.. meta::
   :description: Discussion of advanced configuration topics for the
                 ThinLinc client, including customization and update
                 management.

.. _client_advanced_topics:

Advanced topics
---------------

Hardware address reporting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the client connects to a server, it reports its hardware
address. On Linux, the active interface with the smallest MAC address is
used. On Windows, the address of the first interface (as listed in the
Control Panel) is used.

Client update notifications
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The client includes a feature which can periodically check for new
versions. This functionality is affected by the configuration parameters
:clientconf:`UPDATE_ENABLED`, :clientconf:`UPDATE_INTERVAL`,
:clientconf:`UPDATE_LASTCHECK`, :clientconf:`UPDATE_MANDATORY`, and,
:clientconf:`UPDATE_URL`. These are described in
:ref:`clientconf_params`. During an update check, the client retrieves
the file specified by :clientconf:`UPDATE_URL`. An example follows::

   WINDOWSINSTALLER = https://www.cendio.com/downloads/clients/tl-latest-client-windows.exe
   LINUXINSTALLER = https://www.cendio.com/downloads/clients/thinlinc-client-latest.i686.rpm
   DEFAULTINSTALLER = https://www.cendio.com/thinlinc/download
   OKVERSIONS = 3.2.0 3.3.0

The ``OKVERSIONS`` parameter specifies a list of valid client versions.
If the running client version is different, the client will notify the
user. The ``WINDOWSINSTALLER``, ``LINUXINSTALLER``, and
``DEFAULTINSTALLER`` parameters specifies the updated client packages
for Windows, Linux, and other platforms, respectively.

.. _client_branding:

Adding custom branding to the login window
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is possible to add a custom logo to the main ThinLinc client window,
making it easily distinguishable from a generic client. The custom logo
will be placed to the right of the input fields.

Adding the logo is easy. The new logo must be a PNG file with maximum
width and height of 50 pixels. On Windows, just add the file
:file:`branding.png` in the same directory as the executable with the
custom logo. On Linux, the file name is
:file:`/opt/thinlinc/lib/tlclient/branding.png`.

For custom branding of the Web Access login page, see
:ref:`tlwebaccess_branding`.

.. _client_xdm_mode:

XDM mode (Linux only)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When installing dedicated clients, for example old PCs or thin terminal
boxes, it's common to install the client to run in XDM mode. XDM is an
acronym for X Display Manager and is the name of a small graphical
program used for graphical logins in many Linux systems. By using the
ThinLinc client in XDM mode you can make sure that the client appears
automatically when the client hardware is started and that it reappears
directly after a user logs out.

To run the client in XDM mode you need to start it with the :option:`-x`
option. When running in XDM mode the following changes will be made to
the client interface.

-  The :guilabel:`Exit` button is removed.

-  Always use full screen on all monitors.
