Ubuntu – Unity Ctrl + Alt + Del set default value to ‘Lock’

lock-screenlogoutunity

When I press Ctrl + Alt + Del I get a dialog with two buttons: Log-out and Lock.

I spent a significant portion of my time working on Windows workstations, and the default there is Lock. It is a habit, that when I want to leave my computer I lock it by quickly pressing Ctrl+ Alt+Del and Enter.

It's frustrating that in unity the default value of the dialog box is Logout, and I end up logging out and sometimes unsaved work is lost.

How do I make the default value Lock instead of Log-out?

Best Answer

You can override the default shortcut by creating your custom shortcut for this purpose.

Go to System Settings -> Keyboard -> Shortcuts -> Custom Shortcuts

Add a shortcut with any name with following command in command box

qdbus org.gnome.ScreenSaver /org/gnome/ScreenSaver org.gnome.ScreenSaver.Lock

Now click on this newly created shortcut and assign it Ctrl+Alt+Del
Click on Reassign if popup window is appearing with warning message about shortcut conflict.

To restore the default behaviour of Ctrl+Alt+Del shortcut

Delete your custom shortcut.
Select System in left column of shortcut setting window.
Select logout shortcut and assign it Ctrl+Alt+Del

Related Solutions

Ubuntu – Command to launch poweroff/reboot dialogue

In general, the dialogs for logout, reboot, and shutdown can be launched via dbus. In particular, what you want is

qdbus com.canonical.Unity  /com/canonical/Unity/Session com.canonical.Unity.Session.RequestShutdown

You can list other methods via this command:

$ qdbus com.canonical.Unity  /com/canonical/Unity/Session | grep '\.Request.*'                                           
method void com.canonical.Unity.Session.RequestLogout()
method void com.canonical.Unity.Session.RequestReboot()
method void com.canonical.Unity.Session.RequestShutdown()

I have used this same approach for multiple other answers, for instance

How to get warning for "Suspend"

In case someone feels the command is a bit lengthy, remember Linux 101 : you can create aliases for commands or functions.

alias quit_session='qdbus com.canonical.Unity  /com/canonical/Unity/Session com.canonical.Unity.Session.RequestShutdown'

quit_session()
{
    qdbus com.canonical.Unity  \
          /com/canonical/Unity/Session \
          com.canonical.Unity.Session.RequestShutdown
}

On command line this will be called as quit_session . Easy, right ? You can place this into ~/.bashrc. If it is still lengthy , use even shorter name.

Despite the length it does exactly what is asked in the question.

Ubuntu – Can’t find lock computer option in ubuntu 18

Default keyboard shortcut in ubuntu 18 :

Lock screen is Super + L
Log out is Ctrl + Alt + Delete

If you want to change it, you can change it in Setting > Devices > Keyboard > System

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Ubuntu – Command to launch poweroff/reboot dialogue

Ubuntu – Can’t find lock computer option in ubuntu 18

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