how to edit a file without logging in as root?

osat3ch · 08-19-2004, 05:15 PM

How do I edit a protected file without logging in as root?

dubya · 08-19-2004, 05:27 PM

From my knowledge, you can't. That's why you need to; any joker could come along and mess up something important.

But if you're talking about logging in graphically, there's a shortcut:

Open a terminal.
Type su.
Type the root password.
Then type gedit (or text editting app) /path/to/file/to/edit/

Sorry if you already know this, but it's the best way I know. Hope it helps, any more questions, ask.

osat3ch · 08-19-2004, 05:37 PM

someone told me how to do that once and i forgot

your solution is the one i was looking for

thank you

Kristijan · 08-21-2004, 11:16 PM

Another option is using -c with su, man su. -c passes a single command to the shell as "that" user.

So you can;

Code:

su -c "pico /etc/fstab"

Which will run pico as root, just for that one command. Very usefull for doing those one off root things

Kristijan