Last week my mother in law started to share her Linux laptop with my wife. Suddenly my wife asked me how she could switch from one user session to another. She was looking for something similar to OS X fast user switch feature but she couldn’t find it. In fact there wasn’t a fast and easy way to switch between users’ sessions with KDE, until… now 
Let me introduce my first plasmoid: the fast user switch plasmoid. It’s a simple icon in the panel that allows users to swich to another open session or to open a new login page. Here you can see the mandatory screenshots.
You can find the source code here. Binary packages for openSUSE are already available on the build service.
One last thought about KDM
I think that KDM should allow to switch back to an already open session in a more transparent way. Right now if an user has already one session open, he goes back to the login screen and enters his credentials a new session is started. I think that most users would expect to be switched back to their already running session. Starting a new session is just confusing for them.
Tags: KDE, plasma, Programming
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Why not just use K-menu->Leave->Switch User?
Too many clicks man!
2 clicks is too many?
I can do with NO clicks:
ctrl-alt-f7, ctrl-alt-f8
This plasmoid has been made for non technical user. Strangely normal users remember only one keyboard shortcut: ctrl-alt-del
Do you mean ctrl+alt+insert instead ctrl+alt+del?
Great plasmoid
I have a few suggestions, pick up any, all or none of them as you see fit:
How about making the plasmoid show the user image for the selected user if it is set, either instead of the icon, or at least in the popup menu? I always use my user images to identify users on my computer(s), so that would be a great feature
In stead of the “switch user” icon, how about actually showing a little user icon, or as metnioned above, possibly the users own icon? Combined with the next suggestion it could make it very self-explainable, too
Another suggestion would be to expand it to allow showing the username / real name / both in the taskbar, similar to the gnome fast switcher. I know it’s not always about copying features and stuff, but I’d love to have my taskbar show my name when I’m logged in – adds a personal touch as well
Maybe all these could be grouped into a “style” setting in a possible configuration box:
- Style -
(*) Simple (just that switch user icon)
( ) With username (oxygen user icon + username)
( ) With real name (oxygen user icon + real name)
[x] Use users own image if it is set
I agree with all these suggestions (including configuration). These suggestions would make this plasmoid awesome and way more pleasant (it already is, but it would even be more the case) to use than KMenu -> Leave -> Switch User.
Thanks for the hints, I’ll work on them.
Wonderful.
What might also be nice: when clicking the plasmoid (that is. the own name or picture), a small widget could pop up, offering all other users’ names with their pictures next to them for really fast switching. The plasmoid could forward the username to be preselected by KDM. Thus, only entering the password would be left.
Makes my desktop bit more elegant already. Thanks.
“I think that most users would expect to be switched back to their already running session. ”
Works for me for ages now. I’m running openSUSE. I didn’t even know that it could be different!
I’m an openSUSE user too. How did you get it working?
I think you are not resuming your running session, you are just creating a new one in which KDE restarts all the programs you left previously open.
“Right now if an user has already one session open, he goes back to the login screen and enters his credentials a new session is started. I think that most users would expect to be switched back to their already running session. Starting a new session is just confusing for them.”
same problem here on Gentoo
“In fact there wasn’t a fast and easy way to switch between users’ sessions with KDE, until…”
Well, there was
For KDE 3.x only, but there was: the session applet, see http://kde-look.org/content/show.php?content=26150
I never got to complete the port to KDE 4, so I am going to be a happy user of your plasmoid, thanks!
The plasmoid is great. But one doubt. What is the “switch user in kickoff”? Isn’t it fast user switch?
They are doing the same thing. This plasmoid is called “fast” because the switch button is always visible to the user.
Hi,
Just quick observation but Gnome, seems to have fast user switching.
It records the location of the current session,
Locks the screen,
Then starts a new session with gdm on the next available console (usually 8, or Ctrl-Alt-F8 for the tech).
Could we not use the same method, as the users sessions are then still running just on different consoles. They are secure because the screen is locked before session switch.
Craig
This plasmoid locks the user session both before switching to another one and before opening a new login session.
I recognize the importance of this new plasmoid, and thank you for writing it (not that I’ll be using it on my single user machine…) – just thought I’d point out that you can also use krunner to switch users. I believe ‘switch user’ gives you a list, ‘switch ‘ switches users directly, and ‘new session’ starts a new session.
Hum, how about merging this plasmoid with the existing lock/logout plasmoid ? It already has a configurable set of buttons to show, and merging things would be much cleaner than having yet another plasmoid, IMHO.
I agree with your point about KDM. It now needs all the love it can get from Plasma devs
The login screen is the ‘first impression’ and the simpler and elegant we can make it, the better it is to invite new users to KDE fold.
Thank you for the plasmoid! Is there a way to avoid locking the screen on user change? We don’t want to enter passwords.
There’s no way right now, but I’m seriously thinking to implement it.