5.1 Managing User Accounts

YaST offers to create, modify, delete or temporarily disable user accounts. Do not modify user accounts unless you are an experienced user and know about the implications.

WARNING: Changing User IDs of Existing Users

After a user ID change, the user will no longer own the files he formerly created in the file system other since file ownership is bound to the user ID, not to the user name. Only the files in the user's home directory are automatically adjusted to reflect this change.

In the following, learn how to set up default user accounts. For some special options, such as auto login, login without password, setting up encrypted home directories or managing quotas for users and groups, refer to Section 5.2, Special Options.

Adding or Modifying User Accounts

  1. Open the YaST User and Group Management dialog in the Users view.

  2. With Set Filter define the set of users you want to manage. The dialog shows a list of users in the system and the groups the users belong to.

  3. To modify options for an existing user, select an entry and click Edit.

  4. Click Add to create a new user account.

  5. Enter the appropriate user data on the first tab, such as Username (which is used for login) and Password. This data is sufficient to create a new user. If you click Accept now, the system will automatically assign a user ID and set all other values according to the default.

  6. If you want to adjust further details such as the user ID or the path to the user's home directory, do so on the Details tab.

    If you need to relocate the home directory of an existing user, enter the path to the new home directory there and move the contents of the current home directory with Move to New Location. Otherwise a new home directory is created without any of the existing data.

  7. To force users to regularly change their password or set other password options, switch to Password Settings and adjust the options.

  8. If all options are set according to your wishes, click Accept.

  9. Click Expert Options > Write Changes Now to save all changes without exiting the administration dialog. Or click Finish to close the administration dialog and to save the changes. A newly added user can now log in to the system using the login name and password you created.

HINT: Matching User IDs

For a new (local) user on a laptop which should also integrate in a network environment where this user already has a user ID, it is useful to match the (local) user ID to the ID in the network. This ensures that the file ownership of the files the user creates offline is the same as if he created them directly on the network.

Disabling or Deleting User Accounts

  1. To temporarily disable a user account without deleting it, select the user from the list and click Edit. Activate Disable User Login. The user cannot log in to your machine until you enable the account again.

  2. To delete a user account, select the user from the list and click Delete. Choose if you also want to delete the user's home directory or if you want to retain the data.

Assigning Users to Groups

Local users are assigned to several groups according to the default settings which you can access from the User and Group Administration dialog by clicking Expert Options > Defaults for New Users. To adjust the group assignment for a user, proceed as follows:

  1. Open the User and Group Administration dialog in YaST. It shows a list of users and of the groups the users belong to.

  2. Click Edit and switch to the Details tab.

  3. To change the primary group the user belongs to, click Default Group and select the group from the list.

  4. To assign the user to additional secondary groups, activate the corresponding check boxes on the right.

  5. Click Accept to apply your changes.

  6. Click Expert Options > Write Changes Now to save all changes without exiting the administration dialog. Or click Finish to close the administration dialog and to save the changes.