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I want to use xscreensaver as my screen locker, but only through manual activation with xscreensaver-command --lock (I have this bound to a key combination). I don't want xscreensaver to activate itself after a timeout.

Is there any way to tell xscreensaver never to automatically activate the screensaver, except with a manual command?

For now my solution is to set the timeout to

timeout: 100000:00:00

So that it won't automatically activate the screensaver for over 11 years.:

SDsolar
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zstewart
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1 Answers1

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1: xscreensaver needs to be launched at startup via "Startup Applications" (hit Super and type "Startup"). Add a new entry to launch the xscreensaver daemon on startup as xscreensaver -no-splash.

2: You need to bring up the xscreensaver config app. Hit Super and type screensaver. Set the "Blank after x minutes" to your desired amount (e.g. 5 minutes). Remember this value for later. Ensure "Lock screen after" is UNCHECKED.

3: Finally, go to System Settings / Brightness & Lock. Set "Turn screen off when inactive for x minutes" to the same value as you set xscreensavers "Blank after x minutes" setting (e.g. 5 minutes). Then still under Brightness & Lock, set "Lock screen after:" to "Screen turns off".

And you're done! If your system is idle for the set amount of time, the screensaver will kick in, and in the background your session will also lock. When you wake your system, you will find it locked and asking for your password. No ugly 90's login prompts... awesome. The one caveat is that your screensaver will apparently not kick in if your session is already at a login prompt, the screen will simply turn off.

Vinood NK Maheshwari
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    This is all completely irrelevant to the question I am asking. My system has no menu apps or setting menus installed, so you are making invalid assumptions about my setup, and I already know how to launch the daemon. The question is 'how do I make the screensaver only activate when I say so' – zstewart Apr 04 '16 at 19:11