virtual console switch

Unix and Linux operation systems (OS) originally provided textual interfaces only, but now, we can already enjoy the perfect graphic experience through their desktop systems, e.g. Gnome, KDE, XFCE. This post only aims to present the methods of switching between textual and graphical interfaces.

  • Switch from graphical interface to textual interface: press Ctrl + Alt + Fn, where n = 1, 2, ...
  • Switch from textual interface to graphical interface: press Alt + Fm, where the value of integer m is different from OS to OS. For most Linux OS, m = 7.
  • Switch from textual interface i to textual interface j: press Alt + Fj.