This is the old ROX web-site. Please use the new website instead.
Latest stable version: 0.1.25 (note: source requires GLib 2.4; although you can compile with 2.2 by replacing "GPid" with "gint")
Testing version: 0.26
ROX-Session is a simple session manager. It loads, runs any programs you asked it to, and then quits when you run it a second time (thus ending your session). It does not display any windows until you ask it to quit.
The first time you run it it will offer to make itself your session manager, so that you'll get a ROX desktop when you log in (see screenshots below).
ROX-Session will automatically run any programs in your Auto Start directory when you log in. You can open this directory by bringing up the menu over ROX-Session's icon and choosing Auto Start....
This method of getting ROX-Session is experimental. Run ROX-Session like this:
$ 0launch http://rox.sourceforge.net/2005/interfaces/ROX-Session
If you don't have 0launch, see the Add App page for details.
TODO: ROX-Session should get the other components automatically through 0launch too. Currently, you must have ROX-Filer already installed.
Zero Install users can simply run ROX-Session from the directory /uri/0install/rox.sourceforge.net/apps/ (run the file ROX-Session/AppRun if you don't have ROX-Filer yet). ROX-Filer will be fetched through zero install automatically.
(the apps directory contains the current stable release, while testing contains the bleeding-edge version)
You need to install ROX-Filer before installing ROX-Session.
Jan Wagemakers has made a 
Debian package for ROX-Session available. If you've already got the filer this way, you should be able to just do apt-get install rox-session. However, this is an old version. The latest version can be accessed through Zero Install, for which there are Debian packages at
http://0install.net/install.html.
The named Debian package does not fit the (Debian) File Hierachy Standard.
Götz Waschk has created some Mandrake packages, which will also put an entry for ROX in gdm, kdm or xdm.
You need D-BUS (freedesktop.org). Compile with the glib and Python bindings.
Download the latest version:
Extract the archive (eg, by dragging it to Archive) and click on ROX-Session in a ROX-Filer window.
There will be a brief delay while it compiles.
Some distros have binaries available. If so, use them. The Fedora Core page has a download for that distribution. Otherwise, you need to have pyrex installed.
If D-BUS complains that it can't find pyrex even after you've installed it, try copying the files from /usr/local/lib/pythonX.Y/site-packages to /usr/lib/pythonX.Y/site-packages (ie, without the local). Some distros don't have /usr/local in their default PYTHONPATH.
Shouldn't we tell them to modify their PYTHONPATH rather than copy files from /usr/local to /usr? -- Ken Hayber
More help: mailing list thread
ROX-Session's system-wide install option only supports gdm2 at present. In the mean-time, try reading this thread.
There are three different methods you can use:
Click on the window manager you want in a ROX-Filer window. If you're using Zero Install, you could use /uri/0install/rox.sourceforge.net/apps/OroboROX or one of the wrappers in /uri/0install/roxwrap.sourceforge.net/wrappers/Window Managers.
If you don't have a wrapper for your window manager (and you don't want to make one), just quit your current window manager and ROX-Session will ask you to type in the name of a window manager to use. If your window manager doesn't have a quit feature, you can kill it using System or a similar process monitor.
This command can be used (either directly, or in a wrapper) to send a message to ROX-Session telling it to change window manager. Replace xfwm4 with the desired window manager (which can also be a full pathname):
dbus-send --print-reply --type=method_call --dest=net.sf.rox.Session \ /Settings net.sf.rox.Session.Settings.SetString string:ROX/WindowManager string:xfwm4
When calling ROX-Session for the first time, you will be asked to make it your default session manager.
If rox-session is running as your session manager you can get the Session-Dialog by calling rox-session again.
The editor for these settings has moved to the new Look And Feel application, although it's still ROX-Session that actually sets them.
Look And Feel is being split into several configuration applets: http://roxos.sunsite.dk/dev-contrib/guido/Configure/
After installing ROX-Session, you may like to read the Getting Started Guide.
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