Set system-wide Finder view preferences

I know that .DS_Store files are created in every directory I enter with the finder in Mac OS X, and that keeps track of the folder's metadata (including how is it being displayed). I also know that this command:
sudo find /Users/[USERNAME]/ -name ".DS_Store" -depth -exec rm -f {} \;
... will recursively delete all .DS_Store files insite the /Users/[USERNAME]/ folder.
Also, I know that when pressing CMD+J inside a finder window, selecting the configuration I want (40x40 icons, small-medium grid space, arrange by kind, text size 10px, show item info, show icon preview, background white) and selecting "use as defaults" will.. well, make it the default, and holding OPT will restore it to THAT default.
The thing is that, when I create a new folder, it doesn't take those parameters. And the folders that HAD .DS_Store files deleted keep that previous configuration, not the "default" one.
What can I do to set a system-wide, consistent finder look?
I'm on Mac OS X 10.6.6.

Hi,
I think I remember a similar problem in Tiger yonks ago. I recall the solution was to make all the changes to the Finder whilst in an Admin account - this way the choices stick for all windows?
Worth a shot.
S.

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Urgent Assistance Needed: All Documents deleted after setting system-wide viewing preferences for Finder

I got myself into some trouble...
Following the guide here to force a default Folder view to sub folders: http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/10488/system-wide-finder-view-preferenc es
Which is:
There is a simpler way.
In the Terminal, navigate to your $HOME directory: cd ~
Remove all the .DS_Store files:find ~ -name ".DS_Store" -depth -exec rm -f {} \;
Relaunch finder going to: Force Quit → Finder
Set your global preferences using ⌘J and press the Use as default button.
Now, every folder you open or create will have the new settings.
I now have the existing Folder structure in tact for Documents, but every single file is gone (in my entire Documents directory).
Naturally I'm thinking two things:
1) Oh no. I knew better than to go down this path without knowing exactly what I was doing.
2) How do I "get my files back..."
I'm not sure if they're just not viewable or if they were deleted. Essentially everything I've configured on the machine (From Apple login to mouse scroll reversal) has been undone. I don't have TimeMachine set up yet - I brought two remote hard drives to work today to get it done but they're both NTFS so I couldn't progress.
I'm reasonably technical but new to Mac.
Advice is greatly appreciated... I'm GREATLY distressed at the moment...
<Edited by Host>

Ok so "DS_Store files are used by Mac OS X to store folder specific metadata information." Supposedly they get recreated... except I didn't get a nice smooth transition of newly created invisible, instead every file on my machine is "gone."

Set system wide default mailto url

I'm trying to configure system wide settings in linux so any new user will apply for this settings.
I want register my zimbra server with mailto links.
I've found some information here:
http://www.zimbra.com/forums/general-questions/48547-how-control-mailto-selection-firefox.html
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I've found a partial solution.
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Comment=Zimbra
Exec=xdg-open https://my.zimbraserver.com/zimbra/?view=compose&to=%u
Type=Application
X-XFCE-MimeType=x-scheme-handler/mailto;
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Back up all data.
Triple-click anywhere in the line below to select it:
rm -i /Applications/.DS_Store
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C).
Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
Paste into the Terminal window (command-V).
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W2K8 & Win7 - Setting system-wide Trusted file locations not working

Win 2008 Network, Win 7 workstations.
RE: Setting system-wide trusted file locations
I have an application using Flash stored on a network location that accesses other files in the same location. This causes the security warning "The following local application... is trying to communicate with this internet-enabled..." I can add the location to the trusted sites in the Setting Manager and the warning goes away. It is not practical however to do this on every machine on the network. I have tried the FlashPlayerTrust directory and mms.cfg file and neither of these seem to work. Is there a trick to getting the FlashPlayerTrust directory to work properly. If I could get this working, I could create a script that copies this file to all machines on the network.
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Hi Todd,
Can you please provide just a little more detail?
* When you say "accessess", what API is being used? Are the paths to the other files relative, file: URI http: URI, other?
* In the FlashPlayerTrust directory, are you using the same path notation as appears in the Settings Manager? What's a sample {filename}.{ext} being used?
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I would like to set some system-side aliases and from what I read /etc/bash.bashrc is the correct place to put them.
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According this explanation http://stefaanlippens.net/bashrc_and_others this is correct.
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Setting System-Wide Max Heap Size

We want to set the heap-size of Java-Plugin 1.5.0_14 for a company-wide rollout to a fixed size under Windows XP.
In deployment.config under C:\Winnt\Sun\Java\deployment I am giving this:
deployment.system.config=file:C:\\WINNT\\Sun\\Java\\Deployment\\deployment.properties
deployment.system.config.mandatory=true
In the respective deployment.properties I am giving
#deployment.properties
deployment.cache.max.size=50m
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MaxHeapSize I determine with Runtime.getRuntime().maxMemory()
Setting it manually in the javacpl via -Xmx works fine but....
Problem is that we do not want each user to open his Java Control Panel and set this value manually.
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Should be possible to set this value once installing the Java Plugin
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Preferences API plus Linux. Saving entries system wide.

Hi:
I hope you know a little more about this than I do:
I want to (one time) write a key-value pair into the Registry (Windows) / the according xml file (Linux).
Since this entry should be available for all users, I used the following line to save it system wide:
Preferences prefs = Preferences.systemRoot().node(this.getClass().getName());
In the Windows Registry it can be found here:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/ SOFTWARE/JavaSoft/Prefs
Under Linux the prefs.xml file which contains the key value pair can be found here:
/etc/.java/.systemPrefs/_!':!.../prefs.xml
But, in order to create this file under Linux I had to temporarily change the access rights of the directory "/etc/.java/.systemPrefs" plus the two files inside this directory (".system.lock" and ".systemRootModFile") to 777.
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-rw-r--r--
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For an answer thank you very much in advance.
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Hi jschell:
Thank you for your answer.
The way you describe it is exactly how it is done till now.
My task is to find out the way to do it using the Properties API plus solving potential problems (like the one described above).
I just took a look at my question again. I wrote "Since other people should use this program in the future too: is there an easier / better way to set system wide preferences?".
What I wanted to ask is: "Since other people should install this program in the future too, is there an easier / better way to set system wide preferences (by using the Properties API)?"

Change the file set icons system wide

Hello,
I am trying to change all my .html, .js, .css file sets, system wide. Right now they are all the plain boring white with text. If I go into a folder they quickly appear with their more colorful Dreamweaver, photoshop, etc icon, but quickly jump back to the plain white, boring icon. I know how to change the files icons one by one, but obviously that could take a while.
Looking for an easy way to change my files system wide wothout screwing anything up. Recently came from a PC and loving my mac (never going back).
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Hi
Still no :o)
The only way around it, is to wrap your conc process that generates the etext output either with another program or if its an Oracle Report based program, in the after report trigger. That will get a handle on the generated file, easy enough cos you'll know the requestid, and then copy and rename it to the same or another location. We used to do this for a payments process in the Netherlands localization we ship.
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AppleScript change to Finder View not persisting

I have seen all the threads on Finder View preferences not sticking but I have a new variation. If I change the appearance of a Finder window in the Finder (using my mouse) everything works and the changes stick. If I use Applescript to change the appearance (in this case close the dislosure triangles of the nested folders):
tell application "Finder" to activate
tell application "System Events" to tell process "Finder"
keystroke "a" using {command down}
keystroke (ASCII character 28) using {command down, option down}
end tell
Then the appearance changes as wanted in the open window, but when I close and re-open the window the appearance change is lost and the nested folders are still open.
If I use AppleScript to change the sort column:
set properties of the list view options of myFolder to {sort column:name column}
then this change does stick if I close and reopen the window!
Before you ask -- the .DS_Store file is owned by me with permission 666. Deleting this file makes no difference. Any assistance, please?
PowerMac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Does the method here Making Finder Window Views Persistent,
authored by Scott Radloff, work for you?
No, unfortunately I had tried all those fixes. Also, I have no problems if I directly manipulate the folders in the Finder. It is only when I try to control the Finder with AppleScript that I run into problems. Thanks for the thought.
PowerMac G4 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Setting up system wide EQ via Automator workflow

hello,
many people might have tried to set up a system wide eq, which is not as easy on mac as maybe windows. now i figured it out by using soundflower and AU lab - i'm sure there are threads about this already.
so when i'm say watching a movie late at night and dont want to disturb the neighbours i plug in the hdmi cable of the telly. then i need to go through the rigmarole of changing the sound preferences, starting soundflower and AU lab and load an AU lab preset that i made including the EQ settings, that cancel out the annoingly loud bass frequencies. how do i automate this workflow with automator? better yet could it be triggered by hooking up the hdmi cable? in reverse i need a workflow that changes the settings back for when the laptop stands alone.
obviously i've tried recording what i do, but automator somehow cant handle the part of getting into system preferences. and i also dont find options in automator for various system preferences menu items.
can someone please please give me a tip how to make it work. id be really happy!
thank you!!

"does anyone have any idea how to get into the system preferences in automator? "
Yes:
Launch Application > System Preferences
But realize that getting into a particular preference pane and clicking buttons via Automator will likely require an AppleScript solution. Watch Me Do does work, but the action is quite finicky and often misunderstood. WMD doesn't track and target buttons or icons. It targets screen location. If items on your screen move--sometimes by as little as a pixel--WMD will fail. No fault of WMD; it's just the way the action functions.
You may want to repost your question in the AppleScript subforum: https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os/mac_os_x_technologies

Setting ALSA sound card system wide (rather than just in KDE)

Hi,
I've got an HTPC with an ATI Radeon HD 4350 graphics card running Arch x86. It has its own integrated sound card for outputting audio via HDMI, which is detected by ALSA as a separate device. I've managed to set it as the default audio device in KDE 4 (via System Settings). This allows applications such as Amarok and SMPlayer to properly output audio to the HD 4350's integrated sound card, but software such as Flash and MPlayer (from the command line) are still outputting audio to the motherboard's built-in sound card. How can I change this setting on a system-wide level? I've tried running alsaconf as root and adding
pcm.!default {
type hw
card 2
device 3
to ~/.asoundrc; I got the card and device numbers from aplay:
[htpc@exia ~]$ aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: HDA Generic [HDA Generic]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: HDMI [HDA ATI HDMI], device 3: ATI HDMI [ATI HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
Here is the output from MPlayer when I try to play a video, complete with errors regarding audio:
MPlayer UNKNOWN-4.4.0 (C) 2000-2009 MPlayer Team
137 audio & 296 video codecs
mplayer: could not connect to socket
mplayer: No such file or directory
Failed to open LIRC support. You will not be able to use your remote control.
Playing /tmp/FlashmvWXPy.
libavformat file format detected.
[flv @ 0xac7d250]skipping flv packet: type 18, size 294, flags 0
[lavf] Video stream found, -vid 0
[lavf] Audio stream found, -aid 1
VIDEO: [H264] 854x480 0bpp 29.970 fps 0.0 kbps ( 0.0 kbyte/s)
==========================================================================
Opening video decoder: [ffmpeg] FFmpeg's libavcodec codec family
Selected video codec: [ffh264] vfm: ffmpeg (FFmpeg H.264)
==========================================================================
==========================================================================
Opening audio decoder: [faad] AAC (MPEG2/4 Advanced Audio Coding)
FAAD: compressed input bitrate missing, assuming 128kbit/s!
AUDIO: 44100 Hz, 2 ch, s16le, 128.0 kbit/9.07% (ratio: 16000->176400)
Selected audio codec: [faad] afm: faad (FAAD AAC (MPEG-2/MPEG-4 Audio))
==========================================================================
[AO OSS] audio_setup: Can't open audio device /dev/dsp: Device or resource busy
[AO_ALSA] alsa-lib: confmisc.c:768:(parse_card) cannot find card '2'
[AO_ALSA] alsa-lib: conf.c:3513:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_card_driver returned error: No such file or directory
[AO_ALSA] alsa-lib: confmisc.c:392:(snd_func_concat) error evaluating strings
[AO_ALSA] alsa-lib: conf.c:3513:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_concat returned error: No such file or directory
[AO_ALSA] alsa-lib: confmisc.c:1251:(snd_func_refer) error evaluating name
[AO_ALSA] alsa-lib: conf.c:3513:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_refer returned error: No such file or directory
[AO_ALSA] alsa-lib: conf.c:3985:(snd_config_expand) Evaluate error: No such file or directory
[AO_ALSA] alsa-lib: pcm.c:2211:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM default
[AO_ALSA] Playback open error: No such file or directory
[JACK] cannot open server
[AO SDL] Samplerate: 44100Hz Channels: Stereo Format s16le
[AO_ALSA] alsa-lib: confmisc.c:768:(parse_card) cannot find card '2'
[AO_ALSA] alsa-lib: conf.c:3513:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_card_driver returned error: No such file or directory
[AO_ALSA] alsa-lib: confmisc.c:392:(snd_func_concat) error evaluating strings
[AO_ALSA] alsa-lib: conf.c:3513:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_concat returned error: No such file or directory
[AO_ALSA] alsa-lib: confmisc.c:1251:(snd_func_refer) error evaluating name
[AO_ALSA] alsa-lib: conf.c:3513:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_refer returned error: No such file or directory
[AO_ALSA] alsa-lib: conf.c:3985:(snd_config_expand) Evaluate error: No such file or directory
[AO_ALSA] alsa-lib: pcm.c:2211:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM default
[AO SDL] Unable to open audio: No available audio device
DVB card number must be between 1 and 4
AO: [null] 44100Hz 2ch s16le (2 bytes per sample)
Starting playback...
VDec: vo config request - 854 x 480 (preferred colorspace: Planar YV12)
VDec: using Planar YV12 as output csp (no 0)
Movie-Aspect is 1.78:1 - prescaling to correct movie aspect.
VO: [xv] 854x480 => 854x480 Planar YV12
Thanks!
Last edited by w1ntermute (2009-06-28 18:40:03)

whoops wrote:Do you use the motherboard sound-card?
No.
whoops wrote:If not - did you try just turning it off in bios (or blacklisting the driver)?
No, I haven't tried that. I'll give it a shot. Thanks for the tip!
Last edited by w1ntermute (2009-07-02 18:11:53)

System wide preferences

Hi,
I was wondering if it is possible to make preferences that I currently have for one user on my computer system wide, so that all other users have the same setup. Ie, I don't have to setup "tap mouse pad, instead of press button" for all users independantly.
My thinking is that on my work computer I have multiple desktops, and it would be nice to have multiple users set up which works in kind of the same way.
If it isn't possible to set it so that the setup and preferences are not system wide, which group of files need to be copied, and would this work?
Thanks

There are multi-desktop solutions for Mac too.
Most linuxes have this: inside your account you have 4 screens; and you can put applications on different screens.
A quick google turned up:
This one is alfa, but works: http://desktopmanager.berlios.de/ (freeware)
Seems complicated: http://www.codetek.com/ctvd/ (shareware)
And a macosx hints discussion: http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20030423140625302

How to set view preferences to default on pc??

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Hi bbresciaxtelus,
If iTunes on your Windows machine isn't retaining preferences or keeps prompting you to agree to the EULA, you may find the troubleshooting in the following article helpful:
iTunes: Missing folder or incorrect permissions may prevent authorization
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1277
Regards,
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I wanted to upgrade to a larger disk drive, so I backed up using Time Machine to a USB drive, and then swapped out drives and did a restore. However, after the restore, now when I click on time machine preferences from the top bar, instead of the GUI appearing, a finder view appears with timemachine.prefPane in its heading. Any ideas what is going on? If I go through the System Preferences route, it works.

Not actually answered... Has been reposted...

Set system-wide Finder view preferences

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