[K12OSN] Gnome Differences Between Fedora and Edubuntu - Solved

[R. Scott Belford]

R. Scott Belford wrote:

> 
> We have found that we can wipe all files in a current users directory, 
> extract a tar.gz template made from a newly created user, and the 
> existing user loads fine.  If we don't wipe all the files in a current 
> user's directory, and extract the template over the existing files, the 
> user's desktop does not load.  It appears that there are a few hidden 
> files that are fedora specific that keep gnome from loading.

Syntax and permissions seem to have solved this issue.  We have now, 
with only some pain, migrated the desktop settings from one variance of 
gnome to another in a thin-client environment.  Given the superhuman 
work Eric does to make the k12ltsp so easy, one may wonder, for good 
reason, why.  That's just the fun of fiddling, I guess.

We made a new user with the smbldap-adduser command.  Peter, the 
teacher, tweaked and refined its desktop and menus.  We tarred this 
template user's home directory as template.tar.gz.  Its gconf and gnome 
settings were appropriately tuned for the edubuntu variance of gnome.

We extracted the template.tar.gz file in the home/user directories of a 
few students previously booting a fedora-specific gnome environment. 
After appropriately chown'ing the users' hidden and visible files, the 
edubuntu menus and complete desktop load.  Prior to the extraction, only 
the wallpaper would load.  Documents and application-specific hidden 
files are still present.

 From the 'template' user's directory

tar -cvzf template.tar.gz * .[a-zA-Z0-9]*

we then copied this to the /home/{user}

tar -xvzf template.tar.gz

then, change permissions

chown -fR user:Domain\ Users * .[^.]*

or, as I was told, it could have been

chown -R user:Domain\ Users ~user

Now to script this for all the users.  Any insight is welcome.

We still have to make all the clients automagically use 1024x768 as they 
did before with the k12ltsp.  Knowing that muekow is bringing edubuntu 
and the k12ltsp together into a package, I hope that this noisy post has 
been a little helpful.  Ensuing wiki entries to come.

--scott