The tutorial guide will guide the user about managing users with YaST. During installation, you can choose a method for user authentication . The method is either local (via /etc/passwd) or, if a network connection is established, via NIS, LDAP, Kerberos or Samba. You can create or modify user accounts and can change the authentication method with YaST at any time.
Every user is assigned a user ID (UID) which identifies him in the system. Apart from the users which can log in to your machine, there are also a number of system users for internal use only. Each user is assigned to one or more groups. Similar to system users, there are also system groups for internal use.
User and Group Administration Dialog
If you want to administrate users or groups, then please
- start YaST and
- click Security and Users
- User and Group Management.
Alternatively, start the User and Group Administration dialog directly by running yast2 users & from a command line.
Depending on the set of users you choose to view and modify with the dialog (local users, network users, system users), the main window shows several tabs. The tabs allow a user to execute the different tasks such as managing user accounts, changing default settings, assigning users to groups, etc.
Managing User Accounts
From the Users tab, you can create, modify, delete or temporarily disable user accounts
Changing Default Settings
Local users accounts are created according to the settings defined on the Defaults for New Users tab.
Assigning Users to Groups
Users can easily be assigned to the groups.
Managing Groups
From the Groups tab, you can add, modify or delete existing groups.
Changing the User Authentication Method
When your machine is connected to a network providing user authentication methods like NIS or LDAP, you can choose between several authentication methods on the Authentication Settings tab.
Filter option
It allow you to define the set of users or groups you want to modify: On the Users or Group tab, click Set Filter to view and edit users or groups according to certain categories, such as Local Users or LDAP Users, for instance (if you are part of a network which uses LDAP). With Set Filter > Customize Filter you can also set up and use a custom filter.
Depending on the filter you choose, not all of the following options and functions may be available from the dialog.
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 or administrator and know about the implications.
File ownership uses user ID, not to the user name. After a user ID change, the files in the user’s home directory are automatically adjusted to reflect this change. However, after an ID change, the user does no longer own the files he created elsewhere in the file system unless you manually change the file ownership for those files.
Adding or Modifying User Accounts
Please open the YaST User and Group Administration dialog and click the Users tab. 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. If you want to modify options for an existing user, then please select an entry and click Edit.
To create a new user account, click Add.
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. By clicking on OK, the system will automatically assign a user ID and set all other values according to the default.
Activate Receive System Mail if you want any kind of system mails to be delivered to this user’s mailbox. This creates a mail alias for root and the user can read the system mail without having to log in as root first.
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.
To force users to regularly change their password or set other password options, switch to Password Settings and adjust the options.
If all options are set according to your wishes, click OK.
Click Expert Options > Write Changes Now to save all changes without exiting the User and Group 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.
Disabling or Deleting User Accounts
If you are planning to disable or delete a user account the simply
- open the YaST User and Group Administration dialog and
- click the Users tab.
If you want to temporarily disable a user account without deleting it, then please
- 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.
If you are planning to delete a user account, then please
- 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.
In this way you can easily disable or delete User Accounts.
I hope that this guide proved helpful for you.
Posted in How To's by Shafkat Shahzad, M.Sc - Senior Technical Content Manager on July 20th, 2009 
