[pwolfe1]

I know I can

Code:
sudo >programname<

but how do I su to root in order to edit something in the etc directory?

It seems I do not have the root password. I'd like to be able to log into a terminal as root, and run programs from the terminal. namely texedit. but nothing I try works. What am I doing wrong?

[malvolio]

You can either enable root via NetInfo Manager or the Terminal, or issue the Terminal command:
sudo -s
which will give you root-level permissions using your admin password.

[pwolfe1]

ok, so then what did I do wrong here?

textedit never came up on the screen.

Code:
[X73-205:~] pwolfe1% sudo -s /Applications/TextEdit.app/
[X73-205:~] pwolfe1%

[malvolio]

You do it as 2 commands. First
sudo -s
Then you'll be asked for your admin pw. After that, try the
/Applications/TextEdit.app

[Taipan]

Originally posted by malvolio:
You do it as 2 commands. First
sudo -s
Then you'll be asked for your admin pw. After that, try the
/Applications/TextEdit.app

Hi!

To a unix command TextEdit.app is a directory. To open a MacOS X application from the terminal you have to use the "open" command. There's also a tool called Pseudo, which let's you open Apps as root without using the Terminal.