path: root/trunk/gnome2-user-guide/C/gosstartsession.xml

<chapter id="sessions">
  <title>Desktop Sessions</title>

  <!-- Maintained for 2.8 compatibility -->
  <anchor id="gosgetstarted-1"/>

  <remark>Needs better intro</remark>
  <remark>This chapter needs work</remark>

  <highlights>
    <para>This chapter provides the information you need to log in to and shut down GNOME, and to start, manage, and end a desktop session.</para>
  </highlights>

  <sect1 id="gosgetstarted-69">
    <title>Starting a Session</title>
    <indexterm>
      <primary>sessions</primary>
      <secondary>starting</secondary>
    </indexterm>
    <para>A <firstterm>session</firstterm> is the period of time you spend using GNOME. During a session, you use your applications, print, browse the web, and so on.</para>
    <para>Logging in to GNOME begins your session. The login screen is your gateway to the GNOME Desktop: it is where you enter your username and password and select options such as the language you want GNOME to use for your session.</para>
    <tip><para>
    Normally, logging out ends the session, but you can choose to save the state of your session and restore it next time you use GNOME: see <xref linkend="prefs-sessions"/>.</para></tip>
    
    <!--
    2.14 has moved all this out of the standard dialogs.
    
    The session manager saves and restores the following: 
    <itemizedlist>
      <listitem>
        <para>The appearance and behavior settings, for example fonts, colors,
and mouse settings. </para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>The applications that you were running, for example file manager
and text editor windows. You cannot save and restore applications that the
session manager does not manage. For example, if you start the <application>vi</application> editor from the command line in a terminal window, session
manager cannot restore your editing session. </para>
      </listitem>
    </itemizedlist>
    -->
    
    
    <sect2 id="gosstartsession-85">
      <title>Logging in to GNOME</title>
      <indexterm>
        <primary>sessions</primary>
        <secondary>logging in</secondary>
      </indexterm>
      <indexterm>
        <primary>logging in</primary>
        <secondary>to session</secondary>
      </indexterm>
      <indexterm>
        <primary>start session</primary>
      </indexterm>
      <para>To log in to a session, perform the following steps:</para>
      <orderedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>On the login screen, click on the <guilabel>Session</guilabel>
icon. Choose the GNOME Desktop from the list of available desktop environments.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Enter your username in the <guilabel>Username</guilabel> field
on the login screen, then press <keycap>Return</keycap>.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Enter your password in the <guilabel>Password</guilabel> field
on the login screen, then press <keycap>Return</keycap>.</para>
        </listitem>
      </orderedlist>
      <para>When you log in successfully, you will see a splash informing you of the steps GNOME is taking to start up. When GNOME is ready, you will see the Desktop and you can begin using your computer.</para>
      <para>The first time you log in, then the session manager starts a new
session. If you have logged in before, then the session manager restores your
previous session, if you saved the settings for the previous session when
you logged out.</para>
      <para>If you want to shut down or restart the system before you log in, click
on the <guilabel>System</guilabel> icon on the login screen. A dialog is displayed.
Select the option that you require, then click <guibutton>OK</guibutton>.</para>
<!--What about failsafe gnome?-->
    </sect2>
    <sect2 id="gosstartsession-86">
      <title>Using a Different Language</title>
      <indexterm>
        <primary>sessions</primary>
        <secondary>different language, logging
in</secondary>
      </indexterm>
      <indexterm>
        <primary>language, logging in in different</primary>
      </indexterm>
      <indexterm>
        <primary>logging in</primary>
        <secondary>to session in different language</secondary>
      </indexterm>
      <para>To log in to
a session in a different language, perform the following actions.</para>
      <orderedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>On the login screen, click on the <guilabel>Language</guilabel>
icon. Choose the language you require from the list of available languages.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Enter your username in the <guilabel>Username</guilabel> field
on the login screen, then press <keycap>Return</keycap>.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Enter your password in the <guilabel>Password</guilabel> field
on the login screen, then press <keycap>Return</keycap>.</para>
        </listitem>
      </orderedlist>
      <note>
        <para>When you log in to a session in a different language, you choose
the language for the user interface. You do not specify a keyboard layout
for the session. To choose a keyboard layout, use the <ulink type="help" url="ghelp:gswitchit"><application>Keyboard Indicator</application></ulink> applet.</para>
      </note>
    </sect2>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="lock-screen">
    <title>Locking Your Screen</title>
    <!-- preserve id for backwards compatibility: 2.12 -->
    <anchor id="gosstartsession-1"/>        
    <screenshot>
      <mediaobject>
        <imageobject>
          <imagedata fileref="figures/lockscreen_icon.png" format="PNG"/>
        </imageobject>
        <textobject>
          <phrase>Lock screen icon.</phrase>
        </textobject>
      </mediaobject>
    </screenshot>
    <indexterm>
      <primary>sessions</primary>
      <secondary>locking screen</secondary>
    </indexterm>
    <indexterm>
      <primary>locking screen</primary>
    </indexterm>
    <indexterm>
      <primary>Lock button</primary>
    </indexterm>
    <para>Locking your screen allows you to leave your computer unattended and prevent access to your applications and information. While your screen is locked, the <link linkend="prefs-screensaver">screensaver</link> runs.</para>
    
    <para>To lock the screen, perform
one of the following actions:</para>
    <itemizedlist>
      <listitem>
        <para>Choose <menuchoice><guimenu>System</guimenu><guimenuitem>Lock Screen</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.</para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>If the <guibutton>Lock Screen</guibutton> button is present on a
panel, click on the <guibutton>Lock Screen</guibutton> button.</para>
        <note><para>The <guibutton>Lock Screen</guibutton> is not present on the panels by default. To add it, see <xref linkend="panels-addobject"/>.</para></note>
      </listitem>
    </itemizedlist>
    <para>To unlock the screen, move your mouse or press any key, enter your password in the locked screen dialog, then press <keycap>Return</keycap>.</para>

    <!--
    <para>If you share your computer with others, the one can switch the user and start a new session; when finish and end his session, you can unlock your screen as above.</para> -->
  
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="gosstartsession-2">
    <title>Managing the Session</title>
    <indexterm>
      <primary>preference tools</primary>
      <secondary>Sessions</secondary>
    </indexterm>
    <indexterm>
      <primary>sessions</primary>
      <secondary>managing</secondary>
    </indexterm>
    <para>To configure the session management of the GNOME Desktop,
use the <application>Sessions</application> preference tool. The <application>Sessions</application> preference tool recognizes the following types of application: </para>
    <itemizedlist>
      <listitem>
        <indexterm>
          <primary>startup applications</primary>
          <secondary>session-managed</secondary>
        </indexterm>
        <para>Applications that are session-managed. When
you save the settings for your session, the session manager saves all of the
session-managed applications. If you log out, then log in again, the session
manager automatically starts the session-managed applications. </para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>Applications that are not session-managed. When you save the
settings for your session, the session manager does not save any applications
that are not session-managed. If you log out, then log in again, the session
manager does not start non-session-managed applications. You must start the
application manually. Alternatively, you can use the <application>Sessions</application> preference tool to specify non-session-managed applications
that you want to automatically start. </para>
      </listitem>
    </itemizedlist>
    <sect2 id="gosstartsession-9">
      <title>Defining Session Behavior When You Log In and Log Out</title>
      <indexterm>
        <primary>sessions</primary>
        <secondary>login behavior</secondary>
      </indexterm>
      <indexterm>
        <primary>sessions</primary>
        <secondary>logout behavior</secondary>
      </indexterm>
      <para>To set how a session behaves when you log in
and log out, use <application>Sessions</application> preference tool. Make
the changes you require in the <guilabel>Session Options</guilabel> tabbed
section. For example, you can select to display a splash screen when you log
in. </para>
    </sect2>
    <sect2 id="gosstartsession-6">
      <title>To Use Startup Applications</title>
      <indexterm>
        <primary>startup programs</primary>
        <see>startup applications</see>
      </indexterm>
      <indexterm>
        <primary>sessions</primary>
        <secondary>using startup
applications</secondary>
      </indexterm>
      <indexterm>
        <primary>startup applications</primary>
        <secondary>non-session-managed</secondary>
      </indexterm>
      <para>You
can configure your sessions to start with applications that are not session-managed.
To configure non-session-managed startup applications, use the <application>Sessions</application> preference tool. Use the <guilabel>Startup Programs</guilabel> tabbed section to add, edit, and delete applications. If you save
your settings and log out, the next time that you log in, the startup applications
start automatically. </para>
    </sect2>
    <sect2 id="gosstartsession-10">
      <title>To Browse Applications in the Current Session</title>
      <indexterm>
        <primary>sessions</primary>
        <secondary>browsing applications</secondary>
      </indexterm>
      <para>To browse the applications in the current session, use the <application>Sessions</application> preference tool. The <guilabel>Current Session</guilabel>
tabbed section lists the following:</para>
      <itemizedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>All GNOME applications that are currently running, that can
connect to the session manager, and that can save the state of the application.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>All preference tools that can connect to the session manager,
and that can save the state of the tool.</para>
        </listitem>
      </itemizedlist>
      <para>You can use the <guilabel>Current Session</guilabel> tabbed section
to perform a limited number of actions on the session properties of an application
or preference tool. For example, you can edit the startup order, and restart
style of any GNOME application or preference tool that is in the list. </para>
    </sect2>
    <sect2 id="gosgetstarted-74">
      <title>To Save Session Settings</title>
      <indexterm>
        <primary>sessions</primary>
        <secondary>saving settings</secondary>
      </indexterm>
      <para>To save your session settings, perform the following steps: </para>
      <orderedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>Configure your session to automatically save settings when
you end the session. To configure your session, use the <application>Sessions</application> preference tool. The <application>Sessions</application> preference
tool starts. Select the <guilabel>Automatically save changes to session</guilabel>
option on the <guilabel>Session Options</guilabel> tabbed section.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>End your session. </para>
        </listitem>
      </orderedlist>
    </sect2>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="shutdown">
    <title>Ending a Session</title>
    <!-- preserve id for backwards compatibility: 2.12 -->
    <anchor id="gosgetstarted-73"/>        
    <indexterm>
      <primary>sessions</primary>
      <secondary>ending</secondary>
    </indexterm>
    <indexterm>
      <primary>sessions</primary>
      <secondary>logging out</secondary>
    </indexterm>
    <indexterm>
      <primary>logging out</primary>
    </indexterm>
    <indexterm>
      <primary>quit</primary>
    </indexterm>
    <indexterm>
      <primary>shutdown</primary>
    </indexterm>  
    <!--  
    commenting this out for now. A shot of the shutdown button would be good too.
    <screenshot>
      <mediaobject>
        <imageobject>
          <imagedata fileref="figures/logout_icon.png" format="PNG"/>
        </imageobject>
        <textobject>
          <phrase>Log Out icon.</phrase>
        </textobject>
      </mediaobject>
    </screenshot>
    -->
    <para>When you have finished using your computer, you can choose to do one of the following:</para>
    <itemizedlist>
      <listitem>
        <para>Log out for another user to begin working with it. To log out of GNOME, choose <menuchoice><guimenu>System</guimenu><guimenuitem>Log Out <replaceable>username</replaceable></guimenuitem></menuchoice> <!-- Translators: your locale might only have a "Log Out" label in the menu if "Log Out username" is not valid. In this case, remove "<replaceable>username</replaceable>". -->.</para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>Shut down your computer and switch off the power. To shut down, choose <menuchoice><guimenu>System</guimenu><guimenuitem>Shut Down</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.</para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>Depending on your computer's configuration, you can also <firstterm>Hibernate</firstterm> your computer. During hibernation, less power is used, but the state of your computer is preserved: all the applications you have running and open documents.</para>
      </listitem>
    </itemizedlist>    
       
    <para>When you end a session, applications with unsaved work will warn you. You can choose to save your work, or cancel the command to log out or shut down.</para>

    <para>Before you end a session, you might want to save your current
settings so that you can restore the session later. In the <link linkend="prefs-sessions"><application>Sessions</application></link> preference tool, you can select an option to automatically
save your current settings.</para>
  </sect1>
</chapter>