While working on a multi-user system, you often have to leave your session to let other users use the system.
There are two options you can use in this scenario, either switch the user account while keeping the system and the programs running.
It allows you to return to the same state where you left it.
The other option is to logout of the session which terminates all the running programs so that they would not use the system resources.
Here at LinuxAPT, as part of our Server Management Services, we regularly help our Customers to logout of Linux Mint.
There are two different options you have for logging out in Linux Mint.
i. Through keyboard shortcut.
ii. Through system menu.
Now, let us look into the different methods to perform logout operation on Linux Mint.
Linux Mint like other Linux distributions comes with a list of pre-configured keyboard shortcuts. These shortcuts are for different system functionalities and make your work much easier.
The list of shortcuts also contains a shortcut for logout. The preconfigured shortcut for system logout is Ctrl+Alt+Delete.
Whenever you need to logout, simply press the shortcut Ctrl+Alt+Delete and you will be presented with a dialog.
In the dialog box, you can choose any of the following options:
a. Log Out: Choose this option to logout from your current user session.
b. Switch User: Choose this option to keep your current account logged in and switch to another user. By doing so, all your programs will be kept opened and you will find the system in the same state where you left it off.
c. Cancel: Choose this option if you neither want to logout nor switch user.
If you do not choose any option, the system will automatically logout in a few seconds.
You can also change the default or preconfigured shortcut to any key combination you want.
i. To do so, open the system menu by hitting the super key and type keyboard in the search bar.
ii. When the search result appears, click the Keyboard to open the keyboard settings.
The Keyboard settings window will be opened by default in the Typing tab.
iii. Switch to the Shortcuts tab and then click System from the left pane.
iv. Then under the Keyboard shortcuts pane, select Log out.
v. Then from the Keyboard bindings pane, you will see the corresponding shortcut for the logout which is Ctrl+Alt+Delete by default.
vi. To change the default shortcut, Click the Ctrl+Alt+Delete and press any key combination you want to set for the new shortcut.
Once you have set the shortcut, you will see it in the Keyboard binding s pane.
In our example, we have set the Ctrl+L as a new shortcut for the logout.
Another most common method of logging out of your current user session is through the Mint System menu.
To open the system menu, click the menu icon in the bottom left corner of your Mint desktop.
Alternatively, you can hit the super key on your keyboard to open the system menu.
When the system menu appears, click the logout icon (above the shutdown icon) to log out from your session.
Then you will be presented with a dialog.
In the dialog box, you can choose any of the following options:
a. Log Out: Choose this option to logout from your current user session.
b. Switch User: Choose this option to keep your current account logged in and switch to another user.
By doing so, all your programs will be kept opened and you will find the system in the same state where you left it off.
c. Cancel: Choose this option if you neither want to logout nor switch user.
If you do not choose an option, the system will automatically logout in a few seconds.
This article will guide you on methods to logout from the Linux #Mint. Based on your convenience, you can use either the keyboard shortcut or the system menu to logout from your session. When you use a terminal or if you log in to an #Ubuntu system via #SSH, you open a shell session. If you want to logout from your session, you simply exit the #shell. This is why the exit command is equivalent to log out command in Linux.
To switch users in #Linux:
The su command lets you switch the current user to any other user.
If you need to run a command as a different (non-root) user, use the –l [username] option to specify the user account.
Additionally, su can also be used to change to a different shell interpreter on a go.
