Confusion over permissions authentication in Get Info...

Hi,
It just occurred to me I've never satisfied myself as to why, when attempting to alter the permissions on a file or folder that the current user owns and has read/write privileges to, it is necessary to authenticate using an Admin username and password to perform any changes to said permissions.
For example, I currently have the Get Info... window on a folder with the following permissions:
Me - RW & Owner
Admin user - Read only
Admin Group - Read only
Everyone - No Access
The parent folder has the same permissions. Why, then, are all the sharing and permissions buttons greyed out and inaccessible until I authenticate as an Admin user?
Another example: my Desktop folder has the permissions:
Me - RW & Owner
everyone - No Access
I am allowed to add new users, but if I do so (in this case an admin user, just for the purposes of testing) then the option to Apply to Enclosed Items... remains greyed out until I authenticate as an Admin user. Why?
More of a niggle than a complaint, but I would like to be enlightened on this. Complex answers welcome.
S.

pzeitler, i tried your fix. it worked but only partly. i had to go to an admin account and do the sudo because my non-admin account that was affected does not allow me to sudo from it. so i do it from admin account and it seems i add my non-admin user to all admin files\folders with full permissions and no admin account user. so i open the home folder in get info, add admin user and set permission, apply recursively to all inside it. How ever, i couldnt remove the non-admin user from admin user folder permissions.
now i go to non-admin user account and find that unknown grp is gone for all except three folders (public/sites/downloads). i also checked a third, non-admin user and it seems unaffected by all the operations that i have performed. but it has the unknown grp in it.
I guess i have to wait for apple to fix it rather than mess up the system myself.

Similar Messages

  • I a owner and administrator. I can't change any file permissions. Help tells me to 'get info' on a file, them click on the lock icon to enter password. The lock icon is not present on any files I 'get info' on. How can I change permissions

    I attached an external drive to my macbook pro for backup purposes. I found that the device is 'read only' for me. I read that I could change permissions by selecting 'get info' for a item and clicking the lock icon to submit my password. The lock icon is not displayed on any 'info' window for any file on my macbook, much less the attached drive. I am the only user and administrator as far as I know. What steps can I take to change permissions? Thanks. My 1st post.

    How can I tell? The 'get info' window has no lock and under sharing and permissions, on says 'you can only read'. I did a get info on the Macintosh HD and it had a lock on it but said I could only read, for what that it worth.

  • Get Info says C-Drive (256SSD) space is 80GB content/33.5 GB available - where is the missing 100+GB?

    Question is how do I determine where the invisible content is - and how can I clean/remove /move the content to clear space on the C-Drive?
    My MacPro C-drive is a 256 GB SSD and it has 80GB of program/system/library/User data burned into the four folders that appear in Get Infor. When the MAcHD Get Info comes up it reads the capacity of the drive is 240GB and the available is 33.5 GB - so with 80GB of content on a 240GB drive (one Partition)simple math says there should be over 100GB available - Finder Get Info says there is 33.5 available - assumption is there must be hidden files -

    Use a program such as GrandPerspective to locate it.
    (121702)

  • I can not open documents I get a message that says To view or change permissions, select the item in the Finder and choose File Get Info.  help

    I have a mac with os X.  I have saved documents and photos on my computer and am now not able to open them.  I get a message that tells To view or change permissions, select the item in the Finder and choose File > Get Info.  I do that and it is not locked.  confused.  help

    In the Info window it's this:
    Do you have read and write privileges?

  • Unknown user appears in get info permissions list

    unknown user appears in get info permissions list of a lot of folders. I cant remove the user, change the permission level of that user. Is there a way of getting over this problem?
    Here is a screenshot of the unknown user...
    http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee151/cosmac2007/Picture5.png

    pzeitler, i tried your fix. it worked but only partly. i had to go to an admin account and do the sudo because my non-admin account that was affected does not allow me to sudo from it. so i do it from admin account and it seems i add my non-admin user to all admin files\folders with full permissions and no admin account user. so i open the home folder in get info, add admin user and set permission, apply recursively to all inside it. How ever, i couldnt remove the non-admin user from admin user folder permissions.
    now i go to non-admin user account and find that unknown grp is gone for all except three folders (public/sites/downloads). i also checked a third, non-admin user and it seems unaffected by all the operations that i have performed. but it has the unknown grp in it.
    I guess i have to wait for apple to fix it rather than mess up the system myself.

  • NFS file - get info permissions fetching ?

    I have a 10.7.5 client that is bound to an OD.
    I also have a linux file server running CentOS 6.3 that is bound to a different OD, but is exporting a volume to said client via NFS.
    The user on the client has membership in a group on the first OD with GID 104020.
    The file server has assigned group read permissions to the exported volume/files with GID on the second OD of the same GID: 104020.
    When the user on the client mounts the NFS exported volume from the file server with Finder > Go > Connect to server > "nfs://server.domain.name/volname", the NFS volume is connected at /Volumes/volname.
    An 'ls -l' in Terminal on the client lists the volume and its contents as having group ownership of the group name associated with this group number 104020 in the first OD.  In fact an 'ls -ln' requesting owner and group listed by their UID and GID numbers show group ownership as 104020.
    However, the user on the client with membership in a group of GID 104020 on the first OD gets 'Permission denied' when attempting to read a listed file.
    And a 'Get Info' on said file shows in the Sharing and Permissions section for Owner Name and Group Name as 'fetching...'.
    Being a NFS admin from way back, this is very confusing.  I expect that the client OS will simply take the GID saved with the file, check that the user wanting to read the file also has membership in a group of that very GID, and provide the appropriate permssion.
    But evidently that is now occuring in this instance.  Does anyone know what is happening here?

    Maybe that description was a bit convoluted.  Let me see if I can draw it out --
    OD Server   <===bound===>  ldap client #1  <--user #A, GID=104020
        #1                                          OS X
                                                            |
                                                           |_______ file1,UID=user #B,GID=104020, perms 750
                                                           |             file2,UID=user #B,GID=104020, perms 750
                                                       volname
                                                           |   NFS                       
                                                           |
    OD Server   <===bound===>  ldap client #2  <--user #B, GID=104020
         #2                                       CentOS 6.3
    user #A on ldap client #1 has membership in a group with GID=104020 but cannot read file1 or file2 in the NFS shared 'volname' from ldap client #2 when mounted on his ldap client #1.
    Why not?

  • Strange (foreign) users list in get info/permissions window!

    Background info: OS up dated to 10.7.4.   I am the admin.  Husband is standard user. One group, which includes my husband and I.  One guest (no sharing) account created.  I can connect remotely to my mac with admin login info.
    1. When, applying read and write permissions to HD for the "owners" group  (which i created)
    "The system extension “/System/Library/Extensions/Accusys6xxxx.kext” was installed improperly and cannot be used. Please try reinstalling it, or contact the product’s vendor for an update." 
    and
    "The system extension “/System/Library/Extensions/acfs.kext” was installed improperly and cannot be used. Please try reinstalling it, or contact the product’s vendor for an update."
    2. I created a shared folder (users/me/public/shared)for my husband and I to have dual read and write access. I made this folder last year.  Tonight i clicked "get info" and a user named "wheel" had read and write access.  I did not create this user.  Also "_guest" and "guest"  were listed under names in permissions.  They had read only access. Additionally, here is a "staff" user and "everyone" users(are they default users).  Can I delete all users but admin (me, my husband and our group? "
    3. Several times over the last few months, I was concerned about unsual OS performance.  I used the disk ustitlty to repair permissions. I see the following often in my repair log.  What is "LockScreenLeopard.app"  and what does "drw-r--r--" mean?
    Permissions differ on “System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/AppleVNCServer.bundle/Contents/Su pport/LockScreenLeopard386.app/Contents/Resources/da.lproj/MainMenu.nib”; should be -rw-r--r-- ; they are drw-r--r-- .
    Repaired “System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/AppleVNCServer.bundle/Contents/Su pport/LockScreenLeopard386.app/Contents/Resources/da.lproj/MainMenu.nib”
    Do I have a hacker?  Do you all use antivurus/spyware software these days?  If so what app?

    pzeitler, i tried your fix. it worked but only partly. i had to go to an admin account and do the sudo because my non-admin account that was affected does not allow me to sudo from it. so i do it from admin account and it seems i add my non-admin user to all admin files\folders with full permissions and no admin account user. so i open the home folder in get info, add admin user and set permission, apply recursively to all inside it. How ever, i couldnt remove the non-admin user from admin user folder permissions.
    now i go to non-admin user account and find that unknown grp is gone for all except three folders (public/sites/downloads). i also checked a third, non-admin user and it seems unaffected by all the operations that i have performed. but it has the unknown grp in it.
    I guess i have to wait for apple to fix it rather than mess up the system myself.

  • Is there a way to change permissions on an external drive (formerly internal) other than "get info"?

    The internal drive on my Macbook pro died recently, so I replaced it with an SSD and purchased an enclosure for the drive that was my former internal drive.  So far, I have been successful at retrieving some of the data, however, some of it will not copy over and seems to have permissions issues.  The "get info" route does not seem to be working.  The Privilege section is not greyed out, however, I still cannot adjust anything.  The lock is unlocked...
    Suggestions?
    Thanks!

    Select the volume icon in the Finder and open the Info window. Click the padlock icon in the lower right corner of the window and enter your administrator password when prompted. Check the box at the bottom marked
              Ignore ownership on this volume
    Close the Info window.

  • Permissions are not shown correctly in Get Info on Snow Leopard client, using Tiger server w/ ACL's

    Invoking "Get Info" on a file or folder which is on a shared volume hosted by a G5 running Server 10.4 fails to show meaningful permissions when done from a 10.6 iMac.  It says only that the user has "custom permissions", which is true since there are ACL's in operation.  However, the Owner and Group POSIX settings are not shown, only the Everyone setting shows, making it impossible to determine which user created the file (in order to resolve issues when permissions prevent intended action).  The same file or folder will show Owner and Group on 10.5 systems, as well as at the 10.4 Server itself, so we do have a workaround.  I have noticed, though, that I have run into permissions restrictions where I should not, such as creating a folder on a shared volume using a 10.6 system, and then not being able to save into that folder from the same system/user.
    Is there something about the implementation of ACL's in Tiger that confounds Snow Leopard's Finder?

    Hi,
    I did two things to get it working, and haven't taken the time to sort out which did it.  But it is working so it's good enough for me.
    First I followed TeenTitan's suggestion, and also checked "Allow printing from the internet".  I'm behind a firewall so not too concerned I'll get someone's odd photo on the printer.
    Second I went back to server admin, selected the queue under queues in the Print service, then selected IPP and deselected LPR.  Bonjour went grey but stayed checked.
    After this I see the printer with "@ server name" appended, and it added the printer drivers like it should.
    So all working well.

  • Could not save Preferences because the file is locked, you do not have necessary access permissions, or another program is using the file. Use the 'Get Info' command in the Finder to ensure the file is unlocked and you have permission to access the file.

    I have this massage every time close ps cc
    Could not save Preferences because the file is locked, you do not have necessary access permissions, or another program is using the file. Use the ‘Get Info’ command in the Finder to ensure the file is unlocked and you have permission to access the file. If the problem persists, save the document to a different file or duplicate it in the Finder.

    You may get better help in Photoshop General Discussion
    The Cloud forum is not about using individual programs
    The Cloud forum is about the Cloud as a delivery & install process
    If you will start at the Forums Index https://forums.adobe.com/welcome
    You will be able to select a forum for the specific Adobe product(s) you use
    Click the "down arrow" symbol on the right (where it says All communities) to open the drop down list and scroll
    If FINDER means Mac, read below (and try to give more information when asking a question)
    Mac 10.9.3 workaround https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1489922
    Enable Mac Root User https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1156604
    -more Root User http://forums.adobe.com/thread/879931
    -and more root user http://forums.adobe.com/thread/940869?tstart=0

  • All my hard drives (internal and external) have a small lock in the lower left corner of the icon and I don't have permissions to access. Permissions are set to 'Custom' in the get info window and I can't change them.

    All my hard drives (internal and external) have a small lock in the lower left corner of the icon and I don't have permissions to access. I have 3 user accounts set up and I cannot access any of them.   Permissions are set to 'Custom' in the get info window and I can't change them. Originally I had Snow Leopard installed on one hard drive and 10.5.8 installed on another.   I started to have some problems accessing data between them and so I tried changing the permissions on ONE hard drive partition.   The next thing I know, all my drives are locked (except the ones with the systems on them), the small lock appeared in the lower left corner of the drive icons and I don't have permissions to access any of them.   In the get info window, permissions are set to 'Custom' and I can't change them.

    There is suddenly a lock icon on my external backup drive!
    Custom Permissions

  • Can't write to Desktop ƒ; contradictory permissions info in the Get Info window

    I don't have write permission for my Desktop folder.
    In the folder's Get Info window, under Sharing & Permissions, it reports a contradiction:  it says "You can only read," and at the same time under Privilege it says I have "Read & Write" access. If try I use the popup menu to change "Read & Write" to something else, it goes right back to "Read & Write" upon releasing the menu.  At any rate, "You can only read" is the correct part of the contradictory info.
    My account is an Admin account.  I am typing the correct password to unlock the fields in the Get Info window.  I've tried repairing permissions in Disk Utility, and that didn't help.
    A user named bennarsson reported the exact same problem in this thread:  https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3039851?start=0&tstart=0
    baltwo responded that "If you've selected your Desktop folder, then something is extremely wrong if it says You can only read, while showing you under name with read and write privileges."  No kidding!  Other than that, bennarsson didn't get any solution to the problem. 
    Any ideas?  It's pretty frustrating not being able to modify anything in my Desktop folder!

    Try this. Launch the Terminal app in /Utilities, copy & paste this this command into TextEdit, substitute your actual username for the placeholder, copy and paste it into the window that pops up, and hit the return key. So if your username was mike, it would be sudo chown -R mike:admin ~/Desktop
    sudo chown -R username:admin ~/Desktop
    When the Password: prompt pops up, carefully type in your admin password, since nothing shows up on the screen, and hit the return key. That should do it.

  • "Get Info" and change permissions

    Since I installed Leopard – when I create a file in PhotoShop and save it. When I go to reopen it – it will not let me. I have to go to “Get Info” and change permissions to “read and write” to everybody each time. I also have to from time to time have to go to “Get Info” in application and change permissions to get them to boot. Is there a fix?

    Where are you saving these files? When you open an Info Window to the file you just created in Photoshop, what names are listed? The top entry should be your username with Read&Write privs. The middle entry should be either staff, (unknown) or your username with Read Only privs. The last entry should be everyone with Read Only privs.
    Also, save a file to your Desktop (name it foo) and see if the problem still happens. If it does, launch Terminal and type:
    ls -lde ~/Desktop
    ls -le ~/Deskop/foo
    paste the spew from that into a reply and we'll try to see whats going on.

  • NFS Permissions Inconsistency (get info, Finder, and PathFinder)

    This is the dangdest thing, and I've never noticed it before trying to get CocoaTech's PathFinder to work...
    I've got some NFS exports on my MythTV box using squash_all and setting gid and uid to 105 -- which is mythtv.mythtv on the Linux box. Hence I can connect from my Macs and everything else just perfectly fine without having to screw with gids and uids on any of the machines. No muss, no fuss.
    Now when I try to use PathFinder, I get read-only access to everything on the mounted shares. Closer examination in Finder (which works rw!) is such that I can read and write and do everything like I've always been able to do, but when using Get-Info on anything in that nfs share, the Get-Info window indicates that I have "read only" access the file or directory or whatever I'm looking at! But that's not really the case, because Finder works perfectly for me!
    Any idea what's going on here, or how to make PathFinder work with squashed NFS exports?

    Hi Chilled_Penguin, and a warm welcome to the forums!
    How full is the HDD?
    At this point I think you should get Applejack...
    http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/19596
    After installing, Reboot holding down CMD+s, (+s), then when the DOS like prompt shows, type in...
    applejack AUTO
    Then let it do all 5 of it's things.
    The 5 things it does are...
    Correct any Disk problems.
    Repair Permissions.
    Clear out Cache Files.
    Repair/check several plist files.
    Dump the VM files for a fresh start.
    At least if it doesn't fix it, it'll eliminate a few questions.

  • 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

Maybe you are looking for

  • How Can I Remove the Red Exclamation Point on SMS text messages?

    I have a blackberry 9300. I receive text messages that has red exclamation point even though my messages are not on high priority. is there any way I can fix this? Please help. Thank you!

  • Cross domain SSAS connection - NT Authority\Anonymous

    Hi Friends, We have a web service which is consumed by a web application. Two instances of the same web service (Same application pool) is deployed in the same box and one webservice connects to SSAS 2008 and another one connects to SSAS 2012.  The a

  • How to preserver Face data in Aperture 3.5.1 export to new library ?

    In an Aperture 3.5.1 library I add some face names and export smart albums to a new Aperture 3.5.1 library. However, in the new library, when I create a smart album of Faces that include a name I had added in the old library, the album is empty. The

  • Maximizing internalframe

    Hi, All I want to maximize my internalframe to view as the full screen.. for this i have use the code. /*****code started**********/ public class FullScreen extends JWindow public FullScreen(JInternalFrame frame)           java.awt.Container cont = g

  • Can not connect to mac app store

    I recently upgraded to Mountain Lion on my early 2008 MacBook Pro.  Now, each time I go to the App Store, it either displays can not connect to the Mac App Store, or if it does, the store is very slow and I can not download any apps.  I'm not sure wh