and I can't edit anything as root. When I start the shell and log in as root, I try to open a config file in emacs. But then I get this error message -

"Xlib: connection to ":0.0" refused by server
Xlib: No protocol specified

emacs: Cannot connect to X server :0.0.
Check the DISPLAY environment variable or use `-d'.
Also use the `xhost' program to verify that it is set to permit
connections from your machine."

When I try to run xhost I get the same error message. I'm sure there is a config file that I need to set up but I don't know which one. I had this same problem in Slackware 10.1 which is why I'm trying Kubuntu 5.04 at the moment.

Thanks for the help ahead of time,

D'oh! Wouldn't you know it, as soon as I post, the next webpage I read contains the answer.

Just sudo emacs <filename>

Simple when you know the answer.