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Shake, Rattle & Roll: Add Cool Effects to your Desktop
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Please note, by default PCQLinux 2007 Desktop does not start X Window. To
start X, issue 'startx' at command line (after login as root or any other user).
In case the X Window does not start, issue system-config-display to configure
the monitor (or screen) and the graphics card. Last but not the least, the
desktop effects work only on Gnome, which is the default window environment on
PCQLinux 2007. KDE users can look at an alternative called Beryl. Refer to
http:// tinyurl.com/2nhbxj to install and setup Beryl.
What it takes to enable all these desktop effects? In most cases, you will
need to click on System>Preferences>Desktop Effects on the top panel of your
PCQLinux 2007 desktop. Subsequently click on 'Enable Desktop Effects' button.
When prompted, to keep the settings, click on 'Keep Settings.' In case you get a
message that the desktop effects can't be enabled then either your graphics card
is not supported or a little bit of tweaking (in configuration files) and/or
driver installation may be required. Users with NVIDIA graphics card, refer to
the following section.
Desktop effects with NVIDIA cards
Download and install NVIDIA graphics drivers by following instructions at
www.nvidia.com/content/ drivers/drivers.asp. Open the file xorg.conf found
in /etc/X11 directory in a text editor and edit it using the following
instructions:
Find the line which says “Section Module,” and add the following line below
it
Load "extmod"
Find the line which says “Section Device” and add the following line below
it.
Option "AddARGBGLXVisuals" "True"
Finally, append the following at the end of the file:
Section "Extensions"
Option "Composite"
EndSection
Save the file and restart X Window. Hit CTRL+ALT+BackSpace to stop the X
Server. Then issue startx on the command line.
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| Press CTRL+ALT+Left Mouse
Button and move the mouse to rotate through the four virtual desktops
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Drag a maximized window
from its borders to tear down a maximized window |
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| You can give a wobbly
effect to a window by simply moving or dragging it. See the window dancing
across your desktop |
Press CTRL+ALT+Down Arrow.
Subsequently, Left and Right arrow keys to scroll through the desktops |
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| Move the mouse to the
extreme top right corner of the desktop to arrange the open windows as
thumbnails |
Use Alt+Mouse Wheel Scroll
Down (to increase transparency) and Scroll Up (to decrease transparency or
to resume opacity) |
There are many other cool effects in PCQ Linux 2007 Desktop, which we leave
for you to explore. Enjoy! Page(s) 1
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