
Downloading and Installing Freedom Desktop
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What is Freedom Desktop ?
Freedom Desktop for Motif is an easy-to-use yet powerful desktop
manager/GUI integrated to the Unix environment. Freedom is very
similar in look and feel to the popular Microsoft windows and Apple
interfaces. It also combines ease of use and advanced features to help
users interact with Unix quickly and efficiently. Freedom Desktop
releases users from the complexities of Unix giving them
Customer support
Please feel free to contact us in case you need any assistance
installing or using Freedom Software The preferred way of requesting
technical support is via email: support@freedom.lm.com.For
additional
information, visit our Web site: http://fsw.com
Downloading Freedom Desktop
- Change to InstallDir (Installation directory). The recommended directory
is /usr/local.
- cd InstallDir
Download the software from Freedom Software's ftp site (fsw.com or
192.231.221.120).
ftp fsw.com
anonymous
freedom@
binary
cd pub
get freedom4solaris.tar.Z
exit
- Choose the appropriate version for your architecture. For instance:
- freedom4sunos.tar.Z
(SunOS 4.1.x also known as Solaris 1)
- freedom4solaris.tar.Z
(Solaris 2 also known as SunOS 5.x)
- freedom4linux.tar.gz
(Linux demo version)
Uncompress the software
- uncompress freedom4solaris.tar.Z
Extract the files
- tar xvf freedom4solaris.tar
Unlocking Freedom Desktop
In order to receive a sofkey to unlock the software, send us or fax
us the architecture and hostid of the target machine. You should receive
a softkey within few days.
- Change to the bin directory (freedom_software/bin)
- cd InstallDir/freedom_software/bin
- Install the softkey by running the installation program
- ./installkey
Include the Freedom Desktop directory in your search path :
- Bourne Shell
- PATH=InstallDir/freedom_software/bin:$PATH;export PATH
- C Shell
- setenv PATH InstallDir/freedom_software/bin:$PATH
Selecting a Text editor
Use the EDITOR variable to specify the editor of your choice. Freedom
Desktop supports any Unix editor (i.e. nedit, vi and emacs). For instance,
to use the Motif editor nedit, issue the following command at the shell
prompt:
Running Freedom Desktop
Before starting Freedom Desktop, make sure that the X window server
and the window manager are already running. In order to use the OpenWindows
server and window manager, follow the procedure below. To run Freedom Desktop,
type the following command:
- freedom
Installation procedure - optional steps
The following steps of the installation procedure are optional. However,
for better results it is recommended that you follow them.
- Using the OpenWindows window manager and applications
To use the OpenWindows environment in conjunction with Freedom Desktop,
follow the procedure:
- Set the OPENWINHOME variable to point to the directory where OpenWindows
reside. For instance:
- setenv OPENWINHOME /usr/openwin
- Add the OpenWindows directory to your search path. For instance:
- setenv PATH /usr/openwin/bin:$PATH
If there is a file called .xinitrc in your home directory. Save a copy
of the file.
- cp .xinitrc .xinitrc.old
Copy InstallDir/conf/arch/openwin/.xinitrc to your home directory. arch
is the name of the target architecture (i.e. sunos5.x).
- cp InstallDir/freedom_software/conf/arch/openwin/.xinitrc $HOME/.xinitrc
- If there is a file called .openwin-menu in your home directory. Save
a copy of the file.
- cp .openwin-menu .openwin-menu.old
Copy InstallDir/conf/arch/openwin/.openwin-menu to your home directory.
arch is the name of the target architecture (i.e. sunos5.x).
cp InstallDir/freedom_software/conf/arch/openwin/.openwin-menu $HOME/.openwin-menu
Start the OpenWindows server. This should automatically invoke freedom
desktop (don't execute openwin) . Type:
- xinit -- $OPENWINHOME/bin/xnews (sunos 4.1.x)
- Using the OSF/Motif window manager
- If there is already a file called .xinitrc in your home directory.
Save a copy of the file.
- cp .xinitrc .xinitrc.old
Update your .xinitrc using InstallDir/conf/arch/openwin/.xinitrc as a guide
or copy InstallDir/conf/arch/openwin/.xinitrc to your home directory. arch
is the name of the target architecture (i.e. sunos5.x).
- cp InstallDir/freedom_software/conf/arch/motif/.xinitrc $HOME/.xinitrc
Start the X Window server. This should automatically invoke freedom desktop.
There might be other ways of invoking the X window server (i.e. startx);
consult with your system administrator for details.
- xinit -- $OPENWINHOME/bin/xnews (sunos 4.1.x)
Uninstalling Freedom Desktop
- If you need to uninstall the software, run the following script:
- InstallDir/freedom_software/bin/uninstall
Depending on the window manager used, you might need to remove or restore
.xinitrc and .openwin-menu (user's home directory).
Troubleshooting problems
In order to troubleshoot problems, check the release notes for the specific
architecture (i.e InstallDir/freedom_software/release_notes/sunos4.x).
- Freedom Desktop's default colors are grey and white. If you notice
any problems with the appearance of Freedom Desktop (fonts and/or colors)
make sure that the Freedom resource file is being loaded. This can be enforced
by typing:
- setenv XENVIRONMENT $HOME/Freedom
Please email comments and suggestions to support@freedom.lm.com