How to find and edit a .conf file
 

Hello all, I am very new to Linux and I think I am getting the hang of it. My question is.... how do I find and edit a .conf (if I know the path)? I come from the windows world and I know how to edit these files but for the life of me, I can't get to this file.

Do I need to have an interface or is this a command line type of editing I need to do at the server level?

I just installed ClarkCOnnect and am experimenting on the different modules. One happens to be the FTP Server which uses ProFTPD.conf.

If there is documentation that simplifies the most basic commands, I would appreciate the info.

Depends on the distro ...
... and the Desktop manager ...
... and the security model ...
... and file manager (if any) ...

You get the idea. If you are in a (GUI) file manager, generally double-clicking should launch a GUI full-screen editor. Just like that other place. Saving it will usually be a problem in that you won't be authorised. That can be rectified a couple of different ways - depending on the distro ... :p

More info needed about your setup.

Easiest way I find is through a terminal, usually as root since root can save most configs.

Next question is choise of editor. I use vim, as a lot of people here do, but there is nano, emacs, plus more. For vim, you would type

vim /path_to_config/config_file.conf

Then edit away. You will want to find a decent tutorial on vim (or vi) since it's probably not like anything you've used. nano is pretty self explanetory from the couple of times I've had to use it.

Get used to vi(m) - it's commands are actually used quite a bit in *nix world.

Hi,

and welcome to LQ!

You could try
locate -i ProFTPD.conf
or, if (s)locate isn't installed,
find / -iname ProFTPD.conf

Chances are that it's the capitalisation that throws you off
in your attempts to find it - mixed case in Linux is VERY uncommon
since Linux (like Unix) is case-sensitive.



Cheers,
Tink

How to find and edit a .conf file
 

I was able to locate the file (through the "locate" command) and by process of ellimnation, I was able to open it up to edit. This brings me bacl to my DOS years. (Oops! Sorry, I didn't mean to mention the other OS.)

One of the posts (syg00)mentions:

Depends on the distro ...
... and the Desktop manager ...
... and the security model ...
... and file manager (if any) ...

This is what I am looking for - a desktop manager. I am using ClarkCOnnect for my server. I did not see an option for a desktop. Is this something I need to install (or as you call "distro")?

Also, if there are any "Linux for Dummies" book that you would recommend, please let me know.

Having no experience of it, ClarkConnect appears to be a bit of a "niche" market. If you are merely looking for an intro to Linux, there are likely to be better options. Else maybe pay for their support - not that I'm in favour of that generally.

If you want that/need that particular distro (distribution - ClarkConnect in your case), you don't get to play with a GUI desktop. Your (best) edit options appear to be vim or nano - I like the latter.

This is a very good tutorial: http://rute.2038bug.com/index.html.gz