[w7] editing system files

[Giacomo Boffi]

i tried to edit some configuration files under C:\Program Files (x86)\
with emacs

i have administarator privileges so emacs saved the modified files

moreover, in dired i could see the backup files~

i restarted the program whose configuration files i modified, but the
changes were not recognized

in effect, when i tried to open the same files with notepad, i could
see that they were unmodified, further doing a dir from cmd.exe i
could not see the backup files!

i found a recipe to modify system files giving explicitly privileges
to notepad, so i can edit the files and, i hope, do the same with
emacs

what i'd like to know is, where in the h.*l does a restarted emacs
finds its modified copies of the edited files and the backups too

tia for any explanation, ciao
g

[Jason Rumney]

This

On Tuesday, 28 February 2012 06:26:42 UTC+8, Giacomo Boffi wrote:
> i tried to edit some configuration files under C:\Program Files (x86)\
> with emacs
>
> i have administarator privileges so emacs saved the modified files
>
> moreover, in dired i could see the backup files~
>
> i restarted the program whose configuration files i modified, but the
> changes were not recognized
>
> in effect, when i tried to open the same files with notepad, i could
> see that they were unmodified, further doing a dir from cmd.exe i
> could not see the backup files!

This is a "feature" of Windows 7 - programs now have their own private copy of system directories so they can continue with the bad habit of installing libraries and configuration files in system directories, but other programs won't get messed up by them any more. Right clicking your Emacs icon and selecting "Run as administrator" might help (being administrator is not the same thing, as Emacs will still run without administrative privileges when run normally even if you are logged in as an administrator).