Command line version of finder's get info command

I am trying to find which version of MS Office 2008 is installed on a bunch of machines. On one machine, I can just do a get info on the MicrosoftComponentPlugin.framework, but I don't want to have to touch every machine.
Does anyone know of a way to get this info using the command line?
Ideally, I would like to use ARD's send unix command to grab this info from a lot of machines, then run install the .mpkg on the machines that aren't the latest version...
Thanks in advance

Maybe not. According to the defaults man page:
WARNING: The defaults command will be changed in an upcoming
major release to only operate on preferences domains. General
plist manipulation utilities will be folded into a different
command-line program.
They say there will be an upgrade path, but I can't imagine it being named "PlistBuddy". That sounds way too much like some programmer named it. They need something more professional. plutil is already taken, but maybe it could be enhanced. plmanip maybe.

Similar Messages

Finder's "Get Info" Creator field not the same as "Creator Code"??

Can someone explain what the difference is between the "Creator Code" associated with a file, and what the Finder's "Get Info" shows as the "Creator" (in the "More Info" section)?? I have a program that will not process a file unless a specific application has created the file. But if I change the "Creator Code" with a utility like "Type & Creator Changer" from AlphaOmega, the "Get Info" command shows no difference in the "Creator" field of the "Get Info" window.
What is going on? What is the difference between these two "Creator" pieces of information of a file?
How can one change what is in the "Get Info" "Creator" field??
Thanks for your help...
-Bob

I don't think what you are talking about is the same as what I asked. I looked at the file that works with HexEdit and there is some other info about "CreatorTool" and "Creator" that in the case of the file that works is set to "ScanSnap Manager" and this is what appears in the "Creator" field of "Get Info" (in the "More Info" part of the GetInfo window). This is what I am guessing the Abbyy FineReader program is looking for to allow it to process the file. Without it it will not convert a PDF image file to a searchable text PDF file. Files that work and don't work can both have the "Open With" set to the same thing, so don't think that this has anything to do with the issue. Both can have the same "CreatorCode" too, so this is not it.
In fact I just verified that if I change the "Creator" info in a file that works, the FineReader software will not process it. But the problem is that just changing the "Creator" info in a file to "ScanSnap Manager" is not enough. Bummer...
So my dilemma is I can print a PDF file onto paper, then turn right around and scan it on the ScanSnap scanner and then FineReader will process it. But this is silly to have to print a file I already have the PDF of, let alone kill a few trees for the paper to print it on, in order to do the FindReader processing. Any suggestions??
So, the question still is, what exactly is the FineReader looking for and how do I change a PDF file to have it so that FineReader will process it??? Is there a utility that will add/edit this other CreatorTool and/or Creator info in the file???
Thanks...
-Bob

Snow Leopard Finder's Get Info fails to show Owner and Group for some files or folders which reside on a Shared Volume, hosted by G5 Server w/ OS 10.4 - why?

Frustrations with file permissions abound, as certain co workers are unable to manually determine their level of permission or who to ask to make changes to files and folders belonging to others. Users of Snow Leopard desktop OS get unhelpful feedback via Finder's Get Info, seeing only the permissions listed for "Everyone" and a statement that "You have custom access". The custom message exists, presumably, because ACL's are employed on the shared volume in an attempt to give managerial control over these volumes to specific users, even if all users can create files and folders on those volumes.
Shared volumes are partitions of an external RAID which are set up as sharepoints on a G5 tower running Server 10.4. Other persons in the office, using machines that are running desktop OS 10.5, can correctly see the assigned Owner and Group permissions (although the "custom access" still shows). This at least lets the 10.5 user know who created a given file or folder, so that they can resolve permissions-restricted issues if they come up (i.e. User A wants to delete file X, but as it was created by User B, A must contact B and have them delete it. In 10.6 it appears that A cannot determine who B is).
I know that ACL's are functioning (enabled on the drive) since we have been making use of ACL-granted write privileges for quite a while (and the custom access seems to be evidence too).
An error I encountered, pertaining to this, is that I used a 10.6 machine to create a working folder, then generated and saved several files in this location. Expected permissions thus would be Owner = me (i.e. the user I was logged in as), R/W, Group = staff, R only, Everyone = R only. However, immediately the permissions shown in Finder / Get Info consisted only of Everyone = R only, with no entry for Owner or Group. Moreover, clicking + to add either an Owner or a Group resulted in error message that I had entered an invalid user or group, even though I typed in correct info (such as trying to add "staff" as a group).

Frustrations with file permissions abound, as certain co workers are unable to manually determine their level of permission or who to ask to make changes to files and folders belonging to others. Users of Snow Leopard desktop OS get unhelpful feedback via Finder's Get Info, seeing only the permissions listed for "Everyone" and a statement that "You have custom access". The custom message exists, presumably, because ACL's are employed on the shared volume in an attempt to give managerial control over these volumes to specific users, even if all users can create files and folders on those volumes.
Shared volumes are partitions of an external RAID which are set up as sharepoints on a G5 tower running Server 10.4. Other persons in the office, using machines that are running desktop OS 10.5, can correctly see the assigned Owner and Group permissions (although the "custom access" still shows). This at least lets the 10.5 user know who created a given file or folder, so that they can resolve permissions-restricted issues if they come up (i.e. User A wants to delete file X, but as it was created by User B, A must contact B and have them delete it. In 10.6 it appears that A cannot determine who B is).
I know that ACL's are functioning (enabled on the drive) since we have been making use of ACL-granted write privileges for quite a while (and the custom access seems to be evidence too).
An error I encountered, pertaining to this, is that I used a 10.6 machine to create a working folder, then generated and saved several files in this location. Expected permissions thus would be Owner = me (i.e. the user I was logged in as), R/W, Group = staff, R only, Everyone = R only. However, immediately the permissions shown in Finder / Get Info consisted only of Everyone = R only, with no entry for Owner or Group. Moreover, clicking + to add either an Owner or a Group resulted in error message that I had entered an invalid user or group, even though I typed in correct info (such as trying to add "staff" as a group).

Mavericks finder crash - get info for ML labels

Easy and repeatable way to crash the Mavericks Finder - if you have a file/folder/partitiion/volume with a label from Mountain Lion - hit command-I for Get Info - POW - Finder crashes and restarts
repeatable and reproducable on 3 macs I have access to...

Hey EJW Tas!
Try a Safe Boot to see if that resolves your issue with Finder:
Mac OS X: What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode?
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1564
Take care, and thanks for visiting the Apple Support Communities.
-Braden

Can I safely use the Finder's "Get Info" feature to choose "Select a New Original" or "Delete the Alias" to take care of one broken alias that's inside my iPhoto '08 Originals folder?

This alias is not in the Modified or Data folder. I've read warnings to never change anything in iPhoto through Finder, yet the Finder options look helpful. However, if they are certain to cause trouble, what other method will get rid of this alias? By the way, this alias is likely the result of changing to a Referenced library a while back (once I found out that was a bad idea I switched back to Managed and purged the problem photos caused by this) Thanks so much for your help.

What system version and iPhoto versions are you running? If old enough you may be able to use AliasHerder | Rorohiko Workflow Resources to repair the broken alias files in the library (that is if the source files are available).
OT

Finder issues and Get Info refusing to show the number of files on items on the main hard drive.

I am having finder issues. Mostly on the main hard drive. It takes ages to find things and I get the spinning wheel every time I open a folder.
So I moved all of my files to a external drive. When I had finished transfering I hit get info on the files on the external drive and on the same folder on the main drive. To ensure that it has copied over all the files. Because it was acting up and not copying all the files.
Get Info refuses to show the number of files within the folders on the main hard drive. It hasppily tells me everything on any of the external drives.
I have reset, the imac. I have re indexed 3 times. I have deleted the finder plist files. I have reset finder using terminal commands. I have moved nearly everything off the main hard drive. But nothing is working.
Can anyone offer any suggestions as to what could be causing my finder and get info issues.
Any help wpuld be appreciated.
Running Mountain Lion on a late 2009 Imac

Some of your user files (not system files) have incorrect permissions or are locked. This procedure will unlock those files and reset their ownership, permissions, and access controls to the default. If you've intentionally set special values for those attributes, they will be reverted. In that case, either stop here, or be prepared to recreate the settings if necessary. Do so only after verifying that those settings didn't cause the problem. If none of this is meaningful to you, you don't need to worry about it, but you do need to follow the instructions below.
Back up all data.
Step 1
If you have more than one user, and the one in question is not an administrator, then go to Step 2.
Enter the following command in the Terminal window in the same way as before (triple-click, copy, and paste):
sudo find ~ $TMPDIR.. -exec chflags nouchg,nouappnd,noschg,nosappnd {} + -exec chown $UID {} + -exec chmod +rw {} + -exec chmod -N {} + -type d -exec chmod +x {} + 2>&-
This time you'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. Type carefully and then press return. You may get a one-time warning to be careful. If you don’t have a login password, you’ll need to set one before you can run the command. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.
The command may take several minutes to run, depending on how many files you have. Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign ($) to appear, then quit Terminal.
Step 2 (optional)
Take this step only if you have trouble with Step 1, if you prefer not to take it, or if it doesn't solve the problem.
Start up in Recovery mode. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, select
Utilities ▹ Terminal
from the menu bar. A Terminal window will open. In that window, type this:
res
Press the tab key. The partial command you typed will automatically be completed to this:
resetpassword
Press return. A Reset Password window will open. You’re not going to reset a password.
Select your startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name) if not already selected.
Select your username from the menu labeled Select the user account if not already selected.
Under Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs, click the Reset button
Select
 ▹ Restart
from the menu bar.

Get Info in Finder shows iPhoto at v8.1.2?

I don't think this is a big issue, but does anyone else's iPhoto show up as version 8.1.2 from the Finder's Get Info window after installing iLife '11? I initially upgraded over iLife '09 but deleted the app and reinstalled. Same result.
Choose About iPhoto inside the app does show that it is iPhoto '11 and version 9, and all the other iLife apps show the right version numbers in the Finder and in the app. Just wanted to see if others are seeing a similar thing.
Thanks.

My iPhoto shows as V 9.0 in the Finder. Have you rebooted since you've installed it?
OT

Finder - "Get Info" - "More Info" panel has NO information any more!

Hello all,
Can you help a slider out? My new MacBook Pro has a problem with the Finder. When I use the Finder, File, Get Info (or Command I), to get info about a file, in particular, a graphic file, I used to see stuff in the "More Info" panel. I use the image size information (e.g., 512 x254 pixels and the actual memory size) to quickly keep track of graphics for my web pages.
Well, for ALL file types now, I get NO "More Info" information in the panel. All the other panels, "General", Name & Extension", "Open with", "Preview" and "Ownership & Permissions" work fine.
I fixed disk permissions via the Install DVD and deleted the com.apple.finder.plist and neither of these have helped resurrect my "More Info" information.
I am running 10.4.10 and this is only on my machine. On the other 2 in our household, the panel works as it always has.
HELP, I miss my "More Info" info!
TIA,
Dave
[email protected]

I am also encountering the same issue...in addition, I'm having trouble installing Google Sketchup Pro 6, I believe there may be some sort of correlation between the two?
Any help?
-j

How do I make my iPhoto Library's version number appear in the Get Info window?

I recently (within the past 2 weeks) purchased a new 27 inch iMac and have been importing data (applications and files) from my 2010 Macbook Pro via AirDrop. One of the first files I migrated over was my iPhoto Library. I doing so, I noticed a few differences between its file attributes and those of the iPhoto Library file created by default on my new computer - two of which I'll note here. First, I noticed that the file resident on my new OS was labeled iPhoto Library.photolibrary while my older version did not have the ".photolibrary" extension. That seemed simple enough to correct so I added that extension to my old library file. The second difference I'd note - and the source of my question - is that the default iPhoto Library file displayed a version number (9.5.1) in its "Get Info" window, while mine did not. I checked my file's info.plist file and the correct information seems to be listed. It reads (in part):
<dict>
               <key>CFBundleGetInfoString</key>
               <string>iPhoto Libary 9.5.1</string>
               <key>CFBundleShortVersionString</key>
               <string>9.5.1</string>
</dict>
</plist>
I'm not sure this is really a question for the iPhoto community, as it seems like a more general issue; but, this is my first post to these forums, and I didn't know where to start. Thanks in advance for the advise/suggestions.

In terms of the info.plist file, I only reviewed it to see why I wasn't seeing the version number in the GetInfo window.
The string "<key>CFBundleGetInfoString</key>
               <string>iPhoto Libary 9.5.1</string>"
is exactly what will be shown in the Get Info panel. I tested that by simply editing this string in a test library using XCode. I could "Get Info" to show ridiculous versions numbers this way.
However, none of my older iPhoto libraries will show the version string in Get Info, only libraries I created with iPhoto 9.5.1. or Aperture 3.3 or later.
There is probably one of the other database files in the folder "database" - *.appdb and *.db interfering. None of the Library First Aid options did make the version number show for my older iPhoto libraries - not even rebuilding the iPhoto library. The only way I could make the version number show in "Get Info" was by exporting the library as a new library using Aperture. But this exported library is now showing as Aperture library.

Finder get info ignore ownership on volume vs wgm sharing perms

if I check "ignore ownership on volume" (finder > file > get info), how does this affect wgm sharing settings?
i.e. Is it ignored if WGM handles the share?
does it override wgm's settings?
just wondering how they interact with each other, if at all....
thanks in advance

The "ignore ownership" box in the Finder's Info window completely disables local POSIX and ACL permissions, making the affected volume act like a removable disk. (Any user assumes POSIX ownership of the volume with full control.)
If you want to use a volume to house a share point, do NOT check the ignore ownership box. Yes, you can share a volume with it checked, but with very unexpected results.
Often people have trouble sharing FireWire disks because they don't check to see if the "ignore ownership" box is unchecked before attempting to share them.
--Gerrit

Get Info image data missing

I have used the Finder's Get Info command and accompanying window to determine the height and width of images since the beginning of time. Today that capability suddenly disappeared. When I select an image in the Finder and invoke Get Info, under "More Info" there are two hyphens instead of the dimensions in pixels (e.g. 300x250). I tried a dozen images in various formats like JPG and TIF but the dimension info doesn't appear anymore. I'm using System 10.5.8 on a 2008 Mac Pro. All the other expected info (creation dates, name, preview, etc.) in Get Info is there except for the image dimensions.
I did not do any recent updates and haven't noticed anything else amiss. I played around with Finder prefs, restarted the system, repaired permissions, etc. Nothing brought back the image dimensions. I can use Photoshop or other programs to get the image dimensions but using Get Info via the keyboard command was a nice shortcut.

I don't directly use Spotlight - I prefer HoudahSpot's interface to the Spotlight index. I have not changed the prefs in HoudahSpot or Spotlight itself, and the Spotlight Privacy list was empty when I just now checked it.
But you are definitely on to something because after checking the Privacy List to see if any folders had been inadvertently added, I then tried Get Info again on an image file and VOILA! all the image data had been magically restored. Indeed, Get Info image data is now working for all images I have checked in the past few minutes.
Thanks for the pointer. Apparently something triggered Spotlight to prevent the data from appearing and the mere act of checking the Spotlight settings restored the "missing" info.

Get Info iTunes items grayed out

I just recently transfered my iTunes library from a PC (running XP) to a Mac Mini. Some of the songs had artwork, while most did not.
When I access the library on the Mini and select a song using "Get Info," the tabs at the top of the window (Summary, Info, Video, Sorting, Options, Artwork) are only partially available to me. Video is grayed out (not surprising since it's an audio file). "Options" and "Artwork" are also grayed out. I have also tried to import album artwork but the box in the lower left hand corner says "not modifiable."
Not only that, if I click on "Info" I do not have the option to modify any of the song information. It won't let me delete or add to.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Just a guess, but it could be a permissions problem. Navigate to your iTunes Music Folder thru the Finder, do Get Info (command + i) and see if you have Read and Write permissions on the folder AND click the button that says Details and make sure that Read and Write is Applied to the Enclosed Folders. You might also try repairing permissions in Disk Utility.
Also...do you have Admin privileges on your user account on the Mac?

Time stamp or get info including seconds

Hi there,
I'm trying to get more specific information about a selection of files - in particular, the seconds (and even milliseconds if possible) relating to the time-stamp for each. I've tried changing the international system prefs to full format but this seems not to have had any impact on finder or get info.
Thanks,
Sarah.

saraheaston wrote:
I'm trying to get more specific information about a selection of files - in particular, the seconds (and even milliseconds if possible) relating to the time-stamp for each. I've tried changing the international system prefs to full format but this seems not to have had any impact on finder or get info.
You can see seconds in the Terminal utility by using the "-T" switch:
ls -l -T
(Those are lower-case letter "L".)
I'm not sure of the best way to show anything of finer resolution.

"Get Info" Reports an Incorrect Number of Files in a Directory

I have a 17" MacBook Pro with OS X, 10.6.4. I've been relying upon Finder's "Get Info" to determine how many files a directory contains, and I never noticed any problems when using it. However, this afternoon I saw an anomaly with the actual number of files in a directory and what "Get Info" reported.
I had previously created a new directory and moved 23 files to it. This morning I added three (3) more files to the directory, for a total of 26 files. This afternoon I added another five (5) files for a final total of 31 files in the directory. While Finder's "Get Info" showed that the directory had been updated this afternoon, it would not update the number of files it contains -- it still showed 26 files and the old total file size. I had to log out and log back in again for it to show me the correct file size and number of files.
Is this normal behavior or was it a glitch in Finder? That is, can I rely upon Finder to tell me the correct number of files in a folder -- or not?
Is there a way to force Finder to refresh itself? I looked around, but I did not see anything obvious, which is why I tried the logout/login method of refreshing it.
Thanks,
Bev in TX

Welcome to Apple Discussions.
This is a known issue in Finder. No fix I know of but a decent refresh here.
-mj

GET INFO Questions

Greetings. 'Get Info' can be a very useful area, (Finder/File/Get Info), but I wonder if there is somewhere that there is data on how to actually use this feature? I mainly use it for checking the size of files, but there is obviously much more that can be done in there. For example, when I go to Get Info, the 'Locked' indicator is greyed out and the square to the left of it is Empty. Does this mean the file is locked or does being greyed out mean something else. Thanks for any assistance. Cheers.

You're Welcome whiskey sour!
Repost if you have additional questions or problems.
And thanks for the !
ali b

Command line version of finder's get info command

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