On Tue, May 16, 2023 at 6:05 AM Michael Fischer <michael@visv.net> wrote:
On Tue, May 16, Carlos E. R. wrote:
What is this "application launcher" of which you speak?
I'm doing CTRL-ALT-F2 -> console login prompt -> shell on VT2.
What I wonder is what next from that shell on VT2.
For example, I am using XFCE. I find the place in the menu to exit the session, but instead, I choose "switch user". I can then login with another user, and another desktop if I wish. Once the second user is started, I can switch back and forth by pressing [Ctrl][Alt][F7] or [Ctrl][Alt][F8]. I could start another one on [Ctrl][Alt][F9]. I can exit any one, and get the login prompt in that space instead.
Easy peasy.
(Details may vary per desktop and display manager.)
Yes, well.... FVWM doesn't have this (at least, my setup doesn't...) Ironically, I'm doing this exercise to see how well I can imitate my fvwm setup with XFCE4....
If you are using lightdm you can use dm-tool to tell the display manager to open the second session. dm-tool switch-to-user username
The display manager takes care of things like assigning control of sound or the cdrom tray to the user whose desktop has the focus, who is assumed to have the chair.
Warning: switching to same user, different desktop, may or may not work right or at all.
So when you say the "switch user" functionality lets you chose not only a different user with with which to log in, it gives you a choice of "desktop", where "desktop" corresponds to a different VT (other than VT7) on which it will run?
Switch user starts a session on a new VT which is normally auto-selected. It is done via display manager (even if some desktop environment has it somewhere in its menu it actually talks to display manager).