Hello all, i need a little help.

This is what ive done thus far:
Created a folder in my home directory called 'data'.
Changed the group owner of data to 'users' group.
Set permission SGID on the directory.

Now i need to:
Add the 'data' folder to my user accounts PATH variable & make sure it is in the users PATH each time i log in.

Problem:
I do not fully understand path variable but have a general idea on how it works, and im not sure which file will run each time i log in.. any help would be appreciated! thanks

What shell are you using?
Bash is generally the default, in which case the PATH can usually be modified in one of two places:
~/.bashrc
or
~/.bash_profile

~/.bashrc is sourced every time a terminal is opened
~/.bash_profile is sourced once when you first log in

Therefore, .bashrc is generally used for aliases or things that can change between opening terminals on a given login session, while .bash_profile is used for environment variables that are only set once when you first log in. I almost always modify the PATH in .bash_profile rather than .bashrc, because if you append to your PATH in .bashrc, every time you open a terminal you'll append more and more onto your PATH, whereas with .bash_profile your PATH is just set once and then left alone.

To add $HOME/data to your PATH, you would simply add something like the following into one of your login scripts (.bashrc, .bash_profile, etc):
If you "echo $PATH" before and after the above command, you'll see that your new directory has been added.

1 members found this post helpful.

fedora 13 Goddard

and thanks for the help

For csh or tcsh shell:
To add it permanantly:
For sh/bash, as said above, you can use export cmd and add the same in your '~/.bashrc' file.

1 members found this post helpful.

Very helpful thanks !

@ shiva: Thats a little beasty for my lol That step just skips me having to open it with editor and adding perm ?

Only if you're using the csh/tcsh shell. You haven't posted the output of my original question yet:

Without knowing what shell you're using, it's impossible for us to tell you what file you need to modify.

1 members found this post helpful.

re installing.. Ill check in justa minute

bin bash

In that case, follow what suicidaleggroll has suggested:
To make it permanant: