Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!lethe!yunexus!ists!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!yale!ox.com!emv From: ange@hplb.hpl.hp.com (Andy Norman) Newsgroups: comp.archives Subject: [emacs] Re: "turning on" root privileges in a running emacs Message-ID: <1991Jan16.061518.12368@ox.com> Date: 16 Jan 91 06:15:18 GMT References: Sender: emv@ox.com (Edward Vielmetti) Reply-To: ange@hplb.hpl.hp.com (Andy Norman) Followup-To: comp.emacs Organization: Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, Bristol, UK. Lines: 37 Approved: emv@ox.com (Edward Vielmetti) X-Original-Newsgroups: comp.emacs Archive-name: ftp/client/ange-ftp/1991-01-15 Archive: tut.cis.ohio-state.edu:pub/gnu/emacs/elisp-archive/as-is/ange-ftp.el.Z [128.146.8.60] Original-posting-by: ange@hplb.hpl.hp.com (Andy Norman) Original-subject: Re: "turning on" root privileges in a running emacs Reposted-by: emv@ox.com (Edward Vielmetti) >>>>> "Fred" == lakin@csli.stanford.edu (Fred Lakin) writes: Fred> Sometimes in the middle of a session I want to read or modify a file Fred> requiring root privs. At the moment, I have to go to a shell, become Fred> su, and start another emacs. Is there some to momentarily enable (and Fred> later "turn back off") su privs in an emacs started by a regular Fred> user?? Firstly let me assume that you mean GNU Emacs when you say 'emacs'. This is a roundabout solution to your problem. You will probably barf when you think about it. ;-) There is a package in tut.cis.ohio-state.edu:pub/gnu/emacs/elisp-archive/as-is called ange-ftp.el.Z which augments most of the usual GNU Emacs file-handling routines to work over FTP. Using this package, you can access files as root on your system by just using the filename: /root@system:pathname instead of 'pathname'. OK, feel free to barf! ;-) Please let me know if this solves your problem. -- ange -- ange@hplb.hpl.hp.com