Take Control of Permissions in Mac OS X: Tiger Edition
Solve quirky problems, increase privacy, and share files better by managing Mac OS X permissions.
Compatibility info: This ebook covers Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger and earlier versions of Mac OS X. To learn about controlling permissions in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, see Take Control of Permissions in Leopard.
Permissions problems got you down? Turn to Unix expert Brian Tanaka's unique guide to the permissions that control access to your files, folders, and disks. Learn how to keep files private, set Ignore Permissions, repair permissions, and delete stuck files. Advanced concepts include the sticky bit, access control lists, bit masks, and symbolic vs. absolute ways to set permissions. Take control of permissions via the Finder, with Mac utilities, and using the command line.
More Info
Contents & Intro
FAQ
Blog
Read this ebook to learn the answers to questions like:
Why do so many problem-solving sites suggest that I repair permissions?
Why can't I always access my own files when I boot from an external drive?
What should I do if someone tells me to "set the permissions to -rw-r--r--"?
What are promiscuous permissions, and should I be informing the vice squad?
What Mac utilities can change permissions, if I don't want to learn Unix?
How do I use the Unix command line to control permissions?
What's an access control list, and why should I care?
Book Info
90 pages
Version 1.0
Published 13-Oct-05
768K download
ISBN: 1933671009
Free sample with Table of Contents, Introduction, Quick Start, and section starts.
About the Author
Brian Tanaka has worked for a variety of companies including the Well, SGI, Intuit, Nintendo, and RealNetworks. Today, his own company, Martingale-Oak LLC, provides Unix and open source technologies consulting. His articles have appeared in Linux Journal and Sysadmin Magazine.
This ebook helps you take control of the sometimes-perplexing world of permissions in Mac OS X. It explains how permissions work, how to resolve common problems, and how to best control access to your files in a variety of situations. This ebook was written by Brian Tanaka, edited by Tonya Engst, and published by TidBITS Electronic Publishing.
Introduction
Even if you don't know a thing about permissions, if you're using Mac OS X, you're using them right now. Every file and folder on your computer carries permissions from the moment it's created until the moment it's deleted. Because permissions are literally everywhere on your computer and because they control who can access what, it's tremendously advantageous to understand them. You'll have better control over your Mac, and you'll be able to share items and access shared items with greater ease.
Problems arising from improperly set permissions are common and can be frustrating: Sharing files among users on one computer can be problematic if you don't understand permissions, and sharing items on a network raises yet another set of potential problems.
In this ebook I teach you how to prevent and fix permissions problems with ease and much more. You'll learn how to interpret and manipulate permissions with the Info window in the Finder, Disk Utility, third-party tools, and Unix commands. You'll learn about accounts and groups, and how permissions control them; how default permissions work; how to repair permissions; and how to ignore permissions on an attached volume.
Equipped with this expertise, you'll be able to handle permission problems when sharing files locally or across networks, booting from multiple volumes, exchanging files with other users, running FTP and Web servers, and much more.
Quick Start to Permissions in Tiger
The first sections of this ebook teach the basics of permissions and how to set them. The remaining sections explore more advanced techniques and concepts that help you solve problems.
Learn about permissions:
Find out what permissions are, and why you need them. See About Permissions.
Permissions are composed of simple interrelated parts. Discover how they work together. See The Anatomy of Permissions.
Set permissions:
There's more than one way to set permissions. See Choose a Method of Setting Permissions.
Learn to Set Permissions Using the Info Window and to Set Permissions Using Third-Party Tools. And, if you need more fine-grained tools for controlling permissions, read Use Access Control Lists.
To solve a permissions-related problem, see Problems and Solutions, on the next page, for a quick index to helpful info.
If you enjoy working in Unix or need the fine-grained control that Unix can provide, you can Learn Advanced Unix Techniques.
Delve deeper into permissions:
Discover how your Mac assigns default permissions in Understand Default Permissions, and increase your permissions IQ by reading Work with User Names, UIDs, and GIDs.
Learn to use two important Mac OS X features in Understand Ignore Ownership, and Repair Permissions with Disk Utility.
Unix commands empower you to do things you can't do from the graphical user interface, which you'll see when you Learn Advanced Unix Techniques.
Problems and Solutions
I discuss a variety of common problems in Appendix A: Fixes For Common Problems, but you will find help with solving other problems throughout the ebook. Use the links below to navigate to info that will help you with specific problems:
I'm having trouble with the Shared Folder. See The Shared Folder.
The Info window doesn't show permissions settings I know exist. See Set Permissions Using Third-Party Tools and Learn Advanced Unix Techniques.
I don't own my own files! See Work with User Names, UIDs, and GIDs.
I am concerned about the privacy of files and folders that I created and saved in my user account and I want to make sure that others on the computer cannot access them in any way. Read The Case of the Promiscuous Folder.
When do I use Ignore Ownership on This Volume? See Understand Ignore Ownership.
Everyone tells me to use Repair Permissions but I don't understand what it does. What's the real story? See Repair Permissions with Disk Utility.
I can see why understanding octal is useful when setting permissions, but I can't seem to get my head around it. See Appendix B: Converting To Octal.
When I copy or create items, I can't predict what the permissions will be. It's driving me batty! See Understand Default Permissions.
Q: Has anything changed with permissions since this ebook was published in 2005?
A: In terms of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger and earlier versions of Mac OS X, honestly, no, nothing has much changed, and the ebook is still current for those versions of Mac OS X. However, we've created another ebook about Leopard—Take Control of Permissions in Leopard, so if you need help with permissions in Leopard, you should purchase that book instead of this one.
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This ebook discusses three third-party tools: FileXaminer, Super Get Info, and XRay/XRay II. Today, only FileXaminer remains. Super Get Info has been discontinued. XRay has Leopard and Snow Leopard issues the author is not intending to address. The sole survivor, FileXaminer, now has a 14-day trial. (The previous trial period was 7 days.)
