Difference between revisions of "Viewing and editing configuration files/en"

You can use the command cat to dump the contents of a file to the screen by typing cat <filename>.  For example to view the contents of your fstab you could use:

You can use the command cat to dump the contents of a file to the screen by typing cat <filename>.  For example to view the contents of your fstab you could use:

For larger files where it would be better to navigate around you can use less.  For example, to view the contents of your pacman.conf you could type:

For larger files where it would be better to navigate around you can use less.  For example, to view the contents of your pacman.conf you could type:

== Editing files from the terminal ==

== Editing files from the terminal ==

To open a configuration file with nano simply type nano <filename>.  For example, to edit your .profile file you could type:

To open a configuration file with nano simply type nano <filename>.  For example, to edit your .profile file you could type:

The keybindings for nano can be seen at the bottom of the screen.  The ^ indicates the ctrl key.  For example to exit nano you could hold ctrl and press 'x'.

The keybindings for nano can be seen at the bottom of the screen.  The ^ indicates the ctrl key.  For example to exit nano you could hold ctrl and press 'x'.

The first is to use sudo to run the text editor.  For example, to edit your fstab file you could type:

The first is to use sudo to run the text editor.  For example, to edit your fstab file you could type:

An alternative, and arguably safer method, would be to save a copy of the file somewhere you can write and then use sudo to move it.  For example, if you used nano to edit your fstab and then saved a copy to your home folder, you could then move it to the proper location with sudo:

An alternative, and arguably safer method, would be to save a copy of the file somewhere you can write and then use sudo to move it.  For example, if you used nano to edit your fstab and then saved a copy to your home folder, you could then move it to the proper location with sudo:

= Desktop Environment =

= Desktop Environment =

To edit or view a file you can open it directly from the command line.  Reference the list below to find the appropriate editor installed with your edition.  For example to open your pacman.conf from the XFCE edition you could type:

To edit or view a file you can open it directly from the command line.  Reference the list below to find the appropriate editor installed with your edition.  For example to open your pacman.conf from the XFCE edition you could type:

Alternatively, you could launch mousepad from the whisker menu and open the file by browsing to it.  Sometimes, the menu item will have the name as found below but it can also simply read 'Text Editor'

Alternatively, you could launch mousepad from the whisker menu and open the file by browsing to it.  Sometimes, the menu item will have the name as found below but it can also simply read 'Text Editor'

If they don't, you can save a copy of the file to your home folder and move it into place using sudo.  For example, if you edit your fstab and then saved a copy to your home folder, you could then move it to the proper location with sudo:

If they don't, you can save a copy of the file to your home folder and move it into place using sudo.  For example, if you edit your fstab and then saved a copy to your home folder, you could then move it to the proper location with sudo:

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