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<!DOCTYPE refentry PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.3//EN"
		"http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.3/docbookx.dtd">
<refentry id='newusers8'>
  <!-- $Id: newusers.8.xml,v 1.6 2005/06/16 17:37:58 kloczek Exp $ -->
  <refmeta>
    <refentrytitle>NEWUSERS</refentrytitle>
    <manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
  </refmeta>
  <refnamediv id='name'>
    <refname>newusers</refname>
    <refpurpose>update and create new users in batch</refpurpose>
  </refnamediv>
  <!-- body begins here -->
  <refsynopsisdiv id='synopsis'>
    <cmdsynopsis>
      <command>newusers</command>    
      <arg choice='opt'>
        <replaceable>new_users</replaceable>
      </arg>
    </cmdsynopsis>
  </refsynopsisdiv>
  
  <refsect1 id='description'>
    <title>DESCRIPTION</title>
    <para><command>newusers</command> reads a file of user name and
      clear-text password pairs and uses this information to update a group
      of existing users or to create new users. Each line is in the same
      format as the standard password file (see
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>passwd</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum>
      </citerefentry>) with the following exceptions:
    </para>

    <variablelist remap='IP'>
      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <emphasis remap='I'>pw_passwd</emphasis>
        </term>
        <listitem>
          <para>This field will be encrypted and used as the new value of
            the encrypted password.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <emphasis remap='I'>pw_age</emphasis>
        </term>
        <listitem>
          <para>This field will be ignored for shadow passwords if the user
            already exists.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <emphasis remap='I'>pw_gid</emphasis>
        </term>
        <listitem>
          <para>This field may be the name of an existing group, in which
            case the named user will be added as a member. If a non-existent
            numerical group is given, a new group will be created having
            this number.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <emphasis remap='I'>pw_dir</emphasis>
        </term>
        <listitem>
          <para>This field will be checked for existence as a directory and
            a new directory with the same name will be created if it does
            not already exist. The ownership of the directory will be set to
            be that of the user being created or updated.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>
    </variablelist>
    
    <para>This command is intended to be used in a large system environment
      where many accounts are updated at a single time.
    </para>
  </refsect1>
  
  <refsect1 id='caveats'>
    <title>CAVEATS</title>
    <para>The input file must be protected since it contains unencrypted
      passwords.
    </para>
  </refsect1>
  
  <refsect1 id='see_also'>
    <title>SEE ALSO</title>
    <para><citerefentry>
        <refentrytitle>passwd</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
      </citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry>
        <refentrytitle>useradd</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
      </citerefentry>
    </para>
  </refsect1>
  
  <refsect1 id='author'>
    <title>AUTHOR</title>
    <para>Julianne Frances Haugh (jockgrrl@ix.netcom.com)</para>
  </refsect1>
</refentry>
