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List:       kde-bugs-dist
Subject:    Bug#2580: kdm confuses users -- seems to override their wm choice
From:       Erik Schnetter <eschnett () astro ! psu ! edu>
Date:       2000-01-28 1:59:37
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Package: kdm
Version: ???

When you finish typing in you name into the kdm "login:" window, then
the choosen window manager changes.  It is set from whatever the
person sitting in front of the screen might have set it to to
(probably) the remembered choice from the last successful login.  I
know that this confuses a lot of people.

I know how to work around this -- one has to choose the window manager
/after/ the user name is typed in, but of course /before/ the password
in confirmed/ -- but I still find it very confusing, and every first
time KDE user I saw was either puzzled by kdm changing his choices, or
annoyed, believing this to be a bug, or did not realize the change at
all.

However, remembering a user's personal preferences is quite
convenient.  I therefore propose to add an extra field to the given
list of window managers, maybe called "as remembered".  The automatic
change-of-choice then takes only place as long as the desired window
manager is set to "as remembered"; whenever a user changes this
default, it is left alone by kdm.

It would also be necessary to display the remembered window manager
once a user has typed in his name, maybe by changing "as remembered"
to "KDE" or "KDE (as remembered)".

Alternatively, the change-of-choice could happen more prominently,
requiring a confirmation whenevery a user changes his default.  I
simply think that silently un-doing a user's choice just because he
finished typing his name, and while he is trying to concentrate on
typing his password, and unlikely to look at the screen; while he is
reflexively hitting the <enter> key after typing the password, not
being able to interrupt his actions and re-select what he previously
selected, ... well, you get the idea.

Thank you for listening,
-erik

-- 
Erik Schnetter <schnetter@astro.psu.edu>

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