Running Ubuntu/Unity Programs as Superuser/Root/Administrator.
The new Ubuntu/Unity desktop has a slick sidebar for launching programs/applications. The problem is that there is no way to customize the menu easily and many programs require you start with administration privileges (rograms like partition editors for instance). The fix is to first install gksudo and then modify the menu item.
Step 1: Open a terminal and type sudo apt install gksu
That will install gksu which is a program to allow graphical programs (that use the gk libraries for instance) to be run as root.
Step 2: Go to the /usr/share/applications directory and hunt for the application you want to run as root. Open the file there in a text editor and change the line that says…
Exec=whatevercommand
to…
Exec=gksudo -k -u root whatevercommand
save it and exit and launch your application/program from the menu as normal as you will be prompted for a password to run it with the proper privileges.