icewm from GUI login?

I like XFCE a lot but the titlebar and window frames of certain programs (mostly games like anagramarama, frozen-bubble and wine apps) are badly distorted.  Not only is this hard on the eyes but the buttons are not visible in the title bars so Icewm becomes the wm of choice since everything works well with it.

Thanks for your help.

[lagagnon]

I think you just go into Settings, Autostarted Applications, but I could be wrong....

[dawnsboy]

I think you just go into Settings, Autostarted Applications, but I could be wrong....

Thanks for the reply to my message.     I believe the above suggestion is the prescribed method for autostarting apps when using XFCE4 as the window manager.  However I am trying to accomplish the same thing using Icewm.

I have examined the starticewm file and noted the presence of a suggestion to launch various programs such as rox and vdesk should they be present on the system.  The statements are as follows:

if which launch-roxpinboard &> /dev/null; then
  launch-roxpinboard &
  icewmtray &
  exec icewm
elif which launch-vdesk &> /dev/null; then
  launch-vdesk &
elif which launch-dfm &> /dev/null; then
  launch-dfm &
elif which launch-idesk &> /dev/null; then
  launch-idesk &
fi

The statements to execute these apps have no effect when launching Icewm from the command line or from GUI login.  I am only able to launch these apps from the command line and only if I edit the /etc/x11/xinit/xinitrc.icewm or (icewm-desk).

However, GUI login does not acknowledge these changes and launches Icewm without the benefit of starting these additional apps.

I can certainly work from the command line but I want to introduce family members to Vector Linux and want to make the experience similar to windows while demonstrating how easy it really is (how much more flexible and stable than windows as well) to use once they get used to the notion.  My wife bought an Acer 5050 laptop with Windows Vista Home Basic I can see major issues there.  I want to wean the family off windows because Microsoft has clearly demonstrated an increasing disregard for the end user with the release of each new version of windows.  I see only disaster for end users from issues with system stability to EULA  problems for honest users and major security issues.

Hopefully someone can help me with this.  Thanks!

[dawnsboy]

I think you just go into Settings, Autostarted Applications, but I could be wrong....

After doing a bit more digging around I discovered that the problem may be resolved by creating a new file named startup using any editor such as medit or tea.  The file should be placed in /home/$user/.icewm .  The contents of the file are as follows:

#!/bin/sh
xfce-mcs-manager &
gkrellm (rox can also be started here with a command like rox -p desktop)

The file should be made executable with the following command:

chmod +x startup

Problem solved