System

In the following sections you will find examples of how to configure some system aspects of your GNOME desktop like language settings, power management, preferred applications, session (and session sharing) preferences, Beagle search options and audio preferences.

Configuring Language Settings

openSUSE can be configured to use any of a number of languages. The language setting determines the language of dialogs and menus and can also determine the keyboard and clock layout.

You can set the following language settings:

  • Primary language

  • Whether the keyboard language setting should correlate to the primary language

  • Whether the time zone should correlate to the primary language

  • Secondary languages

To configure your language settings:

  1. Click Computer+Control Center+System+Language.

  2. Enter the root password.

    If you do not know the root password contact your system administrator. You cannot continue without the root password.

  3. Specify the primary language, whether you want to adapt the keyboard layout or time zone to the primary language, and any secondary languages you need to support on the computer.

  4. Click Accept.

    The language configuration settings are written to several configuration files. This process can take a few minutes. The new settings take effect immediately after they are written to the configuration files.

Configuring Network Proxies

The Network Proxy Configuration tool lets you configure how your system connects to the Internet. You can configure the desktop to connect to a proxy server and specify the details of the server. A proxy server is a server that intercepts requests to another server and fulfills the request itself, if it can. You can specify the Domain Name Service (DNS) name or the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the proxy server. A DNS name is a unique alphabetic identifier for a computer on a network. An IP address is a unique numeric identifier for a computer on a network.

Click Computer+Control Center+System+Network Proxy.

Figure 3.17. Network Proxy Configuration Dialog

Network Proxy Configuration Dialog

For more information on the individual options, click Help.

Configuring Power Management

The Power Management module lets you manage your system's power-saving options. It is especially useful for extending the life of a laptop’s battery charge. However, several options also help to save electricity when you are using a computer that is plugged in to an electrical power outlet.

Sleep mode shuts down the computer when it is dormant for a specified period of time. Whether you are using battery or AC power, you can specify the period of time that the computer remains dormant before it is put to sleep. You can also put the computer’s display to sleep without shutting down the computer, saving the power required by the display.

Sleep mode is especially important when the computer is operating under battery power. Both the screen and the computer draw power from the battery, so you can save a significant amount of battery power by shutting down one or both. It is common to put the display to sleep after a shorter period of time. Then, if the computer remains dormant for an additional period of time, it is also put to sleep.

There are several sleep modes or actions you can set in the Power Management module:

Do nothing

The computer does not shut down or automatically go into any kind of power-saving mode. If you have a laptop, the laptop continues to run normally when the lid is closed.

Blank screen

The screen is blanked, reducing power consumption.

Suspend

Suspend mode turns off power-consuming computer components such as the display and the hard drive without saving the contents of RAM. Any unsaved data is lost.

Hibernate

The computer saves the contents of RAM to the hard disk and shuts down. When you turn the computer on again, the saved data is put back into RAM, restoring your computer to its previous state. Hibernate requires an amount of free hard disk space equal to the amount of RAM installed on the computer.

To open the Power Management module, click Computer+Control Center+System+Power Management.

Procedure 3.4. Specifying Your Computer's Sleep Settings

  1. Click the tab for the type of power you are using: if your computer uses AC power click On AC Power. If your computer runs on battery power click On Battery Power. If your computer operates on both AC and battery power, you can configure the settings on both tabs.

  2. Use the drop-down lists to set the amount of inactive time that passes before the display and computer go into sleep mode.

    When the display is in sleep mode, the computer continues to run. When the computer is in sleep mode, power to the display and hard disk is shut off and the computer uses only the power needed to maintain the contents of RAM.

  3. If the computer is a laptop, set the actions you want taken when the laptop lid is closed.

  4. You can also save some energy by enabling the hard disk to spin down during idle times.

  5. If you configure how a laptop manages battery power, specify the action you want taken if battery power reaches a critical level.

    Choose the option you prefer by selecting it from the menu. If you have sufficient free disk space, Hibernate is the best choice.

  6. In the Display pane, specify the amount of time after which the display will enter the sleep mode. You can set other options for idle mode here as well, like dimming the display or reducing backlight brightness.

  7. On the General tab you can set further options, for example the action to take when the power button is pressed or the sleep type to use when the computer is inactive. The options available there depend on the type of computer you use (laptop or other computer).

  8. You can also define when and how to display the power icon in the notification area.

  9. When all options are set according to your wishes, click Close. The options you selected go into effect immediately.

Setting Preferred Applications

The Preferred Applications module allows you change the default application for various common tasks such as browsing the Internet, sending mails or transferring data with FTP.

Figure 3.18. Preferred Applications

Preferred Applications

  1. Click Computer+Control Center+System+Preferred Applications.

  2. Click the tab for the type of application you want to set.

  3. Select one of the available applications from the drop-down list or enter the command used to start the application.

  4. Click Close.

The changes take effect immediately.

Setting Session Sharing Preferences

The Remote Desktop Preference dialog box lets you share a GNOME desktop session between multiple users and set session-sharing preferences.

[Important]Sharing Desktop Sessions Affects System Security

Be aware that sharing desktop sessions can be a security risk. Use the restriction options available. If you need to adjust the options to a lower security level, do not forget to switch back to a higher security level as soon as possible.

  1. Click Computer+Control Center+System+Remote Desktop.

    Remote Desktop Preferences dialog box
  2. To share your desktop session with other users activate Allow other users to view your desktop. All keyboard, pointer and clipboard events from the remote user are ignored.

  3. If you want or need to allow other users to access and control your session from a remote location, activate Allow other users to control your desktop. Click the highlighted text below to send the system address by e-mail to a remote user.

  4. Make use of the security options available. If Ask you for confirmation is activated, remote users require your confirmation before they can connect to your session. To achieve a higher security level, activate Require the user to enter this password (if authentication is used).

Configuring Search with Beagle Settings

Beagle is the search engine used on the GNOME desktop. By default, Beagle is configured to start automatically and index your home directory. If you want to change these settings, specify the number of results displayed after a search or change the Beagle privacy settings, click Computer+Control Center+System+Search Settings.

Figure 3.19. Search Preferences

Search Preferences

For more information, see Section 6.4, “Setting Search Preferences” and Section 6.6, “Preventing Files and Directories from Being Indexed”.

Setting Software Updates

The Software Updates tool lets you configure the frequency of update checking, automatic updates and update notifications.

  1. Click Computer+Control Center+System+Software Updates to open the Software Updates Preferences tool.

  2. In the Update Settings section, set the frequency of update checking and whether updates should be installed automatically. You can limit automatic installation to security updates.

  3. Click Close.

Configuring Administrative Settings with YaST

For your convenience, YaST is available from the Control Panel as well as the Applications menu. For information about using YaST, refer to Start (↑Start).