
Jul 13, '05 09:46:00AM • Contributed by: Anonymous
To prevent the creation of these files, open the Terminal and type:
defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteNetworkStores true
It may be necessary to log out and back in, or even to restart the computer (which is what the article states), for the change to take effect.
Note: Most of the settings controlled by data in .DS_Store files are "cosmetic" in nature -- for example, Finder window position, view style, icon position, etc. However, .DS_Store files in OS X also store Finder "comments" so in this sense, disabling .DS_Store files may result in loss of data.
[robg adds: In my previous day-job, I know a feature like this would have been highly welcomed by our sys admins. I used some of the previous hints here to try to erase my trails, but this is a much nicer solution!]