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I just purchased Transition DJ for Ubuntu. It's installed but it won't launch. When I talked to the software developer, he said I need to add a file that has the license key in it to the Transitions DJ folder.

I created the file, but when I tried to copy it into the Transitions DJ folder, I am told that I am not allowed because I am not the owner of the file, but I don't understand since the folder is on my own computer.

Why am I not allowed to copy a file into any folder I want?

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    Please edit your question without swearing and keep it to the point.
    – Rinzwind
    Mar 8, 2013 at 18:46
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    Computers are not sentient machines that understand these philosophical concepts so no your computer doesn't know you are the owner of it, furthermore it's called security and this prevents anyone to put anything in the root folder for security purposes. That said, you need root permissions which you can get by running gksu [program] in a terminal. Mar 8, 2013 at 18:46
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    Hi & welcome! Please be objective and constructive. Also, don't use big letters.
    – user45853
    Mar 8, 2013 at 18:48

2 Answers 2

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Why am I not allowed to copy a file into any folder I want?

Short answer: you are both a user and an administrator on your system. As a user you are not allowed to access parts of your system (since you are a user and those files are owned by the administrator). This is the same person but with a different hat on.

I am told that I am not allowed because I am not the owner of the file, but I don't understand since the folder is on my own computer.

The answer is simple: you need to do this as administrator and not as a user. And you can do that by adding sudo in front of your command. So it will be something like this...

sudo cp /dir/to/licence/key /dir/where/TransitionDJ/is/

After entering your password it will be copied to the location you want it to be copied too. Change the directories to what is needed for your file.

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  • if someone knows the actual command feel free to edit it in :)
    – Rinzwind
    Mar 8, 2013 at 19:27
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Ubuntu, and Linux in general, is set up so regular users cannot do certain things that would compromise the system. Although you own the computer, you are still a regular user. However, because you do own the computer, you have access to its administrative abilities. However, for security reasons, Ubuntu does not allow you to use your special privilages by default. You must specify you want to, and you do this using the sudo command when working from the command line.

So, if you want to be able to move any file anywhere, open a terminal by searching in the Dash for "Terminal", and type

gksu nautilus

This will start a file manager as administrator, so then you can copy any file to anywhere. But be careful so you don't do something wrong by mistake!

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