User Feedback :: Xscreensaver and DSL



Thanks for the tip on the file to edit. I've been a bit tied up with other  tasks for a couple of days.

The earliest time I have on the schedule when I can try my hand at stripping a version of xscreensaver down to minimal size looks to be early next week.

As Mpie commented, this is another puppy that be learning, slow but sure! :)
Good morning All.
I've spent some more time working with the xscreensaver over the past few days. Did a little editing
of the /etc/X11/app-defaults/XScreenSaver-nog file. The author suggests using a minus sign (-) to comment out
settings when editing this file. I found that if I used the # sign it was just as effective. In editing the file,
the screens that could not execute ("No such file or folder") were actually commented out by the author.
I let the program cycle through as many of the screens as I thought it could find, then re-edited the
/etc/X11/app-defaults/XScreenSaver-nog! file to allow those screens if they were listed to be executed.
The xscreensaver executes those screens at ramdom as best as I understand the manual.

I have also edited my copy to permit the powering down of the monitor, again the same file controls that aspect
of xscreensaver. I have not been able to access the GUI to adjust the program at all, nor access the help menu.
Instead, I read and re-read the manual, then did my editing of the /etc/X11/app-defaults/XScreenSaver-nog! file while
operating as root.

This all seems to have cleared up my problems with the program except accessing the GUI, which isn't needed.
Earlier it was mentioned stripping the program down to a smaller size. I'm sure someone who is more
of a programmer than I could do this. The most recent version that I can find of the program is still around 3.8mb making
it pretty much too big for regular inclusion in DSL.  I do like it for the many different, ramdomly accessed screens.
I'm not sure if it has cycled through all of the many screens that are listed in the master file yet. I've enabled
enough of them by removing the minus (-) sign and have not seen the error message repeat on those
screens as yet.

HtH
the gui lets you choose which screen and would not have selected one that is not available..........
sounds like you've sussed a bit more out tho.........



Right click select run program type xscreensaver...... the gui should then load up there are mant options from within there too....
If that doesn't work, try "xscreensaver-demo" ...
It should work by itself from menu ...
What version of DSL are you running ?

73
ke4nt
Howdy gents,
I have yet to get the GUI to load whether I'm logged in as root or user. I'm not too concerned since I can do most things with xscreensaver by editing the XScreenSaver-nog! file. I'll do a little more research as time permits.

I may go ahead and use apt-get to set this up fresh with the latest version. But for now, it's going OK...or will after another edit or two. I've at least figured out how to go about editing the file using sudo /bin/bash to get the editor screen loaded.

I'm still using DSL 071 on the PII450 box. I think that what I'm running as xscreensaver is the first dsl extension. If that's the case it may explain the inability to access the GUI. When I start the xscreensaver, I do get a splashscreen, but can access neither the demo or help. Again, no biggie, but this is the reason to keep exploring the program.  Just another bit of learning,eh?
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