[SOLVED] Run xscreensaver when I close the laptop lid

Question

I have xscreensaver running in my archlinux, and with a systemd service, I can start it after waking up my laptop.
The problem is that I like to keep my laptop running when I close the lid (for example, to go to bed while I'm downloading a file, I like to simply close my lid), but I want to lock my computer.
In the /etc/systemd/logind.conf, there is a nice option called HandleLidSwitch, which specifies which action is invoked when the lid is closed, and there is a lock option, but It doesn't work for me.
The option suspend works fine.
Here is my /etc/systemd/logind.conf:
# This file is part of systemd.
# systemd is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
# under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by
# the Free Software Foundation; either version 2.1 of the License, or
# (at your option) any later version.
# See logind.conf(5) for details
[Login]
#NAutoVTs=6
#ReserveVT=6
#KillUserProcesses=no
#KillOnlyUsers=
#KillExcludeUsers=root
#Controllers=
#ResetControllers=cpu
#InhibitDelayMaxSec=5
HandlePowerKey=suspend
#HandleSuspendKey=suspend
#HandleHibernateKey=hibernate
HandleLidSwitch=ignore
#PowerKeyIgnoreInhibited=no
#SuspendKeyIgnoreInhibited=no
#HibernateKeyIgnoreInhibited=no
#LidSwitchIgnoreInhibited=yes
#IdleAction=ignore
#IdleActionSec=30min
Any help?
Last edited by alomsimoy (2013-09-10 18:08:33)

Answer 1

I would say that you should just have logind ignore the LidSwitch altogether.  So if it is set to ignore the lid switch, then it obviously isn't going to be entering the suspend.target (or is it the sleep.target, I can't remember).  Therefore, you are going to have to have some other way of triggering actions in response to these events.
The lid switch sends an event to udev, so you have the option of having a udev rule that responds to this, or using acpid to start this for you.  I would recommend using acpid, as it is much more flexible in what it can allow you to do.
Edit: acpid is not necessarily more flexible than a udev rule, as it relies on the udev events.  But it is a much easier method of setup since it simply relies of basic scripting in order to make it work.  It can allow for one central script (or collection of scripts) to handle all the different events that udev sends.  To see what kinds of things trigger a udev event, you can use udevadm monitor or if you install acpid, there is the acpi_listen option.
Edit2:  BTW, what is it you mean by not working?  Does it still suspend on lid close, or is your xscreensaver not started?  You need to be more explicit there.  If it is still suspending, have you rebooted or restarted logind after making those changes to logind.conf?  You can't just edit the file and have the changes implemented right away, as the configuration is parsed and the settign implemented on the service start.
Last edited by WonderWoofy (2013-09-10 17:28:05)