NAME

       viewsu - change (virtual) user ID or become (virtual) superuser

SYNOPSIS

       viewsu [options] [username]

DESCRIPTION

       The  viewsu command is used to become another user during a login session. Invoked without
       a username, viewsu defaults to becoming the superuser. The optional argument - may be used
       to  provide  an  environment  similar to what the user would expect had the user logged in
       directly.  This command is the View-OS counterpart of the su(1)  command.   The  value  of
       $PATH is reset to /bin:/usr/bin for normal users, or /sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin for the
       superuser.  This  may  be  changed  with  the  ENV_PATH  and  ENV_SUPATH  definitions   in
       /etc/login.defs.

OPTIONS

       The options which apply to the viewsu command are:

       -c, --command COMMAND
           Specify a command that will be invoked by the shell using its -c.

       -, -l, --login
           Provide  an  environment  similar to what the user would expect had the user logged in
           directly.

           When - is used, it must be specified as the last viewsu option. The  other  forms  (-l
           and --login) do not have this restriction.

       -s, --shell SHELL
           The shell that will be invoked.

           The invoked shell is chosen from (highest priority first):

           •   The shell specified with --shell.

           •   The shell indicated in the /etc/passwd entry for the target user.

           •    /bin/sh if a shell could not be found by any above method.

SEE ALSO

       su(1), linux.defs(5)

AUTHORS

       View-OS  is  a  project of the Computer Science Department, University of Bologna. Project
       Leader: Renzo Davoli.
       <http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/view-os>

       Howto's and further information can be found on the project wiki <wiki.virtualsquare.org>.

NOTE

       Most part of the text is taken from su(1).