How to switch desktop environment in Debian
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I've recently set up a new computer using Debian 9.1 . During the initial configuration, I installed the desktop environments Gnome and LXDE.
Presently the system is set up to use Gnome as the (default) desktop. Also, it looks like the window manager is lightdm.
I would like to know how to switch to LXDE. All the other questions I've seen related to this topic hint at how to change the window manager, or how to install a new desktop environment; but I already have the environments I want to work with installed. A best answer would be a mechanism to switch to an arbitrary desktop environment (I might like to try KDE some day).
Some extra notes: This system is headless, while it does have a video display, I'm not using it (I can connect a monitor, but with some difficulty). I connect using SSH, and VNC (Xvnc TigerVNC 1.7.0). When I connect to the VNC server, it starts up a Gnome desktop immediately. During the set up of Debian (after the install), I did have a monitor attached, I don't remember the welcome/login screen ever asking which desktop environment I wanted to use.
TL-DR; How do I switch the default desktop environment between already installed desktops (Gnome,LXDE,KDE,etc) in Debian 9 ?
debian vnc desktop-environment
asked Oct 16 '17 at 13:58
William
14015
add a comment |Â
up vote
6
down vote
favorite
I've recently set up a new computer using Debian 9.1 . During the initial configuration, I installed the desktop environments Gnome and LXDE.
Presently the system is set up to use Gnome as the (default) desktop. Also, it looks like the window manager is lightdm.
I would like to know how to switch to LXDE. All the other questions I've seen related to this topic hint at how to change the window manager, or how to install a new desktop environment; but I already have the environments I want to work with installed. A best answer would be a mechanism to switch to an arbitrary desktop environment (I might like to try KDE some day).
Some extra notes: This system is headless, while it does have a video display, I'm not using it (I can connect a monitor, but with some difficulty). I connect using SSH, and VNC (Xvnc TigerVNC 1.7.0). When I connect to the VNC server, it starts up a Gnome desktop immediately. During the set up of Debian (after the install), I did have a monitor attached, I don't remember the welcome/login screen ever asking which desktop environment I wanted to use.
TL-DR; How do I switch the default desktop environment between already installed desktops (Gnome,LXDE,KDE,etc) in Debian 9 ?
debian vnc desktop-environment
asked Oct 16 '17 at 13:58
William
14015
My question may look similar to unix.stackexchange.com/questions/269392/…, and while that answer suggests switching is possible, it does not indicate how. And my question may also look similar to unix.stackexchange.com/questions/47563/…, but all the answers are about installing a new environment, not switching.
– William
Oct 16 '17 at 13:59
add a comment |Â
up vote
6
down vote
favorite
up vote
6
down vote
favorite
I've recently set up a new computer using Debian 9.1 . During the initial configuration, I installed the desktop environments Gnome and LXDE.
Presently the system is set up to use Gnome as the (default) desktop. Also, it looks like the window manager is lightdm.
I would like to know how to switch to LXDE. All the other questions I've seen related to this topic hint at how to change the window manager, or how to install a new desktop environment; but I already have the environments I want to work with installed. A best answer would be a mechanism to switch to an arbitrary desktop environment (I might like to try KDE some day).
Some extra notes: This system is headless, while it does have a video display, I'm not using it (I can connect a monitor, but with some difficulty). I connect using SSH, and VNC (Xvnc TigerVNC 1.7.0). When I connect to the VNC server, it starts up a Gnome desktop immediately. During the set up of Debian (after the install), I did have a monitor attached, I don't remember the welcome/login screen ever asking which desktop environment I wanted to use.
TL-DR; How do I switch the default desktop environment between already installed desktops (Gnome,LXDE,KDE,etc) in Debian 9 ?
debian vnc desktop-environment
asked Oct 16 '17 at 13:58
William
14015
I've recently set up a new computer using Debian 9.1 . During the initial configuration, I installed the desktop environments Gnome and LXDE.
Presently the system is set up to use Gnome as the (default) desktop. Also, it looks like the window manager is lightdm.
I would like to know how to switch to LXDE. All the other questions I've seen related to this topic hint at how to change the window manager, or how to install a new desktop environment; but I already have the environments I want to work with installed. A best answer would be a mechanism to switch to an arbitrary desktop environment (I might like to try KDE some day).
Some extra notes: This system is headless, while it does have a video display, I'm not using it (I can connect a monitor, but with some difficulty). I connect using SSH, and VNC (Xvnc TigerVNC 1.7.0). When I connect to the VNC server, it starts up a Gnome desktop immediately. During the set up of Debian (after the install), I did have a monitor attached, I don't remember the welcome/login screen ever asking which desktop environment I wanted to use.
TL-DR; How do I switch the default desktop environment between already installed desktops (Gnome,LXDE,KDE,etc) in Debian 9 ?
debian vnc desktop-environment
asked Oct 16 '17 at 13:58
William
14015
asked Oct 16 '17 at 13:58
William
14015
asked Oct 16 '17 at 13:58
William
14015
asked Oct 16 '17 at 13:58
William
14015
14015
My question may look similar to unix.stackexchange.com/questions/269392/…, and while that answer suggests switching is possible, it does not indicate how. And my question may also look similar to unix.stackexchange.com/questions/47563/…, but all the answers are about installing a new environment, not switching.
– William
Oct 16 '17 at 13:59
add a comment |Â
My question may look similar to unix.stackexchange.com/questions/269392/…, and while that answer suggests switching is possible, it does not indicate how. And my question may also look similar to unix.stackexchange.com/questions/47563/…, but all the answers are about installing a new environment, not switching.
– William
Oct 16 '17 at 13:59
My question may look similar to unix.stackexchange.com/questions/269392/…, and while that answer suggests switching is possible, it does not indicate how. And my question may also look similar to unix.stackexchange.com/questions/47563/…, but all the answers are about installing a new environment, not switching.
– William
Oct 16 '17 at 13:59
My question may look similar to unix.stackexchange.com/questions/269392/…, and while that answer suggests switching is possible, it does not indicate how. And my question may also look similar to unix.stackexchange.com/questions/47563/…, but all the answers are about installing a new environment, not switching.
– William
Oct 16 '17 at 13:59
add a comment |Â
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
up vote
2
down vote
It looks like the VNC server skips LightDM altogether, and just starts its own X server with the default window manager/desktop.
You can pick which desktop gets started by creating a ~/.vnc/xstartup script (https://askubuntu.com/q/352232/6016) that will be run when you connect. Instead of the X server being started with the defaults, it will be started and those commands will be run.
If you wanted to try LXDE, you could make an xstartup script with the following (untested) command:
exec startlxde
But that still wouldn't let you choose what desktop to use, it would just start up LXDE instead of the default.
For the ability to pick from a desktop/window manager session, you could use LightDM to start the VNC server (https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/LightDM#VNC_Server), which would let you log in and select a desktop/window manager via LightDM (also untested, for now :D ).
answered Oct 16 '17 at 14:55
Jacob Hume
1785
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
On my brand-new install of Debian 9 (stretch), I see options on the top right of the login window. They are icon based, one each for GE (Graphical Environment), Keyboard layout, Accessibility and power. When clicked, the GE icon drops down a list of installed environments.
- Power up the system, or log out if already up.
- At login window, before entering credentials, click GE icon at top right
- Login
-HTH
answered Nov 13 '17 at 0:45
Tim Renner
111
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
LightDM should have a switch somewhere on it's panel, (I don't use it so can't say exactly where) to switch from Gnome to LXDE or any other DE installed. That is what a login manager does.
Update: I found a screenshot that shows what I mean. From Screenshots.Debian.net
answered Oct 17 '17 at 14:31
SD Allen
766
add a comment |Â
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
2
down vote
It looks like the VNC server skips LightDM altogether, and just starts its own X server with the default window manager/desktop.
You can pick which desktop gets started by creating a ~/.vnc/xstartup script (https://askubuntu.com/q/352232/6016) that will be run when you connect. Instead of the X server being started with the defaults, it will be started and those commands will be run.
If you wanted to try LXDE, you could make an xstartup script with the following (untested) command:
exec startlxde
But that still wouldn't let you choose what desktop to use, it would just start up LXDE instead of the default.
For the ability to pick from a desktop/window manager session, you could use LightDM to start the VNC server (https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/LightDM#VNC_Server), which would let you log in and select a desktop/window manager via LightDM (also untested, for now :D ).
answered Oct 16 '17 at 14:55
Jacob Hume
1785
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
It looks like the VNC server skips LightDM altogether, and just starts its own X server with the default window manager/desktop.
You can pick which desktop gets started by creating a ~/.vnc/xstartup script (https://askubuntu.com/q/352232/6016) that will be run when you connect. Instead of the X server being started with the defaults, it will be started and those commands will be run.
If you wanted to try LXDE, you could make an xstartup script with the following (untested) command:
exec startlxde
But that still wouldn't let you choose what desktop to use, it would just start up LXDE instead of the default.
For the ability to pick from a desktop/window manager session, you could use LightDM to start the VNC server (https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/LightDM#VNC_Server), which would let you log in and select a desktop/window manager via LightDM (also untested, for now :D ).
answered Oct 16 '17 at 14:55
Jacob Hume
1785
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
It looks like the VNC server skips LightDM altogether, and just starts its own X server with the default window manager/desktop.
You can pick which desktop gets started by creating a ~/.vnc/xstartup script (https://askubuntu.com/q/352232/6016) that will be run when you connect. Instead of the X server being started with the defaults, it will be started and those commands will be run.
If you wanted to try LXDE, you could make an xstartup script with the following (untested) command:
exec startlxde
But that still wouldn't let you choose what desktop to use, it would just start up LXDE instead of the default.
For the ability to pick from a desktop/window manager session, you could use LightDM to start the VNC server (https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/LightDM#VNC_Server), which would let you log in and select a desktop/window manager via LightDM (also untested, for now :D ).
answered Oct 16 '17 at 14:55
Jacob Hume
1785
It looks like the VNC server skips LightDM altogether, and just starts its own X server with the default window manager/desktop.
You can pick which desktop gets started by creating a ~/.vnc/xstartup script (https://askubuntu.com/q/352232/6016) that will be run when you connect. Instead of the X server being started with the defaults, it will be started and those commands will be run.
If you wanted to try LXDE, you could make an xstartup script with the following (untested) command:
exec startlxde
But that still wouldn't let you choose what desktop to use, it would just start up LXDE instead of the default.
For the ability to pick from a desktop/window manager session, you could use LightDM to start the VNC server (https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/LightDM#VNC_Server), which would let you log in and select a desktop/window manager via LightDM (also untested, for now :D ).
answered Oct 16 '17 at 14:55
Jacob Hume
1785
answered Oct 16 '17 at 14:55
Jacob Hume
1785
answered Oct 16 '17 at 14:55
Jacob Hume
1785
answered Oct 16 '17 at 14:55
Jacob Hume
1785
1785
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
On my brand-new install of Debian 9 (stretch), I see options on the top right of the login window. They are icon based, one each for GE (Graphical Environment), Keyboard layout, Accessibility and power. When clicked, the GE icon drops down a list of installed environments.
- Power up the system, or log out if already up.
- At login window, before entering credentials, click GE icon at top right
- Login
-HTH
answered Nov 13 '17 at 0:45
Tim Renner
111
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
On my brand-new install of Debian 9 (stretch), I see options on the top right of the login window. They are icon based, one each for GE (Graphical Environment), Keyboard layout, Accessibility and power. When clicked, the GE icon drops down a list of installed environments.
- Power up the system, or log out if already up.
- At login window, before entering credentials, click GE icon at top right
- Login
-HTH
answered Nov 13 '17 at 0:45
Tim Renner
111
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
On my brand-new install of Debian 9 (stretch), I see options on the top right of the login window. They are icon based, one each for GE (Graphical Environment), Keyboard layout, Accessibility and power. When clicked, the GE icon drops down a list of installed environments.
- Power up the system, or log out if already up.
- At login window, before entering credentials, click GE icon at top right
- Login
-HTH
answered Nov 13 '17 at 0:45
Tim Renner
111
On my brand-new install of Debian 9 (stretch), I see options on the top right of the login window. They are icon based, one each for GE (Graphical Environment), Keyboard layout, Accessibility and power. When clicked, the GE icon drops down a list of installed environments.
- Power up the system, or log out if already up.
- At login window, before entering credentials, click GE icon at top right
- Login
-HTH
answered Nov 13 '17 at 0:45
Tim Renner
111
answered Nov 13 '17 at 0:45
Tim Renner
111
answered Nov 13 '17 at 0:45
Tim Renner
111
answered Nov 13 '17 at 0:45
Tim Renner
111
111
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
LightDM should have a switch somewhere on it's panel, (I don't use it so can't say exactly where) to switch from Gnome to LXDE or any other DE installed. That is what a login manager does.
Update: I found a screenshot that shows what I mean. From Screenshots.Debian.net
answered Oct 17 '17 at 14:31
SD Allen
766
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
LightDM should have a switch somewhere on it's panel, (I don't use it so can't say exactly where) to switch from Gnome to LXDE or any other DE installed. That is what a login manager does.
Update: I found a screenshot that shows what I mean. From Screenshots.Debian.net
answered Oct 17 '17 at 14:31
SD Allen
766
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
LightDM should have a switch somewhere on it's panel, (I don't use it so can't say exactly where) to switch from Gnome to LXDE or any other DE installed. That is what a login manager does.
Update: I found a screenshot that shows what I mean. From Screenshots.Debian.net
answered Oct 17 '17 at 14:31
SD Allen
766
LightDM should have a switch somewhere on it's panel, (I don't use it so can't say exactly where) to switch from Gnome to LXDE or any other DE installed. That is what a login manager does.
Update: I found a screenshot that shows what I mean. From Screenshots.Debian.net
answered Oct 17 '17 at 14:31
SD Allen
766
edited Oct 17 '17 at 14:37
answered Oct 17 '17 at 14:31
SD Allen
766
answered Oct 17 '17 at 14:31
SD Allen
766
answered Oct 17 '17 at 14:31
SD Allen
766
766
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
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My question may look similar to unix.stackexchange.com/questions/269392/…, and while that answer suggests switching is possible, it does not indicate how. And my question may also look similar to unix.stackexchange.com/questions/47563/…, but all the answers are about installing a new environment, not switching.
– William
Oct 16 '17 at 13:59