GNOME.ORG

Enabling Accessible Login

In order to use the accessibility support for GNOME, the accessibility infrastructure must be enabled. To enable GNOME accessibility features from the command line, type the following command and then log out:

gconftool-2 --set "/desktop/gnome/interface/accessibility" --type boolean "True"

To enable GNOME accessibility features from a GUI, run the System ▸ Preferences ▸ Assistive Technology command from the top level menu. Select the "Enable assistive technologies" checkbox and then press the "Close and Log Out" button.

The next time you log in, assistive technology support will be enabled for the desktop.

To configure GDM by using the GUI (the preferred method), perform the following steps:

  1. Log in as the root user.
  2. Run gdmsetup from a terminal; you may be advised to reboot after exiting the application.

To configure GDM if you cannot access the GUI environment, you will need to navigate the file system and modify files:

  1. Log in as the root user.

  2. Open the file /etc/X11/gdm/custom.conf

  3. Search the file for the following line:

    #AddGtkModules=false

    and replace the line with the following:

    AddGtkModules=true

    This step enables the GtkModules.

  4. Search the file for the following line:

    #GtkModulesList=gail:atk-bridge:dwellmouselistener:keymouselistener

    and delete the # from the start of the line so that the line reads:

    GtkModulesList=gail:atk-bridge:dwellmouselistener:keymouselistener

    The above lines must be displayed as single lines in the custom.conf file without line breaks. The formatting of this guide may display the lines as being longer than two lines.

    This step loads all of the GtkModules to enable assistive technologies such as On-Screen Keyboard and Screen Reader and Magnifier . You can edit the line above further to load only the GtkModules that you require to support the user base. For example:

    • If you need to use the Screen Reader and Magnifier, include gail and atk-bridge.
    • If you need to use a pointing device without buttons or switches, include gail, atk-bridge and dwellmouselistener.
    • If you use pointing devices with switches, alternative physical keyboards, or switch and button devices, include keymouselistener.
    • On-Screen Keyboard can operate without gail and atk-bridge, but with a reduced feature set.

    For optimum accessibility, include gail and atk-bridge.

  5. Save the /etc/X11/gdm/custom.conf file.

    If you make any changes to the /etc/X11/gdm/custom.conf file after you enable GDM, you can execute the following command to restart GDM and activate the changes:

    gdm-restart

  6. Edit the file /etc/group and append the following to the audio line:

    ,gdm

    This step ensures that speech works with GDM.

  7. Restart your system.

Xserver is required for all distributions; for Linux and OpenSolaris, it should be Xorg. You can find them in both /etc/X11 and /usr/bin. Generally for Linux there will be a symbol link in /etc/X11/X and it is always linked to the binary Xorg in /usr/bin/Xorg. For OpenSolaris, you can find this process with the command ps -ef | grep X.

To enable or disable Xorg extensions, you can edit the file /etc/X11/xorg.conf and add the following parameters to enable different extensions: 


Section "Extensions"
  Option "Composite"         "Enable"
  Option "other extensions"  "Enable/Disable"
EndSection
Enabling Accessible Login Starting Assistive Technologies at Login