(from the X11 is fun!! department)
Hi everyone,
This is a quick posting. For various reasons too long to go into here, I've been trying to connect to a Ubuntu 18.04 LTS Linux box via XDMCP from a MacBook Pro using XQuartz (MacOS Catalina) or from a Microsoft Surface Pro using VcXsrv (Windows 10).
The key points for all operating systems - you must set up your Ubuntu Linux box to run XDMCP. All of these commands need to be done from a terminal window on the Linux box you're connecting to:
- You have to install and select Xfce - it won't work with any of the other modern desktops, since Remote X11 is 2D only. Try this to install it:
sudo apt-get install xfce4
You have to use Lightdm - this doesn't seem to work right with GDM. To install:
sudo apt-get install lightdm
Make sure it's selected with:
sudo dpkg-reconfigure gdm3
You have to turn on XDMCP in Lightdm by adding the following to /etc/lightdm/lightdm.conf:
[XDMCPServer]
enabled=true
You have to install an additional Greeter with Lightdm. I used lightdm-gtk-greeter which I installed with:
sudo apt install lightdm-gtk-greeter lightdm-gtk-greeter-settings
Check firewalls, etc.Okay, most likely, your Windows box will work at this point. Set up a VcXsrv profile using XDMCP and point it at your Ubuntu Linux box. The Mac - using XQuartz - needs additional steps:
- You have to manually start the session via command line - replacing the 192.168.0.71 with your Ubuntu XDMCP IP address:
X -query 192.168.0.71 -terminate
It turns out the Mac doesn't define the "Super" key, so Xfce reacts unpredictably. For me, it was a broken spacebar. There was no way to enter a space - the cursor would just blink at you frustratingly. - To fix this, in Xfce, go to Applications --> Settings --> iBus Preferences and remove the "<super>Space" mapping from the Next input method field on the General tab. Since I don't need iBus, I just deleted the mapping entirely.
Additionally, starting Chrome would prevent any text from being entered. This turned out to be a old Chrome App I had loaded by default.- To fix this temporarily, I went into Chrome extensions (chrome://extensions/) and unchecked "Google Play Music". You don't have to uninstall it - just disable it.
Good luck!!
Cheers,
Paul
