hi all
how do i unlock a log file so i can clear its contents?
and how do i get the list in the log file to open the listing so the latest entry is at the top?
thanks
joe

Hi there!

Not sure what you mean by "lock" or "unlock" the files. Sounds like you are trying to do things to log files that you do not have permissions to do. Most or all log files are owned by root , so you'll need to be root (or use `sudo`) to remove or clear such files.

As for "open the listing so the latest entry is at the top", again this is slightly unclear, but maybe try:
that may work. If not, someone will have another suggestion, though you may need to clarify exactly what you mean.

Cheers!

EDIT; Oh, P.S. you should ideally have the `logrotate` program being run by cron or something on your system, which should take care of rotating and clearing logs automatically for you. Perhaps you ought to investigate this. Just a suggestion.

1 members found this post helpful.

thanks celine understood i have changed the own to myself now and i can del. its contents

as for the listing

in the log file as a couple of lines foe example


this lie 20pm
this line 21pm
this line 22pm
and so on
when i opem the logfile i would lke to have the last entry first for example
this line 22pm
this line 21pm
this line 20pm
as you can see if the listing is very long i have to scroll down to see the lastest entry
hope that explains it
thanks
joe

Yup, that explains it. Try the command I suggested. You probably need to use `sudo` for that too. Does it work?

Also, if you just want to see the last few lines, use the `tail` command. See:
for details.