Description

The gconf resource can be used for manipulation of Gnome configuration settings via gconftool-2.

Usage

gconf "/apps/metacity/some/setting" do
    action :set
    user "bob"
    attr_val "some_value"
end

• action - Can be :set or :delete
• user - User name for whom the setting applies to, should be a valid account on the system.
• attr_value - Value for the setting
• attr_type - optional, the data type of the attribute value, defaults to 'string'. Can be 'int', 'bool', 'float', 'string', or 'list'.
• list_type - optional, only applicable if attr_type is list. the data type of each element in the list

See man gconftool-2 for more information on attribute typing and lists, though in practice you won't need this too much.

Examples

Bind switching of workspaces 1-4 to Ctrl-Alt-[1-4]

[1,2,3,4].each{ |n|
  gconf "/apps/metacity/global_keybindings/switch_to_workspace_#{n}" do
    action :set
    user "bob"
    attr_val "<Control><Alt>#{n}"
  end
}

Swap Ctrl and Caps Lock key

gconf '/desktop/gnome/peripherals/keyboard/kbd/options' do
  action :set
  user "bob"
  attr_val "[ctrl\tctrl:swapcaps]"
  attr_type 'list'
  list_type 'string'
end

Turn the screensaver on and off

gconf '/apps/gnome-screensaver/idle_activation_enabled' do
  action :set
  user "bob"
  attr_val true
  attr_type 'bool'
end