Chris Tyler - Fedora Linux

Section "ServerLayout"

Identifier "single head configuration"

Screen 0 "Screen0" 0 0

InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"

InputDevice "Synaptics" "CorePointer"

InputDevice "Mouse0" "AlwaysCore"

EndSection

Section "Files"

FontPath "unix/:7100"

EndSection

Section "Module"

Load "glx"

Load "dri"

Load "synaptics"

EndSection

Section "InputDevice"

Identifier "Keyboard0"

Driver "kbd"

Option "XkbModel" "pc105"

Option "XkbLayout" "us"

EndSection

Section "InputDevice"

Identifier "Mouse0"

Driver "mouse"

Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"

Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"

Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5" # Scrollwheel support

Option "Emulate3Buttons" "yes" # L+R buttons count as middle

EndSection

Section "InputDevice"

Identifier "Synaptics" # Laptop touchpad

Driver "synaptics"

Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"

Option "Protocol" "auto-dev"

Option "Emulate3Buttons" "yes"

EndSection

Section "Monitor"

Identifier "Monitor0"

VendorName "Monitor Vendor" # Just for reference

ModelName "LCD Panel 1400x1050" # Just for reference

HorizSync 31.5 - 90.0 # Horiz. sync in kHz

VertRefresh 59.0 - 75.0 # Vert. refresh in Hz

Option "dpms" # Enables power management

EndSection

Section "Device"

Identifier "Videocard0"

Driver "nv"

VendorName "Videocard vendor" # Just for reference

BoardName "nVidia Corporation NV34M [GeForce FX Go5200]" # Ditto

EndSection

Section "Screen"

Identifier "Screen0"

Device "Videocard0" # Associates the video card

Monitor "Monitor0" # with this monitor

DefaultDepth 24 # Default is 24-bit colour

SubSection "Display"

Viewport 0 0 # "0 0" is almost always used

Depth 24 # This section used by default

Modes "1400x1050" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"

# Change modes with Ctrl-Alt-+/-

EndSubSection

# This next SubSection is not selected by default (because of the

# DefaultDepth line in the previous section). However, it would be used if the

# -depth option was specified on the X server command line,

# overriding the DefaultDepth setting.

SubSection "Display"

Viewport 0 0

Depth 16 # Because default is 24-bit,

Modes "800x600" "640x480" # ...this will usually be ignored

EndSubSection

EndSection

Section "DRI" # Configures DRI devices...

Group 0 # Root (user ID 0) owns them

Mode 0666 # Readable/writable by all

EndSection

Section "Extensions"

Option "Composite" "Enabled" # Enables transparency, etc.

EndSection

To change the default color depth, edit the DefaultDepth line in the Screen section (make sure that a SubSection for that depth exists in the Screen section of the file). Values that work with most video cards include 8, 16, and 24 bits; the number of colors available is 2 depth.

Similarly, the default resolution is controlled by the Modes entry in SubSection "Display" with the same Depth as DefaultDepth .

For example, to change the configuration in this example from a 24-bit (16-million-color) to 16 bit (65,536 color) depth, and to change the resolution to 800x600, change the DefaultDepth to 16 and then change the Modes line in the SubSection for 16-bit color:

Section "Screen"

Identifier "Screen0"

Device "Videocard0" # Associates the video card

Monitor "Monitor0" # with this monitor

DefaultDepth 16

# Default is 16-bit colour

SubSection "Display"

Viewport 0 0 # "0 0" is almost always used

Depth 24 # This section used by default

Modes "1400x1050" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"

# Change modes with Ctrl-Alt-+/-

EndSubSection

SubSection "Display"

Viewport 0 0

Depth 16

Modes "800x600"

EndSubSection

EndSection

The Composite extension, enabled in the Extensions section of the file, powers the use of advanced visual effects, including transparency. Not all video drivers support Composite .

The GNOME menu option System→Preferences→Screen Resolution sets the default resolution and refresh rate for a particular user (in KDE, select Control Center from the panel menu, then click on Display under Peripherals; be sure to select the checkbox labeled "Apply settings on KDE startup").

The system-wide resolution setting will be used for the user login display; individual user settings will take effect after the user logs in. The color depth can't be set this way because the architecture of the X Window System requires the color depth to be a system-wide setting.

The X server itself is capable of generating a reasonable xorg.conf file, which you can then fine-tune by manually editing it:

# X -configure :1

The system will automatically start an X server using display number :0. Additional X servers can be started as long as they each use a unique display numberwhich is why :1 was used in this command.

The new configuration file will be placed in /root/xorg.conf.new . In order to use it, you'll need to link the name /dev/mouse to the default mouse device:

# ln -s /dev/input/mice /dev/mouse

You can then test the new configuration:

$ X -config /root/xorg.conf.new

This will present a blank display with an X-shaped mouse pointer. If the display looks right and you can move the pointer with your mouse, then go ahead and install this new configuration file as the default configuration:

# mv /root/X11/xorg.conf /root/X11/xorg.conf.backup

# mv /root/xorg.conf.new /etc/X11/xorg.conf

You can fine-tune this configuration either manually or by using tools such as system-config-display .

The default X server configuration will work with all USB pointer devices and keyboards plugged into the system. The devices will work in parallel; for example, if you have two mice, moving either one will move the onscreen pointer, and if you have two keyboards, typing on either will send characters to the display.