Before you change anything...

You should be familiar with a text editor of some sort (NEdit) as well as Unix file structures (files and directories and how to view, rename and copy them) before embarking on the customization path.

Preparing to alter your defaults

Although there is a way to restore system files if "something" goes wrong, it's a good idea to make a backup of the file you intend to change, especially if you've already made any modification that might be lost if you have to restore the system files.

For instance, if you were going to alter the ".mylogin" file and you want to make a backup of it, you'd use the command

cp .mylogin .mylogin.bk

Once the backup is made, you can alter the file, knowing that you have an unaltered copy in case things go wrong and you can't remember what you changed.

It's also a good idea to make several small changes, testing your setup along the way. If you make lots of changes and something goes wrong, you won't know exactly which of your alterations caused the problem.

Initializing the program whose defaults you wish to change

Most programs create small files called resource files, which you can alter to affect how the program functions. Resource files simply tell the program how you like things set up. So, if you're planning to change the way a program functions, (for example: Netscape, tin, mxrn, unews, or lynx) you need to run the program its "normal" way first to be sure to create the files you'll work on.

Last modified June 15, 2005 by daniel