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Subject: docs/4383: su manpage ambiguous regarding command prompt
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>Number:         4383
>Category:       docs
>Synopsis:       su manpage ambiguous regarding command prompt
>Confidential:   no
>Severity:       non-critical
>Priority:       medium
>Responsible:    freebsd-bugs
>State:          open
>Class:          doc-bug
>Submitter-Id:   current-users
>Arrival-Date:   Mon Aug 25 13:10:00 PDT 1997
>Last-Modified:
>Originator:     Sheldon Hearn
>Organization:
NYFB
>Release:        FreeBSD 2.2-STABLE i386
>Environment:

	2.2-STABLE

>Description:

	Existing su(1) manpage misleadingly implies that the su program
	itself changes the super-user command prompt to '#'.

	| By default (unless the prompt is reset by a startup file) the 
	| super-user prompt is set to ``#'' to remind one of its awesome
	| power.

>How-To-Repeat:

	man su

>Fix:
	
	Clearly note that su itself does nothing to the command prompt.

	Apply the following patch to su.1 :


--- su.1.ORIG	Wed Aug 13 08:38:16 1997
+++ su.1	Mon Aug 25 21:25:42 1997
@@ -157,10 +157,19 @@
 .Dq root ,
 unless this group is empty.
 .Pp
-By default (unless the prompt is reset by a startup file) the super-user
-prompt is set to
-.Dq Sy \&#
-to remind one of its awesome power.
+When using
+.Nm
+to become super-user, note that the invoked shell dictates the new
+command prompt and not
+.Nm su .
+Even when
+.Nm
+is invoked with the
+.Fl l
+option, the command prompt is still determined by the shell's startup
+files, specifically their manipulation of the
+.Ev PS1
+variable.
 .Sh SEE ALSO
 .Xr csh 1 ,
 .Xr kerberos 1 ,

>Audit-Trail:
>Unformatted: