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I'm preparing a Lubuntu installation on a computer I'm planning to give away, using the OEM install mode so that I can pre-install various apps but still let the recipient create their user account using the intro wizard.

By default, Lubuntu (or specifically, Openbox) has virtual desktops, which it's easy to accidentally switch between with the mouse wheel. I can easily fix this for the OEM user in the Openbox Configuration Manager, but how can I make it the default for new users?

Harry Cutts
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    You do know that support for 18.04 ends next month, right? – KGIII Mar 08 '21 at 00:47
  • The download page shows community support continuing until 2023; is it incorrect? (This is a 32-bit machine, hence putting such an old distro on it.) – Harry Cutts Mar 08 '21 at 00:52
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    It's not necessarily incorrect, it's maybe a bit misleading. Lubuntu 18.04's support ends in a month or so. Some of the underlying Ubuntu bits may (should) continue getting updates. I think this command still ran on 18.04. Run ubuntu-support-status in your terminal and that should make it more clear. When that deadline hits, it won't even be considered on-topic for this site anymore as it's no longer officially supported. – KGIII Mar 08 '21 at 01:08
  • Oh, that's a neat command, thanks for the info. I'll test my answer on a more recent version and add an appropriate tag when I get the chance. – Harry Cutts Mar 08 '21 at 01:09
  • There are other solid distros with 32 bit choices - just make sure you don't pick one that's based on Ubuntu. Debian has a 32 bit and Mint has a neat derivative of it known as LMDE. To give more information, my understanding is that it was the lack of people willing to test with 32 bit hardware that led to the demise of Ubuntu's 32 bit offerings. – KGIII Mar 08 '21 at 01:12

1 Answers1

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Openbox stores its settings in an XML file. For already-created users, this is found at ~/.config/openbox/lxqt-rc.xml (or .../lubuntu-rc.xml on 18.04), which you can modify to test out your changes. However, to make your changes apply to new users as well, you need to edit the XML file that will be applied to new users. This is located at /etc/xdg/xdg-Lubuntu/openbox/lxqt-rc.xml (or /usr/share/lubuntu/openbox/rc.xml on 18.04).

For your specific example of disabling virtual desktops, you need to change the <number> tag in the <desktops> section to 1:

...
<desktops>
  <number>2</number>   <!-- change this line --> 
  <firstdesk>1</firstdesk>
  ...

I'd suggest making the change to ~/.config/openbox/lubuntu-rc.xml, logging out and back in to check that it does what you expect, then copying it to be the default:

sudo cp ~/.config/openbox/lxqt-rc.xml /etc/xdg/xdg-Lubuntu/openbox/lxqt-rc.xml

Or, on 18.04:


sudo cp ~/.config/openbox/lubuntu-rc.xml /usr/share/lubuntu/openbox/rc.xml
Harry Cutts
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