Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!spool2.mu.edu!dsinc!syd
From: syd@DSI.COM (Syd Weinstein)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.elm
Subject: Re: Elm doesn't work with "su"...
Summary: Well, it does, just not as this user wants
Keywords: using elm under "su"
Message-ID: <1991Jan3.174333.6040@DSI.COM>
Date: 3 Jan 91 17:43:33 GMT
References: <2984@ux.acs.umn.edu>
Organization: Datacomp Systems, Inc., Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006
Lines: 26

In article <2984@ux.acs.umn.edu> edh@ux.acs.umn.edu (Eric D. Hendrickson) writes:
>I have two accounts on this machine, and when I "su" from one to the other,
>to read mail with elm, elm thinks I am the user I logged in as, not the
>user I su'd to.  I suspect this is because of a getlogin() somewhere.  Can
>this be changed, and if not, why not?  It would be most convenient.
Elm and su have gone through a long evolution to the current state.

Its not a bug that Elm and su behave the way they do, its on purpose.
However, it does make sense (somewhat) that they behave as they do.

If you su to a user id, you are becoming your self with the uid of that
user.  Your environment is not changed to match theirs, thus you have
your HOME directory, etc.  Its not like logging in as that user.
Thus if you just su, Elm follows the environment and says, oh, your
really user a.

If you "su -" to that user, and become them complete with environment,
then Elm things you are that new user.  Now the elmrc and alias files
match that user, and all is well.

If all you want to do is access that users spool while su'd, try elm -f.
-- 
=====================================================================
Sydney S. Weinstein, CDP, CCP                   Elm Coordinator
Datacomp Systems, Inc.                          Voice: (215) 947-9900
syd@DSI.COM or dsinc!syd                        FAX:   (215) 938-0235