HOWTO: Increase Screen Dim/Blank timeouts!
 

Hi folks, this is actually a new thread: How to increase screen dimming/blanking timeouts!

thanks to derf in @maemo for help on this!

To set your display dim and blank timeouts directly (for e.g. to 1/2 hour and 1 hour - 1800 and 3600 seconds respectively) run this from ssh/xterm:

gconftool-2 -s "/system/osso/dsm/display/display_dim_timeout" 1800 -t INT
gconftool-2 -s "/system/osso/dsm/display/display_blank_timeout" 3600 -t INT


You can also add round values to the list of timeouts that 'display settings' shows in the drop down list!

gconftool-2 -t list --list-type=int -s /system/osso/dsm/display/possible_display_dim_timeouts [30,60,120,300,600,1800,3600]

gconftool-2 -t list --list-type=int -s /system/osso/dsm/display/possible_display_blank_timeouts [30,60,120,300,600,1800,3600]

And the best part - your settings will be persistent after reboot!

\o/ Wooohooo! :D

(edit) I did this as root user.

Re: HOWTO: Increase Screen Dim/Blank timeouts!
 

This is EXTREMELY useful information ArnimS! I have long been searching for a way to execute greater control over the power management on my N800. Lack of granular control of power management settings has kept me from using the N800/N770 in several commercial projects. It is one of my longest standing unresolved complaints about the Nokia Internet Tablets. Being able to specify an arbitrary time value is very helpful, although I wish there was a way to disable the timeout entirely. Do you know what range of values can be submitted?

I believe this should allow programs like Kismet to run in a persistent state without need for constant user interaction. There seems to be a seperate bug with Kismet on the OS 2007 release 3 which causes Kismet to stop collecting data after 20 someodd seconds. Can anyone confirm that the above fix works for OS 2007 release 2? If so, I might just downgrade.

Re: HOWTO: Increase Screen Dim/Blank timeouts!
 

Fantastic! Thanks so much,
Neil

Re: HOWTO: Increase Screen Dim/Blank timeouts!
 

Real nice! Thanks.

Re: HOWTO: Increase Screen Dim/Blank timeouts!
 

I agree with the other posters that this is very useful information.

Unlike many users, I tend to turn my N800 off regularly, since at the moment I'm not using it every day. After the recent OS update, I was delighted to find that I no longer have to go into the Control Panel every time I turn it on to reconnect my Bluetooth keyboard. So far so good. However, sometimes when I reestablish an existing connection, although the keystrokes are recognized by the application that I'm using, they don't keep the screen alive, so I have to poke at it with my finger every few minutes. That gets irritating very quickly. This looks like the answer to my problem. Thanks.

Re: HOWTO: Increase Screen Dim/Blank timeouts!
 

There is, you can write a daemon or program that sends 'pings' to keep the screen alive.
Not offhand, and testing large values would take longer than i can keep away from the device.

A high blanking timeout would be really useful for a kiosk application, or for point-of-sale demo units where the tablet is meant to attract attention. Not that i've ever seen a live unit being displayed.

Re: HOWTO: Increase Screen Dim/Blank timeouts!
 

i tried this , installed xterm , but it keeps giving me errors... could you reply with exactly what to type when i first open xterm?

Re: HOWTO: Increase Screen Dim/Blank timeouts!
 

This is excllent. Are this and other How-Tos kept in a single location on this website?

Thanks

W

Re: HOWTO: Increase Screen Dim/Blank timeouts!
 

gconftool-2 -t list --list-type=int -s /system/osso/dsm/display/possible_display_dim_timeouts [30,60,120,300,600,1800,3600]


press <enter>


gconftool-2 -t list --list-type=int -s /system/osso/dsm/display/possible_display_blank_timeouts [30,60,120,300,600,1800,3600]


press <enter>

Re: HOWTO: Increase Screen Dim/Blank timeouts!
 

You should also be able to do this using the gconf-editor. Just follow the same path osso->dsm->display. You can edit the entry on the right side. I haven't actually performed this mod, but it should be the same thing.