Mike McBride
2002-09-19
3.01.00
KDE KControl screensaver screen saver

## Screen Saver

Using this module, you can choose your screen saver, determine how much time must pass before the screen saver is activated, and add or remove password protection to your screen saver.

### Choosing the screen saver, and configuring its options

In the Settings box is a is a check-box labeled Start screen saver automatically. This box must have a mark in it, or &kde; will not launch any screen saver and it will not allow you to adjust the settings of your screen saver.

Along the left side is a list of all available screen savers. You can select a screen saver by simply clicking on its name. Once you have selected a screen saver, you will see a small preview on the monitor on the right.

The preview monitor will often show the screen saver larger than it is when the screen saver is activated. This is done on purpose, since many of the details of the screen savers would be unintelligible if actually scaled down to such a small size.

Each screen saver has a different set of setup options. By clicking on Setup..., a dialog box will appear with all available options. As you adjust the options, the preview box in the dialog box will show you what effect you will achieve with the current settings.

When you are done setting up your screen saver, click OK.

Clicking Cancel will erase any changes you made in this dialog box, and return you to the screen saver module.

Clicking the About button will give you the Copyright and Author information if you are interested.

When you think you have all the options set the way you want, simply click on Test to immediately start the screen saver exactly as it will appear.

### Setting the time, priority and passwords for screen savers.

Below the Preview Monitor, is the Start screen saver automatically checkbox, and a spin box which determines the period of inactivity before the screen saver should be started. You can enter any number from 1-120 minutes in this box.

Below that is a check-box labeled Require password to stop screen saver. If it is checked, when you click a key or click a mouse button to end the screen saver and return to your work, you must enter a password. The password used is the same password you used to login to your machine. If there is no mark in the checkbox, no password is required to return to your desktop.

There is a five second grace period after the screen saver begins before a password is required even if Require password is checked.

Locking the desktop manually, by clicking the lock icon in the &kde; panel, causes the password protection to engage immediately with no grace period.

To alter the grace period setting, you need to manually edit the configuration file. To do so:

$ `cd `~/.kde/share/config``

Now, using a text editor (the example uses &kate;, the &kde; text editor) load the `kdesktoprc`.

$ `kate `kdesktoprc``

Search through the file for the section labelled [Screensaver].

Look through all lines in the section for an entry entitled LockGrace.

If the entry exists, you can edit the value of the entry.

    [Screensaver]
    LockGrace=3000

The value of the entity represents the duration of the grace period in milliseconds. An entry of 3000, would change the grace period to 3 seconds. You can set the value of the entry to any number between zero (no grace period) and 300000 (5 minutes).

If the entry does not exist, simply add the entry to the end of the section.

Any changes to the configuration entry are immediatly in effect.

Finally there is a slider labeled Priority. If your screen saver appears jumpy, you should increase the priority closer to the High end. This will tell your computer to devote more time to the screen saver, and less time to other tasks.

### Using a non-&kde; screen saver

&kde; does not prevent another screen saver from working. To use a different screen saver, such as xscreensaver, simply disable the &kde; Screen Saver, and set up your other screen saver program normally.

### Removing and restoring a screen saver from your system

If you want to remove a screen saver from the list in this Control Center Module, you will need to rename a file on your system.

Working as a root user is a potentially dangerous situation. While unlikely, it is entirely possible to do permanant damage to your system while working as root.

Be very careful following the next set of directions

To delete a screen saver, type the following commands:

    bash$ cd
    $KDEDIR/share/applnk/System/ScreenSavers
    bash$ ls

This will give you a list of files. You will notice similarities between some of the file names and that of the screen saver you want to remove. Simply rename the file of similarly named desktop file to a name which does not end in desktop.

Example:

    bash$ cd
    $KDEDIR/share/applnk/System/ScreenSavers
    bash$ mv KSpace.desktop KSpace.backup

Will remove Space (GL) from the list

You must close the &kcontrolcenter; entirely and restart it before the changes will be seen.

To restore the disabled screen saver, simply rename the file back to its original name:

    bash$ cd
    $KDEDIR/share/applnk/System/ScreenSavers
    bash$ mv KSpace.backup KSpace.desktop

Restart the &kcontrolcenter;, and the screen saver is back in the list.

### Section Author

Mike McBride mpmcbride7@yahoo.com