When you log in to an RCS UNIX workstation, a session manager starts up. The session manager initializes your environment, sets up permanent applications, and starts up your default windows. This article describes the files used by the session manager and window manager to initialize your graphics environment and explains how you can customize these files.
First, some terminology. RCS uses a windowing system called X. When you log in, the session manager creates or initializes a process called an X server that handles your screen display and tracks your mouse movement and button clicks. (On Xstations, the session manager is running before you log in.) Many applications, including Frame and Maple, are written to use X; they communicate with the X server. Some applications, such as the shell program running in a UNIX window, do not know anything about X in general, these are the programs you can use during remote login.
The X application you use the most is called a window manager; this is the application that manages the window title bars and decorations, the icon list, and your title bar and background menus. The default RCS window manager is mwm (Motif window manager); another popular window manager on campus is twm (Tab Window Manager, formerly called Tom's Window Manager).
When you log in to an RCS console, the session manager starts up your X server and window manager, which run concurrently, and then starts up applications specified by the files SystemClients, .xrc, or DefaultClients. It also starts up the Messages window. The initialization files used by your X server, window manager, and session manager are shown below:
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