How can I edit a readonly file? [closed]
Clash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP up vote
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We have no privileges to change file permissions. We have no permissions even for super users. How can we edit this file?
files read-only
edited May 8 at 18:51
Zanna
48k13119227
asked Apr 26 at 7:40
Mayank Sharma
1
closed as unclear what you're asking by karel, Eric Carvalho, Kevin Bowen, vidarlo, waltinator Apr 27 at 13:28
Please clarify your specific problem or add additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it’s hard to tell exactly what you're asking. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
add a comment |Â
up vote
-3
down vote
favorite
We have no privileges to change file permissions. We have no permissions even for super users. How can we edit this file?
files read-only
edited May 8 at 18:51
Zanna
48k13119227
asked Apr 26 at 7:40
Mayank Sharma
1
closed as unclear what you're asking by karel, Eric Carvalho, Kevin Bowen, vidarlo, waltinator Apr 27 at 13:28
Please clarify your specific problem or add additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it’s hard to tell exactly what you're asking. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
6
Copy the file to a writable directory and make your edits there.
– dsstorefile1
Apr 26 at 7:41
1
@dsstorefile and how do they put edited file back in place ?
– Soren A
Apr 26 at 8:30
What is your real goal? You might be getting an XY problem.
– Melebius
Apr 26 at 8:36
1
That is the purpose of permissions, to prevent unauthorized users to read/write/execute. Only solution that I see is possible is to boot the system from USB drive and to edit that file. But if the file/drive is encrypted there is no way you can do it.
– spaceman117X
Apr 26 at 10:25
add a comment |Â
up vote
-3
down vote
favorite
up vote
-3
down vote
favorite
We have no privileges to change file permissions. We have no permissions even for super users. How can we edit this file?
files read-only
edited May 8 at 18:51
Zanna
48k13119227
asked Apr 26 at 7:40
Mayank Sharma
1
We have no privileges to change file permissions. We have no permissions even for super users. How can we edit this file?
files read-only
edited May 8 at 18:51
Zanna
48k13119227
asked Apr 26 at 7:40
Mayank Sharma
1
edited May 8 at 18:51
Zanna
48k13119227
edited May 8 at 18:51
Zanna
48k13119227
edited May 8 at 18:51
Zanna
48k13119227
48k13119227
asked Apr 26 at 7:40
Mayank Sharma
1
asked Apr 26 at 7:40
Mayank Sharma
1
asked Apr 26 at 7:40
Mayank Sharma
1
1
closed as unclear what you're asking by karel, Eric Carvalho, Kevin Bowen, vidarlo, waltinator Apr 27 at 13:28
Please clarify your specific problem or add additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it’s hard to tell exactly what you're asking. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
closed as unclear what you're asking by karel, Eric Carvalho, Kevin Bowen, vidarlo, waltinator Apr 27 at 13:28
Please clarify your specific problem or add additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it’s hard to tell exactly what you're asking. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
6
Copy the file to a writable directory and make your edits there.
– dsstorefile1
Apr 26 at 7:41
1
@dsstorefile and how do they put edited file back in place ?
– Soren A
Apr 26 at 8:30
What is your real goal? You might be getting an XY problem.
– Melebius
Apr 26 at 8:36
1
That is the purpose of permissions, to prevent unauthorized users to read/write/execute. Only solution that I see is possible is to boot the system from USB drive and to edit that file. But if the file/drive is encrypted there is no way you can do it.
– spaceman117X
Apr 26 at 10:25
add a comment |Â
6
Copy the file to a writable directory and make your edits there.
– dsstorefile1
Apr 26 at 7:41
1
@dsstorefile and how do they put edited file back in place ?
– Soren A
Apr 26 at 8:30
What is your real goal? You might be getting an XY problem.
– Melebius
Apr 26 at 8:36
1
That is the purpose of permissions, to prevent unauthorized users to read/write/execute. Only solution that I see is possible is to boot the system from USB drive and to edit that file. But if the file/drive is encrypted there is no way you can do it.
– spaceman117X
Apr 26 at 10:25
6
6
Copy the file to a writable directory and make your edits there.
– dsstorefile1
Apr 26 at 7:41
Copy the file to a writable directory and make your edits there.
– dsstorefile1
Apr 26 at 7:41
1
1
@dsstorefile and how do they put edited file back in place ?
– Soren A
Apr 26 at 8:30
@dsstorefile and how do they put edited file back in place ?
– Soren A
Apr 26 at 8:30
What is your real goal? You might be getting an XY problem.
– Melebius
Apr 26 at 8:36
What is your real goal? You might be getting an XY problem.
– Melebius
Apr 26 at 8:36
1
1
That is the purpose of permissions, to prevent unauthorized users to read/write/execute. Only solution that I see is possible is to boot the system from USB drive and to edit that file. But if the file/drive is encrypted there is no way you can do it.
– spaceman117X
Apr 26 at 10:25
That is the purpose of permissions, to prevent unauthorized users to read/write/execute. Only solution that I see is possible is to boot the system from USB drive and to edit that file. But if the file/drive is encrypted there is no way you can do it.
– spaceman117X
Apr 26 at 10:25
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
up vote
1
down vote
As pointed out by dsstorefile, you can copy the contents of the file to another file for which you have writing rights, and then edit the writable file.
Then you can put the edited file back in place by deleting the original file and copying your new file at the same place.
In more detail:
Using command-line / terminal
If you can create files in the directory where your file is
If the original read-only file is called original.csv
and you want your writable file to be called data.csv, you can open a terminal, go to the directory where your file is, and run the command:
cat original.csv > data.csv
and now you can open and edit the data.csv file.
Once the editing is done,
rm original.csv
When asked if you want to delete the read-only file, answer y
mv data.csv original.csv
If your file is in a directory you cannot write to
If /path/to/writable/dir/ is the name of a directory you can write to, if the original read-only file is called original.csv
and if you want your writable file to be called data.csv, you can open a terminal, go to the directory where your file is, and run the command:
cat original.csv > /path/to/writable/dir/data.csv
and now you can open and edit the data.csv file in /path/to/writable/dir/. In this situation, you won't be able to put your modified file where the original file was.
Without using terminal
- Open your csv with a text editor, for example gedit .
- Copy all the content of the file, for example with Ctrl+A Ctrl+C
- Create a new file within the editor
- Paste the contents of the csv, for example with Ctrl+V
- Save your new file with a name that ends with
.csv - delete the original file
- move the edited file where the original file was, and rename it if necessary
edited May 8 at 18:56
Zanna
48k13119227
answered Apr 26 at 8:43
Jack B.
385
What are the reasons for usingcat(main purpose: concatenation of files) instead ofcp(copy command)?
– Melebius
Apr 26 at 8:47
1
cp will preserve the rights, so the result will be read-only as well. cat will create a new file, with the default rights; so a file you can write to, in most cases
– Jack B.
Apr 26 at 8:50
For the first part of the answer an alternate method of editing the read-only file would be to use:w!withvi/m.
– dsstorefile1
Apr 26 at 8:52
2
“cp will preserve the rights†There are parameters to control this but I agree,catcould be simpler. (Even when compared with editors as suggested by @dsstorefile.)
– Melebius
Apr 26 at 8:57
Indeed, you can change the behaviour of cp, for example with the --no-preserve option. I wasn't aware of it; thank you :)
– Jack B.
Apr 26 at 9:04
 |Â
show 1 more comment
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
1
down vote
As pointed out by dsstorefile, you can copy the contents of the file to another file for which you have writing rights, and then edit the writable file.
Then you can put the edited file back in place by deleting the original file and copying your new file at the same place.
In more detail:
Using command-line / terminal
If you can create files in the directory where your file is
If the original read-only file is called original.csv
and you want your writable file to be called data.csv, you can open a terminal, go to the directory where your file is, and run the command:
cat original.csv > data.csv
and now you can open and edit the data.csv file.
Once the editing is done,
rm original.csv
When asked if you want to delete the read-only file, answer y
mv data.csv original.csv
If your file is in a directory you cannot write to
If /path/to/writable/dir/ is the name of a directory you can write to, if the original read-only file is called original.csv
and if you want your writable file to be called data.csv, you can open a terminal, go to the directory where your file is, and run the command:
cat original.csv > /path/to/writable/dir/data.csv
and now you can open and edit the data.csv file in /path/to/writable/dir/. In this situation, you won't be able to put your modified file where the original file was.
Without using terminal
- Open your csv with a text editor, for example gedit .
- Copy all the content of the file, for example with Ctrl+A Ctrl+C
- Create a new file within the editor
- Paste the contents of the csv, for example with Ctrl+V
- Save your new file with a name that ends with
.csv - delete the original file
- move the edited file where the original file was, and rename it if necessary
edited May 8 at 18:56
Zanna
48k13119227
answered Apr 26 at 8:43
Jack B.
385
What are the reasons for usingcat(main purpose: concatenation of files) instead ofcp(copy command)?
– Melebius
Apr 26 at 8:47
1
cp will preserve the rights, so the result will be read-only as well. cat will create a new file, with the default rights; so a file you can write to, in most cases
– Jack B.
Apr 26 at 8:50
For the first part of the answer an alternate method of editing the read-only file would be to use:w!withvi/m.
– dsstorefile1
Apr 26 at 8:52
2
“cp will preserve the rights†There are parameters to control this but I agree,catcould be simpler. (Even when compared with editors as suggested by @dsstorefile.)
– Melebius
Apr 26 at 8:57
Indeed, you can change the behaviour of cp, for example with the --no-preserve option. I wasn't aware of it; thank you :)
– Jack B.
Apr 26 at 9:04
 |Â
show 1 more comment
up vote
1
down vote
As pointed out by dsstorefile, you can copy the contents of the file to another file for which you have writing rights, and then edit the writable file.
Then you can put the edited file back in place by deleting the original file and copying your new file at the same place.
In more detail:
Using command-line / terminal
If you can create files in the directory where your file is
If the original read-only file is called original.csv
and you want your writable file to be called data.csv, you can open a terminal, go to the directory where your file is, and run the command:
cat original.csv > data.csv
and now you can open and edit the data.csv file.
Once the editing is done,
rm original.csv
When asked if you want to delete the read-only file, answer y
mv data.csv original.csv
If your file is in a directory you cannot write to
If /path/to/writable/dir/ is the name of a directory you can write to, if the original read-only file is called original.csv
and if you want your writable file to be called data.csv, you can open a terminal, go to the directory where your file is, and run the command:
cat original.csv > /path/to/writable/dir/data.csv
and now you can open and edit the data.csv file in /path/to/writable/dir/. In this situation, you won't be able to put your modified file where the original file was.
Without using terminal
- Open your csv with a text editor, for example gedit .
- Copy all the content of the file, for example with Ctrl+A Ctrl+C
- Create a new file within the editor
- Paste the contents of the csv, for example with Ctrl+V
- Save your new file with a name that ends with
.csv - delete the original file
- move the edited file where the original file was, and rename it if necessary
edited May 8 at 18:56
Zanna
48k13119227
answered Apr 26 at 8:43
Jack B.
385
What are the reasons for usingcat(main purpose: concatenation of files) instead ofcp(copy command)?
– Melebius
Apr 26 at 8:47
1
cp will preserve the rights, so the result will be read-only as well. cat will create a new file, with the default rights; so a file you can write to, in most cases
– Jack B.
Apr 26 at 8:50
For the first part of the answer an alternate method of editing the read-only file would be to use:w!withvi/m.
– dsstorefile1
Apr 26 at 8:52
2
“cp will preserve the rights†There are parameters to control this but I agree,catcould be simpler. (Even when compared with editors as suggested by @dsstorefile.)
– Melebius
Apr 26 at 8:57
Indeed, you can change the behaviour of cp, for example with the --no-preserve option. I wasn't aware of it; thank you :)
– Jack B.
Apr 26 at 9:04
 |Â
show 1 more comment
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
As pointed out by dsstorefile, you can copy the contents of the file to another file for which you have writing rights, and then edit the writable file.
Then you can put the edited file back in place by deleting the original file and copying your new file at the same place.
In more detail:
Using command-line / terminal
If you can create files in the directory where your file is
If the original read-only file is called original.csv
and you want your writable file to be called data.csv, you can open a terminal, go to the directory where your file is, and run the command:
cat original.csv > data.csv
and now you can open and edit the data.csv file.
Once the editing is done,
rm original.csv
When asked if you want to delete the read-only file, answer y
mv data.csv original.csv
If your file is in a directory you cannot write to
If /path/to/writable/dir/ is the name of a directory you can write to, if the original read-only file is called original.csv
and if you want your writable file to be called data.csv, you can open a terminal, go to the directory where your file is, and run the command:
cat original.csv > /path/to/writable/dir/data.csv
and now you can open and edit the data.csv file in /path/to/writable/dir/. In this situation, you won't be able to put your modified file where the original file was.
Without using terminal
- Open your csv with a text editor, for example gedit .
- Copy all the content of the file, for example with Ctrl+A Ctrl+C
- Create a new file within the editor
- Paste the contents of the csv, for example with Ctrl+V
- Save your new file with a name that ends with
.csv - delete the original file
- move the edited file where the original file was, and rename it if necessary
edited May 8 at 18:56
Zanna
48k13119227
answered Apr 26 at 8:43
Jack B.
385
As pointed out by dsstorefile, you can copy the contents of the file to another file for which you have writing rights, and then edit the writable file.
Then you can put the edited file back in place by deleting the original file and copying your new file at the same place.
In more detail:
Using command-line / terminal
If you can create files in the directory where your file is
If the original read-only file is called original.csv
and you want your writable file to be called data.csv, you can open a terminal, go to the directory where your file is, and run the command:
cat original.csv > data.csv
and now you can open and edit the data.csv file.
Once the editing is done,
rm original.csv
When asked if you want to delete the read-only file, answer y
mv data.csv original.csv
If your file is in a directory you cannot write to
If /path/to/writable/dir/ is the name of a directory you can write to, if the original read-only file is called original.csv
and if you want your writable file to be called data.csv, you can open a terminal, go to the directory where your file is, and run the command:
cat original.csv > /path/to/writable/dir/data.csv
and now you can open and edit the data.csv file in /path/to/writable/dir/. In this situation, you won't be able to put your modified file where the original file was.
Without using terminal
- Open your csv with a text editor, for example gedit .
- Copy all the content of the file, for example with Ctrl+A Ctrl+C
- Create a new file within the editor
- Paste the contents of the csv, for example with Ctrl+V
- Save your new file with a name that ends with
.csv - delete the original file
- move the edited file where the original file was, and rename it if necessary
edited May 8 at 18:56
Zanna
48k13119227
answered Apr 26 at 8:43
Jack B.
385
edited May 8 at 18:56
Zanna
48k13119227
edited May 8 at 18:56
Zanna
48k13119227
edited May 8 at 18:56
Zanna
48k13119227
48k13119227
answered Apr 26 at 8:43
Jack B.
385
answered Apr 26 at 8:43
Jack B.
385
answered Apr 26 at 8:43
Jack B.
385
385
What are the reasons for usingcat(main purpose: concatenation of files) instead ofcp(copy command)?
– Melebius
Apr 26 at 8:47
1
cp will preserve the rights, so the result will be read-only as well. cat will create a new file, with the default rights; so a file you can write to, in most cases
– Jack B.
Apr 26 at 8:50
For the first part of the answer an alternate method of editing the read-only file would be to use:w!withvi/m.
– dsstorefile1
Apr 26 at 8:52
2
“cp will preserve the rights†There are parameters to control this but I agree,catcould be simpler. (Even when compared with editors as suggested by @dsstorefile.)
– Melebius
Apr 26 at 8:57
Indeed, you can change the behaviour of cp, for example with the --no-preserve option. I wasn't aware of it; thank you :)
– Jack B.
Apr 26 at 9:04
 |Â
show 1 more comment
What are the reasons for usingcat(main purpose: concatenation of files) instead ofcp(copy command)?
– Melebius
Apr 26 at 8:47
1
cp will preserve the rights, so the result will be read-only as well. cat will create a new file, with the default rights; so a file you can write to, in most cases
– Jack B.
Apr 26 at 8:50
For the first part of the answer an alternate method of editing the read-only file would be to use:w!withvi/m.
– dsstorefile1
Apr 26 at 8:52
2
“cp will preserve the rights†There are parameters to control this but I agree,catcould be simpler. (Even when compared with editors as suggested by @dsstorefile.)
– Melebius
Apr 26 at 8:57
Indeed, you can change the behaviour of cp, for example with the --no-preserve option. I wasn't aware of it; thank you :)
– Jack B.
Apr 26 at 9:04
What are the reasons for using
cat (main purpose: concatenation of files) instead of cp (copy command)?– Melebius
Apr 26 at 8:47
What are the reasons for using
cat (main purpose: concatenation of files) instead of cp (copy command)?– Melebius
Apr 26 at 8:47
1
1
cp will preserve the rights, so the result will be read-only as well. cat will create a new file, with the default rights; so a file you can write to, in most cases
– Jack B.
Apr 26 at 8:50
cp will preserve the rights, so the result will be read-only as well. cat will create a new file, with the default rights; so a file you can write to, in most cases
– Jack B.
Apr 26 at 8:50
For the first part of the answer an alternate method of editing the read-only file would be to use
:w! with vi/m.– dsstorefile1
Apr 26 at 8:52
For the first part of the answer an alternate method of editing the read-only file would be to use
:w! with vi/m.– dsstorefile1
Apr 26 at 8:52
2
2
“cp will preserve the rights†There are parameters to control this but I agree,
cat could be simpler. (Even when compared with editors as suggested by @dsstorefile.)– Melebius
Apr 26 at 8:57
“cp will preserve the rights†There are parameters to control this but I agree,
cat could be simpler. (Even when compared with editors as suggested by @dsstorefile.)– Melebius
Apr 26 at 8:57
Indeed, you can change the behaviour of cp, for example with the --no-preserve option. I wasn't aware of it; thank you :)
– Jack B.
Apr 26 at 9:04
Indeed, you can change the behaviour of cp, for example with the --no-preserve option. I wasn't aware of it; thank you :)
– Jack B.
Apr 26 at 9:04
 |Â
show 1 more comment
6
Copy the file to a writable directory and make your edits there.
– dsstorefile1
Apr 26 at 7:41
1
@dsstorefile and how do they put edited file back in place ?
– Soren A
Apr 26 at 8:30
What is your real goal? You might be getting an XY problem.
– Melebius
Apr 26 at 8:36
1
That is the purpose of permissions, to prevent unauthorized users to read/write/execute. Only solution that I see is possible is to boot the system from USB drive and to edit that file. But if the file/drive is encrypted there is no way you can do it.
– spaceman117X
Apr 26 at 10:25