how to edit /etc/speedtouch.conf
 

hi, i am having dificulty editing a file in the following place: /etc/speedtouch.conf

all i need to do is edit a line in that file.

but when i open it with kwrite it will not allow me to edit it, i get the following error message:

The document could not be saved, as it was not possible to write to file:/etc/speedtouch.conf.
Check that you have write access to this file or that enough disc space is available.

i am the only user and i am using suse 9.1 pro

please help, how can i edit this file? could it be done in the terminal program?

thx to all in advanced! :)

Only user or logged in as root?
That's most likely the crucial bit that's missing ;)

You can probably use a variety of editors to do
what you need from a console, just make sure you
su - first. There's nano and pico (reasonably easy to
use) or emacs or vi (powerful but take some training).



Cheers,
Tink

sorry, i dont understand can you please tell me in detail how to edit the file in the terminal program, i know about the su part, but the rest i dont know, how do i get the file in the terminal prgram? what do i type to get the file in the terminal program? then what do i do? etc etc etc..... thx

or if i can use kwrite how do i make that su???

thx

i am a complete newbie to linux!!!! :newbie:

can some one please help????

Try:
su -
rootpassword
kwrite /etc/speedtouch.conf &

You are not able to edit the file as it does not "belong" to you.
Open a terminal window and enter the following command:

ls -Al /etc/speedtouch.conf (that's a capital "A" and lowercase "ell")

I get this:

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 530 Feb 10 2003 /etc/speedtouch.conf

Which tells me the file is owned by "root", and not writeable by others.

So you must be root to edit this file. Type this command:

su root

and give the password.

Now you are root and can edit and save the file. I use vi as my editor, but there are others that are supposed to be easier. To use vi, enter the following command:

vi /etc/speedtouch.conf

The file opens. Use the cursor keys to navigate to where you want to edit.
Press the i key on your keyboard to insert text. Now you may type text and use the backspace and delete keys.
When you have finished editing press Escape key, then colon key (:) then w to WRITE the changes, then q to QUIT the editor.
If you mess up just press Escape, :q! to quit without saving changes.

Being "root" is dangerous, you can mess things up big time, so once you have edited the file type the command

exit

You are then back as yourself, a regular user.

Hope this helps.