transparency between two users on one machine
 

Hello All:

Two users,
one machine.
How do I set it up so that the two users can see (and possibly use) each other's data?
Can it be done?
They are already set up w/ their own accounts, so please include info on possibly how to undo what's already been done (2 separate accounts).
Please be specific and relevant.
Anxiously awaiting your reply.



ergo_sum

use groupadd to create a group then add both users to that group than chgrp all the files for both users. If you dont like the command line try kuser in kde. I think gnome has a graphical usertool also. anyone is welcome to give more detailed instructions.

Thanks.
What's kuser and where is it?

Its in the kde menu under system

Ok!

Thanks much.

ergo_sum

Well, I followed directions and still no go.

ergo_sum

You don't mention which distro you are using - I know in some distros (Fedore Core 3 as a matter of fact) there is an extra "layer" of security available during install and if you choose to turn it on, one of the things it prevents is users even seeing each other's data. Since I am not a regular FC3 user, I don't know how to undo it myself but I remember this behavior from an FC3 I played around with for awhile.

Well, I hope to get to FC 3 (and 4, when stable) later this year.
But for now just an upgraded Red Hat 7.3 using kde.

ergo_sum

well FC is just beta RH (ok, close) so it is possible your RH has this security option enabled. But, since you are using KDE there is one other place to look. In KDE Control Center...the module is Network I believe. There it gives the sharing options and I believe I did see an entry in there whether to let the users "see" each others home directories whether they have permissions or not. I am on doze machine at work right now and can't give you exact wording.

You can make two users the same by make their UIDs (3rd field in /etc/passwd) the same (you'll need to chown the files of the user whos UID you change). This is generally considered to be not a particularly good idea for a variety of reasons, although I've done it in very specific circumstances. I agree that the better way is to add them both to a group and make all their files and directories rwx for that group. What exactly didn't work when you tried that? If you add the users to a new group, you must have them logout and login again (or run newgrp) for it to take effect.