GDM for Debian ============== Configuration overview ---------------------- The configuration for the GDM daemon is completely different from the older versions (in former package gdm). For the daemon itself: * The autologin options can be chosen from the “User” tab of the GNOME control center. * Other options (like XDMCP) can be set in /etc/gdm3/daemon.conf. The list of available options can be found in /usr/share/gdm/gdm.schemas. The greeter - which is the interface that welcomes you on the computer - uses a minimal GNOME session to startup. Its settings are set through GSettings, but using a specific configuration. * You can force the GSettings settings in /etc/gdm3/greeter.dconf-defaults. * After changing any of the settings, you need to run “invoke-rc.d gdm3 reload” to take them into account. X11 authentication ------------------ Upon session startup, GDM sets the XAUTHORITY environment variable to a session-specific file in /var/run/gdm3. Applications and scripts that assume this file is set to ~/.Xauthority will not work. To access the display you need both DISPLAY and XAUTHORITY variables. "I get ugly fonts" ------------------ In the past, as a quick workaround, GDM imposed a 96 DPI settings by passing "-dpi 96" to the X server on startup. This is a bad idea as there's no reason to override standard DPI detection mechanisms for all screens which might or might not be 96 DPI screens. DPI should be computed automatically based on the information on your screen that Xorg gets; ideally, Xorg would get the DPI right, but you can help Xorg by configuring it with your exact screen properties. Face Browser ------------ If you enable the face browser in the greeter, GDM will look for face files (any image format supported by GTK+). You can configure the face for your user in the “User” tab of the GNOME control center.