Prevent .ds_store creation across multiple user accounts

Dec 06, '05 05:47:00AM

Contributed by: mikepak

At work, we needed a solution to the .DS_store "problem," since 90% of our clients are Windows boxen. The previously posted solution to prevent .DS_store creation on networked drives only worked for one user account. However, it turns out its fairly easy to configure an OS X client to apply the setting for any user who logs in.

You just need to run this command...

defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteNetworkStores true
...under a single account, then copy the created plist to /Library/Prefrences. Here's an example of how to do it step by step. Open up Terminal and type the following (the $ is just the prompt; don't type that):
$ defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteNetworkStores true
$ cp Library/Prefrences/com.apple.desktopservices.plist \
/Library/Prefrences/.
$ sudo chmod 777 /Library/Prefrences/com.apple.desktopservices.plist
Then reboot, and you should be done.

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