Using Yast2 I have been able to change the login screen from the default SUSE theme to the “circles” theme. I would like to change the welcome message from “Welcome to ‘hostname’” to something more inviting, say: “A Warm Welcome to OpenSuse Linux”.
Using Yast I clicked “System” then “/etc/sysconfig config” to bring up Yast 2. Then under “Desktop” / “Display Manager” I typed the new string into the 2 KDM_Greetstring settings that change /etc/sysconfig/displaymanager and /etc/sysconfig/displaymanager.original respectively. I also put the new string into /usr/share/kde4/config/kdm/kdmrc. Nothing has changed. I still get “Welcome to ‘hostname’” on the login screen. Does anyone please know what is overriding the setting in /etc/sysconfig/displaymanager? Which file is being read instead? Thanks.
Are you wanting to edit the HOSTNAME file
kdesu kwrite /etc/HOSTNAME
replace Eg: linux-lu56y.site
with:
My-Lonovo.site
I think there might be a limit to the length you can have before .site
No, I wasn’t wanting to replace the HOSTNAME. I had better keep that as it is, because this computer is sometimes networked with others.
In /usr/share/kde4/config/kdm/kdmrc, in the [Greeter] section,there is a place where you are supposed to be able to change the greeter:
The headline in the greeter. The following character pairs are replaced:
- %d -> current display
- %h -> host name, possibly with domain name
- %n -> node name, most probably the host name without domain name
- %s -> the operating system
- %r -> the operating system’s version
- %m -> the machine (hardware) type
- %% -> a single %
Default is “Welcome to %s at %n”
#GreetString=K Desktop Environment (%n)
I had this entry:
GreetString=“Welcome to %s Linux”
I tried it with and without the quotes, but it wasn’t being read.
The unwanted GreetString I am being given is “Welcome to %n”
Yast 2 will edit /etc/sysconfig/displaymanager in the section:
Type: string
Default:
Special greeting words in kdm
KDM_GREETSTRING=“A Warm Welcome to OpenSuse Linux”
The default is an empty string. I have changed it to what I want it to be, but this file is not being read by kdm either.
So there presumably is another file somewhere which has the line GreetString=“Welcome to %n”
or KDM_GREETSTRING=“Welcome to %n”
I wondered if someone, who has successfully changed their Welcome message, knows where that file is.
Thanks for trying to help.
I have looked at /usr/share/kde4/apps/kdm/themes/circles/circles.xml
but there doesn’t seem to be anything I can change there.
The relevant section is:
<item type=“label”>
<pos anchor=“n” x=“50%”/>
<normal color="#000000" font=“Sans 14”/>
<stock type=“welcome-label”/>
</item>
Where is “welcome-label” being defined?
Are you using KDE? If so, try Login Manager in Systemsettings. I have no idea which file this edits, though.
I am using KDE4, with the latest kdm, that is kdm4.3.5.something?
‘Login Manager’ - No luck there. There is no place in ‘Login Manager’ where you can change the Welcome message.
Part of the trouble is that there are 2 different GUI tools each working on parts, sometimes the same parts, (the choice of kdm theme, for example. ‘Login Manager’ did not change my kdm theme, but ‘Yast2’ did), of kdm configuration. It would be much easier if we could just be directed to the correct configuration file, and manually change that. GUI tools are fine if they work, but ‘Yast2’ is not changing the GreetString. I am getting a default, which might be built into the kdm executable itself, in which case, it might not be possible to change it?? Is this a bug?
If it is possible to change the Welcome message, you would think the configuration file would reside either in /etc or in /usr, but I cannot find one.
If anyone using kde4 has managed to change the Welcome message in one of the Login themes that will take one, I should be very pleased if you would let me know how you did it.
Thanks.
A work-around is to edit the .xml file of the theme you are trying to install.
In my case I installed the “circles” theme so I edited the ‘circles.xml’ file in that folder.
First of all create a backup of the file.
Then in the .xml file look for the section in the file that contains the words “welcome-label”
<item type=“label”>
<pos anchor=“n” x=“50%”/>
<normal color="#000000" font=“Sans 14”/>
<stock type=“welcome-label”/>
</item>
I changed this to:
<item type=“label”>
<pos anchor=“n” x=“50%”/>
<normal color="#000000" font=“Sans 14”/>
<stock type=“A Warm Welcome to OpenSuse Linux”/>
</item>
This gave me the welcome message that I wanted at the top of the login box. It does not matter how long the text string is, (within reason), because the login box will expand to accommodate a longer text string.
Although this work-around is effective, I can’t believe it is what the KDE Developers intend you to do. There seems to be a lack of system match up between the variables “welcome-label”, “GreetString” and “KDM_GREETSTRING”. The theme .xml file only seems to recognise “welcome-label” as a variable, but I still haven’t found where this variable is defined.
Despite eventually finding a solution of sorts, I should still welcome any feedback on the proper way this should be done.
Thanks.
There is. It is on the “Dialog” tab. But it is only there if you aren’t using “themed mode,” which can be turned on/off on the “General” tab.
In addition to turning off themed mode in the login manager, I changed Yast > /etc/sysconfig editor > Display > Desktop Manager > DISPLAYMANAGER_KDM_THEME from “SUSE” to nothing at all (apparantly this is where you set the “circles” theme?).
I still think it’s the HOSTNAME file you want to change. Network connections I have are either IP related or username.
caf4926, but then I would still only have “Welcome to OpenSuse_Linux” assuming I changed the HOSTNAME to OpenSuse_Linux. This computer has two other Linuxes installed. I would not want to be too partial now, would I? 
I wanted something warmer: “A Warm Welcome to OpenSuse Linux” without the need for a _
Lord_Emsworth, I haven’t tried what you are doing. I don’t want to spoil what I have done. I have recoloured the circles theme’s background.svg to tones of green using “Inkscape”, so it does not clash with the OpenSuse bootsplash screen the way the blue circles background did. It’s looking good.
Thanks for your suggestions.
The welcome-label is of the <stock> node type, which has pre-defined expansions according to the KDM docs:
Detailed Description of Theme XML format
If you want to override that, you should probably use the <text> node type. It can be used with the special character sequences.