Submit Hint Search The Forums LinksStatsPollsHeadlinesRSS
14,000 hints and counting!


Click here to return to the '10.5: Share any files between users on the same Mac' hint
The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
10.5: Share any files between users on the same Mac
Authored by: tedw on Jun 05, '09 12:48:51PM
in fact, no.

I just tested this on my system: I enabled file sharing, added the pictures folder from a different account to the shared folders column, gave everyone read and write permission, enabled my main account and the other account in the 'options' section, and then voila! I went and opened a picture from the pictures folder on the other account, and saved it back to the other account under a different file name. the little 'no access' badge that's normally on the another user account's pictures folder disappears as soon as I enable sharing for that folder (though it still appears in the system preferences panel until you quit and restart that app).

have you tried it? in this case my 'intuition' seems to be backed up by practical evidence. I understand what you're saying, and it makes a certain degree of sense within the twisted universe of pure unix, but don't underestimate Apple's ability to make functional GUI methods.

[ Reply to This | # ]

10.5: Share any files between users on the same Mac
Authored by: Sesquipedalian on Jun 05, '09 02:11:33PM

I did try it, apparently more thoroughly than you did.

Sharing a folder with read and write permissions will allow another user or group to open the folder and to put files into the folder (yes, Apple's GUI is simplifying read, write & execute into simply "read & write"). But sharing the folder doesn't allow another user to edit a file inside the folder unless and until the permissions on the individual file in question are manually modified (via Finder's Info window or the command line or some other method).

So if my wife's user adds some documents to a shared folder, I can see the document files in the folder and even open them up to read them, but I can't save any changes to them. If I try, I get an error about not having the proper access privileges.

Having to manually modify the permissions on a file isn't too bad to work with for an occasional individual file, but when dealing with the innards of an iPhoto or iTunes library, where many files all over the place are being added and edited all the time, one needs a system in place that will take care of all the permissions issues on all the files and subfolders automatically. That's what this hint about ACLs provides.



[ Reply to This | # ]
10.5: Share any files between users on the same Mac
Authored by: Sesquipedalian on Jun 05, '09 02:17:12PM

Addendum:

The key point here is that in your test you "saved it back to the other account under a different file name." You had to save it into the shared folder with a new name because you were only allowed to create new files, not to edit ones you didn't already own. That won't work when dealing with iTunes and iPhoto. They need to be able to edit files, or the library breaks.



[ Reply to This | # ]