Chapter 9 Disabling GNOME Desktop Features

This chapter describes how to disable particular features of the GNOME Desktop.

• Introduction to Disabling GNOME Desktop Features

• To Disable Lock Screen and Log Out

• To Disable Command Line Operations

• To Disable Panel Configuration

• To Restrict Applications

Introduction to Disabling GNOME Desktop Features

The GNOME Desktop includes features that you can use to restrict access to certain functions in the GNOME Desktop. The disable features are useful in various situations where you want to restrict the actions that users can perform on a computer. For example, you might want to prevent command line operations on a computer that is for public use at a trade show. The disable features are also known as lockdown features.

You set GConf keys to disable features. For information about how to set GConf keys, see Chapter 1, Using GConf. You can also use the Configuration Editor application to set GConf keys in a user configuration source. For more information about the Configuration Editor application, see the GConf Editor Manual.

To Disable Lock Screen and Log Out

To disable the lock screen and log out functions, set the /desktop/gnome/lockdown/disable_lockscreen_and_logout key to true.

When you disable the lock screen and log out functions, the following items are removed from the panels:

• Lock Screen and Log Out user menu items from the Main Menu.

• Lock and Log Out menu items from the Add to Panel -> Actions menu. To open this menu, right-click on a vacant space on a panel, then choose Add to Panel -> Actions.

• Lock Screen and Log Out user menu items from the Actions menu in the Menu Bar applet.

To Disable Command Line Operations

To disable operations from a command line, set the /desktop/gnome/lockdown/disable_command_line key to true.

When you disable command line operations, the following items are removed from the panels:

• Any menu items that contain the following commands:

  • GNOME Terminal command, that is /usr/bin/gnome-terminal

  • /usr/bin/xterm

  • /usr/bin/setterm

  The items are removed from the following menus:

  • Main Menu

  • Add to Panel -> Launcher from menu

• Command Line applet from the Main Menu and the Add to Panel -> Utility menu.

• Run Application menu item, from the following menus:

  • Main Menu

  • Actions submenu in the Add to Panel menu

  • Actions menu in the Menu Bar applet

To Disable Panel Configuration

To disable panel configuration, set the /desktop/gnome/lockdown/lockdown_panel_config key to true.

When you disable panel configuration, the following changes occur in the user interface:

• The following items are removed from the panel popup menu, and from the drawer popup menu:

  • Add to Panel

  • Delete This Panel

  • Properties

  • New Panel

• The Properties menu item is removed from the launcher popup menu.

• The following items are removed from the applet popup menu:

  • Remove From Panel

  • Lock

  • Move

• The Main Menu popup menu is disabled. To display this popup menu, right-click on the Main Menu button.

• The launcher drag feature is disabled, so that users cannot drag launchers to, or from, panels.

• The panel drag feature is disabled, so that users cannot drag panels to new locations.

To Restrict Applications

To restrict the applications that users can start, use the following keys:

• /desktop/gnome/lockdown/restrict_application_launching

• /desktop/gnome/lockdown/allowed_applications

To restrict the applications that users can start, set the /desktop/gnome/lockdown/restrict_application_launching key to true.

When you restrict the applications, the following changes occur in the user interface:

• The Run Application item is removed from the following menus:

  • Main Menu

  • Actions submenu in the Add to Panel menu

  • Actions menu in the Menu Bar applet

• Any menu items that do not correspond to applications listed in the /desktop/gnome/lockdown/allowed_applications key are removed from the following menus:

  • Main Menu

  • Actions submenu in the Add to Panel menu

  • Launcher from menu submenu in the Add to Panel menu

  • Actions menu in the Menu Bar applet

• When users double-click on a launcher on a panel, on a drawer, or on the desktop, a warning dialog is displayed if the application is not listed in the /desktop/gnome/lockdown/allowed_applications key. The application is not started.

• When users open a file whose MIME type is associated with an application that is not listed in the /desktop/gnome/lockdown/allowed_applications key, a warning dialog is displayed. The application is not started.

• If particular commands are not listed in the /desktop/gnome/lockdown/allowed_applications key, the corresponding menu items are removed from menus, as shown in the following table:

  Command	Menu Item	Menu
  /usr/bin/gnome-search-tool	Find Files	Main Menu Actions menu in Menu Bar applet Add to Panel -> Actions
  /usr/bin/yelp	Help	Main Menu
  /usr/bin/gnome-panel-screenshot	Screenshot	Add to Panel -> Actions