Nautilus is the file manager for the Gnome desktop, the default desktop environment for Ubuntu and countless other distributions. I run a local web server on my desktop with the default webroot located in /var/www.
If I copy files to /var/www or any of its subdirectories, I will need root access. Ever wonder how to open the Nautilus file manager as root?
To open Nautilus as root, open the Terminal from Applications -> Accessories menu.
Type the following command:
gksudo nautilus |
Using Nautilus can really speed up and make work easier. You can use common mouse movements such as drag and drop, as well as keyboard shortcuts such as cutting and pasting.
If you want to take another step further, you can add this superuser shortcut to your menubar.