LiveCD doesn't contain my desktop customisations

[chell]

Hello,

I'm running Ubuntu Edgy Eft 6.10.

I've made some customisations to my desktop and installed some additional programs/removed some. When I run remastersys it prompts me to put a livecd in. I used my Ubuntu LiveDVD (issued at the CeBit). It actually did include my customised program selection on the LiveDVD (3.4 GiB - wow!) but the theme etc. was set to Ubuntu's default! I used the dist option so I could give it to my friends. Using the backup option and an official live cd from the ubuntu website doesn't help either - same problem.

I hope you can help me!

chell

[Husse]

Why not give your friends Mint?

[chell]

Well, Mint is great, don't get me wrong here but some of the default app choices aren't very good. And I like to customise things. I could base my customisations on Mint if thatt meant that it would put my graphical customisations on the LiveCD...

[Fragadelic]

Your customizations you did are for only the user you did it with. You need to put your customizations in /etc/skel in order for new users to get them.

You have to know a bit about making a distro if you want to use remastersys to do that.

The intention of remastersys wasn't to spawn thousands of ubuntu or mint variants but mostly to give users the ability to backup their system.

The dist option was something I included so you could make a copy of your apps installed in a live dvd and not have any of your personal info there.

If you want to save your settings as default, you need to make the home directory of the user you are doing it with /etc/skel.

[chell]

Okay, so this would be the deal:

1. Install Ubuntu or Mint.
2. Login.
3. Open up a terminal, type:
export HOME=/etc/skel
4. Customise Desktop. Don't reboot.
5. Use remastersys

Would that work?

[Fragadelic]

That is how it would work.

There is another way but that way is easier. The other way would be to modify the gnome startup files manually.

I prefer the /etc/skel method and that is what we use for Vector Linux and most other distros use that method as well.

[chell]

I'll try the /etc/skel method soon. Thank you very much for being so helpful.

[Fragadelic]

Just don't use Firefox or any browser where you would enter usernames and such while HOME is exported as /etc/skel.

In fact, use as little apps as possible while working this way.

Then go ahead and logout or set HOMe back to normal before continuing.

[rhm]

Your customizations you did are for only the user you did it with. You need to put your customizations in /etc/skel in order for new users to get them.

You have to know a bit about making a distro if you want to use remastersys to do that.

The intention of remastersys wasn't to spawn thousands of ubuntu or mint variants but mostly to give users the ability to backup their system.

The dist option was something I included so you could make a copy of your apps installed in a live dvd and not have any of your personal info there.

If you want to save your settings as default, you need to make the home directory of the user you are doing it with /etc/skel.

Hi,
I have a question here.
You are changing the home directory of an ordinary user to /etc/skel. But this user doesn't have w permission to this folder. So, how is it supposed to store .kde and other conf files there?!

Thanks

[Fragadelic]

Exporting HOME to any folder works differently than you think and unless there are already the subfolders or files that you end up changing, they will be there.

[rhm]

Exporting HOME to any folder works differently than you think and unless there are already the subfolders or files that you end up changing, they will be there.

Yes, that's correct. But my question was about the permission.
I did the following after a fresh feisty install:
1) switch to VT1
2) login as: user
3) sudo kill X & kdm
4) export HOME=/etc/skel
5) startx
6) startx gives me some errors about locks and stuff and FAILS
Next I did the following:
5) sudo startx
6) It couldn't login completely (hung up on kde splash) but populated /etc/skel with various files of : user

Is this correct?

[Fragadelic]

The /etc/skel export is a quick and dirty way of doing it.

The true way of doing it is to actually modify the system config files pertaining to the changes you made.

The easiest way of doing the quick and dirty is as follows:

1 - Create a new user.
2 - login as the new user and make the changes you want but do not browse to any personal sites,etc.
3 - logout when done and log back in as your normal user
4 - open up a terminal window and "sudo su"
5 - copy the new users home folder contents into /etc/skel and change the permissions to root:root
6 - remove the new user and recreate it again to test to see if your settings were properly saved to /etc/skel
7 - remove that test user again and build the cd with remastersys