?? Duplicate a user account as different name ??

Pardon my noob issue, but, with Knoppix, I've been thrust into being an account manager now...

I want to duplicate a current user into another name.

Issue #1 - Can I "copy" or duplicate a user I have setup as a template - lets say "knoppix" for an example - Can I copy that account and user as a different name? If so, can they share the same /home or do they need a different home directory??? Will all the access and permissions copy as well?

Issue #2 - Can a directory be created that is shared across all users, write, read, and exec, that DOESN'T exist in someones home directory? Or can this only be done in ones home area?

Please explain resolution in simp terms - I went into this role kicking and scratching...
Thanks for any assistance,
Cuddles
[ps] Knoppix 3.3 v2.4.22-xfs HD Install, non-dualboot, 40gig HD.

I still need to do what the original post states...

Anyone have ideas how this can be done? Can it be done??? Or, do I have to adduser's and then manually set them up to be the same???? Seems kind of simple to me, but then again, I am not setting up a multi-user network for a major corporation here.

Thanks again, for any assistance to this issue,
Cuddles

Ok, since nobody else bothers I'll bite... ;-)

I'm not sure about the GUI tools but at least with on the command line and using a text editor you can accomplish what you are asking for here.
HOWEVER, I don't think either of them is a good idea. Sharing home directories
can/will cause problems if both users use the same applications at the same time since most apps store individual settings in the users home directory.
You could add a new user and then copy the old users home recursively to the new user, perhaps like this:

Code:

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su

cd /home/newuser
cp -R ../olduser/* .
chown -R newuser *
exit

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Note that this does not touch files or directories directly in /home/newuser whose name begins with a "." Usually that is a good thing since they often contain settings unique for that user.

Issue #2:
Giving all users write access is almost never a good idea since there are other than "real" users in the system that don't need write access to something like that (and giving them access can weaken security).
What you should do is create a group containing the users you want to give write access to the common directory, for instance by adding a line like this to /etc/group:

Code:

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ducks:*:12342:hewey,dewey,lewey

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(make sure that the number 12342 isn't already used in the /etc/group file, if so you need to pick another one that isn't taken)
Then you can create a shared directory for that group, you can put it almost anywhere you like:

Code:

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su
cd /somewhere
mkdir shared_dir
chgrp ducks shared_dir
chmod 2775 shared_dir
exit

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(assuming that /somewhere already existed and everyone or at least the ducks already had read- and execute-rights to it, write rights aren't required)
After that Donald's three nephews all have write access to /somewhere/shared_dir, including any subdirectories any of them have created there.

Windos_No_Thanks, you ALWAYS end up helping me out, don't you??? [giggle]

Cool ! Thanks, one last question, I got lost reading what I need to do to use "adduser", what would be the "normal" command for a normal user like "knoppix" ???

Thanks in advance,
Cuddles

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cuddles

Cool ! Thanks, one last question, I got lost reading what I need to do to use "adduser", what would be the "normal" command for a normal user like "knoppix" ???

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You can use adduser to add a new user (run it as root of course). It is very simple to use, I don't think you can get it wrong so just try it. :-)