1) To create a right click entry in Thunar which will open the current directory with root privileges, following custom action (Edit -> Configure custom actions) can be added: Name: Thunar root Description: Open directory with root privileges in Thunar Command: xfsudo thunar %d 2) To create a right click entry in Thunar which will edit the current file with root privileges, following custom action (Edit -> Configure custom actions) can be added: Name: Edit as root Description: Edit file with root privileges in gvim Command: xfsudo gvim %f