How can I configure a GNOME desktop shortcut to authenticate to run the assigned app?

tim914 · 10-01-2008, 06:30 PM

Hi Folks,

I know that it's an everyday operation for GNOME-based distro producers, but I can't find how to define the proper entries for a desktop icon so that the user is prompted to authenticate as root before launching the assigned tool.

I can do this on a KDE-based system with "kdesu", but I can't determine what GNOME tool is used for things like the System menu options.

Is there a document somewhere that outlines what needs to be placed into the application's icon properties for a GNOME environment?

Thanks,
Tim

win32sux · 10-01-2008, 08:01 PM

I think gksu is the GNOME equivalent for that.

LQtux · 10-02-2008, 03:33 AM

if u are using sudo to become root ; so using gksudo ; or using gksu

best regards

tim914 · 10-02-2008, 10:03 AM

Thanks to both of you, but I don't find either installed on GNOME versions of OpenSuSE, Fedora 8/9, or Debian 3r4. What GNOME package is required for these?

Or, how do the distro providers get the authentication window to display if these aren't there?

Tim

win32sux · 10-02-2008, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tim914

Thanks to both of you, but I don't find either installed on GNOME versions of OpenSuSE, Fedora 8/9, or Debian 3r4. What GNOME package is required for these?

Or, how do the distro providers get the authentication window to display if these aren't there?

I don't know about those distros, but I can tell you that the gksu package is installed by default in Ubuntu, and it is what is used for the icons which are for system administration type programs (such as Synaptic, for example). What you could do is add one of the launchers to your desktop, then right-click on it, select Properties and go to the Launcher tab. There you should be able to see what command is being used to prompt for the root password.

tim914 · 10-02-2008, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by win32sux

What you could do is add one of the launchers to your desktop, then right-click on it, select Properties and go to the Launcher tab. There you should be able to see what command is being used to prompt for the root password.

Good idea and I started there, but they are simply calling the app directly (i.e. /sbin/yast2), so there must be something else involved.

Tim

win32sux · 10-02-2008, 06:22 PM

What does the /etc/sudoers file look like?