More easily admin a non-root desktop system

[wiak]

Assuming you are using a distro logged in to desktop as a normal user. Here is way to help admin it painlessly.

The following allows you to quickly open thunar as root user for admin purposes. Can then open root terminals from there via right click action.

This method is more convenient than opening terminal and entering sudo thunar command.

Modify to pcmanfm if that is what you use.

The following assumes logged in to desktop as normal user and normal user is member of sudoers.
If normal user is in wheel group, such that no sudoer user password is asked for, you can modify below to Terminal=false.
Otherwise, a terminal will pop up and you need to enter that normal user password at prompt.

Put the following in /usr/share/applications/rootfm.desktop or in ~/.local/share/applications/rootfm.desktop
and the launch icon will appear under Desktop Start Menu -> System category.
You may need to change the Icon to whatever is on your system you prefer.

Code: Select all

[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Type=Application
Name=rootfm
Comment=root Thunar File Manager
Exec=sudo thunar
Icon=utilities-root-terminal
Terminal=true
StartupNotify=false
Categories=System;

The other important matter to set up when running from normal user desktop (such as user 'weedog') is to create directories with user:group ownership permissions weedog:weedog.

That allows you to then use, for example, your internet browser to store downloads into any such directories that have weedog:weedog ownership permissions even when not using above "run filemanager as root mechanism". For example, I often arrange for my usb stick or some directories on that, or some other partition, to have normal user weedog:weedog ownership (whether weedog is a sudoer member or not). You can change a directories permissions from user:group being root:root to weedog:weedog via commandline:

Code: Select all

chown -R weedog:weedog directory_path

After that your normal user logged in desktop system becomes pretty painless to use and administer with advantage of no more issues with those many apps nowadays that don't like being run as user root! So that is an alternative to using scripts like run-as-weedog or run-as-spot.

[wiak]

Do not moderate the content of WeeDog subforum. I am the moderator of this subforum according to my WeeDogLinux own business documentation needs and wishes and reserve the right I have to moderate any posts put into this WDL-related area (including my own). The exact content is copied from this site for formal business IT needs outside of this forum and it is really annoying to sometimes find wording changed by a person who seem to think they have authority to modify my WDL-related posts in this set-aside subforum; you do not have that authority, I assure you, even if you have phpBB ability/rights to do so. This is not the first time I have come across changes to my often technical documentation, and often noticed as I was copying extracts to my more official business-related documentation, where it is re-organised and used for official IT purposes. The documentation, topic headers and all, rough though it often is at this busy stage, is nevertheless provided free to copy and use and modify for your own purposes, but not for anyone but myself to modify the original(s), whether considered grammatically or stylistically flawed by yourself or not. I usually post here first, time is short, these are usually the originals.

WDL build system is primarily developed by me for my family business - but I freely publish the main build system and (most) any related documentation I generate as open-source, with documentation creative-commons usable, for the benefit of others, but not to have my time wasted having to carefully check that the wording of my originals are not being distorted and damaged by someone else. I'm fed up with this - leave my WeeDog section posts/documentation alone or none will be published here.

I am not claiming to be producing perfect documentation (or even good documentation) for others. But I am producing documentation that is useful for my own records and usage purposes. I am not willing to risk even a comma being added that might detract from my intended meaning, like alone table of contents or header differences. If you don't like it, don't read it.

I do not of course object to any forum member informing me of any technical error or confusion arising from any of my words since that is a helpful form of 'feedback' (though I do not guarantee to do anything about anything). Wasted time. Painful. Too busy just now for dealing with these unwelcome interventions. Of course it sours my mood - messing with technical documentation is dangerous and was done without notification or agreement.