[oliver] luna:~$ su - Password: [root] luna:~# echo $DISPLAY :0.0
You completely missed the point. The problem is not the missing DISPLAY (you can send your X packets to anywhere you like, including :0.0), the problem is the missing *AUTHORITY* to connect to the specified X server (in this case, :0.0). You can set DISPLAY until you're blue in the face if the X server tells you to get stuffed. And it will (on any decent setup). su only changes your effective user ID but doesn't deal at all with any X stuff. sux is designed to do an su *as well* as carrying over the X connection authority and setting your DISPLAY. Volker PS You almost always want su -, and sux -, this should be default but I guess historic reasons bla bla. Just alias su to su - and sux to sux -. -- Volker Kuhlmann is possibly list0570 with the domain in header http://volker.dnsalias.net/ Please do not CC list postings to me.