Configuring an X Server in Oracle Solaris

The Xorg server is designed to configure automatically and can run in most situations without the need to edit configuration files. When configuration is needed, the Xorg server gathers configuration details from the following sources:

• xorg.conf and xorg.conf.d files

• Oracle Solaris SMF configuration properties

• HAL fdi files

The following sections describe the configuration sources in detail.

Working With Xorg Configuration Files

The xorg.conf file is the Xorg server configuration file and is located in the /etc/X11/ directory.

The following excerpt from the xorg.conf configuration file shows the input device and monitor sections:

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier  "Keyboard0"
    Driver      "kbd"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier  "Mouse0"
    Driver      "mouse"
    Option        "Protocol" "auto"
    Option        "Device" "/dev/mouse"
    Option        "ZAxisMapping" "4 5 6 7"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier   "Monitor0"
    VendorName   "Monitor Vendor"
    ModelName    "Monitor Model"
EndSection

When an xorg.conf file is needed, you need to mention the sections that are being changed. Unspecified sections continue to use default values. Additional contents are read from any files that exist in directories such as /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d and are merged with the base configuration file. For information about the syntax, search paths, and available options, see the xorg.conf(4) man page.

For sample configuration snippets and examples, see the /etc/X11/xorg.conf.avail file. For example, to stop the X server by using the Ctrl+Alt+Backspace keystroke, see the /etc/X11/xorg.conf.avail/90-zap.conf directory. To use this option, copy or link to the /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d directory:

# ln -s ../xorg.conf.avail/90-zap.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/90-zap.conf

Restart the X server to see the changes.

# svcadm restart gdm

Working With SMF Configuration Properties

You can configure the properties of the X server by using the svc:/application/x11/x11-server SMF service. For example, you can disable TCP connections and set the depth of the default visual of the X server. For information about the SMF configuration properties, see the SMF PROPERTIES section of the Xserver(1) man page.

The following example shows how to set the value of the options/config_file property.

Example 12-1 Setting a Configuration Property

# svccfg -s svc:/application/x11/x11-server setprop options/config_file=xorg.conf

Working With HAL fdi Files

You can configure input devices for the Xorg server by using the fdi files read by the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) system daemon, hald.

For example, to force the Emulate3Buttons option on mouse devices to enable pressing left and right buttons together to act as a middle button, include the following XML excerpt in the /etc/hal/fdi/policy/30user/10-x11-3button.fdi file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<deviceinfo version="0.2">
        <device>
            <!--Default X.org input configuration is defined in:
            /etc/hal/fdi/policy/30user/10-x11-input.fdi
        Settings here modify or override the default configuration.
        See comment in the file above for more information.

        To see the currently active hal X.org input configuration
        run lshal or hal-device(1m) and search for "input.x11*" keys.

         Hal and X must be restarted for changes here to take any effect -->

            <match key="info.capabilities" contains="input.mouse">
            <merge key="input.x11_options.Emulate3Buttons" type="string">on</merge>
            </match>
        </device>
</deviceinfo>

The lshal command can be used to check the available input devices recognized by HAL and see the options that are set on them. For more information, see lshal(1M), hal(5), and fdi(4) man pages.