Mint

How to Log Out of Linux Mint 20

Log out Linux Mint 20

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. In this post, we will cover how to logout of Linux Mint.

There are two different options you have for logging out in Linux Mint.

  • Through keyboard shortcut
  • Through system menu

Note: The steps mentioned here have been tested on Linux Mint 20. However, the same steps can work perfectly fine with older Mint distributions.

Methods to logout of Mint

Logout of Mint through Keyboard Shortcut

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 the following dialog.

Logout of mint

In the dialog box, you can choose any of the following options:

  • Log Out: Choose this option to logout from your current user session.
  • 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.
  • 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.

Change the default shortcut for logout

You can also change the default or preconfigured shortcut to any key combination you want. To do so, open the system menu by hitting the super key and type keyboard in the search bar. When the search result appears, click the Keyboard to open the keyboard settings.

Mint keyboard settings

The Keyboard settings window will be opened by default in the Typing tab. Switch to the Shortcuts tab and then click System from the left pane.

MInt keyboard shortucts

Then under the Keyboard shortcuts pane, select Log out. Then from the Keyboard bindings pane, you will see the corresponding shortcut for the logout which is Ctrl+Alt+Delete by default.

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. New keyboard shortcut for logout

Logout of Mint through System Menu

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 also highlighted in the following picture.

Logout of Mint using system menu

Then you will be presented with the following dialog:

Logout of Mint

In the dialog box, you can choose any of the following options:

  • Log Out: Choose this option to logout from your current user session.
  • 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.
  • 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.

Conclusion

In this post, we have discussed two methods that can be used 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.

If you would like to log out from Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, click here.

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