"Open as Root" functionality in Gnome?

Rainmaker · Post by **Rainmaker** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 8:38 am

Hi guys,

I'm LOVING Mint. So much in fact, that I've formatted my HD and removed my previous distro (which was in itself very, very good - so kudos, Mint). I only have one bugbear which is really spoiling my ability to fully enjoy the distro. I have done some reading around, and some playing with old live CDs and it seems the "problem" is a Gnome one, not a Linux Mint one specifically. In my last distro (which was KDE), one only had to right click a file or folder and choose "ACTIONS>OPEN AS ROOT".

This allows you to fully edit any config files, or change permissions for folders instantly. It opened that file or folder in Konqueror's GUI file manager, whereas i Gnome one apparently has to use sudo su and can only open files as root in terminal?

In Gnome I'm finding myself increasingly frustrated as this ability to use the file manager as root seems to be totally absent. Take for example editing or adding any files into the /etc or /usr directories. If I want to edit the rc.local file as per the tips/tricks section of this board, I have to do it in the terminal. If I want to move a file (eg newmailnotify.wav for Evolution) into the etc directory, I have to use terminal! In KDE I'd just right click, CUT, and then open /etc as root and PASTE. Easy.

I'm no terminal-o-phobe, but it does get annoying after a while when you just want to do something that is so quick and easy in KDE (open as root, save file, done!). Is there any way around this in Gnome? Or will I just have to learn how to manually edit, open, and move files with the sudo su in terminal?

I know there's a KDE version of Mint, but, being truly awkward as I am, I've fallen in love with the Gnome interface and tbh it's half the reason I got the Mint live cd in the first place

Any help, comments, or even ridicule welcome

Cheers,

Lee

Rainmaker · Post by **Rainmaker** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 11:24 am

lars wrote:hi Rainmaker

I just had the same problem. I ended up doing "gksu nautilus" in the console, to lunch a root filemanager.
But after I read your post I thought their might be a different solution. And there is:
Right click a folder and select "Open with other application..."Â¹
Expand "Use user defined command"Â¹ at the bottom of the dialog and enter "gksu nautilus". Then click open and you have our root filemanager.

The next time you right click a folder there should be a entry "Open with gksu"Â¹.

Â¹: Labels my differ as my mint language isn't set to English.

Oh, good man!!

I was so close to formatting my HD and installing my old distro with KDE, simply because I was so frustrated at not having as much functionality in Gnome as in KDE (Linus agrees with me, so that's something lol).

Now, I can leave Mint intact and get back to working instead of figuring stuff out. Kudos to you, kudos

Thanks again!

hairy_Palms · Post by **hairy_Palms** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 5:35 am

or an even easier way would be to install
nautilus-gksu from synaptic, puts open as administrator in the context menu.

linuxviolin · Post by **linuxviolin** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 7:06 am

thanks hairy_Palms but how put open as administrator in the context menu?
sorry if my question is "stupid" but we must learn before to become a master.

Boo · Post by **Boo** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 9:38 am

well i hope/think he is saying that by installing the package "nautilus-gksu" from the synaptic package manager, the option "open as administrator" will appear when you right click the nautilus icon. (ie viewing any folder contents)

linuxviolin · Post by **linuxviolin** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 12:12 pm

oups... sorry. I was too fast while posting: I had forgotten to start again my session!

telic · Post by **telic** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 2:35 pm

I've grown accustomed to using the root-mode Krusader utility in a KDE-based distro that's installed on another partition. I like Krusader's dual-panel view.

So, I installed Krusader on GNOME-based Bianca, using Synaptic. Then I created a GUI menu launcher for Krusader using Bianca > Preferences > Menu Layout. To automatically give Krusader root permissions, I prefixed its launcher command with "gksu" (i.e. "gksu krusader").

Krusader now resides in my System Tools menu. When it fires up, Krusader is aware that it has root privileges, as it displays a red icon in its title bar, instead of its usual purple icon.

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Rainmaker · Post by **Rainmaker** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 3:54 pm

Thanks again all, especially Boo

I'll install that when I get back home (I'm busy installing Mint on some machines for family - more converts!).

Vive la linux community

bigbearomaha · Post by **bigbearomaha** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 10:36 am

Goodness sakes.

The flexibility of Linux can be astonishing.

That's just one of many reasons I think Linux is better than other OS's.

The power,stability and flexibility with tools really transforms a computer into a tool instead of another idiotbox holding ones hand along and tells you what to do instead of being told what to do.

Viva Linux indeed

Big Bear

Husse · Post by **Husse** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 8:13 am

@ telic

To automatically give Krusader root permissions

You're not "bypassing" the password, are you?

civint · Post by **civint** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 5:57 am

yeah..bypassing permissions ist nicht so gut...for eaxmple when I first used linux and there was an issue with x11, so I deleted it from my system....woooops. In fact I did three times...on the same day. stupid, no?

I honestly don't see why there ought to be an "open as root" in gnome, since it is very rarely that permissions are set as read only in the user section of your pc, unless you happen to be opening a file from another disk partition...

as for "Linus agrees with me"..I beleive that that comment was used in context of printer drivers being better for kde, quite a long time ago, he went on to say that it was about choice, not what is better.