After you install an application, you may need to modify files as part of the configuration process. For example, if you want to secure access to software, you need to change the password for the Admin account in the serverConnect.conf and clientConnect.conf files.

To modify files, use sm_edit, an utility that is installed with software.

Note: You must use the sm_edit utility that is included with the installation of a product suite to modify files applicable to that suite. Do not, for example, edit IP files with the sm_edit that is installed with SAM.

When invoked, sm_edit opens the specified file in a text editor. This utility ensures that modified files are always saved to the appropriate local area and that non-local copies of all files remain unchanged. If an appropriate subdirectory does not exist for the file you are modifying, sm_edit creates the appropriate subdirectory before saving the modified file to that location. For files with header information set for encryption, sm_edit encrypts certain fields in the file. In addition, sm_edit preserves the file permissions of modified files, which helps ensure that important configuration files are not altered by unauthorized users.

To use sm_edit from the command line, specify the filename and include the subdirectory under /local where the file resides. For example, to edit the ics.conf file, type the following command by using administrative privileges: 

         BASEDIR/Smartss/bin> sm_edit conf/ics/ics.conf

In this example, sm_edit searches in the BASEDIR/Smartss/local/conf/ics directory for the ics.conf file. If it finds the ics.conf file, it opens the file in a text editor. If sm_edit does not find the ics.conf file in the BASEDIR/Smartss/local/conf/ics directory, it creates a local copy of the ics.conf file and writes it to the BASEDIR/Smartss/local/conf/ics directory.

If the appropriate subdirectory does not exist in the local area for the file you are modifying, sm_edit creates that subdirectory and saves the modified file there. This ensures that the original version of the file remains unchanged.