Shutdown As a Normal User With KDE
© Copyright Darrell Anderson.
When exiting KDE, Slackware users will see two different dialog boxes depending upon the runlevel from which they started KDE.
When starting KDE from runlevel 3, and starting KDE from the command line with startx (which runs the appropriate xinitrc script), then when exiting KDE users will see only a simple exit dialog box and they will be returned to the command line.
![[Image: Screen capture of the KDE logoff dialog box from within runlevel 3.]](../images/shutdown-1a.png)
(Old Style)
![[Image: Screen capture of the KDE logoff dialog box from within runlevel 3.]](../images/shutdown-1b.png)
(New Style)
From the command line users need root privileges to run the halt command. In that case users need to modify the sudo list to allow non-root users to shutdown the box, or they can power off the box with su -c halt.
If users start KDE from runlevel 4, the KDM (K Display Manager) login manager controls the KDE session, shutdown, and rebooting. Users will see a different dialog box when exiting KDE.
![[Image: Screen capture of the KDE logoff dialog box from within runlevel 4.]](../images/shutdown-2a.png)
(Old Style)
![[Image: Screen capture of the KDE logoff dialog box from within runlevel 4.]](../images/shutdown-2b.png)
(New Style)
In this mode the shutdown options for KDE are configured from within the Control Center (KControl). The following modifications affect the KDM login manager only, which is run from runlevel 4 only.
- Open the KDE Control Center.
- Select System Administration.
- Select Login Manager.
- Select the Administrator Mode button.
- Enter the root password.
- Select the Shutdown tab.
- For local shutdown select Everybody.
All modifications made within the Login Manager section of the Control Center are stored in the configuration file kdmrc. In Slackware, that file is located at /opt/kde/share/config/kdm/kdmrc.
Individually, users also must verify that in the Control Center, KDE Components, Session Manager, that Offer shutdown options is enabled.
To shut down the box from within KDE, Slackware users should modify the default runlevel from 3 to 4.
Finis.