X shaped cursor in lxde over xrdp, until lxappearance is started

Question

I have a Ubuntu 16.04 server on which I usually log in over xrdp.

The DefaultWindowManager script contains the following:

#!/bin/sh
startlxde

Now, when I log in I just get the default black X as cursor. But as soon as I start lxappearance (just starting it, not doing anything) I get a proper cursor.

When I log in through lightdm I get a proper cursor from the beginning.

However, in both cases changes to the cursor are only applied, after I start a new session.

The selected cursor theme is stored in a couple of files

.config/gtk-3.0/settings.ini:5:gtk-cursor-theme-name=Breeze_Snow
.config/lxsession/LXDE/desktop.conf:34:sGtk/CursorThemeName=Breeze_Snow
.gtkrc-2.0:8:gtk-cursor-theme-name="Breeze_Snow"
.icons/default/index.theme:5:Inherits=Breeze_Snow

Did I miss installing or running something?

Answer 1

I have at least a partial answer to my question. However I am still looking for a nicer and better solution!

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As indicated by this Arch Linux wiki entry, running xsetroot -cursor_name left_ptr also gets rid of the X shaped cursor.

I ended up adding this to /etc/xdg/lxsession/LXDE/autostart. So now it reads

@lxpanel --profile LXDE
@pcmanfm --desktop --profile LXDE
@xscreensaver -no-splash
@xsetroot -cursor_name left_ptr

It is also required that all users either delete their ~/.config/lxsession/LXDE/autostart or change it accordingly.

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If logging in through LightDM it seems to be the default behavior that cursor changes are not immediately applied. Also here a xsetroot -cursor_name left_ptr executed from a terminal fixes that.