<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
<!DOCTYPE topic PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DITA Topic//EN" "topic.dtd">
<topic xml:lang="en-us" id="autologon_unix_lightdm">
  <title><ph conkeyref="vbox-conkeyref-phrases/product-name"/> Greeter for Ubuntu/LightDM</title>
  
  <body>
    <p><ph conkeyref="vbox-conkeyref-phrases/product-name"/> comes with a greeter module, named
        <userinput>vbox-greeter</userinput>, that can be used with LightDM. LightDM is the default display manager for
      Ubuntu Linux and therefore can also be used for automated guest logins. </p>
    <p><userinput>vbox-greeter</userinput> does not need the
          <userinput>pam_vbox</userinput> module described in
          <xref href="autologon_unix.dita#autologon_unix"/>in order to function. It comes
          with its own authentication mechanism provided by LightDM.
          However, to provide maximum flexibility both modules can be
          used together on the same guest.
        </p>
    <p>As with the <userinput>pam_vbox</userinput> module, <userinput>vbox-greeter</userinput> is shipped as part of the
      Guest Additions but it is not installed or activated on the guest OS by default. To install
        <userinput>vbox-greeter</userinput> automatically upon Guest Additions installation, use the
        <codeph>--with-autologon</codeph> option when starting the <userinput>VBoxLinuxAdditions.run</userinput> file: </p>
    <pre xml:space="preserve"># ./VBoxLinuxAdditions.run -- --with-autologon</pre>
    <p>For manual or postponed installation, copy the <filepath>vbox-greeter.desktop</filepath> file from
          <filepath>/opt/VBoxGuestAdditions-<varname>version</varname>/other/</filepath> to the
        <filepath>xgreeters</filepath> directory, which is usually <filepath>/usr/share/xgreeters/</filepath>. See your
      guest OS documentation for the name of the correct LightDM greeter directory. </p>
    <p>The <userinput>vbox-greeter</userinput> module is installed by the <ph
        conkeyref="vbox-conkeyref-phrases/product-name"/> Guest Additions installer and is located in
        <filepath>/usr/sbin/</filepath>. To enable <userinput>vbox-greeter</userinput> as the standard greeter module,
      edit the file <filepath>/etc/lightdm/lightdm.conf</filepath> as follows: </p>
    <pre xml:space="preserve">[SeatDefaults]
greeter-session=vbox-greeter</pre>
    <note>
      <ul>
        <li>
          <p>The LightDM server must be fully restarted in order for <userinput>vbox-greeter</userinput> to be used as
            the default greeter. As <codeph>root</codeph> on Ubuntu, run <userinput>service lightdm
              --full-restart</userinput> or restart the guest. </p>
        </li>
        <li>
          <p><userinput>vbox-greeter</userinput> is independent of the
                graphical session you choose, such as Gnome, KDE, or
                Unity. However, <userinput>vbox-greeter</userinput> does
                require FLTK 1.3 or later to implement its own user
                interface.
              </p>
        </li>
      </ul>
    </note>
    <p>There are numerous guest properties which can be used to further customize the login experience. For
      automatically logging in users, the same guest properties apply as for <userinput>pam_vbox</userinput>. See <xref
        href="autologon_unix.dita#autologon_unix"/>. </p>
    <p>In addition to the previously mentioned guest properties, <userinput>vbox-greeter</userinput> enables you to
      further customize its user interface. The following guest properties are located in the
        <filepath>/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Greeter/</filepath> directory: </p>
    <ul>
      <li>
        <p><codeph>HideRestart</codeph>: Set to 1 if
              <userinput>vbox-greeter</userinput> should hide the button to
              restart the guest. This property must be set read-only for
              the guest (<codeph>RDONLYGUEST</codeph>).
            </p>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><codeph>HideShutdown</codeph>: Set to 1 if
              <userinput>vbox-greeter</userinput> should hide the button to
              shutdown the guest. This property must be set read-only
              for the guest (<codeph>RDONLYGUEST</codeph>).
            </p>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><codeph>BannerPath</codeph>: Path to a
              <filepath>.PNG</filepath> file to use as a banner image on
              the top of the greeter. The image size must be 460 x 90
              pixels, any bit depth. This property must be set read-only
              for the guest (<codeph>RDONLYGUEST</codeph>).
            </p>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><codeph>UseTheming</codeph>: Set to 1 for turning on the
              following theming options. This property must be set
              read-only for the guest (<codeph>RDONLYGUEST</codeph>).
            </p>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><codeph>Theme/BackgroundColor</codeph>: Hexadecimal
              RRGGBB color for the background. This property must be set
              read-only for the guest (<codeph>RDONLYGUEST</codeph>).
            </p>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><codeph>Theme/LogonDialog/HeaderColor</codeph>:
              Hexadecimal RRGGBB foreground color for the header text.
              This property must be set read-only for the guest
              (<codeph>RDONLYGUEST</codeph>).
            </p>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><codeph>Theme/LogonDialog/BackgroundColor</codeph>:
              Hexadecimal RRGGBB color for the login dialog background.
              This property must be set read-only for the guest
              (<codeph>RDONLYGUEST</codeph>).
            </p>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><codeph>Theme/LogonDialog/ButtonColor</codeph>:
              Hexadecimal RRGGBB background color for the login dialog
              button. This property must be set read-only for the guest
              (<codeph>RDONLYGUEST</codeph>).
            </p>
      </li>
    </ul>
    <note>
      <p>The same restrictions for the guest properties above apply as for the ones specified in the
          <codeph>pam_vbox</codeph> section. </p>
    </note>
  </body>
  
</topic>
